Assignment One: Cargo Inspection

The CMS Falcon, like her other two sister ships, serves as a secondary role in the field of "revenue cutting"...meaning their job is to access inbound craft cargo/passenger manifests to ensure their legitimacy as well as defining any values associated with incoming goods in order to establish the taxation parameters.

As such, boarding party members are required to check the passenger and/or cargo manifest as presented in the ship's computer and compare that list to the actual passengers and/or items in the hold. This search is usually quite thorough, checking the travelling records of each passenger and the contents of any inbound containers. Characters are reminded to be courteous to passengers and crew, as you are ambassadors to Clarion and as such you are usually their first contact with the world.

Any suspicious passengers or cargo should immediately be reported to your Commanding Officer (in this case Lt. Vincent Shirrah, the Falcon's pilot). The C.O. will ultimately decide how to handle the situation and give you further instructions.

As characters have learned during their training course, Clarion charges a tax on all imported goods. This tarrif is the source of most of the government's income, and while higher than other worlds, most citizens support the tax as it keeps other taxes low (or non-existant). To this end a few unscrupulous freighter owners try to avoid inspections or claim a cheaper cargo than what is actually carried in order to maximize their profits. For the most part, ship operators don't mind the tax as the market is always lucrative in Clarion and they usually have no problem offloading their goods for a profit despite the tax.

Even more important is the location and confiscation of illegal cargo. A number of items cannot be legally imported into Clarion,and cargo search teams should be especially watchful for these things. The Contraband Cargo Chart lists these prohibited items, and the penalty for importing each.

CONTRABAND CARGO CHART

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Cargo Type

Penalty for Importing

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Personal Weapons*	20 years to life in prison
Heavy Weapons	Death by vacuum
Streel Corp property**	10 to 20 years in prison
Raw Uranjum	5 to 10 years in prison
Sathar or Sathar Agents	Death by vacuum
Addictive Drugs	10 to 20 years in prison

* This refers to cargo only; the crew's personal weapons are allowed.

** Ships operating under Streel Corp. Charters can enter the systern and dock at the space station, but their cargos cannot be unloaded into the station or shuttled to the surface

You have been patroling the space lanes for several weeks now without incident, cutting your teeth in policies and procedures. Your next call is the inspection of an inbound Class:V freight hauler, the SS Dark Shadow. The freighter making its fifth recorded visit to Clarion from the Prenglar system, and today's manifest claims a load of maintenance robots destined for Valentina, the Throne City. As the Falcon closes to within 250,000km of the inbound freighter, an emergency call is recieved from Clarion Flight Control.

The Falcon is to immediately abort this search mission and intercept a fleeing craft. CMS Osprey will rendevous with the Dark Shadow for inspection duty, as you are the closest vessel to this Priority:Beta threat (Priority Beta is a threat against the ruling government of Clarion).

Princess Leotia Valentine XX was last seen boarding a shuttle on the surface of Clarion that matches the description of one that was seen docking with the SS Stothgard, a Timeon Clipper class freighter that is in the Class:VII size category. The Stothgard left Clarion Station without clearance and the details began to flood in shortly afterwards. The ship's owner is one Captain Chaison Masting, a male human believed to have ties with the Clarion Liberation Party. With a Council of Worlds meeting looming in the following month, the kidnapping of a royal family member could surely sway the outcome of such meetings. The Falcon is to immediately chase down and intercept the Stothgard and inspect her thoroughly from stem to stern. Use of force has been granted if the craft or crew resists or becomes evasive.