The Ace of Spades Campaign - Take a Chance On Me part 2

Arrival on Alhambra
The Ace of Spades docked at the main space station orbiting Golden 4 (Alhambra). Although it had planetary landing capability, the starport for the capital city, New Xanadu, had a restriction that only allowed ships of Class III or less to land on planet. The Ace of Spades was a Class IV scout ship. Fortunately, it had a shuttle craft, The Jack of Spades, which was allowed on planet.
Captain Kimberley Wells piloted the shuttle with great skill and was guided by ground control to a free landing berth. With her were her bodyguard, Celeste, an android assassin; Kimberley's best friend, Nurse Gwendoline Papillion, and Gunnery Officer Jeanette Grey who expressed an interest in the gambling competition that Kimberley was about to take part in. This was a lie. As an undercover BRINT agent her real motive was to keep an eye on Celeste, whom BRINT believed was a Forerunner Android. Also on board the shuttle were scouts and lesbian lovers, Danica the Venetian and Katja Sondquist. They wanted to go shopping for lingerie. Finally, were bounty hunter, Julia Frostorm and cat burglar, Rebecca Ellington. Rebecca was trying to persuade Julia to take her on as her partner when she went bounty hunting. Julia could see pros and cons with such a partnership but for now agreed to allow the young burglar to accompany her. Julia also had a shopping list but hers was distinctly combat orientated.
Upon clearing customs control, the eight crew members split up into three groups. Danica and Katja immediately set off for the shops. Julia and Rebecca checked in at the IPA offices so that Julia could confirm her bounty hunting credentials whilst on planet and to check out the wanted posters. Kimberley, Celeste, Gwendoline and Jeanette took a taxi to the Casino Triomphe, the location of the gambling contest that Kimberley was about to participate in.

Casino Triomphe had a reputation as one of the higher class and more successful casinos in New Xanadu. It was also very expensive to stay at with the cheapest rooms costing 1,000 credits per person per day. Kimberley and her three friends accompanying her had secured accommodation at the Nu Hilton Hotel, not far away, for half the prices of the Casino Triomphe. The competition was due to start on the next day but first, Kimberley had to register with the organisers. She had already forwarded a communication to them to confirm her intention to participate.

As Kimberley led her three companions towards the registration desk, a friendly male voice from the bar shouted out.
"Hey, Kimberley, it's great to see you again. How ya doing?"
Kimberley smiled as she recognised the voice and her eyes roved up and down his body, lingering longest over his sparkling brown eyes and his huge grin.
"Emerich!" Kimberley smiled warmly. "I might have known you'd be here."

"Let me buy you guys a drink and catch up on recent events," Emerich offered.
"Sure. Why not?" Kimberley replied as she took a stool next to Emerich. "Emerich, you know Gwendy here. This is Jeanette Grey, our Gunnery Officer and the droid is Celeste, my personal bodyguard. Word of warning - don't mess with her."
"Hi, folks. I'm Emerich Rach. Kimberley and I are good friends and we go back quite a few years. Just like Kimberley, I'm a pilot, smuggler and gambler, so we move in similar circles. This gentleman sitting next to me is Karl Bergman. He's a mercenary and my personal bodyguard. After one particularly close shave with The Organisation, I felt it'd be prudent to hire a bodyguard."

"Yeah, we've also had our fair share of run-ins with The Organisation," Kimberley acknowledged. "I understand they have a big presence here."
"Sure, they do," Emerich confirmed, "But not so much here on New Xanadu. From what I've been able to ascertain is that Casino Triomphe is 100% legit. Its reputation is solid."
"Well, that's reassuring," Jeanette said in a neutral tone.
Kimberley looked at her quizzically, unsure if she was being sincere or sarcastic.
Jeanette's face remained impassive and she took a long sip from her orange juice, purposely avoiding eye contact.

"So I heard about what happened to Buck and the rest of your old crew," Emerich said reverentially. "They didn't deserve to die like that. My deepest condolences to you and Gwendoline."
"Thank you, Emerich," Kimberley bowed her head, focussing her eyesight on the remains of her drink. It was a struggle to keep the tears from flowing freely. "It was truly horrific. I miss them all so badly. Did you know that Buck and I were going to get married once we made planet-fall after that mission?"
"Yeah, I heard. I'm so sorry."
"We were so good together. It was because of all our gambling winnings that I was able to get the new Ace of Spades built and hire a new crew. Gwendy and Kyran were my first recruits. Shelagh left to enjoy a life of motherhood. She's happily married now."
"I'm pleased for her. If there is anything I can do for you just let me know. Anything!"
"I appreciate that, Emerich. What we do know is that the attack was made by a group called the Turbo Sharks. But since then, they have just disappeared. I know, space is a big place and they could be anywhere but if ever you get a sniff of them, let me know."
"That's a promise, darling."

The conversation switched to the upcoming contest with Emerich telling Kimberley about who else were going to be taking part. There would be 32 players playing in eight groups of four. The winner of each round would advance to the next round and receive a cash prize. For the first round, the prize would be 25,000 credits (25 Mega Credits, abbreviated to 25MCr). For the semi-finals, the prize increased to 50MCr. For the final, everyone would receive a cash prize. Fourth place would receive 75MCr, third place 100MCr, second place, 200MCr and the winner, a huge 500MCr. However, because this was such a prestigious contest, each participant had to pay a 100MCr ante just to take part, thus ensuring only the best of the best would participate. Between them, Emerich and Kimberley knew or had heard of nine other players. By far, the favourite to win was the formidable Halmia Katura, a woman who had developed a reputation as a gambling legend.
An hour later, Kimberley bid Emerich goodbye and good luck and set off to finalise her registration details and pay her entrance fee. Her confidence was sky high.