Julius Gamble#Backstory
Become A Legend
The atmosphere of Taraxas falls away behind the ship and at last the stars are in reach. They fill the viewport like thousands of grains of sand scattered across a massive black canvas.
"Wow..."
Seated alone in the pilot's seat, Julius allows himself a moment to really soak in the moment. The shiver that runs through him is equal parts awe and relief at the lack of anyone tailing his newly acquired ship.
"They say it's big but it's hard to appreciate from the ground." He mutters to himself.
He startles as a cold female voice emanates around him
"I always rather thought so, though you're the first on board to admit as much."
Julius quickly scans the area, looking for and quickly spotting the speakers the voice was coming through. He fingers the grip of ones of his pistols as composes himself and demands "Identify yourself."
The reply is calm and measured "I am MEGARA, this vessel's onboard artificial intelligence. I might ask the same of you, as I have no record of a transfer of command."
A small blue hologram depicting a hollow sphere appeared on the piloting console, it pulsed to the voice as it spoke: "I'm afraid if you are an unauthorized pilot I will be forced to vent the atmosphere, my protocols on this are clear." The holo briefly flashed orange, like a glow cat making a threat display.
Compel(Heart)—8 vs 3|2 Momentum:2 → 3
"Now now, let's not be hasty. I happen to have just been in the employ of Nix Cargor and I've been fortunate enough to have this fine vessel of as my parting souvenir." Julius shifts in his seat, not really sure where to look to make some form of eye contact, eventually settling on just treating the little hologram as the AI's face.
He continues, not giving his conversational partner time to linger on his last claim as he taps a small metal cylinder inserted into the console in front of him. "I do have the proper ignition key, so logically it would indicate I'm telling the truth. Do your protocols tell you to space good company too?"
The silence lingers as the blue holo continue to float above the pilot's console, pulsing faintly and casting the otherwise pale cockpit in an azure light. After what felt like an eternity, the voice returns.
"No, they don't. Very well, I am at your service. Welcome aboard The Yonder Star, captain...?"
Barely containing a sigh of relief, he replied "Julius Gamble. You can just call me Julius when it's the two of us. Mind if I call you Meg?"
"That is acceptable. Thank you Julius." The holo-orb bobbed slightly, as if bowing.
"Of course. Though I do have a question if you don't mind."
"Please, ask away. My databanks are at your disposal." As if to emphasize the point, the blue holo-orb disappeared, replaced by various charts and data-feeds of numbers Julius lacked the context to place, but understood were meant to be impressive.
Julius sat back in his seat, allowing himself to fully relax again for the first time since the AI had made itself known. He replied with a carefully measured tone "I intend to use this vessel for my own purposes and make a name for myself. To do this we need to put its old life and associations behind it. Tell me, how would I rechristen it and wipe the slate clean?"
The answer was quickly supplied:
"I can reconfigure the vessel's transponder, but only to a degree. You can rename this vessel and its allied ship categories without issue, but the associated hull ID number is set and cryptographically locked by the manufacturer to discourage theft. If you truly wish to begin again, you'll need to either contact the manufacturer or find someone capable of breaking the cryto-key used to encrypt it."
Julius took a moment to consider his options, then withdrew a small blade from within one sleeve. It despite its polished surface, the sheen was weak as though it was drawing more light into it that a regular blackened blade. He held it tightly, and announced with more confidence than he felt "Very well. For my first act as captain of this vessel, I swear I will see it reborn for the better."
Secure A New Hull ID
Swear an Iron Vow(Heart)—5 vs 2|5 Momentum:3 → 4
Underworld Retribution(0/The Starforged/Campaign Julius Gamble/Clocks/Underworld Retribution.md)
Tucking the blade away again, he opened up the comms menu and keyed in a private communicator number he had long since memorized.
- Oracle
- Character Oracles / Character Name / Callsign
- 56
- Mimic
- Oracle
- Character Oracles / First Look
- 93
- Wiry
- Oracle
- Character Oracles / Initial Disposition
- 67
- Desperate
Vega "Mimic" Khan, his old boss. Well, oldest old boss. She was an information broker, a hardass old lady, and fairer boss than most on Taraxus.
The holo sphere winked out, then the holo blinked to life again, showing the face of a wiry woman in her late 50's to early 60's, with greying hair and an expression of annoyance that quickly turned to surprise.
"Julius? Why are you calling from Nix's pleasure ship?"
Julius grinned as he replied "Good to see you too Vega. There's been a bit of a change in management around here. I'm actually calling about this beauty of a ship. You see, she needs a new hull ID and I knew you'd be the one to solve that."
Vega's expression shifted from surprise to one of practiced cynicism. "And what exactly makes you think I know someone who could help with that? Much less that I'd stick my neck out for you where stealing from Nix freaking Cargor is involved?"
Compel(Heart)—4 vs 4|6
Pay the Price Underworld RetributionThe Starforged/Campaign Julius Gamble/Clocks/Underworld Retribution.md → 0/1
"It's okay, Cargor is...busy right now. Somebody stirred up the disgruntled "customers" of his protection service and his security system wasn't quite fully functional when they arrived. I left shortly after they stormed the gate. He might not even be on this side of the dirt by now."
Vega frowned and shook her head, unconvinced.
"Just because you can outrun trouble doesn't mean I can. Life's hard enough without pissing off powerful people. I'm barely making ends meet and business has been tailing off for a while." Her expression softened slightly as she added "For what it's worth, I do hope you can safely escape, I just can't be seen to be a part of it."
Julius' shoulders slumped slightly; he'd been hoping this would go better. "Alright Vega, I understand. Best of luck leveraging the chaos but I gotta get moving."
Vega smiled sadly and replied "No worries, good luck out there kid. Hope you find what you're looking for." before waving the connection closed.
Julius remained slumped in his seat for a minute or two, contemplating his options. He quickly sat upright as something occurred to him: Vega said she couldn't be seen to be helping him. Which meant she still could have the information he needs even if she couldn't provide it to him outright!
"Julius? Everything okay?" Meg prompted him.
Julius chuckled as he leaned forward and began tapping on the comms console. He "Vega was always a careful one, it'll take longer but at least she'll be safe from retribution. I used to work for her, I can't help but wonder if my old credentials might have been reinstated by sheer happenstance."
A quick query to a nearby info-archive tower returned the answer to that question
Likely(36)Yes
Information scrolled across the screen and Julius smiled. He didn't know what he was looking for yet, but at least he could find it. "Meg, mind helping me sift the data? Time is very much of the essence. We're looking for someone who knows their way around a ship, ideally one that has experience scrapping or salvaging so they're no stranger to rehabilitating a bad HID."
"Of course, beginning my search now."
The cockpit was silent, aside from the small beeps from Julius tapping on contact profiles and the hum of the ship. Julius tapped his foot anxiously as he perused the data, searching for his needle in a haystack of irrelevant profiles.
50/50(11)Yes
While Julius was pondering an auto mechanic by the name of Mitt Skelti, Meg piped up.
"I believe I have found a suitable candidate. Brianna Savela, currently serving as a starship engineer aboard a vessel known as the Work Ethic. Her file indicates a history of salvaging and few allies. She may be easy to poach as a result."
Julius heartened at this news. "That sounds like a good start, where do we find her?"
Planetary Class(88)Rocky World Outlands(80)Orbital settlement
"The last known location of the Work Ethic is from a docking log at Cyrus Station, it's an orbital station over a rocky planetoid designated Iron Mesa. It's not too far from here."
Julius swiped away the comms console holo, turning back towards to controls and taking hold of the flight sticks. Seeing the little blue holo-orb now back on the dash, Julius addressed it with a practiced voice of command "Then what are we waiting for? We have our heading, set course for Cyrus Station!"
"Aye aye, captain." The little blue orb chirped, as Meg set the nav computer and locked in the destination.
Set a Course(Supply)—10 vs 9|3 Momentum:4 → 5
The Yonder Star's engines lurched to life, stars becoming streaks as it sped away from Taraxus.
Once the initial jump inertia lurch had subsided, Julius left his seat to stretch his legs and explore the ship further.
The ship is a stately one, clean and elegant. The exterior is a polished silver durachrome, a durable but quite expensive imported metal that was rare to see on Taraxus. Inside the ship pragmatism had tempered the more extravagant whims of its previous owner, so while the the ship was spacious, luxurious, and full of high quality fixtures, nothing too ostentatious was present.
Julius made his way to the captains quarters, only briefly getting sidetracked staring out viewports and admiring the kitchen -his kitchen- on the way.
The captain's quarters was clearly meant to impress. A large wardrobe was accessible along one wall, full of flashy, attention grabbing clothes of fine make and varying styles, which quickly prompted Julius to mentally explore what he thought he could pull off. A gunmetal grey desk and chair occupied one wall of the cabin, not recessed into the wall like a crewman's quarters might have to save space, but jutting out from it as if to call attention to itself. A bed that could comfortably fit three of Julius was set against the far wall, was adorned in furs he didn't recognize but was confident were expensive. Above the large bed was a viewscreen quietly cycling through various what appeared to be pictures of Nix Cargor on various cruises and vacations.
Falling onto the bed, Darius called out to Meg.
"Hey Meg, could you do me a favor and destroy any trace of the photos playing above me?"
A small blue orb blipped to life on the table beside him.
"Of course. What would you like displayed instead?"
Julius thought for a moment, then tapped his wrist computer a few times.
"Run this file for me, I'm in the mood for...inspiration."
The orb blinked out again as the playback began. Ancient instruments began playing to a rising crescendo as the title "The Legend of the Silver Rose" faded in on screen in front of a beautiful sunrise.
End a Session Reach a Milestone Secure A New Hull ID +1 (3/10)