The House Viracocha counselors sent three agents to House Orlok's home planet Rulag:
- Lydia Amaru the Disguise Specialist
- Marcus the Mentat Spy
- Zak Vezas the Hypnotist
Their mission: to collect information about House Orlok and its servitors, infiltrate The Sulfur Dragoons mercenary army, and find secret information that could be used to embarrass or destroy them.
The trio of Agents arrived at the spaceport on the Aerostat Dhal. A helpful Guild agent listed them as pilgrims and got them tourist visas in exchange for some information about House Runasimi's plans for the war.
The aerostat was a floating city filled with breathable air. This allowed it to float in the heavier-than-air atmosphere of the planet's upper cloud layer. Marcus suspected the city also had suspensors carrying some of the weight. The shuttle bay was on the top spindle of the hab, with an elevator that went down to the main habitat "bowl" inside. This enclosed space was filled with bridges, mezzanines and concentric rings of terraces, going from the rim of the bowl down to the lower levels. Everything was decorated in colorful banners. Everyone carried weapons. Massive screens advertised House Orlok's military might and their impending victory over House Runasimi. And a strange abstract warning, where a dancing figure with a sword was "stomped out" by a giant boot.
The agents went to the semuta bar Cracked Dirt, a place recommended by Zak's contact as a base of operations. It was perfectly safe, as long as none of them inhaled the burnt elacca crystals that would transform the constant, droning music into an addictive, timeless sustained ecstasy. The VIP room on the second floor was soundproofed and they could stay there for weeks without anyone noticing. They set up their equipment and schemed about what to do next.
The agents' plotting was interrupted by someone banging on the door. There were three bravos, clearly buzzed on bad elacca - the first stage producing a suicidal disregard for their own safety, rather than the pleasant high of the second. They were looking for a fight, and threatening them would have just started one. Zak took the opposite approach and diverted their attention, convincing them to go harass the patrons at a noodle stand the agents passed on the way over. He also got their address, so that he could contact them in the future if he needed some disposable, gullible muscle.
Zak had a meet with his contact at Puzzle of Flesh, a gyro stop on the lower ring. He was interrupted on his way there by a commotion on the promenade. Several people in the crowd were dancing, each body part moving independently of the rest, but at the same time mirroring the movements of the next dancer in the ring, moving in a loop. It would have been harmless and eccentric if they weren't grasping swords in their clenched fists, flailing about with them. Some people in the crowd panicked, some drew their own weapons and attacked the dancers, but some were swept up in the dancing mania. Zak dove into the fray, trying to stop the madness and break the matachines out of the trance. Instead he found himself swept up in it, losing control of his limbs. He didn't know how long he danced, his awareness only returned when a wave of heat washed over the crowd.
Flame Cataphract, by me
A pair of Flame Cataphracts had arrived to contain the situation, hovering over the platform on their suspensor bikes and hosing the crowd with their flamethrowers. Zak jumped off the side to avoid being grilled, falling a couple stories and breaking his leg, but avoiding incineration.
This miner, Halverson, was clearly trying to bang Lydia. She delegated this task to the face dancer, who clandestinely swapped in for her and assumed her appearance and mannerisms while Lydia snuck out.
At the gyro place, the political spy Ramusmetrin gave Zak a breakdown of House Orlok.
- Marquis James Orlok, who loves violence and has no fear of his inevitable death at the hands of his heir(s).
- His consort, Doria Orlok, a superfluous daughter of House Ginaz. For her, the marriage is a step down from Great House to House Major, but she takes her children's weapons training seriously.
- The heir, Alton Orlock. Chosen for his martial skill, rather than his loyalty. Can only claim the throne if he kills dad in a suitably public and flashy way.
- The second son Karl Orlock. Idolizes his father, not as skilled as his brother. Uses performance enhancing alkaloids from Ecaz in hopes of impressing his parents.
- The third son Maruthas Orlok. More loyal than Alton, less skilled.
- The first daughter Ruth Orlok. A fine soldier, too bloodthirsty to be an effective leader.
- The second daughter Meng Orlok. Rumored Bene Gesserit washout, handles House Orlok's marketing.
- The concubine Yakumo Nuntius, acquired with House Nuntius after House Orlok's war with House at Tam. Slowly working to civilize the Marquis.
As for the mercenary armies,
- The Bomb Knights, led by Hetman Alan Nomad, but with his capture by House Runasimi the command is now in the hands of Reba, one of the Marquis' children by Yakumo.
- The Flame Cataphracts, led by Lane, another Orlok noukker by Yakumo. He takes his job seriously.
- The Sulfur Dragoons, ostensibly commanded by the Marquis' third child by Yakumo Klamm, in reality commanded by the Colonel Kleft, a trooper raised from the ranks.
Ibid
Back at the semuta bar, the agents hatched a plan. They would infiltrate the Acid Spit, gather as much confidential information as they could on the Sulfur Dragoons, and sow dissent between Klamm and Kleft. They picked a spot to observe the entrance to the spar. A pair of Dragoons clad in acid fatigues guarded the entrance, but the real defense was the prudence door - a pentashield that only permitted people carrying the appropriate keys to pass through its membrane. The team ordered drinks at a cafe and waited patiently for a group of NCOs to emerge, divested of their armor and clearly on leave. The trio went into a temple of the horned mother and, in keeping with their cover as pilgrims, the Viracocha agents followed them.
Dune Tarot by Xangadix
Inside, one of the soldiers stripped down and stepped onto a platform over a pool of water in the center of the temple. The agents learned that this was a purification ritual, fighting in the arena to empty the self and better embody the principle of space for which the Horned Mother stood. Lydia entered the ring to challenge the soldier. In the first bout, he quickly threw her out of the ring. In the second she lasted longer, forcing her way inside his guard but getting caught in a grapple while he struck her repeatedly in the stomach, inducing vomiting and ending the match. Mockingbird pilfered the keys from the other two soldiers while they watched the match.
The soldier, Carlos, invited Lydia to a bar on the upper ring for drinks. This was the second time someone had tried to pick her up. Lydia strongly suspected that everyone on Rulag had mommy issues and, spending their entire lives surrounded by violent, paranoid soldiers, instinctively threw themselves at any "normal" woman they encountered. She did learn during the discussion that someone with a key and a maintenance uniform could go largely undetected in the Acid Spit. She started a fight by implying that some other diners at the bar had stolen the keys from the NCOs, then fled during the brawl.
There was no way to get a set of acid-fatigues to pose as Sulfur Dragoons, but Lydia easily worked up a pair of maintenance uniforms using her costuming expertise. She and Mockingbird suited up and went through the pentashield into the Spit.
The sulfur clouds produced a lovely rain-pattering effect on the transparent roof of the spar arm. Lydia and Mockingbird had never seen rain before. There were soldiers and slaves everywhere, moving big tanks of toxic chemicals. The big display screens showed stock footage of the planet Bonnavera. The agents made a beeline for the officer's lounge. The place was practically deserted, but Klamm's estate was accessible off the side, a module extending off the side of the lounge. The plan was, Lydia would check inside for any useful intelligence or cryptography and then exfiltrate. Mockingbird would stay behind as a deep infiltration agent, swapping disguises as needed to maintain their cover, and communicate with the rest of the group using a trained sparrow as a distrans.
Lydia used a security wrench to open the door to Klamm's apartments. The floor inside was a mix of sumptuous fogwood that molded itself to Lydia's feet, and carpet so blood red it looked drenched in viscera. She was distracted by her search, and didn't notice Kleft come into the living room, dressed only in a towel. He dropped it to pull a concealed pistol, holding her at gunpoint. He shouted to the bedroom, asking if Klamm had called for maintenance.
Klamm emerged from the bedroom and confirmed that he had not.
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