Thea 'Firefly' Gillis's page

When you pilot a fighter, you can pilot it without incident in normal situations, and depending on the capabilities of the individual craft, you can use it to Engage In Battle, Shake Off a threat, Support or Interfere with other pilots, or Seek Out when scouting. Other characters who attempt to do this are courting disaster – the GM can make a Move in response.
In addition when you Engage In Battle while piloting a combat-ready ship, you choose one less opon on a 7–9.

When the pressure is off but you stay focused on a task or mission, Mark Pressure. While you stay focused, every time you take an action directly
related to completing the task/mission, you take +1Forward. If at any time you Erase Pressure, you lose your focus and no longer get the benefits of this Move. Letting Loose or Reaching Out definitely count as not staying focused on your task or mission.

When you personally lead a mission, roll +Sharp. On a 10+, Hold three. On a 7–9 Hold one. Spend your Hold to give another character an order and give them +1 Forward to execute it.

When you Engage In Battle, roll +Raw. On a Hit, choose:
[_] You overcome a tough target’s defenses, or destroy a number of weaker targets.
[_] You hold off a determined assault or drive away a formidable opponent.
[_] You keep a target safe during the battle.
On a 7–9, choose two:
[_] You take fire in the process and must Weather Serious Harm.
[_] Someone or something else gets damaged or destroyed, the GM says who or what.
[_] Your actions leave you or someone else exposed, the GM will say who takes advantage.

When you Shake Off a threat, roll +Hard. On a Hit, you’ve shaken it off, but on a
7–9, the GM chooses:
[_] It’s out of the frying pan, into the fire.
[_] You don’t escape unscathed.
[_] You lose or use up something in the process.
[_] The threat intensifies, escalates, or targets someone else.
On a 10+ you’re in full control, take +1 forward.

When you Weather Serious Harm, roll +Hard. On a 10+, you withstand it but must Mark Pressure. On a 7–9 it hits you hard, the GM chooses two (may pick the same one twice)
[_] You must Mark Pressure.
[_] You are injured or (for pilots only) your fighter takes damage to a specific system – the GM says how it’s slowing you down, getting in the way, or putting you in a spot.
[_] You lose something important (an item, your secure well-defended position, etc.).
On a 6 or less you feel the full force of it: you are out of control, lost, and trapped or helpless, and the GM may start a Doom Clock.

When you Seek Out something well hidden, say what you’re looking for or just that you’re sure there’s something to find here, and roll +Sharp. On a Hit, you find it. On a 7–9, the GM chooses one:
[_] You attract unwanted attention.
[_] You discover something unexpected and horrifying (implicate a friend, discover a terrible truth, expose your own weakness, etc.).
[_] You’ve found it, but something stands between you and it.
[_] Your investigation takes a long time (allowing your enemies to advance their plans, or using up resources).

When you Pull Strings on the fleet, say who you’re going to for help and what you want them to do, and roll +Smooth. On a Hit choose one:
[_] Gain help with a specific task from an NPC or group and Hold one towards choosing an option from the Support or Interfere Move list, or taking an Action at Scale.
[_] You gain temporary access to rare or restricted equipment, resources, skills, or information.
[_] Change people’s behavior on the fleet at large (curfew, rationing, calm rioting, etc.).
On a 7–9, the GM chooses two:
[_] You can’t do it without help from someone you you’d rather not get involved with.
[_] Someone demands a favor in return, or else they won’t help.
[_] You attract unwanted attention.
[_] There’s an unexpected cost or consequence.

When you Cover Up something serious, roll +Smooth. On a 10+ they buy your deception, as long as no clear countervailing evidence appears. On a 7–9, the GM chooses:
[_] They’re only fooled temporarily.
[_] You must give a concrete assurance, provide some extra corroboration, or do something extra to throw them off.
[_] Someone realizes you’re up to something, and it won’t be the last you hear of this.

When you Reach Out to someone who matters to you, choose one or more:
[_] Share a significant doubt or fear with them.
[_] Share a significant hope or dream with them.
[_] Share a significant failure or regret with them.
[_] Share your feelings about them.

For PCs, ask them if they respond positively, and roll +Warm if they do. For NPCs, roll first: on a Hit, they respond positively. On a 10+, you each Erase one Pressure: on 7–9, choose one of you who erases one Pressure. Either way, increase your Relationship with each other by one.

When you Let Loose and indulge your base needs, roll +Raw. On a Hit, everyone involved Erases one Pressure. On a 10+, you choose one option from the list below and decide the details; on a 7–9 you still choose, but the GM decides the details, and they’ll make it something you’ll immediately regret.
[_] You end up in the arms of someone you shouldn’t.
[_] You share a secret you shouldn’t.
[_] You make a promise you shouldn’t.
[_] You anger or alienate someone that matters to you (you may reduce an appropriate Relationship).
Say what happens, and who else is involved.
On a Miss, the same as a 7–9 but nobody erases any Pressure.

When you Call Someone on Their Shi-t, tell them what their problem is and what they’d need to do to convince you otherwise, and roll +Hard. On a Hit they choose from the options below; on a 10+ they are limited to the first two options, and if they choose the first they Mark XP.
[_] They act to prove you wrong by doing what you asked.
[_] They openly and forcefully refuse to do what you asked them to (and they Mark Pressure).
[_] They openly and unequivocally admit you’re right.
[_] They act contrite and give you something they think you want.
[_] They respond by Calling You on Your Shi-t.

When you Support or Interfere with another character’s Move, Mark Pressure and roll +Warm (support) or +Sharp (interfere). On a 10+, Hold two. On a 7–9 hold one, and be prepared to be entangled in any fallout from the Move. Spend Hold to:
[_] Give +/–1 to the Move after they roll.
[_] Create an opportunity or problem for them.
[_] Redirect a negative impact of the Move from the person making it onto someone else.
When an NPC supports your Move, you roll +Relationship on their behalf.

When you Wait Helplessly as others tackle a major problem, after another player rolls the dice you can say what you’re doing to cope and Mark two Pressure to give them +1 to their roll.

When you Raise the Pressure on yourself, pushing yourself beyond your limits, Mark Pressure up to three times and add +1 per Pressure Marked to a roll you just made.

When there’s a prolonged lull in the action, where the fleet is (for the moment at least) safe and neither under attack nor dealing with a direct and immediate threat, the GM rolls +Momentum. On a 10+ the GM offers the fleet an opportunity to seize an advantage or hurt the enemy. On a 7–9 the GM introduces a threat to the fleet, but with the opportunity to avoid or mitigate the danger. On a 6 or less, a threat materializes without warning, and all that can be done is damage limitation.

At the end of a scene, check whether any of the tracks should change.
[_] Did someone suffer a significant blow (social, emotional, or physical), do something exhausting, get given a truly daunting task, or have to do something horrible? They must Mark Pressure.
[_] Did they alienate someone they care about? Reduce their Relationship (if any) by one, and considering if they should Mark Pressure as well.
[_] Did the fleet, its people, or its resources take a significant blow? Mark Attrition.
[_] Was there a publicly visible event which was unsettling, scary, or indicative that the fleet is losing? Mark Attrition.
[_] Did the fleet gain new resources or skilled people? Erase Attrition.
[_] Was the scene a major turning point in the war? Change Momentum.

Hannah and Thea met at Sasha's bar when they were both forced to fend off unwelcome advances from the way-to-sure-of-their-own-value-to-female-kind blowhards and egos of Gold Squad. It was shortly after the attack when the chaos of those first days was bringing lives together as it was ripping so many more apart. The two hit it off and were soon solid drinking companions. Thea had always had a knack for mechanics and machines, but never any formal engineering training, so she is in awe of Hannah's ability to take a vague, fuzzy concept for something like a new turbo thruster for a Mark XV Yellowjacket and turn it into reality.

Well, partial reality. Okay, it was kind of an almost disaster, but that was probably because Thea overboosted the test thrust or didn't tighten a couple of O rings properly. In theory, it should have worked. And technically it did. It just caused a bit more damage to the hanger than either of them anticipated. They really should have waited until they'd sobered up before trying it out. Because the worst part of the whole experience wasn't the closing down of a launch tub or being bucked out of Squad Leader by the XO, it was that they'd forgotten to turn on the data recorders so they really don't know exactly what went wrong.

Of course Thea and Hannah have had plenty of time to ponder the problem while performing their extra duty cleaning the filters in the Agamemnon's Solid Waste Recyclers.

It is THE place to be. No really, Sasha's cantina is the only real place to get a drink on the whole ship. Thus the owner who can get her hands on just about anything for the right price, has a solid read on most of the pilots who call her place a second home. And the woman's trademark Firewater insures she'll learn a secret or two over time, assuming the drinker survives the experience.

Sasha has had more than enough time to peg Thea on her wheel of personalities since they've served on the ship prior to the attack. Hard working, perfectionist, get-the-job-done-no-matter-what, serious. In other words, typical military, fast track, fly girl type. That is until she practically blew up a flight hanger. And now she's been hitting the craps and roulette tables pretty hard. And that really is new. Prior to the attack, Thea wouldn't even jump in on the pools around the annual fleet performance competitions. Now the woman is starting to wrack up some debts to the wrong people.

Thea met you following the disaster of the initial Corax attack as she was searching for any sign of her family or Rowan. Although generally reserved and proper, she did show you Rowan's garbled last transmission to help identify him if you ran across any recent images or vids. It was a comm signal that originated from the bridge of the Damocles minutes before it exploded. As far as you know, all transmissions from that ill-fated ship have been redacted by the military and any effort to dig into what happened has been summarily shut down. So far you've kept the existence of her dead husband's final transmission a secret, because you can't help but wonder it there is something more hidden in it besides apologies, last words of love and worried doom? Could it contain some damning evidence as to what happened in the battleships final hours or minutes? Was it an inside job? Or a new Corax threat that the military is trying to cover up?

You didn't exactly save her life, but you certainly saved Thea's career when you were the first marine to arrive on the scene of the hanger accident caused by the two rogue researchers. It was clear to you that the two had been drinking way too much and shouldn't have been anywhere near their test equipment. But instead of reporting them as drunk, you took a bit of pity on the two, knowing the ship couldn't afford to lose any more pilots or engineers at this point. So you kept their blood tox levels out of your final witness statement and just reported it all as an accident. Sure Thea got busted down notch, but some price had to be paid. Hopefully she's learned something and this way she's still able to fly and bolster the ships fighter cover when it counts.

They'd been married for five years. But things started to breakdown when Rowan got transferred to the Battleship Damocles. The distance and long times apart started to strain the relationship, but they were trying. Or at least Thea thought they were. She still loved him, of that she was sure. And she'd remained faithful.

Then the attack came.

She'd received a single garbled comm from Rowan. Then she was seeing the recordings of the Damocles breaking apart after suffering a catastrophic blast to her midsection. Since then she's been numb. During a short lived moment of alcohol induced stupidity, she flirted with trying on a new relationship, but the pain, loss, guilt, and so many other feelings put a quick and embarrassing end to that particular idea.

She doesn't believe Rowan is still alive, no one could have survived that explosion. And even if he was, there isn't any time or place for love in this new world of fight and flee and try to live to do it all again the next day.

Thea's squad mate, and since her demotion, her Squad Leader. A decent pilot, but much to sure of himself and a ego that barely fits inside the Agamemnon. The whole thing that happened between the two of them was one of the bigger mistakes that Thea actually does regret. It doesn't help that she went off later the next day and blew up a section of the hanger testing a new turbo thruster. The whole breakup with Nathan (Could it really be called a breakup if they really hadn't been dating?) in a teenaged style row in front of the squad (on the Agememnom nearly everything happens in front of somebody). Truly, it was a capital moment of stupidity.

Now the squad is split and Nathan ticked and looks at her with a hatred she never realized lurked beneath the man's surface. She's let everyone down and has to do something to try and make it all right again.

"Raven" (Taurus) descended from the Apache Nation and still practices some of the old ways handed down to her from generations past. She is on Thea's side for leadership of the squad. A solid, tough pilot who doesn't put up with anything from anyone.

"Cockroach" (Gemini) Born on Ishkuria and holds a grudge against nearly everyone except other Ishkurian's, like Nathan. Thea is pretty sure the scrawny, dark haired pilot has been dealing stims from the Black Market, but so far she hasn't caught him at anything concrete. Adding to her dislike, Cockroach is clearly Nathan's man, and is all about seeing her rival remains Squad Leader.

"Buzzsaw" (Aries) The man can snore. Thus his callsign. Friendly, well liked by everyone. He's a solid pilot with zero political or promotional ambitions. Winning and coming back to win again is what keeps him going. That, and a full mug of Firewater after a long mission.

Moran is a military lifer. He's served in the service for 35 years and was on the verge of retirement when the Shrooms dropped on the Federation. A veteran of the Federation Unification War, he was a ace twice over and a highly decorated pilot. A stickler for discipline and rules because that is how the last war was fought and won. Unfortunately, the Covax are not a the conventional enemy of old. The CAG's conservative and cautious tactics haven't been much use against the swarming pods of the Covax and his insistence on staying the course is starting to chaff the younger pilots under his command. But so far he still has the confidence of both the Cerberus' CO and XO.

Alienate someone who matters to you, by lashing out at them emotionally, or taking selfish action that disregards their needs.

Indulge your worst instincts, abandoning duty and/or reason to heedlessly follow your impulses.

Publicly melt down, through an emotional outburst or tirade, loudly proclaiming who is to blame for your problems.

Take foolish action, putting yourself or others in danger, without consulting others.

Stick to a plan rigidly, after it’s obviously failed.

Overdose and require medical treatment (if you have Stimmed To The Eyeballs).

Exit the game. You may need to work with the GM to identify an appropriate moment for this to happen. Death during a mission is a possibility – as is suicide.