Begin a Session(100)Unforeseen aid is on the way or within reach
Aboard the wreck of the Kilby, a small holoprojector disk floated freely. Glinting in a ray of starlight that invaded the otherwise oppressive darkness of the room, the disc's slow rotation reveals a single word scratched into the metal of the disk's underside with a shaky hand: MOIRAI.
Around it, only death and silence remained.
The first warning buoy was a short ways behind the Silver Rose as its captain called his crew to the cockpit.
The little blue holo-sphere blinked to life, heralding Meg's presence. Bri was only a touch slower, walking in calmly with a large spanner over her shoulder and a oily cloth tucked into her belt.
"Are we there yet?" She quipped.
Ahead the massive spaceborne minefield loomed like a cloud of deadly dust and somewhere within it, their prize awaited. Gesturing at it, Gamble announced with a flourish "Feast your eyes, This is the exciting stuff right here!"
Bri was a little less enthusiastic about this progress, she offered a weak smile and turned her head to Meg
"Hey Meg, what can you tell us about this minefield?"
"Not much!"
She cheerfully replied. Just as Meg as about to let out an exasperated sigh, Meg continued.
"However, I do have some knowledge of spacefaring hazards. Generally speaking, most minefields are actually composed of multiple types of mines. The most commonly known mine associated with zero-G minefields is the classic contact mine."
Her holo blinked, now displaying a 3d rendering of a spheroid.
"The high explosive within is detonated whenever the mine successfully achieves a magnetic current with a passing ship. Shields are usually sufficient to maintain the distance required to keep the mine from going off."
With another blink of her holo, the spheroid now had small maneuvering thrusters.
"The next mine is sometimes called a seeker or chaser mine. While less powerful than a contact mine, seeker mines contain rudimentary heat-seeking protocols that activate on detecting firing weapons. Combined with their integrated maneuvering jets, this allows these mines to pursue anything larger than a snub fighter. They're generally used to discourage people from just shooting at a minefield to open a path."
The holo blinked a third time, the spheroid now had a small cylinder inside that seemed to glow.
"And of course who could forget the pulse mine. These mines will interact with any shields in range, exploding in a EMP burst sufficient to knock out most shields for a short time. Of course when deployed alongside seeker and contact mines, even a few moments is more than sufficient to doom the vulnerable vessel."
The two humans in the cockpit slowly turned their gaze from the holo to the thousands of mines ahead of them. Meg took the opportunity finish her presentation on a far too cheery note
"The truly impressive thing is, from the exterior they're so indistinguishable that without the code used to deploy them a ship will never know what mine they face until the mine is already upon them!"
The statement hung in the air as they processed the deluge of information. Gamble swallowed hard.
"Does this satisfy your request?"
Bri, stone-faced, uttered a deadpan "Yeah, that'll do."
The minefield remained suspended in space in front of them, passive and yet it began feeling more like a spider's web with each passing moment.
Bri turned to Gamble with a furrowed brow "Not gonna lie to you boss, I'm having second thoughts about this one."
Gamble met her gaze, a sympathetic expression on his face
"Look, I get that you're nervous. I am too, but I'm about to let our first adventure together be our last. Right now our first goal is just to find the Kilby. We can worry about getting to it after that."
Pulling up the data packet on his wrist computer, Gamble reviewed the data again. "It says here that salvagers found a partially destroyed SOS buoy not too far from here. It stands to reason that the crew of the Kilby would have sent out more than one. If we can just find another one we may be able to extract a point of origin from it and get our heading."
Bri was less than thrilled with this plan
"So we try to follow breadcrumbs that may or may not exist?"
Gamble arched an eyebrow
"Beats sailing straight into a very explosive unknown, don't you think?"
Bri grumbled, but eventually agreed with a curt "Fine."
Gamble set about navigating to the coordinates where the buoy was found as Bri turned to leave the cockpit again. Just before crossing the threshold she turned back and announced "But if I die out here I am soooo haunting your ass." before resuming her route back to engineering.
Gamble just chuckled and continued plotting his course.
Undertake an Expedition(Edge)—8 vs 5|5match Expedition into the Anaxes Minefield Expedition into the Anaxes Minefield +1 (2/10)
The first sweep of the thinner outskirts of the minefield was expected to be a long endeavor, but after only roughly a half hour of sweeping for a buoy Gamble was interrupted by Meg.
"Captain, I have something on scanners. The signal is extremely faint and corrupted, but I believe I've found another buoy."
Explore a Waypoint(Wits)—6 vs 9|1
Gamble wasted no time bringing the ship around, inching towards the signal with frequent checks to ensure no mines had snuck closer than he'd like. Once they finally reached visual range without incident Gamble found himself hunched forward in his seat, shoulders and back tensed. Releasing this tension, he took a deep breath and composed himself before calling Bri up from Engineering again.
He quickly relayed their circumstance and progress so far, to a somewhat nonplussed Bri.
"So if the signal is corrupt, I'm guessing we won't find much here in terms of data. Would you agree or is there something you might be able to do with this thing if we get it aboard?"
Bri shook her head sadly
"This thing is old tech. I could likely open it up and get it fit to broadcast again, but there's no unscrambling those 1's and 0's after this much time in the void. Frankly I'm shocked it's got any signal going out at this point."
Gamble nodded grimly, then his expression brightened and he offered
"Well at least we know we're narrowing our search area further? That's progress of a sort. Plus we can still use this buoy and its signal as a landmark for helping navigate and get back out the way we came."
Bri offered a halfhearted smile, eyes still on the buoy outside the viewport.
"Yeah, I suppose so. You'll forgive me if I don't breathe too easily just yet, I've done some risk salvaging in my day but I definitely don't make a habit of minefield tourism."
Gamble chuckled and sat back in his chair
"Tell you what, if I ever take on another minefield like this I'll happily let you sit it out."
Bri couldn't help but smile more broadly
"Deal."
Undertake an Expedition(Shadow)—6 vs 10|7 Pay the Price(58)Your equipment or vehicle malfunctions
A light began flashing on the pilot's console. Gamble turned to his companion, who was seated in the copilot's seat using the remote turrets to keep an eye out for more mines.
"Hey Bri? I'm seeing something's wrong with maneuvering thruster 8. I thought it was my imagination but it has been firing a bit sluggishly."
Bri looked up from her console with a frown. Glancing at the warning light, she stood up from her seat.
"Sounds like there could be a command processor issue. Come to a full stop until I give the all clear. Let me check on this, I'm not taking any chances that this gets worse when we need to avoid a mine drifting our way."
Gamble halted the Silver Rose's momentum, then watched her turn and leave the cockpit for engineering. He sighed, thinking that this would likely cost precious time he didn't have to waste.
Momentum:10 → 9 Underworld RetributionThe Starforged/Campaign Julius Gamble/Clocks/Underworld Retribution.md → 2/3
A while later Bri returned to the cockpit with good news. She plopped down a small metal box with a few connector-tipped wires sticking out of it. She smiled proudly.
"I couldn't fix it in place so I swapped in a spare. I'll tinker with this thing on the route home. That said, we should be back to systems nominal."
Gamble eagerly grabbed the flight controls before stopping and turning to Bri with an amused look on his face. In a faux commanding tone he asked
"Well done Chief Engineer Savela. Does this ship have your all clear to resume flight?"
Bri had a mildly unimpressed expression on her face as she shot back
"Aye captain, all clear. That said, seeing as I've apparently earned a promotion to chief engineer now, we should probably talk about getting me a minion- er, subordinate."
Gamble allowed himself to crack a smile and replaced the bravado in his voice with sarcasm
"Oh of course. I'll get right on that after we escape from here."
The two laughed, the tension lightened some.
Gamble, ready to get back to work, gestured at the co-pilot's seat with a pleased expression.
"To your station, please. We have a ship to find and death to outwit."
Undertake an Expedition(Wits)—8 vs 6|6match Expedition into the Anaxes Minefield +1 (4/10)
Meg announced her presence with a soft bing before her holo sphere appeared on the console in front of Gamble.
"Captain, I've found another faint signal, I believe it could be another buoy."
Gamble, eager to narrow their search area, simply stated
"Set course."
Explore a Waypoint(Wits)—4 vs 3|4 Momentum:9 → 10
As they approached the signal it quickly became clear it wasn't a buoy.
A pirate or drifter corvette had decided to press its luck, similarly to how the Silver Rose was doing. Unlike them, it hadn't been so fortunate: The ship itself was in four large chunks, with clouds of debris representing the missing parts that had been hit by mines.
While surveilling the grim spectacle, Gamble tried to avoid looking too closely at the bodies floating in the void.
"Pirates or not, this is rough. I wonder where they were going?"
He said to no one in particular.
Putting images of what his ship might look like if it met a similar fate out of his head, Gamble pressed on.
Undertake an Expedition(Wits)—5 vs 1|8 Expedition into the Anaxes Minefield +1 (6/10) Momentum:10 → 9
Progress was slow going due to the thickening of the mine density as the Silver Rose went deeper into the minefield. More than once Gamble had endured a close call with a mine that set his nerves on edge, but in the end they'd manage to avoid any injury to the ship or themselves.
Gamble took a moment to internally thank whoever laid out the mines for doing so to catch ships much larger than a corvette like the Silver Rose. Presumably the minelayers considered that a ship that small and fast would just go around with little delay, whereas a dreadnought, carrier, or capital class ship would actually be inconvenienced by the detour.
Regardless of the reasons, it was almost certainly the main reason they were still alive.
The radar pinged on his console to indicate a new contact, breaking Gamble from his reflective mood. Gamble moved to investigate without delay.
Explore a Waypoint(Wits)—7 vs 2|5 Expedition into the Anaxes Minefield +1 (8/10) Momentum:9 → 10
Gamble's face broke into a grin. They'd found a buoy and it was actually working!
"Bri! Look at this!"
Bri looked up from her console, following Gamble's extended finger to see the SOS beacon on the comms console. Her serious demeanor was quickly replaced by relief.
"Finally! I was beginning to lose hope we'd find anything"
Inwardly, Gamble agreed with her. Outwardly, he radiated confidence as he replied
"It was only a matter of time, we were either going to find this buoy or the Kilby itself."
She waved his statement off
"Yeah yeah, I'm sure you had it allllll figured out."
"I mean, we got here didn't we?"
He quipped back.
Bri rolled her eyes
"Brag once we're out of here safely. Till then, I'm keeping my wits about me."
Gamble shrugged, sensing this was a battle he wasn't about to win here and now.
"Meg, please copy nav-data from the buoy and set our navigation heading appropriately."
"Aye captain." Came the cool voice of Meg over the speakers in the cockpit.
Undertake an Expedition(Wits)—8 vs 4|3
The radar saw it long before Gamble or Bri did: A huge signature in the black.
The spotlights from the Silver Rose struggled to penetrate the gloom, but when they suddenly found themselves in a bubble that was largely free of mines, they knew they had arrived.
As the Kilby slowly faded into view, it stuck Gamble just how vast the ship was. Sweeping the lights across it made it clear the ship was probably two or three times the size of the Silver Rose. Gamble puzzled in his head: This was the kind of ship the minefield had been set to deter, so why did it enter in the first place?
Sweeping around the derelict, Gamble examined it from every angle.
The superstructure of the ship was in good condition given how long it had been out here and the kind of trauma it had endured, but Gamble's eyes were drawn to the gaping hole in its side. He noted that much of its external armoring had blast marks and fractures scarring them, no matter their facing.
Using the context clues he had gathered so far, Gamble thought the ship looked like it had plowed straight into the minefield at some speed. And judging by the bubble of empty space around the wreck somebody must have been alive and trying to clear a way out after the engines failed, but either they set off a mine that blew the hull open like that or they ran out of supplies before help could arrive.
Finally, Gamble broke the awed silence that had hung over the cockpit since the Kilby was sighted.
"That's one hell of a big ship..."
Bri shot him a look and sassed him mercilessly
"Really? That's all you've got to say about this? We find a centuries old forgotten clan ship that no one knows is here and all you have to offer is that it's big?"
Gamble protested in kind, gesturing at the ship as he did so
"What? Being knowledgeable about starships is your thing, I'm still on my first real space adventure after being planetside all my life. Seriously though, when the data packet said it was a dreadnought I knew it would be big but I didn't quite grasp the sheer scale of this thing. Can you really blame me?"
Bri's expression softened a little and she took a conciliatory tone
"No...and I wouldn't have even had the nerve to try something like this for my first job either. Sorry if that was a bit harsh."
Gamble waved away her apology
"Don't worry about it, we're both stressed and it admittedly does sound kind of silly in hindsight. Let's just focus on what comes next as a team, alright?"
Bri nodded determination plain to see on her face.
"Sure. I don't think we have a better way of getting on board than the hole in the side of the ship. In theory I could slice my way through an airlock but that would take a lot longer."
Unlikely(72)No
Gamble nodded, he hadn't seen anything more promising either.
"Alright, lets suit up and get moving then. The sooner we get in there the sooner we can get out of here."
He paused, then added with a grin
"Hopefully a little richer while we're at it."
The two made their way to the airlock, assembling supplies and tools they might need aboard the derelict. Of particular note was a small backpack power generator for powering individual terminals and eventually securing the crew manifest.
Gamble checked and double checked his maneuvering rig, wanting to be sure he could rely on it in the zero-G environment aboard the derelict in cases where his magnetic boots wouldn't suffice.
Secure an Advantage(Heart)—9 vs 3|2
The duo now prepped and ready, Gamble ordered Meg to bring the ship as close to the breach in the derelict as was safe.
The airlock hissed, and their mission began.
End a Session
Develop Your Relationship
Reach a Milestone Recover the Crew Manifest +1 (4/10)