Tavid asks Aurora, ”Did you make our new friend some ID? We’re going to need to evade GalSec as much as we can.
”And Captain, I know it’s normally your task, but I can contact our employer. Let him know we’ve landed.”
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”Well that pretty much disqualifies us from any more jobs to Garaxia,” Tavid says while watching the telemetry of their ship. ”Well done Captain! You should use recordings of that if someone challenges your ability to pilot.” He unbuckles his seatbelt and stands, stretching. ”You were great too, Sweet Doomed Angel,” he calls out. ”A testament to your construction and engineering.”
”The course is factored and plotted,” Tavid answers his captain, calling as he runs from the lounge area to the navigation console on the bridge. He calls up the course’s image and projects it into the lower left corner of the main viewer. ”We’re still close to the station so there are ships coming and going, but once we get here,” a circle blinks on the image, ”we can make the jump to hyperspace.”
Tavid chuckles, ”It sounds like a ruse to get on board. Pretty clever, actually. The laws around medical emergencies, quarantines, and the like are strong. You should hide,” he adds to their passenger.
”I assumed your senses are equivalent to ours,” Tavid says, reclining in a chair. ”But that could easily be wrong. Of course we don’t really know how anyone else experiences the world compared to our own individual senses, unless we’re doing some simulated stimuli. ”Can you hear dog whistles or see like a hawk? How strong are you?”
Nodding, Tavid reads the message from Sirus. Hyperspace navigation is set. Engines on standby? he writes back. I’ll contact the dock authority to clear our exit. ”Captain, if you’ll excuse me,” Tavid says to Anton. He steps about two meters away and starts to type on his tab. This is the Sweet Doomed Angel requesting launch authorization, he sends to the station’s dock authority.
Ah it’s not a bribe they’re after, Tavid thinks as the man explains they are searching for GalSec property. He stands impassively as Anton lectures them about regulations. He’s heard similar speeches from him. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t work. He turns his head towards Valerie as she begins addressing the GalSec people. He hopes that Valerie hid their passenger in the single person smuggling space. Not much volume, but didn’t the girl get in through a vent? She should be fine in a “comfy” tube like that. Tavid turns his attention to the GalSec people, reading their body language.
While the ship is being loaded, Tavid is busy plotting their course back to Alta Station. Sitting at his station on the command deck he reads the latest information on hyperspace conditions. Occasionally he checks a monitor displaying the cargo hold area. The crates being secured into place make him wonder why Zuckerman was willing to pay so much for their services. Usually when something is too good to be true, it’s a sign of trouble. Finished, he goes to watch the final loading of the crates. Within a few minutes, a man and some GalSec security appear. He catches Anton's motion, and stands next to the captain. His eyes glance at the guards, checking their weapons, but he also spends a few moments looking for signs the man in the suit has a hidden weapon. Perhaps in the small of his back, he thinks. He smiles with a slightly puzzled look on his face as he nods in greeting to the GalSec people. Maybe we should just pretend this is a common shakedown for some credits. Offer them a bribe to leave, like it's part of doing business here.
”This is...hmmm...the implications of this...” Tavid says as he scans Sirus’ proof. He is silent for a few moments, as he looks at the girl. ”When did you escape? Do you have a destination in mind?”
Tavid helps the captain ready the cargo hold. ”If further complications arrive before the delivery, what do we do then?”
”Please, can we stop saying we’re smugglers?” Tavid asks with a chuckle. ”Someone might believe you or have open microphones. And now’s not the time for discussing Infinite Universes, as fun as that may be.” He looks at the girl again, studying her body language and mannerisms as Val and Aurora comforted her. ”I’d believe she has implants and mods,” Tavid says stepping closer to Sirus. ”But why do you say she’s an AI? What convinced you?”
”You don’t have a name?” Tavid mumbles, looking at her with deeper concern on his face. How could she not know her name? Drugs? Some weird amnesia? Why isn’t her family taking care of her? She clearly needs help. Unless this is a bizarre play to sneak an undercover agent on board. ”I think we should take her to a hospital. We’re not equipped for long term care, especially psychological...or rehab.” Tavid sees that Val was keeping her voice gentle and calm. He tries to match her behavior, when asking the girl, ”Do you want to go to a hospital? They can really help you there.”
The Ceresian’s Dive:
”Good bye Mr. Puck. It’s been quite an interesting evening.”
Tavid helps gather the leftovers, paying special attention to the Captain’s steak, like he requested. On the way back to the ship, he chats with Noreen about some of the other niche bars he’s been in. Tavid looks extremely surprised to find a girl bound in the common room. ”How did she get in? Was she stealing something?” he asks. Stepping closer to the mystery person, Tavid tries greetings in a few different languages: French, Japanese, Gujarati, and Igbo. ”You looked through her pockets?” he asks.
”The Cracked Pepper Crab Loaf sounds good,” Tavid says, closing his menu. ”Thanks for the advice. And thanks for the drink.” He motions towards the stage with his head. ”So why’d you choose such an old song? Are you a fan of 22nd century music in general? I’m just curious. Not a big deal if you don’t want to talk about it. ”
Tavid smirks and shakes his head in good humor as Puck takes his drink. So that’s the type of person he is. Not worth making a major issue out of it. Don’t want to sour the transport job. A couple credits versus thousands... ”Do you want another?” he asks Puck, signaling a server. He picks up an menu and glances at the offerings. ”That’s a good question Valerie. What has roused the activity of GalSec? Are they looking for anything specific?” Looking at the menu still, he asks Puck, ”Anything you recommend? Any Garaxian cuisine that tourists should try?”
Tavid takes the ale from Captain Anton with a smile and bob of his head as a sign of gratitude. ”This will be my last,” he says leaning closer. ”Ouskaaaa!” He raises his mug to Anton. Glancing around the crowd, appreciating the applause the patrons give, while scanning for people who may be their contact, he wonders about the person who would choose that song. A sense of humor maybe? A person charmed by centuries old music? Little chance of anyone else choosing that song. Practical?
Oh do we have small cabins or a communal room, like a cot with a foot locker for everyone?
Tavid hears the Captain’s suggestion that every one bring a weapon, while he is reading basic information about the current conditions of Garaxia, like the local weather forecast, any news items that might interfere with transportation, festivals or holidays, and basic laws such as weapon regulations. Personal weapons appear to be allowed so long as they don’t exceed certain energy outputs. He goes to his cabinet and pulls out his shocker and firearm. He leaves the smoke grenades and vibroknife. The shocker he tucks into his right boot. The gun he belts to his hip. He knows he isn’t a dashing or dangerous figure even with weapons. Finally, he looks at himself in the mirror. His features haven’t changed recently. A middle aged man. Balding black hair, eyes like a blue sky with a hint of twilight, ears slightly sticking out, plump lips and cheeks. Skin that had too much long term exposure to UV, wrinkly and a soft persistent pink.
I like the Fine Tuned Aspect and Anton’s Rule of Two.
The list is really well done. I like it. One question, is “communications” a type of Sensors task, or does it fall under the Captain’s job to talk to other ships, authorities, etc.
First Tavid checks the current reports for travel to Garaxia. No major hyperspace storms, quantum fluctuations, or dark energy bubbles. Of course the absence of warnings, doesn’t mean it isn’t dangerous. He remembers a time gliding through a gas giant’s atmosphere after spending twelve hours riding thermals. Grinning, he plots the quickest safe course for Garaxia, annotating it with a variety of alternate routes based on energy requirements, and how much risk they were willing to take. He also checks some forums about the current politics of Garaxia, police activity, underworld battles, and rumors. Finally he wanders through his contact list, looking to see if anyone has recently been there or is going soon.
Tavid’s eyes widen when the discussion of their fee negotiations commences between Sirus and their patron. He savors the food as he watches the negotiations, almost as if it were a public spectacle arranged by performers. Noreen casually tosses a line into the proceedings, in a way like she’s improvising, but somehow also as if on cue. He applauds at the end, happy for the increased money, but also pleased for the showmanship. Sirus can buy lots of spare parts with the extra money.
Tavid nods as he recognizes Valerie’s tale. He’s heard this before, numerous times. He eats slowly, savoring each bite. As she wraps up the story he adds in encouraging patter like, ”Yes that’s right,” and ”I was a fountain of sweat.”
Tavid accepts a glass of water and samples one of each appetizer. He sits down, nodding in appreciation at the room’s decorations. ”It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Zuckerman. I’m Tavid Rappertone, the navigator.” As the first course begins, Tavid notices Aurora is getting tipsy. After taking a bite of his food, he says, ”MmmmmMMMM. My compliments to the chef. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you hear about us? A past satisfied customer or our legitimate advertising?” He wafts the aroma from the plate to his nose.
Tavid is surprised his tailored suit doesn’t fit as well as it did years ago before prison. Has it really been that long since I wore it? No, I wore it for that interview. That job I didn’t get. Still the suit wasn’t as tight then as it is now. Before leaving the ship, he starts the computer plotting a main route for the journey, with an alternate route. Just in case. He searches the smaller stores, finding a jacket that resembled the storm clouds of a local gas giant. He bought that and a pair of black pants that were specially woven to reflect less light than normal fabrics. Finally he decided to get a haircut.
Thanks for all the help and advice. Here are Tavid’s skills and stunts.
Zero-G (Athletics) +2 to Create Advantage actions in a Zero Gravity environment with Athletics Psychologist (Empathy) Once per session you can reduce someone else’s consequence by one level of severity (severe to moderate, moderate to mild, mild to nothing at all) by succeeding on an Empathy roll with a difficulty of Fair (+2) for a mild consequence, Good (+3) for moderate, or Great (+4) for severe. You need to talk with the person you’re treating for at least half an hour in order for them to receive the benefits of this stunt, and you can’t use it on yourself. (Normally, this roll would only start the recovery process, instead of changing the consequence level.)
I need help finalizing Tavid. I’m not sure how to account for his concept (Polyglot navigator) with skills. Tavid knows numerous languages (polyglot). Is that Lore? How is navigation accounted for? Is that Lore, Craft, or Drive? As for his last stunt, I thought having a Zero-G stunt would be fun. Something that shows he’s highly practiced in moving, spinning, tumbling, etc. in microgravity environments. Should that be based on Athletics?
Something similar to Talk the Talk but with hackers. Another idea: It Checks Out You get a +2 on Hacking rolls to make false identity documents, shipping manifests, port of origin, and the like.
Battle scarred is fine with me. How do you see this fitting in as the trouble? Systems, parts, and components breaking down? Cosmetic damage that hasn’t been fixed? I liked the idea of being suspicious and yet the authorities never really having hard evidence against us to prosecute. That’s tension that I enjoyed playing with in my mind.
In all honesty, having one other character know how to pilot the starship is a good idea in my opinion. If Anton gets incapacitated, we’d be stuck without a pilot. However I can rework Tavid’s background a bit to switch from starships to aircraft. A bit of a challenge since being able to pilot a starship (even minimally) really worked well in conjunction with being a navigator. I think I’ll take some inspiration from Seveneves. Will pilot aircraft be used frequently? I guess it depends on the planet...much like some cities where getting around by public transportation is fine for a visitor and other cities you’ll need to rent a car. DM-Salsa, how was navigation going to work in terms of skills? Lore, Pilot, Craft? ....by the way, that video is great. Thanks for sharing. As far as the ship goes, the concept of slightly radioactive ex-military smuggler would work as a character concept too, so I like it. Maybe the trouble is She’s very suspicious. All that shielding for radiation is ideal for defeating anti-smuggling scans. The authorities pay extra attention to her.
I was reading about Aspects ideally being double-edged. Thus I think I’ll change the one I suggested a few days ago (Always have back-up routes planned) to “I know a risky alternate course.” Sometimes it might even be a short cut. I think an Aspect like that will add more narrative potential. Now skills. I don’t know quite where the idea for my character being a polyglot falls into the structure of skills. Is it Lore? Same thing with navigating. Is that Lore, Craft, or Drive? Below is a preliminary plan. I’m almost positive it will change. +4 Skill Lore (languges?)
Oh Stunts. Here are two of the three. Grappler (Physique) +2 to Physique rolls made to create advantages on an enemy by wrestling or grappling with them. Psychologist (Empathy) Once per session you can reduce someone else’s consequence by one level of severity (severe to moderate, moderate to mild, mild to nothing at all) by succeeding on an Empathy roll with a difficulty of Fair (+2) for a mild consequence, Good (+3) for moderate, or Great (+4) for severe. You need to talk with the person you’re treating for at least half an hour in order for them to receive the benefits of this stunt, and you can’t use it on yourself. (Normally, this roll would only start the recovery process, instead of changing the consequence level.) Since the skill choice will probably change, one of these may change.
Whichever way you want us do this DM-Salsa is fine with me. This is my first time playing Fate. The character creation process isn’t like anything I’ve done in a game before. I think it’s exciting and involves a bit of trust with my fellow players. “Numbers being what they are” ;) Anton, everybody’s story would get finished since each player is responsible for 3 different phases. We should have 7 characters with a phase 1, a phase 2, and a phase 3. I guess the original author of each story could have an epilogue to finish a story to his or her satisfaction, but no further developments of aspects should occur.
One thing I didn’t really understand a few days ago is that your character’s second and third aspects come from other people’s stories. Say Valerie does Phase 2 for Tavid’s story. That Aspect would be her second one. Her third one would come from continuing another’s story. Perhaps Dax’s or Noreen’s. So Anton’s story has his phase 1 aspect, Sirus’ phase 2 aspect, and Valerie’s phase 3 aspect. I think it would help if we labeled the stories like Name Phase X. So for example Tavid Phase 1. Say Valerie takes the second phase. She would add her name. Tavid/Valerie Phase 2. Then perhaps Sirus finishes that Phase Trio so Tavid/Valerie/Sirus Phase 3. Eventually we should all have something like:
If there’s an easier or better way to label the stories, please suggest it. Or if everyone else doesn’t think labels are needed, that’s fine too.
Tavid’s Phase One:
Aspect 1: Always have back-up routes planned.
I like what you wrote Anton, but the method I understood from the Fate SRD page on the Phase Trio is that each of us should have an adventure (just a few sentences or brief paragraph). That’s Phase One. Then two other players will add extra details like complications and solutions (and their PCs) in subsequent Phases (two and three). How we determine who gets which story to influence could be random (rolling dice) or alphabetical.
A good summation of the setting and story's background. I agree. As for a name, how about Harriet Grundy? Or maybe something more science fiction sounding: Varvara Monbwatu.
Typical problems: I like the suggested idea about a recurring official or bureaucrat after revenge. There could be another smuggler crew that are strong competitors who often bid on the same jobs. A rivalry based more on taunting and outperforming the other ship rather than violence (or at least lethal violence). Problems could arise based upon what we’re transporting. Bounty hunters after the people we are relocating. Thieves after the unique, rare X we’ve been tasked to getting to Y. Since it’s space there should be elements every once in a while dealing with life in space like microgravity and depressurization (even slow leaks). A question, who owns the ship? It doesn’t have to be the captain after all. If it is an NPC I think having him or her give us free reign so long as we meet expected profits (or whatever else might be in the terms of contract) is the best scenario. Finally maybe it’s not too important, but how did we want FTL travel to work? Is it like we can get from any place to any place at the same speed? Or is it more like the structure of the galaxy (and dark matter?) influences hyperspace travel -- much like the difference between traveling across a flat prairie and a mountain pass.
Thank you DM-Salsa for accepting me. I’m looking forward to trying out Fate in your setting with the other players and their characters. To answer some of your questions, aliens would make the game more complicated. Which isn’t bad. Maybe a few of the planets have non-sapient life forms, like the Earth for most of its history. One technologically inferior (bronze age) species discovered about ten years ago? Technologically more advanced in a multi-species federation? I don’t know. Unless someone is really passionate or invested in having aliens, I’d rather just keep the game all human. Though, there is the possibility that part of the game may involve a first contact scenario. I like the idea of AIs in the game, even something that fits into a human head. How long has humanity been exploring other planets? If it’s been a few centuries I think there definitely would be strong cultures attached to particular planets. Humans would be more diverse. There would be new customs, religions, and languages. Even the fringes, the far planetary systems, should have some cosmopolitan areas (to give a Roaring 20’s atmosphere). Where there are governments (or ruling bodies) they should be strong hence the need for illegal activities like smuggling. As for the aspects and stunts, I think the players discussing it and choosing them gives a greater “ownership” of the ship, as if our PCs had been using it for a while and customized it to their needs and preferences. Sirius should definitely have first say in aspects and stunts since he came with the ship. I'll think more about psionics and other features for the game. |