Corporate Espionage

Corporate Espionage is the zeroth (introduction) session of Distant Stars, making it the ninth session of Ad Astra overall.

## Plot

Kitadel Kluxared is working on the engine of the *CS Vikham* when a part explodes - it turns out Don Santiago, in his inexperience with starships, had ordered them a P70 Jump Capacitor, when the ship needed a P80 at least to handle the amount of energy the ship generated. After being tended to by Zavis Halifax, he informs Sarim, who tells them he knows where to get a new part - Aen's Junkyard, located in the old Warehouse District of Chor's Gutters.

Along with Maius Wiks, the group decides to head together to Aen's, but when they arrive find that Aen has locked himself in his store, refusing to come out, even as a team of Hazbuzan Syndicate goons try to collect rent. Wiks kicks the door down, and the Party manages to speak with Aen, discovering he was involved in an assassination attempt against West Erikson; he fears retribution, and is planning on going into hiding. He does, after some coaxing, agree to sell them the part they need, and the Party returns to Sarim's Warehouse with it in tow.

When back, Sarim informs the Party the Hazbuzan Syndicate has, while they were gone, put a hit out on West, and he's planning on collecting it. The three agree to accompany him, and, leaving Shan to protect the Vikham, they head to the WestCorp Building.

At WestCorp, the Party finds the Chor Cooperative, protesting against potential capitalist exploitation. Wiks manages to weaponize the Baluvn, giving them his grenades and telling them to "get mad"; while they assault the front on a no-doubt suicide mission, the group sneaks in the sewers, heading to the trash compactor to infiltrate through the back.

After climbing in through a trash chute, the Party finds themselves in the locker room, and confront an employ named William. They take him hostage, taking his clothes and pointing out this job isn't "important enough to die over", before the rest disguise themselves as other employees (minus ID badges), and they head to the elevator to go up. They find that William, being a basic employee, doesn't have an ID to get to the top floors (where West's offices are), but can take them three floors away.

As the elevator rises, the Party is eventually joined by a real employee, heading to the same, top floor as they. He inquires if they know about the Balvun, then speaks ill of the residents of Chor's Gutters, referring to them casually as "pond scum"; Klux, despite his rage at this, manages to remain calm. Eventually, the employee asks where they are going, to which Zavis replies they "have business on a higher floor".

The employee doesn't ask any further questions, but when he gets off, Wiks loses his temper on Zavis, feeling Zavis could have blown the mission if they had to answer any additional questions. He attempts to choke Zavis out; at that moment, Sarim points out they are on camera, then is forced to hack the camera and loop the feed before security can be alerted to a potential "employee assault".

When they finally get off the elevator, they head to the emergency stairs, proceeding to head up to their target floor. They arrive at the reception room to West's office, only to find West waiting for them; he asks if they are here to kill him. Zavis replies "possibly", and West informs them they won't take him alive, before placing a gun to his head and, to the Party's surprise, shooting himself through the head.

The Party is stunned, but head into his now-unguarded office to see what information they can get from West's personal computer; in it, they find West again, who informs them the "person" who just killed himself was merely a clone, and security is on the way. After dispatching the second clone, the Party attempts to grab what information they can from his computer, before a security team shows up. Without their armor and armed only with pistols, the Party makes a hasty retreat down a trash chute, sliding back to the trash compactor they started in.

The team retrieves their gear, frees William, then escapes through the chaos, returning to Sarim's warehouse.