tt's The Elsebo Way

Game Master therealthom

”Fine, I’ll just drive, then,” says Zephyr with an approximation of playful sarcasm.

Harlan fires off another volley, grinding his teeth all the while. "Keep up that shootin'"

Magic Missile damage (Fo): 3d4 + 6 ⇒ (4, 3, 2) + 6 = 15

Never does indeed show Zephyr how it's done. Or at least how not to suffer from freak events. Harlan lands another volley. Still the slitherer pursues.

Jaeric swings his gun to the left and fires.

Jaeric, X-gen gun v SS: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26 ... damage: 2d12 ⇒ (7, 4) = 11

The slitherer pulls alongside but a sudden rise in the ground lifts you above the hip-check it tries to deliver.

Status: SS - 117 hp (not engaged with J) (-4 to next piloting check, ants)
J&H (-28 damage) -autopiloting
Z&N +2 piloting

Thanks for rolling your AI's pilot checks. I'll do it this turn.

Rather than take the suicidal looking jump, H&J's vehicle's AI veers away from the chasm and starts to run parallel to it. The slitherer turns in pursuit, but can't quite make the turn. It has to hunch up to stop just short of the chasm. It rears and throws itself sideways to resume its pursuit.

H&J break into the firmly packed salt flat behind Zephyr.

Ahead a sandstorm is sweeping down the long rise to your target area.

Vehicle AI to evade, no-jump penalty: 1d20 + 13 - 2 ⇒ (14) + 13 - 2 = 25

H&J are a zone ahead of the sandworm. I presume Z%N will be a zone ahead of them unless Z somehow fails his piloting roll which he is making with an extra +4 for being on the salt flat.

Zephyr maintains pace and encourages the others, "Nice of you to join us...Pour on the speed and get further ahead of that creature! Let's get through here before the sandstorm hits!"

Piloting ahead on salt flat: 1d20 + 20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 20 + 4 + 2 = 45

Harlan leans back as the ATV finally starts building some distance on the worm. "Yeah, I'd love to Zephyr, but this thing's more of a mule than a racehorse. I'm not counting on it getting much more speed out of it."

Never plays her part, squeezing of another shot for the gun.

Shoot: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23
Damage: 2d12 ⇒ (10, 10) = 20

Zephyr easily drives through the firm salt flats.

Never lands another shot on the worm. That seems to be the last straw. When Harlan and Jaeric's vehicle bends its course around the end of the chasm, it doesn't pursue.

Your track continues across the salt flats and into a narrow canyon. You reach it just as the sandstorm breaks over you. The canyon walls provide a welcome bit of protection from the freight-train scream of the wind and scouring blasts of sand. You hunker down for a short time while the storm passes. Once the wind dies, you're able to dig out and resume driving up the canyon.

At its end is a rough encampment of tattered tents patched with slitherer hide. A few figures struggle with a spindly water condenser, or work to remove sand from tent doorways. Others emerge from tents and walk toward you. You're soon surrounded by dozens of ragged Starfinders.

"Sarenrae's mercy! We're happy to see you. We thought we'd never get off this rock. "

Well done. Getting two vehicles through is a success.

"Heh, glad to see you're still breathing. It was a bloody pain to get to you." Harlan looks over the ATVs and the surviving Starfinders and realizes they're quite a few seats short "And its going to be another bloody pain getting you out of here. You want to get onboard and start telling us how you ended up in this mess?"

Any chance we can take a circuitous route on the way back to avoid the sandworm?

Zephyr helps get people loaded up and volunteers to drive the damaged vehicle. "Anyone with decent gunnery skill? We'll need you on weapons if that sand worm shows up again," he asks.

"Heh, glad to see you're still breathing. It was a bloody pain to get to you." Harlan looks over the ATVs and the surviving Starfinders and realizes they're quite a few seats short "And its going to be another bloody pain getting you out of here. You want to get onboard and start telling us how you ended up in this mess?"

Any chance we can take a circuitous route on the way back to avoid the sandworm?

"If you've got a working ship, let's get loaded up and out of here. I'll tell you on the way. "

Zephyr helps get people loaded up and volunteers to drive the damaged vehicle. "Anyone with decent gunnery skill? We'll need you on weapons if that sand worm shows up again," he asks.

There are plenty of volunteers for gunnery from the crowd swarming around the trucks, and they're all willing to pack in sardine tight for a trip off world. Even so, some must be left behind with a promise to send another ship to pick them up later. They tell you the rock around their camp and the canyon is a solid island that the worms can't breach, but the looser sand surrounding them is a sea of peril.

You start your return trip. Bending your route through the giant anthills, you see a worm porpoise from some distance away, but it doesn't turn to pursue you. Along the way the leader tells the story.

"... biggest Starfinder expedition in history.
We popped out of the drift, gathered in squadrons and fell toward our assigned stars. You've seen it here. This place is rich, three systems in such close proximity, an array of worlds, traces of ancient or lost civilization. We were writing our own plaudits for the Chronicles. We spread out and got to work. Then the damn golden shield closed around us like a fist. We couldn't drift or break through.

Do you know if anyone else survived?"

"Bugs eh? What kindsa bugs we talking about?" Harlan's interest is piqued. "They couldn't have been that good, considering you're still in one piece now." He shrugs at the last question, adding "Probably. Plenty of other teams looking right now, followin' up on other leads. We get you up to the fleet and we'll probably hear all about it."

"Bugs, not spiky crocodilian creatures?" asks Zephyr. "For that is what we found infesting the Starfinder ship drifting derelict above the planet."

At first Never is a little offended that Z's first request was for someone who could run the turret. She thought she had performed well in the clutch. Acquitted herself nicely. She let it slide though, cuz she can't fly worth a shit.

"What have you been eating?" she asks the leader, wondering if the answer might be, our dead. But really, she's hungry.

A korasha lashunta chimes in "Bugs. Kind of like bad-tempered, evile formians, but spiky. Melt your face off with a heat ray or slice it off with a claw. "

The leader resumes, "And nothing like crocs. Doesn't surprise me if you found something like that. Lots of nasty little things hiding in the cornmers of this system. "

"Huh. We'll be seeing them sooner or later then. Looking forward to it." Harlan cracks his knuckles. "Back to the ship then and lets get you out of here and on to better things."

Zephyr speaks quietly to Harlan, saying, "Good shooting back there. Let's give the rescued Starfinders something to do to feel useful, but make sure they don't destroy anything important--they're probably pretty rusty. Shall we get going?"

Harlan gives a full throated laugh "This lot's going to hit the hay they moment they get on ship. They look wiped out. If they can manage to break something in their state, I'm inclined to give 'em an award for trying."

Alright, ready to go, I think. Unless there's some other complication from the planet before we can leave.

You get back to the ship and report in. Analysts in the fleet have been busy. There's a lot of cross talk.

1. Survivors have been located in the Agillae system, now that they've decoded the beacon you picked up on the swamp world. (Agillae-2) Ships are being marshalled for a rescue mission. Rescue Mission available.

2. Two ships have been lost investigating the Starship graveyard on Agillae-5. Recon Mission available.

3. Work progresses on the log you took from the Aeon Horizon.

4. Other teams investigating derelict ships in the ice rings of Bastiar-7 discovered that a few Starfinder ships escaped the fate of our other ships in the area. We are now determining the current locations of these ships so we can start a mission to evacuate the survivors. Rescue Mission available.

Your report is welcomed. Other ships are being dispatched to pick up the remaining survivors, and you are ordered to the nearest mothership to repatriate your refugee Starfinders.

"It seems we are falling behind in the Starship Graveyard--and there may be other Starfinders to rescue from the two missing ships," suggests Zephyr.

"Sounds like fun ta me." Harlan grins at the sound of missing ships. "Hey analysts, any sign of weapons fire in that area, or are we talking just up and vanished?"

2 sounds good, though 4 would be a good second choice.

Never enjoys a beer and hopes that there will not be starship combat in the near future.

"We lost contact with both ships during their descent to the surface. There was no sign of hostile fire. The ships were sent to investigate the wreckage of several ships from the first expedition. "

The starship graveyard is on the surface of Agillae-5. Starship combat is unlikely there. :-)

"Heh, smells like a trap. You lot feeling the appetite to spring it?" Harlan smirks at his fellow Starfinders.

I guess everyone's on board with recon mission 2. So be it.

You dock with your mother ship and offload your batch of refugees while technicians work to service your ship. A junior officer dressed in dark
high-collared business wear with a peaked cap approaches. "Historia7 requires your attendance. Follow me."

When you reach her quarters, the android VC is plugged into her communication station. Her eyes blink rapidly as she collates data from many teams across the Starfinder fleet. She snaps out of her technological trance and fully opens her eyes. “Greetings, Starfinders. I have assigned your team to a mission on Agillae-5. You've already been gossiping about it with the analysts. What we know is: Our scans indicate that many Starfinder starships from the previous expedition crash-landed on the same spot on the planet, forming an enormous concentration of wreckage that spreads out for miles on the otherwise barren planet. Investigate the ships, locate any survivors, and retrieve any useful data from the ships. We don’t know what caused so many ships to crash-land on the planet, and two of our current fleet have disappeared there, so exercise caution during your investigation."

"Exercizin' caution's my whole shtick, don't you worry." Harlan swaggers "What do you know 'bout those two ships that went before us? How'd they approach? What kind of tech they have onboard?"

"Any last words from 'em?"

"Radio and telemetry cut off cleanly soon after they started their descent. The second ship, Odyssey had a very good pilot but scans from a nearby ship showed Odyssey diving on a slightly steeper than optimal angle before she disappeared behind the planet's limb. Both ships were standard Pegasus models."

"You know what Pegasus models have in common? Ain't got enough firepower, is what. Makes you wonder if they encountered something nasty they couldn't fight off that also jammed their comms. Something that could suck 'em in." Harlan shrugs "We won't know unless we get our own noses dirty."

Not much intel, but that's pretty standard. I think I'm good to go.

”If there is something that interferes with piloting or navigation, we will want some backup plan and possibly escape pods,” says Zephyr. He is confident in his ability to fly the ship, but if the controls go dead there is little he can do.

Tidbit chirps at Never.

"No shit, I don't think that's a big secret to anyone."

With her little bot shushed, Never quietly listens to the briefing.

After the usual thorough Starfinder briefing, you're on your way to Agillae-5. The trip there is fast and smooth. You settle into a decaying orbit which will land you in the starship graveyard. On your first of two planned passes over the graveyard, you receive a very faint signal on the Starfinder distress frequency.

"This is Venture Captain Whiskan on Agillae-5. The first ..." A burst of static obliterates the signal.

Computers: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (16) + 18 = 34

"Heh. There you have it." Harlan easily focuses the signal and cleans out the static. "Gravitational anomalies, eh? They crashed from something like that? Ye wonder where the Society's getting its technical crew with screw ups like that."

Harlan scans the area below, attempting to locate these gravitational anomalies and plot out their patterns to aid the others with bringing the ship down.

Computers (scan?): 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (9) + 18 = 27

”I learned to fly at Alluvion, skating the edges of the accretion disc and slingshotting gravity wells for fun,” smiles Zephyr. ”Just map out the gravitational anomalies on the heads-up display and I’ll get us down safely,” he adds confidently.

Harlan plays the message. "This is Venture Captain Whiskan on Agillae-5. The first wave ships have crashed. Severe gravitational anomalies brought us down. Skip you're the closest. If you get this, stay away. Don't attempt a rescue before you've got the anomalies figured out."

Harlan's scan initially shows no anomalies, but then something ripples through the data .... Suddenly the ship’s sensors indicate nearby gravitational anomalies, and the ship starts gently shaking.

Harlan realizes the sensor scan data must be false. Reusing the earlier data, he calculates more accurate navigational information. Used your second computer roll here.

Only 1 primary attempt per check for the party. Anyone can aid another.

Zephyr eases away from the gravity anomalies as he tries to see what is going on out there…

Perception at +2: 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 10 + 2 = 28

Zephyr says, ”There is something wrong with the engines causing this shaking—it is not a natural response to gravity fluctuations. Check for sabotage or perhaps a virus encoded in that message.”

Jaeric, Sense Motive: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (16) + 12 = 28
Jaeric, Sense Motive: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (15) + 13 = 28

Jaeric grabs onto a chair and console when the ship begins to buck. "That message wasn't quite right. VC Whiskan was on the first Scoured Stars mission. He called on Skip. Sounded like friends. How would he know who's up here?"

Zephyr guides the ship as best he can into a stable orbit--just in case they lose engines, he wants to have time to deal with whatever is going on...

Despite Zephyr's efforts, the ship starts shaking uncontrollably and barely responds to controls.

DC 27 piloting check to steer the ship.

DC 24 Engineering check or melee attack roll v AC 27 to implement a quick fix that momentarily stabilizes the ship. (You can attempt only one of these two checks.)

Only one check per PC this round.

Zephyr hangs on, trying to pilot the suddenly unstable ship!

Pilot: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (1) + 20 = 21 + any bonus from the ship

(UGH!)

"Clever trick."

Computers vs. DC27: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (13) + 18 = 31

"But I've dealt with worse than this in the arena. You ever see a man's cybernetics kit getting hacked the same time he's being poisoned? It sure as hell ain't pretty. Lot of droolin' all over the place." Harlan quickly types out a script to bypass some of the viral infection of the ship's systems. "This is a joke in comparison to that."

Zephyr struggles with the controls. He keeps the ship's nose up, but the ship continues to shimmy. I think we all got a little complacent about Zephyr always nailing pilot checks.

The shimmy lessens, but doesn't disappear when Harlan implements his patch.

Suddenly the ship’s engines stop working altogether, and the ship starts rapidly losing altitude.
DC 27 Engineering check to manually activate some of the thrusters to decelerate.
DC 27 Piloting check to ride the winds in the planet’s atmosphere, causing the ship to fall at a gentler angle.

One check per PC. Only one primary allowed for each check.

Jaeric steps to the co-pilot station and tries resetting some switches. Never heads aft to work with the engines.

Jaeric, piloting aid: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20
Never, engineering aid: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10

Zephyr struggles with the controls, thankful for any help the ship’s computer and his allies can give!

Piloting: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (11) + 20 = 31 + any aid

Harlan grumbles as his patch seems to only partially solve things. He switches over to trying to get manual control of the thrusters.

Engineering; incl Aid: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (5) + 18 = 23

Unfortunately its a newfangled model, and its asking to be updated to a new operating system prior to giving up manual control.

Blaring Alarms and claxons sound. The ship’s computer issues the following message: “Landing gear functioning at 50%. Collision imminent, brace for impact.”

DC 27 Engineering or Piloting check to activate the landing thrusters at full power.

Each PC can attempt an Acrobatics or Athletics check to brace for impact.

Never tried to quickly strap in.

Athletics: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (4) + 12 = 16

But she trips and bumps her head. The best she can do is cross her arms over her chest to protect Tidbit.

Gaining a bit of control, Zephyr works to fire the landing thrusters at the proper angle and full power to slow their descent!

Piloting: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (17) + 20 = 37 plus any aids or ship’s bonus

"Yea, I can see why everyone else got turned to paste." Harlan observes dryly as he tries for a last moment adjustment to the landing thrusters.

Engineering (maybe this can count as an aid for Zephyr?): 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (2) + 16 = 18

He follows by bracing, but not very well.

Athletics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

(Zephyr is already braced in the pilot's chair, but here is a check for how well he sets himself for the landing)

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (4) + 15 = 19

Jaeric, brace: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

Zephyr regains a fraction of control. Harlan wins a burst from the engines, fractions of a second too late. The ship hits hard, and the crew is thrown around.

damage: 1d4 ⇒ 2 *7 = 14 damage for each of you.

But you're down in one piece. If you can leave the ship and test Harlan's Paste Hypothesis.

Some of the crashed ships are small pieces. Some, piloted and crewed by more competent teams, have landed with varying degrees of damage. Some of these have been fused together, by chance of impact or by intent. A terrible odor of rot exudes from a shirren built ship that is in one piece, but flattened to about half the height it should be. It takes a long time for tons of heaped biological components to decompose.

The cargo airlock of one of the ship's in the fused heap gapes open.