Just One Run (Inactive)

Game Master Jimbles the Mediocre


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Appearance

"You can just call me Kragga. I don't care for formal titles," the half-orc says to Cranston. "My nature is one of constant change and evolution. I can't get bogged down with labels."


She offers one of her hands in return while fiddling with a small puzzle box in another 2 "A fair question! Ziyad. You see, at the software level, AI modules like Clive are quite infantile after first boot. They are designed, with experience, to crawl and branch like vines covering stone."

"There is value in these organic tendrils, the way an old man might navigate a problem compared to a teenager is quite different. In other words, I would prefer to treat the symptoms rather than begin afresh with a clone."

Her eyes squint as she takes an introspective tone "Our natural evolution has given our minds the ability to do such maintenance on our own, but AI technology still holds the need for stewards such as us. May we be merciful!"

---

In the shared cabin, Ziyad felt uncomfortable with the bizarre alien ritual and quickly went back to her station after packing a few things.


As the crew takes their positions on the bridge, Captain Ross strides to her chair and takes a seat, briefly surveying her crew before speaking. "Now, I know you've met each other just hours ago. I know we're about to take a rust bucket with more mods than original plating and careen across the system. But I also know that each of you is a consummate professional, and that you will execute your tasks to the high-"


"I am pleased to report that I am back online, Captain. Thanks to Science Officer Ziyad's efforts, my distributed error rate has been reduced by approximately 93% and my natural language parser is operating at 224% of the last benchmarked position. Additionally, I find it prudent to note that the galley is precipitously low on powdered sugar, clarified butter, and plastic explosive material," Clive chimes in with a synthetic, but not unpleasant, tone, notably different from his previous mechanical chirping.


The Captain sighs, rubbing the bridge of her nose with a rueful grin on her face. "That's the Clive I'm more familiar with.

"Well, the grand speech is over. Ziyad - get us clearance for take-off. Alfin - as soon as we have clearance, get us flying and prepare to jump to Drift. Clive already has our destination coordinates.

"The rest of you - keep on your toes. No idea how well this heap will keep itself together."


Dead Suns: Moriko's Legacy | Temple of the Twelve

Getting clearance for take-off is a matter a few words, and mere moments later the Inscrutable is soaring through the Armada, passing ships large and small. It appears that Mills' efforts worked (for now), as no alarms, warnings, or ominous bangs sound off. A few minutes later, Alfin guides the ship to an appropriate location for jumping to Drift and shuts the thrusters off, allowing the Drift engine to spool up. At the Captain's command, he flips the switch, shifting between planes and placing the Inscrutable in a void of darkness and swirling color.


"Drift jump successful, Captain. We will arrive in low Akiton orbit in..." In-System Drift Jump: 1d6 ⇒ 4 "...96 hours. All systems are nominal."


"Well, I believe that calls for a drink! Clive, pour a round of stiff ones in the galley. As for the rest of you, you know your responsibilities, and Clive has a backlog for each of you, if you get bored. Relax while you can - next briefing is eight hours before jump!"


Game Concluded

"A stiff drink sounds like just the thing, right now," Cranston remarked without taking his eyes off the displays showing the state of the drift drive.

"Lucille, keep an eye on the secondary drift coolant pump," he says aloud, even though the drone is still aft. "There's some fluttering in coolant levels."

The man looks up. "Clive? You're not playing with the drift coolant, are you?"


Cranston Mills wrote:
"Clive? You're not playing with the drift coolant, are you?"

"I have not altered any settings in the drift circulation system. I know 537 games, but none of them involve coolant. Perhaps valve B134d is the culprit - I'm detecting voltage drop at the solenoid.

"Perhaps you could teach me the coolant game at a later time? I keep a repository of new games. I am quite good at the "surprise false alarm" game, but I have not yet figured out a winning strategy in the "quiet, you dumb bot" game."


Game Concluded

"B134d? Where the hell is ... ," Cranston mutters in annoyance as he digitally cycles through the stored schematics. "Ah, there it is. That could do it. Lucille? Check the valve solenoid on B134d ... the blue one."

"Thank you, Clive. Much appreciated," the Engineer says as he disconnects from the console and proceeds to the galley for the aforementioned drink.


Ziyad will fire up the short range scanners for any peculiarities in the physics of the Drift, piping the display to Select with a quick hack before joining Cranston for the drink. "So, ever been on a ship like this?"


Appearance

Kragga heads to the galley as well, grabbing her drink and sitting across the room from the others. She eyes her fellow crewmates, sizing them up but saying little unless spoken to.


Game Concluded

Mills looks thoughtful as he sips his drink.

"I've served on two ships that were close to the Inscrutable in size, but nothin' with the exact same configuration," he says with a hint of nostalgia. "The X-556 was a cargo carrier just a little bigger than this one - not as many weapons though. I was recruited as the engineer, but the owner decided that she wanted to work on the ship instead of just ownin' her. And since all she knew was engineering she put me in the pilot's seat."

"That was a stormy couple o' years," the older man says with a smile as the memories fill his thoughts.

He shakes himself out of his reverie and continues. "The other was The Plaything. That was a luxury boat, pure and simple. Owned and captained by Captain Ross Major. Yessirandthankyousir." Cranston rolls his eyes. "The man didn't know one thing about starships, but he knew that someone with his money should most definitely have one. And by the gods, if he was going to own a ship then he certainly was going to captain her."

He takes another sip of his drink.

"I left that one about two months ago," he continues. "The pile of skittermander droppings decided he wanted to show off to some of his friends and try a power-slide right after dropping out of drift." Mills shakes his head. "Blew half the thruster compressor lines. I spent the next twelve hours cleaning up hydraulic fluid from the entire engineering department."

He drains his glass.

"The bastard had the nerve and come to me and complain that I had just ruined the teakwood floors he'd just spent a ridiculous amount of credits on."

Cranston looks around at the others.

"Who in their right mind puts teakwood floors in engineering?"


Male Halfling Ace Pilot Operative 3 | SP 18/18 HP 20/20 RP 5/6 | EAC 16 KAC 17 | F +2 R +9 W +4 (+2 vs. fear) | Init +7 Perc +9 | Speed 40

Alflin stares at the drift for a moment, mindlessly watching the colors go by. He then shakes his head and joins the other crew.

Cranston Mills wrote:
"Who in their right mind puts teakwood floors in engineering?"

"Someone who's not an engineer, I'd guess.

I try to stay out of the employ of those over-rich types when I can. Not worth the trouble."


Game Concluded
Alflin wrote:
Cranston Mills wrote:
"Who in their right mind puts teakwood floors in engineering?"

"Someone who's not an engineer, I'd guess.

I try to stay out of the employ of those over-rich types when I can. Not worth the trouble."

"Yeah, well, I needed the job," Mills said, "And he did pay really well. I probably would have suffered through it, but he got this idea that humans really didn't belong in Engineering - that was an android's place."

He shook his head.

"As annoying as he was, he was nowhere near the worst boss I've ever had."


Dragonkin Mercenary Soldier 3 | SP 0/27 HP 7/27 RP 1/4 | EAC 17 KAC 19 | F +4 R +3 W +3 (+2 vs paralysis, Toughness bonuses, Immune to sleep) | Init +10 Perc +4 (low-light vision, darkvision 60 feet) | Speed 30 feet Fly 20 feet | Reach 10 feet

Upon seeing that there are no threats around the ship, Ranif will head to the galley in order to meet up with the rest of the crew. However, he will respectfully decline the offered stiff drink, instead ordering a glass of water only. He will simply sit down, drink his water, and read a eBook on his wrist-pad.


"Attention, crew. Attention crew. We are ... EIGHT ... hours from Drift jump. Please report to the bridge at T-1 hours for briefing."

Wrap up whatever you care to and report to the bridge when ready.


Appearance

The last few days were uneventful, giving Kragga time to reflect on her past experiences and wonder at what changes the future held. She performed the duties assigned to her, helping to ensure that the rest of the crew were diligent in their own tasks.

As they near their destination, the half-orc stands on the bridge, looking out the view ports at the swirling colors of the Drift.


Ziyad had spent the last few hours debugging a new real-time compiler to speed up future work on Clive, but it wasn't quite ready by the time of the bridge call. She had been getting a bit anxious and was making simple syntax mistakes.


As everybody takes their positions on the bridge, Captain Ross activates a holographic projection over the ship's primary viewport. Smaller copies of the same image appear at each crewmember's console.

"Alright, sharpen those ears! Here's our exit point."

An image of Akiton, the red planet, springs into view, with a Drift jump point in low orbit glowing softly.

"As soon as we leave Drift, we're headed on an immediate atmospheric entry trajectory with a landing zone... here."

The hologram zooms and tilts, highlighting a spot on the surface near the edge of the southern ice cap. From an orbital perspective, the terrain looks rough, like sandpaper.

"We'll be meeting up with an old associate of mine by the name of Cattergorn - he has some refurbished mining equipment for us. I know that may not sound exciting, but this is actually some rare, out-of-production hardware, and I've already got a client lined up.

"And keep your eyes open! This is bandit country. They don't get too many fly-overs, so expect to be noticed.

"Any questions?"


She runs through the checklist for her environmental suit before loading up her needler pistol and stashing it to the side. The rest of her gear she packs into a small cylinder on her belt. "Bandits, eh?"

Are there any small arms in the armory she could take with?


Game Concluded
NPC Captain Ross wrote:

"And keep your eyes open! This is bandit country. They don't get too many fly-overs, so expect to be noticed.

"Any questions?"[/b]

"Just one," Mills said with a raised hand. "The last time you worked with this Cattergorn, what kind of terms did you leave on?"


Dead Suns: Moriko's Legacy | Temple of the Twelve
Ziyad wrote:
Are there any small arms in the armory she could take with?

Yup - current contents of the armory:

GM Jimbles wrote:

Aside from whatever gear the current crew has deposited, the armory contains a fast charging station, a pair of dusty tactical semi-auto pistols (no ammo), and a tactical spear with multiple chips in the spearhead.

Additionally, several new boxes of gear sit unopened, presumably deposited by the ground crew. They contain:

  • 200 rounds of small arm ammo
  • 150 rounds of longarm / sniper ammo
  • 50 rounds of heavy ammo
  • 4 standard batteries
  • 6 frag grenade I
  • 4 holy fusion seals

Anyone can take whatever they wish from the armory, just be sure to make a note of it.


Cranston Mills wrote:
"The last time you worked with this Cattergorn, what kind of terms did you leave on?"

"Well enough. We working on the same crew for a while, but when our big windfall came through, we went different ways. I invested the cash in a business, and he bought a big rock in the ass-end of nowhere. Never really kept in touch."

Captain Ross looks into the holographic map thoughtfully. "I would bet credits to creepers he got fat."


Appearance

Kragga will grab 20 rounds of longarm ammo for her crossbolter and affix a holy fusion seal to it in anticipation of a fight.


Dead Suns: Moriko's Legacy | Temple of the Twelve
Kragga wrote:
Kragga will grab 20 rounds of longarm ammo for her crossbolter and affix a holy fusion seal to it in anticipation of a fight.

Crossbolters don't fire bullets, they fire arrows. My bad for forgetting the fact that you had a crossbolter, though, so let's pretend there were arrows in the armory.

After affixing the fusion seal, Kragga's crossbolter begins to change colors, gradually showing a bright enamel coating trimmed with gold and a golden sunburst on the stock framing a silver sword that points down towards the business end of the weapon.


Game Concluded

As the crew members prepped for the mission point, Cranston summoned Lucille to the armory.

"Now remember what I told you," he said to her as he made minor adjustments to her mounted small arms. "This only comes out if you intend to use it - no showin' off, ok?"

The hovering drone responded with a series of questioning beeps.

"I'll tell you when it's time," the man answered as he loaded the weapon. "I don't imagine there'll be any need for it today, though."

Cranston will take an extra charged battery, 30 additional rounds of small arms ammunition, and two of the frag grenades.


Ziyad grabs the chipped tactical spear, and executes a subroutine in her AI to catalogue the experience as they disembark.


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Male Halfling Ace Pilot Operative 3 | SP 18/18 HP 20/20 RP 5/6 | EAC 16 KAC 17 | F +2 R +9 W +4 (+2 vs. fear) | Init +7 Perc +9 | Speed 40

Alflin gets his weapons and gear from his quarters then heads to the piloting station to get ready for atmospheric entry.
"Akiton's atmosphere is always the worst..."
Starfinder is much more science fantasy than science fiction, but science stuff is always fun. :)


Dragonkin Mercenary Soldier 3 | SP 0/27 HP 7/27 RP 1/4 | EAC 17 KAC 19 | F +4 R +3 W +3 (+2 vs paralysis, Toughness bonuses, Immune to sleep) | Init +10 Perc +4 (low-light vision, darkvision 60 feet) | Speed 30 feet Fly 20 feet | Reach 10 feet

Quickly retrieving and donning his armor frm his bunk, Ranif will make sure that he has his two spare batteries on him. Passing back through the armory, he will grab both his dragonglaive and his pulsecaster rifle, making sure that their internal batteries are both fully charged, as well as a frag grenade. Additionally, he will grab one of the holy fusion seals and affix it to his dragonglaive, knowing that it is useful to have any advantage that you can in a conflict. He will then return to his station, making sure that everything is ready to go if it is needed.
"Well, I have never personally been to Akiton, but I have heard some stories about it. Most of them were not good."


Dead Suns: Moriko's Legacy | Temple of the Twelve
Alflin wrote:
"Akiton's atmosphere is always the worst..."

The journey down is indeed the worst. The combination of buffeting crosswinds at hypersonic speeds and a thin atmosphere create difficult conditions that confuse the thrusters' auto-spoolers.

Alfin's Piloting check (ship bonus, Clive bonus): 1d20 + 15 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 15 + 2 + 1 = 38

Luckily, Alfin quickly switches to manual spooling and provides a (relatively) quiet ride in.

Soon, the ground fills the bridge window: depending on your point of view, the terrain is either a high desert cut with a collection of haphazard canyons, or a series of tall mesas uncomfortably close together. A massive dust storm is currently thundering through the area, leaving only the tallest plateaus uncovered.


As the starship levels out for the final approach, Clive chirps in.

"Captain, I'm receiving a homing signal from 'Cattergorn Lighthouse', but there's no response to hailing messages. We're at 100 miles and closing."


The Captain snorts. "He's probably just on the can. As long as we aren't getting shot at, go ahead and land."

Alfin takes a wide swing around the landing zone before setting the Inscrutable down, revealing a tall, slender signal tower clamped to the side of a small mesa, extending a few hundred feet above the surface and extending down the side of the rock formation into the canyon below.

Checks:
Alfin's Perception check: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14
Cranston Mill's Perception check: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
Kragga's Perception check: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21
Ranif Tharystrix's Perception check: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
Ziyad's Science Officer check (Clive): 1d20 + 11 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 11 + 1 = 32

Kragga and Ziyad:
As Alfin brings the ship in for a landing, you notice that several small vehicles are parked outside the plateau-level entrance to the "lighthouse".

Ziyad:
Your attention to detail and delicate sensor manipulation has revealed that the outer chambers of the Lighthouse are not at standard pressure (i.e., they're open to the elements). Additionally, you detect a slight power surge within the building.

As the Inscrutable touches ground, Captain Ross bounds of of her chair, making for the airlock.

"Right, follow me! Get your suits sealed - the air is thin up here, and I don't want anyone fainting!"


Appearance

Kragga pulls the scarf of her tunic up over her mouth and nose, where it creates a seal and starts pumping clean air. She hits a switch on the side of the scarf, and a shimmering forcefield seals in her head--complete with the other forcefields surrounding her body, it creates a pressurized environment within her tempweave armor.

"Captain, there seem to be several vehicles on the plateau. Let's keep our eyes open for anybody who might be lurking near them."

The half-orc hefts her crossbolter and follows the captain.


Game Concluded

Cranston checks the ship status one last time before rising from the engineering station. He pulls up the hood of his tempweave and engages the face shield.

"Lucille, meet us at the airlock, were EVAing," he says as he makes a final check of his sidearm.

"Kragga, you want me to have her scope out the vehicles afor we head out too far?"


"Hold it..." she flips a few buttons ...Captain, environmentals are off. Primary living chambers operating with a zero pressure differential to outside, something's jacked their false atmosphere! Also getting power fluctuations...from their internal grid. Sectors Bravo through Psi."


Kragga wrote:
"Captain, there seem to be several vehicles on the plateau. Let's keep our eyes open for anybody who might be lurking near them."
Ziyad wrote:
"Captain, environmentals are off. Primary living chambers operating with a zero pressure differential to outside, something's jacked their false atmosphere! Also getting power fluctuations...from their internal grid."

The Captain pauses, briefly processing this new information. She frowns, muttering darkly.

"It looks like Cattergorn's got trouble. Kragga - take Ziyad and Alfin. Circle around the far side of the building, and see if you can find another way inside. Tharystrix and Mills, you stick with me. We're walking in the front door."


Dead Suns: Moriko's Legacy | Temple of the Twelve

The air outside is thin and howls around the ship wildly, whipping up occasional dust devils. A thick film dims the light of the sun, which sits just above the western horizon.

Lighting conditions are currently dim.

Cattergorn's Lighthouse sits about 200 feet away, perched on the edge of the mesa. A torrent of dust is rising into the air just beyond as the wind crashes into the cliff below and is forced up. After a brief comms check, Captain Ross starts walking towards the building.

What do you do?


Appearance

Kragga checks the ground for any tracks there might be, then leads Alfie and Ziyad around the building looking for another way in. Her eyes pierce the gloom as she scans for hostiles.

Survival: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (17) + 12 = 29
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19


Dragonkin Mercenary Soldier 3 | SP 0/27 HP 7/27 RP 1/4 | EAC 17 KAC 19 | F +4 R +3 W +3 (+2 vs paralysis, Toughness bonuses, Immune to sleep) | Init +10 Perc +4 (low-light vision, darkvision 60 feet) | Speed 30 feet Fly 20 feet | Reach 10 feet

Striding next to Captain Ross, Ranif will attempt to detect any threats in the vicinity of the building. Additionally, his Dragonglaive is ready on his shoulder if it is needed.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12


Game Concluded

Cranston moves in to position slightly behind the soldier and the captain. He pulls and readies his arc pistol as he sends Lucille up above to maintain position about 5 meters above the trio.

Cranston's Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
Lucille's Perception: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (8) - 1 = 7

apparently they're both a little preoccupied


Male Halfling Ace Pilot Operative 3 | SP 18/18 HP 20/20 RP 5/6 | EAC 16 KAC 17 | F +2 R +9 W +4 (+2 vs. fear) | Init +7 Perc +9 | Speed 40

Alflin follows Kragga, keen halfling senses searching, weapon ready for trouble.
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26


Ziyad draws her needler and spear in an old kasatha grip style, searching for a data terminal to jack into.


Dead Suns: Moriko's Legacy | Temple of the Twelve

Team KAZ:
As she leads her squad around the building, Kraaga notices a series of vehicle tracks running from the mesa edge to the building's main entrance. From the depth and width of the treads, it looks like several very light vehicles came through here recently.

As they approach the building, Alfin points out a maintenance ladder climbing up into the gloom, just a few feet from the terrain's abrupt end.


Team RTM:
Approaching the building, Tharystrix spies a trio of junkracers (two-wheeled single-seaters) leaning up against the wall. The main entrance, a 10-ft. by 10-ft. bulkhead, stands ajar about 30 ft. away, a faint red light blinking quickly inside.

Lucille initially struggles with the turbulent wind conditions, but she quickly compensates by dialing up her attitude thrusters to the max.

Lucille can take 10 to stay aloft, but only just barely.


Appearance

Kragga nods. "Alfin, why don't you scout ahead and see what's at the top of the ladder?"

Since Alfin is the only one in our group with ranks in Stealth. ;)


Male Halfling Ace Pilot Operative 3 | SP 18/18 HP 20/20 RP 5/6 | EAC 16 KAC 17 | F +2 R +9 W +4 (+2 vs. fear) | Init +7 Perc +9 | Speed 40

Alflin ascends the ladder quietly, checking the top before climbing off.
Stealth, Perception: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (17) + 16 = 331d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27
I think I might be stealing Cranston's good luck. I'm sorry.


Game Concluded

Team RTM:

As he notices the drone struggling to stay positioned in the harsh winds, Cranston shakes his head.

"Come on back down, girl. You ain't doin' any good up there," he calls out.

"Captain, how about I send her on ahead?" he adds, gesturing towards the partially open bulkhead.

At least someone's getting good rolls.


Dead Suns: Moriko's Legacy | Temple of the Twelve

Team KAZ:
Alfin slips into the haze like a shadow, nimbly climbing up the ladder to a spacious (and empty) landing. A large communications tower extends upwards, and the halfling can hear a grinding rumble from the canyon side of the building which seems to grow fainter with time. A brief search of the landing yields an access hatch, partially obscured by dust and locked with a keypad.

Team RTM:
The captain nods, pointing forward. "Send the drone in, but let's keep moving!"

Once the drone is out of your line of sight, you'll generally need to control it through your custom rig. It's a good thing you invested in that drone camera.


Male Halfling Ace Pilot Operative 3 | SP 18/18 HP 20/20 RP 5/6 | EAC 16 KAC 17 | F +2 R +9 W +4 (+2 vs. fear) | Init +7 Perc +9 | Speed 40

Alflin gestures to Kragga and Ziyad to come up the ladder, and once they are, he points out the hatch and keypad.

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