Previous Entry: 02 - Rushdown - Hunting down Ironsails
Begin a Session
Rushdown has just fulfilled a mission for Florian Angel to stop a band of Ironsail Raiders from attacking civilians on their way to Tranquilo. Although the mission was successful, Florian was disappointed that Rushdown let the raiders live.
Begin a Session(50)External factors create new danger, urgency, or importance for a quest
Wynne Barrow is standing in Butcher's office in Minami City. She represents the Minami faction.
"So, Butcher, what brings you to Minami City?" she asks.
"The Red Suns are doing well for themselves, we're a growing organization. We're looking to expand into this sector."
"Interesting. Well, we may have some work for you. A group of rebels oppose the powers that be in Minami. Nothing major, isolated attacks on our ships mostly, a few raids on some of our other bases in the sector. They have no hope of succeeding and there's an information blackout regarding them so most of our residents have never heard of them."
"That doesn't sound like anything serious, surely your own forces should be able to take care of them?" says Butcher.
"Well yes, if we could find them. They are rather elusive, you see. There's an open bounty on information regarding them, and I thought the Suns might be interested in chasing it. You wouldn't be the only people looking, of course."
"I'll have my people track them down. I'll let you know as soon as we find something," says Butcher.
"Do be careful, they're quite well informed and if they learn you're working with us you might end up as targets yourself."
"We can handle ourselves," says Butcher, his grin hidden from view by his facemask.
Momentum:9 → 10
Rushdown is still on his mission to scope out the major settlements in the sector. He decides to head into Tranquilo City to get a feel for the place. He looks around Southside, the entertainment district by the spaceport, before heading to the main strip.
Does he run into Scullcrusher's gang? Unlikely(52)No
Southside is full of dive bars, with drunk spacers being loud and obnoxious wherever you look. The strip is a stark contrast, resplendent casinos and entertainment halls vie for attention under the watchful eye of the Angel's enforcers. Anyone making a scene is swiftly and discreetly dealt with.
01 - Visit the three key settlements in Ashitaba +1 (6/10)
When Rushdown gets back to the Rude Awakening, there's a Red Suns messenger waiting for him at the ship. "Message from Butcher, sir. He says you're to drop everything and head back to Minami City."
"Trouble?" asks Rushdown.
"I think it's a job."
Rushdown enters Butcher's office.
"Ah, Rushdown, just the man I wanted to see." says Butcher.
"The messenger said something about a job?"
"Yes, you can consider your previous mission completed, I want all your attention on this."
Fulfill Your Vow(track)—1 vs 6|5 01 - Visit the three key settlements in Ashitabacompleted quests +2 (0/10) 00 - Connection Butcher +1 (2/10)
"Understood. What's the job?" replies Rushdown. Butcher gets him up to speed on the rebel attacks on Minami ships and bases.
"You're going undercover. From sensor readings you'll look like a Minami transport, nobody will be able to see you're a warship until they're well within weapons range. You're to fly between Minami outposts on the edge of the system until the rebels ambush you. Try and take one alive for questioning, preferably an officer."
"It seems like a bit of a long shot. What if they don't take the bait?" asks Rushdown.
"Our intelligence officers are hard at work, they should have a lead by the time you finish your patrol."
"I hope they do." Rushdown takes out his black iron blade once again. "I vow to patrol the sector until we get ambushed or run out of places to look."
Swear an Iron Vow(Heart)—7 vs 7|9
Using Bannersworn to reroll both Challenge Dice
1d10→6 1d10→4
7 vs 6 & 4, Strong Hit
03 - Patrol the Minami outposts until ambushed 00 - Connection Butcher +1 (3/10) bonds +1 (0/10)
"Very good. Good luck out there," says Butcher.
Rushdown returns to the Rude Awakening and instructs Rae to make the necessary changes to the ship's ID, then the corvette takes off and makes its way to the edge of the sector.
The first leg of the journey is taken at max speed; they're not expecting any trouble this close to Minami City.
Undertake an Expedition(Edge)—5 vs 5|3 03 - Minami Outpost Patrol +1 (2/10) 03 - Patrol the Minami outposts until ambushed +1 (2/10)
Spaceborne Peril(13)Dust clouds imperil navigation or conceal foes
They come out of FTL in a dense cloud of silicate dust. "I can't get any readings through this stuff, we're flying blind out here," says Scout, the navigator.
"No comms either," says Janus, the communications officer.
"How big is the cloud? Can we maneuver out of it?" asks Rushdown.
Is it one big cloud or a cluster of smaller clouds? Yes = big cloud 50/50(93)No
"Hard to say," says Scout. "We could try moving forward slowly and seeing if we come out of it."
"Do it," says Rushdown.
The Rude Awakening slowly moves forward and after a few minutes comes out into open space.
"There are silicate patches all over the place," says Scout, "We can avoid them but anything could be hiding out here."
"Keep your eyes on the sensors until we're ready to jump," replies Rushdown.
Is anything hiding in the dust clouds? 50/50(97)No
The crew remain vigilant, but nothing untoward happens before the next jump.
"Okay, we're far enough from Minami now that something might happen out here," says Rushdown, "Stay alert on the next jump and keep your eyes on the scanners."
Undertake an Expedition(Wits)—9 vs 2|8 03 - Minami Outpost Patrol +1 (4/10) 03 - Patrol the Minami outposts until ambushed +1 (4/10)
Outlands(18)Planet
Planetary Class(33)Grave World
Outlands(2)None
They come out of warp in orbit of a planet. Scout scans the surface. "It's a grave world. There was a great civilization here once, but there's no sign of life."
"Any signs of Minami outposts? Or rebel forces?" asks Rushdown.
"Nothing."
"Then we wait for the drive to recharge and try again."
Undertake an Expedition(Wits)—8 vs 10|1 03 - Minami Outpost Patrol +1 (6/10) 03 - Patrol the Minami outposts until ambushed +1 (6/10)
Spaceborne Peril(30)Important device fails or malfunctions
Outlands(88)Dense nebula cloud
They come out of warp in a thick, foggy nebula cloud.
"We have a problem," comes Rae's voice over comms. The chief engineer is talking from the engine room.
"What is is?" asks Rushdown.
"Our fake ID has stopped working - if the rebels see us they'll know we're a Red Suns warship."
"Can you fix it?"
"I can try, but it might take a while - spoofing an ID isn't easy under ideal conditions, never mind in the field."
"Do your best."
Does Rae fix the ID before the e-drive recharges? 50/50(80)No
"I'll get started on it but I doubt I'll be done before the drive recharges."
"Then we'll jump without it."
Undertake an Expedition(Wits)—9 vs 3|8 03 - Minami Outpost Patrol +1 (8/10) 03 - Patrol the Minami outposts until ambushed +1 (8/10)
Outlands(25)Planet
Planetary Class(31)Grave World
Outlands(83)None
They come out of FTL in the orbit of a planet. "Another grave world," says Scout. "There must have been some kind of empire in this sector thousands of years ago."
"Any Minami settlements? Any rebels?"
"Nothing. I'm beginning to get the feeling that they're not coming."
"Same here."
Does Rae fix the ID? 50/50(2)Yes
Undertake an Expedition(Wits)—9 vs 10|4 03 - Minami Outpost Patrol +1 (10/10) 03 - Patrol the Minami outposts until ambushed +1 (10/10)
Spaceborne Peril(11)Contagion or illness threatens to take hold
"Captain, this is Dr. Adler in sickbay. I've got three crewmembers down here with some kind of parasite in their stomachs."
"Can you deal with it?"
"I can but I'm not sure what it is or how it spreads. We'll have to check each crew member thoroughly."
"We'll check everyone before they disembark when we get back to Minami, but for now we're on a mission. Quarantine those three in sickbay and any others that you find."
"Understood, captain."
"Well, this strategy clearly isn't working. We're supposed to be patrolling Minami settlements, but all we've found are grave worlds and dust clouds. We're heading back to Minami to see if Butcher has any leads we can actually use."
Finish an Expedition(track)—3 vs 10|8 discoveries +1 (0/10)
Story Complication(58)Time pressure suddenly increases
"Yeah, why didn't we find any Minami outposts?" asks Hornet, the pilot. "We were supposed to be going from outpost to outpost, right? But all we found were grave worlds."
"How well do you know this Butcher?" asks Murphy, the security officer.
"I only met him when we arrived at Minami," says Rushdown.
Janus pulls up Butcher's ID photo on the viewscreen.
Does the picture show a man? 50/50(68)No
"Is that her?" she says.
"The Butcher I spoke to was a man," says Rushdown. "I never saw his face, he was always wearing a ballistic mask. We need to get back to Minami right away."
Fulfill Your Vow(track)—3 vs 10|10match quests +1 (1/10) 00 - Connection Butcher +1 (4/10)
Set a Course(Supply)—9 vs 3|1
They arrive back at Minami city and Rushdown and Murphy race to Butcher's office, and go inside.
Is Butcher there? 50/50(88)No
The office has been cleared out - whoever was using it has decided that time is up for whatever plot they're hatching. Butcher's skull-emblazoned ballistic mask is lying on the desk, a clear sign for Rushdown that he was done with this persona.
"So who was this guy?" asks Murphy. "And what happened to the real Butcher?"
"Your guess is as good as mine. Turn this place over for clues."
Gather Information(Wits)—5 vs 6|6match Momentum:2 → 4
Murphy starts searching through drawers while Rushdown taps at the vidscreen on the desk. "Oh, you are not going to believe this," he says.
"You found something?" replies Murphy.
"The fake Butcher forgot to wipe the terminal. It isn't even password protected. We have them."
End a Session Momentum:4 → 5
03 - Minami Outpost Patrolcompleted 03 - Patrol the Minami outposts until ambushedcompleted
Next Entry: 04 - Rushdown - Former Glory