"The Red Hand"

"The Red Hand" is the sixth session of the first chapter of Convergence. The party have to deal with the biological agent they found previously. They eventually run into the middle of another Red Hand conflict, and the party finally decide they need to know more.
== Synopsis ==
=== Dealing with the "sample" ===
The party begin to make plans to deal with the sample of the biological compound they retrieved from the maroooned marauder. Steele's decision to turn it over to the Galactic Union has proved devisive, however the party are willing to carry out his orders. They begin a search for the nearest Union installation. They discover a listening post not too far away. Calli opens up communications with the listening post and comes into contact with Lieutenant Barksley, the communications officer. Calli informs them of the biological agent they have recovered. Barksley grants permission for them to come abord the station. H0W-D33 then takes the Eastwood to the station.
Upon arrival, the party are greeted by a young Ensign, who checks their details. After recieving a communication telling her that they have permission to be there, she directs them to the elevator and tells them to head for the command deck. The party obliges.
When they reach the command deck, the party are greeted by the station's commanding officer, Captain Rawlings. Rawlings is debriefed by the party on the events leading up to them retrieving the sample of the biological agent. Captain Rawlings calls up his Chief Medical Officer, Dr Connings, to take the sample off the party's hands. The sample is then taken to the station's research laboratory. H0W-D33 takes this opportunity to return to the Ensign who greeted them earlier. 
Rawlings in return tells them of Red Hand movements in recent days. He informs the party that the Red Hand fleet has left Mimosa III and attacked the northern continent of Endymion III, the Floran homeworld. Stunned, the party as well as Captain Rawlings, are confused as to why the Red Hand would attack such an important planet out of the blue. 
=== Malware's announcement ===
Following their discussion, Rawlings is suprised to see a Galactic News alert. He plays the alert, which is a statement released by Malware. Shocked, the party listen on. "People of the Union, my name is Malware. A week ago, my group, The Red Hand, launched an attack on the scrapper’s consortium planet, Mimosa III. Your media, your government, your neighbours, tell you that I and my group are a threat to you. This is not the case. Mimosa III was a planet filled with people begging for death, we merely brought that death for them as an act of mercy. But this is not why I attacked. My fleet has been excavating for several days, and I know that this action has kept your military guessing and speculating. But now it is time I told you why.You have all been lied to. You have been told about things that occurred in our galaxy’s history are a ‘myth’ but this is not true. The Precursors are real, they existed. They were the most powerful species in this galaxy, and they had a vast empire. They had technology that we could only dream of. But something happened to them, and they vanished. The only sign we have that the Precursors existed is from their technology that has been left scattered throughout the galaxy. I seek this technology now. I do not seek weapons, nor do I seek technology that would damage this galaxy. I seek something specific. It is called a Transcriber. I know the Galactic Union government has information about hundreds of Precursor sites and artefacts. I ask them to provide me with the information I need to find a Transcriber. Do this, and I will order my group to cease hostilities. Fail to answer me, and my group will begin stepping up it’s efforts to find this piece of technology at any cost. Things may get bad for you, the average citizen, as supply convoys are attacked by my group, and your comfortable lifestyle is interrupted.President Evermore, Fleet Admiral Williams, it is now up to you, give me what I want, or what is to come will be upon your heads." - MalwareThe party and Captain Rawlings are dismayed at Malware's speech. They discuss the implications of it. Rawlings in return tells them not to concern themselves with it, as they have a mission that they should be focussing on. 
The party are granted permission by Rawlings to resupply and stock up at the station before departing. Steele stays behind on the command deck to speak to Rawlings more, while Calli goes to the laboratory, Dr Arbo returns to the Eastwood with Petra, and Bunka heads down to the supply deck. 
=== H0W-D33's hook-up ===
H0W-D33 left the command deck during the party's discussions with Rawlings to liase with the Ensign who had greeted them when they first arrived. H0W-D33 pulls out the western charm, which takes the Ensign aback and confuses her slightly. She tries to remain professional, however, she could not resist H0W-D33's charisma for long. H0W-D33 soon had "relations" with her. She was utterly confused, and baffled at how she was convinced to fornicate while on duty. H0W-D33, satisfied, returns to the Eastwood. 
=== Steele's investigation ===
Steele, intrigued by what Malware is truly after, remains behind on the command deck to discuss with Captain Rawlings. He asks Rawlings what he knows about the Precursors. Rawlings tells Steele that he always considered them a myth, as much of the information about them is mythical in nature and he begins to question how much of this is actually now true. 
Rawlings tells Steele about some of the things the Precursors were supposedly able to do. He mentions that Precursors were near 'god-like', with the ability to harvest the full potential of stars, the ability to accelerate the evolution of a species, travel at untold speeds, and had an advanced control over nanotechnology. Steele then asks Rawlings about this "Transcriber" that Malware is after, as Malware mentions that the Union may know where one is. Rawlings looks up the term 'Transcriber' in the Union database. He tells Steele that a Transcriber is a piece of Precursor tech that has the ability to 'interfere' with DNA.
Steele thanks Rawlings for his help, and leaves to go to the supplies deck. While in the elevator however, he calls for The Investigator, who is seemingly reluctant to appear. However, when he does eventually appear, he tells Steele to call him by his new name next time. The Guide leans against the elevator wall, and Steele asks him about the Precursors and what happened to them. The Guide goes off on a tangent, talking about an Alien movie he saw. He mentions that in the movie, the "E.T. Fellas" did "lots of bad shit":"Saw a movie once, it had them E.T. Fellas in them, you know the ones. Anyways, they did lots of bad shit, lots of people died, it was awful. Next thing I know, the credits rolled, weird shit." - The GuideSteele, confused as always by the Guide, thanks him for his "information". The Guide in return quizzes Steele on whether he has any "maps" for him, Steele replies that he doesn't, much to the Guide's disappointment. The Guide then disappears, and Steele arrives at the supplies deck. 
=== Calli's experimentation ===
Calli decides to put her mind to work in an attempt to distract herself. She decides to begin making chemicals to use as offensive weapons for the upcoming fights ahead. She travels to the laboratory, and greets the scientist at a desk near the elevator. She explains her intentions and tells the scientist that the has Captain Rawlings' permission. The scientist happily shows Calli to a work bench, and promptly shoos away scientists who were working there. Calli thanks her and begins her experimentation,
She first begins an experiment to create a concoction that will produce a freezing effect on contact with a surface or being. She pours and mixes different chemicals. She notes that the chemical doesn't feel very stable. She promptly adds a stablising agent to the concoction, which seems to solve the issue. She pours a small amount of the chemical on to the workbench, which crystallizes into ice. She marks this as a success. 
She then tries to create a chemists answer to a flashbang grenade. She manipulates light producing chemicals and combines them together. After mixing, she notes the brightness being emitted. She feels like the chemical has turned out how she planned. The other scientists, impressed at this point, begin to clap. 
Calli, content with her experimentation, leaves and heads back to the Eastwood to rejoin the others.
=== Confrontation on the supply deck ===
Bunka, and later Arthur, arrive on the supply deck to see if they can find anything worth using. 
Steele wanders towards the right hand side of the supply deck to find an enclosed area being guarded. Steele enquires as to what's inside. The guard tells him that it's crucial equipment for the security of the station. Steele tells the guard that he has special permission from Captain Rawlings to stock up as needed. The guard reluctantly allows Steele inside, and tells him he can take two boxes at the end of the enclosed area. Steele opens them to find an assortment of survival equipement, field rations and some armaments. He takes what he can carry, thanks the guard, then proceeds on to look around.
Bunka meanwhile, looks through the the aisles of heavy duty crates to see if anything peaks her interest. She stealthily pries open a nearby crate to find a high powered assault rifle inside. It is security tagged, but Bunka doesn't seem phased by this. She waits until she has an opening, then swipes the rifle. She then hastily proceeds to the exit, only for alarms to sound when she attempts to board the elevator. Guards rush to her location and begin interrogating and searching her. She remains defensive about the situation. A guard then finds the rifle in her belongings, and she attempts to defend herself to him. Steele then arrives, disappointed that she is once again causing trouble. The guards tell Steele that Bunka will be imprisoned in the brig for such an offense, but Steele points out that she's on an important mission, and asks that he put her in his custody to watch over. The guards accept this on the condition she returns the stolen weapon and pays a fine. Bunka is very reluctant to do this, but Steele warns her not to cause more problems. She reluctantly hands over the rifle. 
Steele and Bunka then proceed back to the Eastwood to join up with the others. 
===Departing the station===
The crew all return to the Eastwood and congregate on the bridge. They discuss Malware's announcement and the implications of it. Steele asks Del Rio if he heard the announcement and knows anything. Del Rio says that he does not know anything. This causes Petra to be riled up, and claim that Del Rio is hiding something. Del Rio is insistent that he does not know, but even if he did, there are some things that he cannot share no matter what. This causes Petra to become further angered. Dr Arbo points out the fact that the area the Red Hand attacked was a fairly deserted part of Endymion III, and questions why they would even attack Endymion III in the first place, with it being so far out from their previous target of Mimosa III, Dr Arbo theorises that the next logical target would've been Harvest. 
Determined to find out more information, Petra and Dr Arbo go to the medical bay to access a terminal. They seek to discover any information about Precursor sites on Endymion III, believing that this may have been Malware's target. After Petra hacks into the terminal, their suspicions are confirmed when Petra comes across a report from Special Operations:SPECIAL OPERATIONS INDEX #34FIELD OPERATIVES HAVE LOCATED PRECURSOR SITE #126 ON ENYDIMION III, NORTHERN MOST CONTINENT, 300M BELOW SURFACE.SITE APPEARS TO BE THIRD PRECURSOR SENSOR STATION FOUND IN UNION TERRITORY. TECHNOLOGY BADLY DEGRADED, BUT ESTIMATED SENSOR RANGE APPEARS TO BE OVER 80,000 LIGHT YEARS IN ALL DIRECTIONS. Petra and Dr Arbo brings this information to the others on the bridge, with Petra again attacking Del Rio for likely already knowing this information. Del Rio insists that he didn't know there was a site on Endymion III.
Del Rio reminds them that they still have a mission to carry out, and that they should leave Malware to the Union for now. The party mostly agrees, and they set their heading for the next beacon. Calli performs a scan of the next beacon ahead and discovers two Marauder vessels attacking what appears to be a civilian vessel. Steele decides to assist the vessel, and see if they can get some information out of the Marauders at the same time. Steele orders H0W-D33 to set a course. 
===The marauders===
Upon arrival to the beacon, the two marauder vessels are still attacking the civilian ships, however another vessel is now present. The party identifies it as a Union Navy ship, and Steele orders communications to be opened. The party is put into contact with Captain Khresta Serenia, an Empathi female, who identifies herself as the captain of the USS G'reska Talvianna. Steele tells her that they are allies and that they are here to help. Captain Serenia thanks him for this, and requests that he deal with one Marauder while she deals with the other. Steele obliges and ends communications. 
Steele calls battlestations and they prepare to engage with the Marauder. The Marauder lands a couple of hits, and the Eastwood returns the favour. As the two ships exchange weaponsfire, the crew come up with a plan of action. Steele believes that the usual approach is best. They will disable the marauder's shields then send a boarding party over. They will attempt to take a prisoner in order to get information. Steele orders Bunka to fire at will, and Bunka unleashes a volley of the Eastwood's weaponry, striking a number of systems. One of Bunka's torpedo shots damages the enemy Marauder's life support system. The Marauder attempts to use their EWS system to hack into the Eastwood, but EWS Officer Petra repels the attack and even disables their EWS in return. 
After several more minutes of weapon's fire, the Eastwood finally disables the enemy's shields. Steele prepares a boarding party led by himself. Everyone except H0W-D33, Dr Arbo and Del Rio board the enemy vessel. Steele leaves Dr Arbo in command and asks him to make sure the Marauder stays disabled and to be ready to transport them back over. 
===Boarding===
The boarding party quickly battle their way through the enemy vessel, passing through a number of critical systems. They are engaged in combat by the mercenary crew, some being human, others being Damaskan. The party make short work of the crew, who seem to be in a panic about where to go. The boarding party eventually make their way to the life support room, where Steele cleverly removes oxygen from all areas of the ship except where they are and the bridge. 
At that point, the party then prepare to make their way onto the bridge of the Marauder. 
Meanwhile, on the Eastwood, Dr Arbo liases with the USS G'reska Talvianna. He informs the Captain about the boarding party on the marauder and asks her not to engage that vessel while his crew are on board, the Captain obliges to this. She informs Arbo that her ship will continue to monitor for incoming vessels in the meantime. Dr Arbo relays this information to Steele and the others. A few moments later, Del Rio informs Dr Arbo that life support is failing on the civilian vessel. Dr Arbo opens a channel to the G'reska Talvianna and tells the Captain of this, she tells Arbo that she will begin evacuating the ship. 
The boarding party in the meantime, make their way on too the bridge. They play it tactically, instead of going in weapons blazing, they instead opt to be stealthy and take the inhabitants hostage. Bunka rushes in and quickly puts the captain of the vessel, an aging Zhen'kethi, into a choke hold. The remainder of the boarding party point their weapons at the crew members, and demand they surrender. The crew eventually comply. Bunka knocks the captain out at this time. Steele heads over to one of the crewmembers. He asks him questions about the Red Hand. Notably, Steele is interested in why he is a part of the Red Hand. The crewmember tells him that he joined because of the money, and that he is supporting his sick family back home. Petra and Steele mock the crewmember for this, stating that resorting to killing innocent civilians is no way to make a living. The crewmember, quite defensive, exclaims that out in the outer systems, mercenary work is the only line of work. Steele and Petra again mock him for selling himself when he could've just contacted the Union for help. This notion causes the crewmember to laugh, stating that people like him call the Union for help all the time, only to be ignored. He then hits back at the two, telling them that they have no idea what it's like where he's from, and their morals won't help feed their families. 
Steele then hails the Eastwood and asks for Dr Arbo to transport them back, which he promptly does. Bunka, Steele and Petra place the Zhen'kethi captain into one of the Eastwood's quarters, that they reinforce into a make-shift brig. The party then return to the bridge, where Dr Arbo tells them that the G'reska has safely evacuated the civilian vessel. Calli's console begins to emit an alarm. She tells Steele that there is a vessel approaching very quickly out of slipspace.
The vessel, which is long and curved, begins to change shape into a different configuration as it enters the area. Before anyone can react, the vessel fires off their weapons and hits the G'reska's main reactor, causing it to violently explode. The mysterious vessel then changes shape again and almost 'stares' at the Eastwood, before promptly entering slipspace and leaving the system. The party, taken aback by what they have just witnessed, neglect to notice the explosion of the G'reska has caused a shockwave that is approaching them. Del Rio alerts them to this, and H0W-D33 quickly takes the Eastwood out of the system to the next beacon.
Petra is shocked, he tells the others that the ship was Malware's personal ship, The Scimitar. Steele remarks to Petra about how he has chastised Del Rio for keeping secrets, yet Petra knows so much about Malware that he has yet to reveal. Petra cannot say anything back to this and remains quiet. 
===The interrogation===
Steele and the others leave the bridge, where they go to check on their prisoner. Dr Arbo performs a medical scan on him, and tells Steele that the prisoner is dying. He is notably quite old and frail for a Zhen'kethi, a warrior race that usually prefers dying in battle to withering in age. Steele and the others are angered by this, and take him to the medical bay. Steele tells the others that they need to get as much out of him as they can before he dies. Steele tells Dr Arbo that he can interrogate him if he wishes, as an act of vengeance for the attack on his homeworld. Arbo notes that he is a physician, and he will not harm others unnecessarily. 
Dr Arbo wakes the prisoner up. The individual is baffled about where he is, but doesn't seem to be afraid. Steele tells him where he is, and tells him that they are going to give them information on the Red Hand. Steele starts by asking the invidividual's name. He tells the party his name is Kal. Steele asks Kal why a proud warrior race like the Zhen'kethi enslave themselves to Malware. Kal, not phased by Steele's provocative remarks, tells Steele that Malware uses the broken and beaten soldiers from the last war as his main forces, the individuals seek to fight and die in battle and don't qualm with who they die for. 
Steele continues to mock Kal and his race for being Malware's obedient 'dogs'. Kal notes that Malware is very 'persuasive' and often theatens the safety of his followers' families to keep them loyal. Kal begins to prod at Steele, telling him he can see in his eyes that he fought in the war too, and mocks him. Steele, just as unphased continues his questioning. 
Steele asks Kal what a Transcriber is and why Malware is after it. Kal tells Steele that he doesn't know much beyond the fact that the device he seeks is able to manipulate DNA, and that Malware plans to use it on his own race to change them in some way. This shocks Petra and the others. Kal notes that Malware has a source 'on the inside' giving him information about Precursor sites, Kal also notes that Malware seems subservient to this individual in some way. 
Kal takes notice of Petra, who asks him about B-8 and B-9 and any other Unified Malware has in his army. Kal notes that Malware has reprogrammed B-8 and B-9 so much that they have become twisted and insane, with B-8 regressing to a child-like state and B-9 turning to old Earth nostalgia. Kal notes he doesn't know much about B-4, only that Malware has a soft spot for him and that he went missing. Kal notes that Petra looks like B-4 a bit, which Petra promptly dismisses. 
Kal continues to laugh at them, telling them that despite their efforts, they can't humiliate him or make him fear them. He tells them that they can torture him if they wanted, and that it's all the same to him, one way or another, he is going to finally die. Steele returns to the bridge and tells Petra to do what he wishes. Petra gives Kal the death he wishes for, and goes to his quarters. Dr Arbo is shocked and flustered about witnessing the death of his patient. 
===Discussions===
Back on the bridge, the crew discuss the information that they have recieved. Del Rio is particularly shocked by the fact that Malware has an insider feeding him information. Del Rio notes that only members of Spec Ops have information on Precursor Sites, and Del Rio finds it almost inconcievable that someone from Spec Ops is giving information. Del Rio notes that Spec Ops are tortured as part of their training into never revealing information, with Del Rio telling the crew that he himself was part of Spec Ops and went through this proceedure, which is why he has been unable to give information to the party. 
Steele is understanding of this, and tells Del Rio it isn't his fault. Del Rio tells Steele that the only individual who might be the mole, is Admiral Kaiser, who Del Rio notes has extreme views and is a 'shady sort'. 
Del Rio further elaborates on his past, telling the party that he has been part of Spec Ops and conducted missions behind enemy lines, which is why he is on this mission. Del Rio begins to struggle to speak as his conditioning kicks in. Steele tells him not to speak about it anymore. Del Rio laments that he wishes to break the conditioning. Dr Arbo offers to help him with this. Del Rio, although appreciative, tells Dr Arbo that the people behind his conditioning were the best in their fields, and would likely make breaking the conditioning almost impossible. He tells Arbo that he is willing to try however. 
He requests that they change the topic on to something lighter. He tells Steele that while he was gone, he had the G'reska Talvianna relay a message to Navy FLEETCOM. He hands Steele a datapad which reads: On the recommendation of LT CMDR Benjamin Del Rio. Standing orders on this date note that the following has been amended: Ensign Arthur Steele is hereby promoted two steps in rank to the rank of Lieutenant, and transferred to the Command Division. Lieutenant Steele thanks Del Rio for this. Del Rio tells him that he isn't sure how Steele feels about the Navy, but tells him that this rank will help him in the future should he need it. Steele tells him that he was never interested in rank or command. Del Rio tells him that it is wrong for someone with Steele's experience to still be an Ensign. Del Rio then prompts Steele to give some good news too. Steele turns to Arbo and tells him that he has served well in the chair in his absense, and that Steele has come to rely on his advice and his ability to challenge Steele in command decisions. Steele offers Dr Arbo the position of Executive Officer, acting as Steele's second-in-command. Dr Arbo is honoured by the offer and gladly accepts.
==Featured characters==
===The Party===
===Others===
===New===
==Story elements==
===Key story notes===
===Secrets===