Begin a Session(92)Unforeseen aid is on the way or within reach
"Sir, one of the precognition machines has activated."
"Where?"
"Devil's Chain sector."
"I thought that site was abandoned?"
"It was. The base is unmanned, but the equipment is still operational."
"Very well. Prepare a strike team. Have them find the agent and tail them at a distance. They're to protect them at all costs, but only reveal themselves in truly dire situations."
"Understood. It will take some time for the team to reach Devil's Chain, of course."
"Of course. No time to waste, then."
Momentum:3 → 4
"Do you really think you're going to find a ghost aboard the ship?" asks Bri.
"No, of course not. But doing the investigation to get the navigation data is going to be quicker than trying to find Koshiba with blind luck." replies Jett.
The pair are aboard The Irony, waiting for nightfall when the ghost sightings usually happen.
Swear an Iron Vow(Heart)—7 vs 7|6 09a - Prove or disprove the ghost sightings Momentum:4 → 5
"You know, you're the first person I've spoken to in almost a year? Other than Ogre." says Bri.
"How did you end up stranded aboard a derelict, anyway?" asks Jett.
"Ugh, long story. I'll tell you over a drink sometime. The short version is that I guess my crew decided that splitting a score two ways was better than splitting it three ways so they stole my ship and left me behind."
"That's rough. So are you going to try and track them down when you get to Koshiba?"
"I have nothing left. I'm going to have to sign on with a ship and start from the bottom all over again. Revenge is a luxury I can't afford."
A moment of silence passes between the two.
"Well, that's a problem for another day." says Bri. "We have a ghost to catch. It'll be getting dark soon, we should go."
Jett and Bri walk up and down the main corridor where the mysterious sightings have been occurring.
Gather Information(Wits)—9 vs 9|4 Momentum:5 → 6
Does Jett see anything out of the ordinary? 50/50(3)Yes
Is it something supernatural? 50/50(32)Yes
At around midnight ship's time, there's a sudden chill in the air.
Feature(3)Disembodied voices
Jett and Bri hear echoey, ethereal voices.
Descriptor(2)Abundant Focus(94)Vault
"Stay out of the vault", the voices keep repeating. "Stay out of the vault, stay out of the vault." Jett tries to follow the sound of the voices, but they're coming from every direction at once. The voices quieten, and eventually dissipate.
"What the hell was that?" asked Bri.
"Well, at least we know it's not just spacer tales." says Jett. "But it's not going to be enough to satisfy the captain. Let's keep looking."
"That's it? Just keep looking? There's an actual ghost on this ship, Jett. Ghosts exist. They're real."
"I know. Exciting, isn't it?"
09a - Prove or disprove the ghost sightings +1 (3/10)
Gather Information(Wits)—8 vs 4|5 Momentum:6 → 8
About an hour later, Jett senses something moving in his pack. He opens it to take a look and sees the pyramid. "That's strange, I thought I locked it up on The Irony." he says.
"What is it?" asks Bri.
"It's a long story."
"Does it usually shake like that?"
"Never."
Opportunity(13)Encounter with a benign spirit or being
The pyramid stops shaking and emits a faint glow.
'...Hello?' comes a faint voice from behind Bri and Jett. They turn around and see an older-looking woman with long black hair. "Can you hear me?"
"We can hear you." says Jett.
"That thing you're carrying. It's bright. So bright. Usually everything is so dark. And nobody can hear me."
"Do you know what this is?" asks Jett, holding the pyramid up a little.
"It's powerful."
"So I see. I don't really know how this works - is there something you want us to do? Put you to rest somehow?"
Action(45)Find Theme(92)Truth
"I think...I think I'd like to know my name. Who I was in life." says the spirit.
"And then you'll be able to move on?" asks Bri.
"I don't know how this works, either." replies the spirit.
The pryamid's glow fades, and the ghost disappears.
"Let's go check the crew records." says Jett.
09a - Prove or disprove the ghost sightings +1 (6/10)
You may assume that a scavenger crew wouldn't keep records of its personnel, but nothing could be further from the truth. Every member of the crew wanted every penny they were owed from each score, so meticulous records are kept showing who did what and when. Ships with sloppy record keeping are usually the ones that suffer from mutinies over payouts; every successful ship has a good bookkeeper.
Given Name(55)Kimora Family Name(65)Hammond First Look(72)Sickly Initial Disposition(74)Demanding
Valora's Comet's bookkeeper is Kimora Hammond. Her eyes are red and her face is puffy and swollen. She is blowing her nose into a tissue when Jett approaches her.
"Don't get too close, it's catching." she says.
"I'll keep my distance. I'm looking for information. I'm looking for a crewmember who went missing or died sometime before the ghost sightings on Deck 7 started."
Gather Information(Wits)—9 vs 1|4 Momentum:8 → 10
"You must be the detective. I'll give you archive access." says Kimora. "Just look for the files you need, don't go poking around. And don't change any information. And don't make too much noise."
"We'll be very discreet." Jett reassures her.
Jett and Bri spend about an hour looking through dozens of crew files, before Bri says "Jett, it's her!". Jett looks over and the picture on the screen is the same woman they saw in the corridor.
"Let's take a look at the file." says Jett.
The woman's name was Tanya McDuff. She was a Character Role(78)Scholar scholar, she worked for the scavengers appraising any ancient relics and texts that they unearthed in derelicts or vaults. "Interesting background." says Jett. "Most scav crews don't have their own appraiser."
"Most scav crews don't have a dreadnought." replies Bri.
09a - Prove or disprove the ghost sightings +1 (9/10)
"Right. Let's go back to the corridor and hope this works."
A short while later, the pair are back in the corridor where they had seen the ghost. Jett pulls out the pyramid and holds it out. After a moment, it starts giving off a faint glow. The ghostly figure materializes in front of them.
"You came back." says the spirit.
"Your name was Tanya McDuff". Says Jett.
Fulfill Your Vow(track)—9 vs 9|8 quests +1 (1/10) 09a - Prove or disprove the ghost sightingscompleted
"Tanya...McDuff. Yes. Tanya McDuff. I know who I am now. I know where I need to go."
"Before you go, what did you mean by 'Stay out of the vault'?" asks Jett.
Does Tanya know what it means? 50/50(87)No
"I told you, I don't know how this works." says Tanya. She is already dematerializing. "It just came to me when I saw you."
Tanya vanishes and Jett and Bri are alone in the corridor.
"What now?" asks Bri.
"We go and get our navigation data, then we get out of here."
"So the ghost was Tanya McDuff, of all people? Why was she haunting the ship?" The captain is looking at Tanya's personnel file. Several witnesses had confirmed that her picture matched the ghost they saw in the corridors.
"I'm not a ghost hunter, captain. Just a guy with a knack for finding things." says Jett.
"Well, you've certainly earned the data I promised you. I'll have it sent over to your ship."
07a - Get to Pyla +1 (2/10)
"While we're here, do you have any medical supplies that you're looking to trade?" asks Jett hopefully.
Do the scavengers have medical supplies? 50/50(28)Yes
"We do, one of the cargo bays is full of them."
"I don't suppose you'd consider giving us a few as a bonus? We did get rid of the ghost, not just find it."
Compel(Heart)—5 vs 9|2
"We never agreed on a bonus, but I'm open to trade" replies the wily captain. Supply:4 → 3 05a - Get medical supplies for The Snakepit +1 (6/10) They strike a deal and Jett feels like he didn't get gouged too badly.
Their business concluded, Jett and Bri head back to The Irony and undock from the scavenger dreadnought.
"Next stop, Port Koshiba!" says Jett as he punches in the route. The Irony blinks into FTL.