Akila City, Akila
Cheyenne system
22 March 2331
Adam had taken a day to just rest and relax. He was also thinking about what to do now that he had a few credits to rub together. The attack from the pirate fighter still weighed heavily on his mind. He felt strongly that he needed a tougher ship, especially if he was going to be making enemies of pirates who could outgun his Free Merchant with ease. Still, unless he stole or recovered one for free, it was too expensive a proposition at the present time. A ship that big would require a larger crew, which meant higher salaries and higher overhead. He needed to earn more credits.
Adam figures it's time to hit all options. He starts with trade. He has room on the ship for all of his crew but it's really one extra when it comes to combat. Might as well repurpose one of them if he can. He approaches Judy and asks her if she's interested in helping launch his new company. He's going to build out some holdings and he needs a Factor he can trust. Of course, he doesn't actually trust Judy but he doesn't plan on giving her much of a chance to steal anything from him. And who knows? If he shows her some trust, maybe she'll return it. He sets up a meeting at lunch.
Judy, I've got a business proposal for you.
Just me? What about the crew?
Just you. This one doesn't involve the crew, at least not directly.
Ok, I'm listening.
We just made a nice haul from that ship but it's a one-off. I need to make more steady creds.
I'm interested in steady creds, for sure.
Good. I'm going to open up a trading company. I want you to help me with it.
Doing what? Being your secretary?
No, not at all. I need you to run it. You would be my Factor.
You want me... to run it? Are you serious?
I am. I think you've got the skill set to make it run smoothly. You're smart, and you're great with people.
Wow. I am... yes. I am in.
Great. Now, I am curious to hear your opinion on where we should set up shop. New Atlantis or Akila City. I know Akila is a little rough but...
Akila City!
Wow, get off the fence and tell me how you really feel.
Yeah, uh, it's good. We can set up here. I don't mind getting some mud on my boots.
Ok then. I'll get the paperwork in order and transfer some funds to the company's account. I want you to do two things for me. One, throw a little money around and start making some friends. We need to grease the wheels of trade here so we can make some serious credits. And two, I need a new ship. Something tougher than a Free Merchant. And I'm not interested in paying full price. I want you to find it, and then I'll steal or salvage it.
Ok, will do, Boss. What's the name of the new company going to be?
Monarch Unlimited.
Interesting. Why Unlimited?
Because we're not just a hauling combine. We transport people, we salvage wrecks, and we take care of people's problems. Discreetly. You run into anyone who needs help like that, you send them my way.
Understood.
Way back in Chapter 1, I rolled on the Relationship Table for the crew and Judy's roll was "Bitter about a past event". I am still seeing her as some sort of white-collar criminal and it's not clear if she's on the run or not. But I can see her being interested in turning the page so she should be open to the idea.
Does Judy have interest in being Adam's Factor? We'll say Very Likely. : 1d100 6 Exceptional Yes. Judy is All In!
Does Judy want to set up shop in New Atlantis? Gonna leave this one at 50/50. I feel like she's a UC girl but if she says no, maybe that means she's running from the UC law. : 1d100 94 Exceptional No. There's our answer.
In terms of the rules from Suns of Gold, I am going to spend 10,000 credits on a Level 1 Holding, and then spend 250,000 credits on a Friendship Society/Minor. Hope it's worth the expense!
05 - Six-gun for Hire
Re: 05 - Six-gun for Hire
Akila City, Akila
Cheyenne system
23 March 2331
Adam spent the rest of the previous day and the morning of the current day finding an attorney, getting the GalBank account up and running, and setting up his new business. He let Judy choose an office and moved on to his next task.
Adam pays a visit to Trackers Alliance HQ to meet with its mysterious leader: Agent #1. With a shaded helmet and computer-altered voice, there's no way for Adam to know anything about the person, even if they're male or female.
Hello, Adam, glad you finally made it to see us.
Have we met?
No, but your reputation precedes you.
Oh, I get it. Did the Rangers tell you about me?
No, actually they didn't. But anyone who comes into Akila City and wins a gunfight 1 on 3 is of interest to me.
I see. Well, I'd prefer not to get into that particular situation on a regular basis but I do want to learn more about the Alliance.
Ask your questions.
I've seen the bounty boards all over the Settled Systems. Anyone can accept a bounty. Why join the Alliance?
For one, as you have experienced yourself, licensed Trackers get more respect from local law enforcement than random citizens pursuing bounties. For another, there are more lucrative bounties, albeit more difficult ones, only available to Trackers.
Makes sense. What do I need to do to become a Tracker?
Normally we have prospective Trackers perform a number of missions before we grant them a license but your performance in your last mission here in Akila City was... impressive. Still, I would have you run one more of our bounties and your success or failure there will determine if we need any more examples of your skill.
Sounds reasonable. What is the mission?
Go to the Board here behind you. Choose one of those missions. Any will do.
Adam nods and walks over to the Board. There are three missions to choose from:
Murder | 70,000 cr reward | Wanted Alive (50% reward for dead)
Piracy | 120,000 cr reward | Wanted Dead or Alive
Drug Trafficking | 220,000 cr reward | Wanted Dead
These come from my custom Bounty Generator Excel sheet. The rewards are a little wonky (the murder pays the least?) but such is the way of the random generator.
Adam figures the pirate may have a ship to steal and hopefully he can catch him on-planet so as not to get in a dogfight in his freighter, so that's the bounty he chooses.
Very good, says Agent #1. I will upload a sub-routine on your compad that you can use to scan the bounty, should you decide to eliminate him and not capture him. Payment will be made immediately, no need to return to HQ with the body.
I see. Are there any other services that the Trackers Alliance offers its members?
One of the most valuable services we provide is the advice, and the cooperation, of our other Trackers. There is no prohibition on multiple Trackers sharing a bounty. It is, of course, prohibited for a Tracker to steal another Tracker's bounty once claimed. In this case, however, since we are judging your abilities, you are not to solicit any advice from other Trackers until you have finished the bounty.
Ok, will do.
Once you earn membership in the Alliance, you are granted access to the basement here in our HQ. There is a bar downstairs where you'll often find other Trackers to converse with, you can buy Alliance spacesuits, weapons, ammunition, and medicine from us, and one of our Trackers, call sign Stashe, will trade high-quality weapons and armor for Astras.
Forgive me for my ignorance but what are Astras?
Astras are a form of hard currency. During the Narion War, they were created as a backup in case the banks failed. They have limited value now but Stashe seems to think they're worth collecting. You'll find pirates and mercs, those with less access to civilization, often carry them to trade amongst themselves.
Good to know, thanks.
Adam gets the download from Agent #1 on the bounty identifier and the bounty scanner, and he's on his way.
Cheyenne system
23 March 2331
Adam spent the rest of the previous day and the morning of the current day finding an attorney, getting the GalBank account up and running, and setting up his new business. He let Judy choose an office and moved on to his next task.
Adam pays a visit to Trackers Alliance HQ to meet with its mysterious leader: Agent #1. With a shaded helmet and computer-altered voice, there's no way for Adam to know anything about the person, even if they're male or female.
Hello, Adam, glad you finally made it to see us.
Have we met?
No, but your reputation precedes you.
Oh, I get it. Did the Rangers tell you about me?
No, actually they didn't. But anyone who comes into Akila City and wins a gunfight 1 on 3 is of interest to me.
I see. Well, I'd prefer not to get into that particular situation on a regular basis but I do want to learn more about the Alliance.
Ask your questions.
I've seen the bounty boards all over the Settled Systems. Anyone can accept a bounty. Why join the Alliance?
For one, as you have experienced yourself, licensed Trackers get more respect from local law enforcement than random citizens pursuing bounties. For another, there are more lucrative bounties, albeit more difficult ones, only available to Trackers.
Makes sense. What do I need to do to become a Tracker?
Normally we have prospective Trackers perform a number of missions before we grant them a license but your performance in your last mission here in Akila City was... impressive. Still, I would have you run one more of our bounties and your success or failure there will determine if we need any more examples of your skill.
Sounds reasonable. What is the mission?
Go to the Board here behind you. Choose one of those missions. Any will do.
Adam nods and walks over to the Board. There are three missions to choose from:
Murder | 70,000 cr reward | Wanted Alive (50% reward for dead)
Piracy | 120,000 cr reward | Wanted Dead or Alive
Drug Trafficking | 220,000 cr reward | Wanted Dead
These come from my custom Bounty Generator Excel sheet. The rewards are a little wonky (the murder pays the least?) but such is the way of the random generator.
Adam figures the pirate may have a ship to steal and hopefully he can catch him on-planet so as not to get in a dogfight in his freighter, so that's the bounty he chooses.
Very good, says Agent #1. I will upload a sub-routine on your compad that you can use to scan the bounty, should you decide to eliminate him and not capture him. Payment will be made immediately, no need to return to HQ with the body.
I see. Are there any other services that the Trackers Alliance offers its members?
One of the most valuable services we provide is the advice, and the cooperation, of our other Trackers. There is no prohibition on multiple Trackers sharing a bounty. It is, of course, prohibited for a Tracker to steal another Tracker's bounty once claimed. In this case, however, since we are judging your abilities, you are not to solicit any advice from other Trackers until you have finished the bounty.
Ok, will do.
Once you earn membership in the Alliance, you are granted access to the basement here in our HQ. There is a bar downstairs where you'll often find other Trackers to converse with, you can buy Alliance spacesuits, weapons, ammunition, and medicine from us, and one of our Trackers, call sign Stashe, will trade high-quality weapons and armor for Astras.
Forgive me for my ignorance but what are Astras?
Astras are a form of hard currency. During the Narion War, they were created as a backup in case the banks failed. They have limited value now but Stashe seems to think they're worth collecting. You'll find pirates and mercs, those with less access to civilization, often carry them to trade amongst themselves.
Good to know, thanks.
Adam gets the download from Agent #1 on the bounty identifier and the bounty scanner, and he's on his way.
Re: 05 - Six-gun for Hire
Let's ask the Oracle some questions.
Does the info from the Trackers Alliance include the current whereabouts of the target? 50/50 : 1d100 40 That's a Yes.
Does the target have a ship? If he's a pirate, I'd say Very Likely : 1d100 40 Another Yes.
Is it a ship Adam wants? If yes, a Patrol Boat (or maybe a Corvette). If no, a Strike Fighter. We'll say Likely. : 1d100 11 That's an Exceptional Yes but also a Random Event. Let's roll with it.
First, let's see what kind of ship the pirate has. Since it was an Exceptional Yes, we'll say on a 01-10, it's a Corvette. On a 11-00, it's a Patrol Boat. : 1d100 16 Oh well, a Patrol Boat is still great.
Random Event Focus Table: : 1d100 24 NPC Action
Let's also roll twice on the Event Meaning tables: : 2#1d100 43 61
Fail and Object
So, when I rolled the bounty on my custom table, there was a field for Extra Info. The extra info was "Bounty is a homicidal maniac and is very dangerous. He/she will not come quietly. Likely armed to the teeth."
I am going to say that the target is stuck in his present location because something on his ship was damaged in the process of their last pirate raid, he lost his temper, and he killed the only guy in his crew who knew how to fix it. That way, even if I win this battle, I don't get a free ship that easily. I'll have to fix it myself.
Does the info from the Trackers Alliance include the current whereabouts of the target? 50/50 : 1d100 40 That's a Yes.
Does the target have a ship? If he's a pirate, I'd say Very Likely : 1d100 40 Another Yes.
Is it a ship Adam wants? If yes, a Patrol Boat (or maybe a Corvette). If no, a Strike Fighter. We'll say Likely. : 1d100 11 That's an Exceptional Yes but also a Random Event. Let's roll with it.
First, let's see what kind of ship the pirate has. Since it was an Exceptional Yes, we'll say on a 01-10, it's a Corvette. On a 11-00, it's a Patrol Boat. : 1d100 16 Oh well, a Patrol Boat is still great.
Random Event Focus Table: : 1d100 24 NPC Action
Let's also roll twice on the Event Meaning tables: : 2#1d100 43 61
Fail and Object
So, when I rolled the bounty on my custom table, there was a field for Extra Info. The extra info was "Bounty is a homicidal maniac and is very dangerous. He/she will not come quietly. Likely armed to the teeth."
I am going to say that the target is stuck in his present location because something on his ship was damaged in the process of their last pirate raid, he lost his temper, and he killed the only guy in his crew who knew how to fix it. That way, even if I win this battle, I don't get a free ship that easily. I'll have to fix it myself.
Re: 05 - Six-gun for Hire
Akila City, Akila
Cheyenne system
24 March 2331
Adam took some time to digest the report on the bounty. His name was Ike Silvius. Shot up a Free Merchant, then boarded and stole the cargo. That's promising, thought Adam. Maybe I can get there before he moves the goods. Too bad it's just aluminum ingots but some value there.
Silvius was holed up in an Abandoned Cryo Lab on Arcturus II. Kind of random to be there, thought Adam. At least Arcturus is a single drill away. I need to learn more.
Adam paid a visit to Judy in the new office location. Nothing fancy but close to the spaceport and the bank.
Looking good so far!
Thanks, boss. Trying to get it set up just right.
That can wait. I need your help with a bounty.
Got it, what's the scoop?
Looking for a pirate, jacked a Free Merchant in the Shoza system. FCS Paramount. Supposedly holed up in an Abandoned Cryo Lab on Arcturus II.
Judy was furiously scribbling notes on a pad while Adam talked.
I'm going to ask around, see if I can learn some more about this guy. I need you to look into two things. One, anything you can learn about cryo labs on Arcturus II. Two, what's the best place to be selling aluminum ingots these days.
How much aluminum?
I don't know but that was the cargo this pirate stole. Feel free to chat up the spaceport guys, maybe they know more about this missing cargo. If you can get the cargo manifest for the Paramount, I'll know how much we're looking at.
Will do, Captain!
Adam then headed to the Stretch, the "low rent" neighborhood in Akila City, and bought a few rounds at the local watering holes while asking around about Silvius. Apparently, he was a right bastard. Washed out of the FC Militia for disobeying orders. Got in enough bar fights to be permanently banned from Neon, which is hard to do. They value credits above all in that place. No one knew how he got a ship but they weren't surprised he turned to piracy. They were more surprised he got a crew to sign on. Silvius was well known for having a mean streak and turning small slights into big problems. Hard man to get along with but a man will put up with some shit if the credits are flowing.
Pirate name (Ironsworn Starforged) and type of cargo (Suns of Gold) randomly generated via my Excel sheet.
Cheyenne system
24 March 2331
Adam took some time to digest the report on the bounty. His name was Ike Silvius. Shot up a Free Merchant, then boarded and stole the cargo. That's promising, thought Adam. Maybe I can get there before he moves the goods. Too bad it's just aluminum ingots but some value there.
Silvius was holed up in an Abandoned Cryo Lab on Arcturus II. Kind of random to be there, thought Adam. At least Arcturus is a single drill away. I need to learn more.
Adam paid a visit to Judy in the new office location. Nothing fancy but close to the spaceport and the bank.
Looking good so far!
Thanks, boss. Trying to get it set up just right.
That can wait. I need your help with a bounty.
Got it, what's the scoop?
Looking for a pirate, jacked a Free Merchant in the Shoza system. FCS Paramount. Supposedly holed up in an Abandoned Cryo Lab on Arcturus II.
Judy was furiously scribbling notes on a pad while Adam talked.
I'm going to ask around, see if I can learn some more about this guy. I need you to look into two things. One, anything you can learn about cryo labs on Arcturus II. Two, what's the best place to be selling aluminum ingots these days.
How much aluminum?
I don't know but that was the cargo this pirate stole. Feel free to chat up the spaceport guys, maybe they know more about this missing cargo. If you can get the cargo manifest for the Paramount, I'll know how much we're looking at.
Will do, Captain!
Adam then headed to the Stretch, the "low rent" neighborhood in Akila City, and bought a few rounds at the local watering holes while asking around about Silvius. Apparently, he was a right bastard. Washed out of the FC Militia for disobeying orders. Got in enough bar fights to be permanently banned from Neon, which is hard to do. They value credits above all in that place. No one knew how he got a ship but they weren't surprised he turned to piracy. They were more surprised he got a crew to sign on. Silvius was well known for having a mean streak and turning small slights into big problems. Hard man to get along with but a man will put up with some shit if the credits are flowing.
Pirate name (Ironsworn Starforged) and type of cargo (Suns of Gold) randomly generated via my Excel sheet.
Re: 05 - Six-gun for Hire
Akila City, Akila
Cheyenne system
27 March 2331
While Adam waits for Judy to do her research, he makes some plans of his own. He reaches out to each member of the team and lets them know of the next job. He confirms with each of them that they still want to work for him and then tells them to be ready to go once their week of shore leave is over.
He also puts out some feelers on buying a set of powered armor. He circles back to the Trade Authority rep who bought his cargo of Industrial Tools and asks about procuring some armor. The rep knows a guy who knows a guy and, after a couple of meetings and the delivery of 10,000 credits, Adam is suited up in a surplus FC Militia Assault Suit.
After two days, Judy reaches out with some results.
The alloys will be easy to sell but we'll have to go back to UC space. We'll get our best price on Mars, although we may want to see what's happening on Gagarin. The place has been dead since they stopped manufacturing mechs for the Colony War but I'm hearing rumblings that new corps are setting up in Gagarin Landing.
Good work, Judy. Haven't been to the Sol system in a while, should be interesting.
As for the Cryo Lab, you should tread carefully. Most folks didn't know anything about it and the ones who did were very cagey. It's owned by Ryujin Industries.
Oh great. Just the most powerful corp in the Settled Systems.
Yup. I didn't learn much else, other than Ryujin reported a workplace accident and called it a total loss. Not sure what's still there for these pirates, although most of these places have fusion power plants that will last forever and it's much cheaper to leave them in place than rip them out and reuse them.
Got it. Well done, Judy.
One last thing that is really interesting. Word on the street is that all the big bad guys, like Ecliptic and Crimson Fleet, have realized that the UC have abandoned all of their bases outside UC territory since the War. Spacers, pirates, mercs, they're all filling the vacuum and taking these over for their own use. If this mission doesn't work out, we should have other options to find you a ship.
Hmmm. That actually syncs up with what I've heard. Bad news for trade but good news for bounty hunters like us!
So what's the plan for this mission, boss?
Similar to the other one where we recovered the Yuma, except I'm hoping there are fewer pirates. I'm going to scout the outside forces with Kayla's drone, then take out any opposition from a distance with a sniper rifle. Then I'll leave the others to cover the outside while I go in and find Silvius. Once he's eliminated, we take their ship and head back to Akila City.
You're a brave man, going into a pirate den by yourself, boss.
Yeah, that's why I picked up that Assault Suit. Brave doesn't mean stupid!
Judy has the Connected Focus but that will take a week to set up. I'll have her make a Connect roll (with +1 for her CHR) and her relative success will tell me how much she learns about the abandoned Cryo Lab. I will also roll a d4 to see how long it takes her to gather whatever info she comes up with.
: 2d6+1 8 1d4 2
Not too bad. She would have passed a "significant challenge to a competent professional."
Adam is interested in powered armor. The Trackers Alliance would sell some to him if he were a full member but he is not just yet so we'll see if he can track some down on his own. It would be easier for him on a UC world, with his previous connections there, but we'll say it's a DC 8 check on a FC world.
Powered Armor search: 2d6 8 Just got it.
The following day (the 28th) will be a week that Adam and crew will have spent in Akila City and I'll roll a World Event check.
For those who haven't played the video game, Ecliptic is a private mercenary force that isn't afraid to do a little piracy on the side. They are generally hostile on sight. Crimson Fleet is a loose collection of pirate captains that sometimes share info on big targets and work together occasionally.
Cheyenne system
27 March 2331
While Adam waits for Judy to do her research, he makes some plans of his own. He reaches out to each member of the team and lets them know of the next job. He confirms with each of them that they still want to work for him and then tells them to be ready to go once their week of shore leave is over.
He also puts out some feelers on buying a set of powered armor. He circles back to the Trade Authority rep who bought his cargo of Industrial Tools and asks about procuring some armor. The rep knows a guy who knows a guy and, after a couple of meetings and the delivery of 10,000 credits, Adam is suited up in a surplus FC Militia Assault Suit.
After two days, Judy reaches out with some results.
The alloys will be easy to sell but we'll have to go back to UC space. We'll get our best price on Mars, although we may want to see what's happening on Gagarin. The place has been dead since they stopped manufacturing mechs for the Colony War but I'm hearing rumblings that new corps are setting up in Gagarin Landing.
Good work, Judy. Haven't been to the Sol system in a while, should be interesting.
As for the Cryo Lab, you should tread carefully. Most folks didn't know anything about it and the ones who did were very cagey. It's owned by Ryujin Industries.
Oh great. Just the most powerful corp in the Settled Systems.
Yup. I didn't learn much else, other than Ryujin reported a workplace accident and called it a total loss. Not sure what's still there for these pirates, although most of these places have fusion power plants that will last forever and it's much cheaper to leave them in place than rip them out and reuse them.
Got it. Well done, Judy.
One last thing that is really interesting. Word on the street is that all the big bad guys, like Ecliptic and Crimson Fleet, have realized that the UC have abandoned all of their bases outside UC territory since the War. Spacers, pirates, mercs, they're all filling the vacuum and taking these over for their own use. If this mission doesn't work out, we should have other options to find you a ship.
Hmmm. That actually syncs up with what I've heard. Bad news for trade but good news for bounty hunters like us!
So what's the plan for this mission, boss?
Similar to the other one where we recovered the Yuma, except I'm hoping there are fewer pirates. I'm going to scout the outside forces with Kayla's drone, then take out any opposition from a distance with a sniper rifle. Then I'll leave the others to cover the outside while I go in and find Silvius. Once he's eliminated, we take their ship and head back to Akila City.
You're a brave man, going into a pirate den by yourself, boss.
Yeah, that's why I picked up that Assault Suit. Brave doesn't mean stupid!
Judy has the Connected Focus but that will take a week to set up. I'll have her make a Connect roll (with +1 for her CHR) and her relative success will tell me how much she learns about the abandoned Cryo Lab. I will also roll a d4 to see how long it takes her to gather whatever info she comes up with.
: 2d6+1 8 1d4 2
Not too bad. She would have passed a "significant challenge to a competent professional."
Adam is interested in powered armor. The Trackers Alliance would sell some to him if he were a full member but he is not just yet so we'll see if he can track some down on his own. It would be easier for him on a UC world, with his previous connections there, but we'll say it's a DC 8 check on a FC world.
Powered Armor search: 2d6 8 Just got it.
The following day (the 28th) will be a week that Adam and crew will have spent in Akila City and I'll roll a World Event check.
For those who haven't played the video game, Ecliptic is a private mercenary force that isn't afraid to do a little piracy on the side. They are generally hostile on sight. Crimson Fleet is a loose collection of pirate captains that sometimes share info on big targets and work together occasionally.
Re: 05 - Six-gun for Hire
Akila City, Akila
Cheyenne system
28 March 2331
The final step Adam took in preparation for the bounty hunt was to buy (with Kayla's permission) an Observation Suite to fit to her Stalker drone. He contemplated putting some armaments on the drone but Kayla was completely unskilled at shooting any weapon so it seemed like a waste of money. And if they were going to keep their distance with the drone, might as well get some hi-res cameras on it so they could observe the scene safely.
The crew gathered on the Courser, Naruhiko took them into space, and they were on their way to Arcturus.
Transition zone
Cheyenne system
30 March 2331
The Courser was almost ready to drill out of the system when they received a hail from a passing Far Trader. Adam was on the bridge and handled the reply himself.
This is Far Trader Alexander, requesting assistance, do you copy?
Alexander, this is UCS Courser. What's your emergency?
Exhaust from our HVAC system is blocked from being vented and is building up inside the ship. Would strongly prefer not to head planetside without repairs first. Can your engineer assist?
Adam sighed. Have you identified the issue as internal or external?
External, Courser.
Adam facepalmed. Space walking time.
Alexander, I will assist regardless of compensation but credits will be warmly received.
Understood, Courser. The slush fund is all yours.
How about we dock to stabilize our relative velocity and then I'll get in the vacc suit?
Roger wilco, Courser.
After Adam cut the connection, Naruhiko said, You know we don't need to dock. I can hold her steady.
Of course, Naru. We're docking because I'm not going out there without confirming these people aren't pirates... or complete idiots.
Naru laughed. Executing docking maneuvers, Captain.
Adam didn't want to provoke anything so he boarded the Alexander with only his Armored Undersuit and a sidearm. Luckily, all was on the up and up with the Far Trader's crew so he took a look at their HVAC system, confirmed the blockage needed to be fixed externally, then returned to his own ship to get into his vacc suit.
Clearing the exhaust port ended up being uncomplicated but physically demanding. It took Adam a good six hours to get it done right, which is the only way Adam does things like that. The Captain of the Alexander, Jihun Bai, was apologetic that she didn't have more credits to pay Adam.
I wish I could do more for you but a lot of these colonies we serve are not exactly overflowing with creds. I owe you one.
Don't worry about it, Jihun. These favors have a way of evening out. Safe travels to Akila City. Buy my crew a beer next time we see you.
First round at the Hitching Post is on us!
Starport Event came up as "Nothing out of the ordinary occurs."
Ship Encounter - Major came up as "Transport Table", then "Far Trader 200".
Ship Reaction came up as "Asks for help with repair"
Ship Malfunction came up as "Gas build-up"
Fixing the Alexander: 2d6+3 10 That's a successful Fix check.
: 1d6 6 1d5+5 7 It takes Adam six hours to complete the repairs and the Alexander pays him 7,000 credits.
Cheyenne system
28 March 2331
The final step Adam took in preparation for the bounty hunt was to buy (with Kayla's permission) an Observation Suite to fit to her Stalker drone. He contemplated putting some armaments on the drone but Kayla was completely unskilled at shooting any weapon so it seemed like a waste of money. And if they were going to keep their distance with the drone, might as well get some hi-res cameras on it so they could observe the scene safely.
The crew gathered on the Courser, Naruhiko took them into space, and they were on their way to Arcturus.
Transition zone
Cheyenne system
30 March 2331
The Courser was almost ready to drill out of the system when they received a hail from a passing Far Trader. Adam was on the bridge and handled the reply himself.
This is Far Trader Alexander, requesting assistance, do you copy?
Alexander, this is UCS Courser. What's your emergency?
Exhaust from our HVAC system is blocked from being vented and is building up inside the ship. Would strongly prefer not to head planetside without repairs first. Can your engineer assist?
Adam sighed. Have you identified the issue as internal or external?
External, Courser.
Adam facepalmed. Space walking time.
Alexander, I will assist regardless of compensation but credits will be warmly received.
Understood, Courser. The slush fund is all yours.
How about we dock to stabilize our relative velocity and then I'll get in the vacc suit?
Roger wilco, Courser.
After Adam cut the connection, Naruhiko said, You know we don't need to dock. I can hold her steady.
Of course, Naru. We're docking because I'm not going out there without confirming these people aren't pirates... or complete idiots.
Naru laughed. Executing docking maneuvers, Captain.
Adam didn't want to provoke anything so he boarded the Alexander with only his Armored Undersuit and a sidearm. Luckily, all was on the up and up with the Far Trader's crew so he took a look at their HVAC system, confirmed the blockage needed to be fixed externally, then returned to his own ship to get into his vacc suit.
Clearing the exhaust port ended up being uncomplicated but physically demanding. It took Adam a good six hours to get it done right, which is the only way Adam does things like that. The Captain of the Alexander, Jihun Bai, was apologetic that she didn't have more credits to pay Adam.
I wish I could do more for you but a lot of these colonies we serve are not exactly overflowing with creds. I owe you one.
Don't worry about it, Jihun. These favors have a way of evening out. Safe travels to Akila City. Buy my crew a beer next time we see you.
First round at the Hitching Post is on us!
Starport Event came up as "Nothing out of the ordinary occurs."
Ship Encounter - Major came up as "Transport Table", then "Far Trader 200".
Ship Reaction came up as "Asks for help with repair"
Ship Malfunction came up as "Gas build-up"
Fixing the Alexander: 2d6+3 10 That's a successful Fix check.
: 1d6 6 1d5+5 7 It takes Adam six hours to complete the repairs and the Alexander pays him 7,000 credits.
Re: 05 - Six-gun for Hire
Transition zone
Arcturus system
05 April 2331
As there is a planet in the system capable of supporting human life, the Courser's rutter had a reasonably fresh route from Cheyenne to Arcturus and the drill was routine and uneventful. As most of them had gone off on their own during their shore leave, the crew used the free time on the trip to introduce themselves to each other. As Kayla was a minor celebrity, she was a big hit and, flattered by the positive attention, agreed to give a short concert for everyone a couple of days into the trip. Adam was very happy that the old and new members of the crew were getting along.
Adam decided to mod his sniper rifle to the same specs the UC Marines he worked with would do. Olga had some skill, and interest, in modding so she worked with him and it made the time go faster for both of them. Still, Olga couldn't contain her curiosity about Adam's past.
So, I have to admit, I find it hard to believe a bunch of UC Special Forces guys would let a techie like you train with them. There's something you're not telling us, Captain.
Why is that so hard to believe, Olga?
Uh, because only hard-core soldiers or lunatics with a death wish board a pirate ship by themselves and take out the lot without a scratch.
Yeah, I was wondering when you guys would come to realize that was a little unrealistic.
So there's more to the story?
Adam sighed, then smiled at Olga.
You ever hear of MES?
Olga looked confused for a second, then recognition spread across her face.
Metadimensional Extroversion Syndrome? You mean you're a psychic?
Indeed I am. In fact, I can kill people with my mind!
Olga's jaw dropped. You're kidding me!
Actually, yes. My powers are the opposite, in fact. I'm a Biopsion.
What's that?
I can heal living beings with psychic power.
So the UC recruited you to heal their soldiers.
More or less. The UC, and the FC for that matter, will find you sooner or later if you show any psychic skill. They taught me how to use it but I didn't really have the inclination at the time to go deeper, plus I enjoyed jobs using my hands, so I switched over to being the troop engineer.
That's incredible. You're a real UC Special Forces hardcase!
Yeah, well, I'd prefer you keep it to yourself. I wasn't in the service during the Colony War but there are still a lot of hard feelings in the FC so I'd prefer not to advertise my past.
Ha, I don't blame you! Don't worry, your secret is safe with me.
Once they arrive in system, Adam gives Naru a break on the stick and pilots the Courser to Arcturus II. Somewhat surprisingly, they encounter no ship traffic on the way to the planet. Adam breathes a sigh of relief. Now for the hard part of the plan.
Another drill where the difficulty was low enough not to warrant a roll.
I decided to roll on the "military" version of the Onboard Event table and got "Crew entertainment evening" as the result. Luckily we have an entertainer on board!
Adam installs the Customized mod on his sniper rifle. Costs 1,000 credits and would take one week but Olga helping means the time is cut in half. Now the rifle is "carefully tailored to a single specific user" and Adam gets an extra +1 to hit.
Once we reach the Arcturus system, I roll on the Ship Encounter-Frontier table but get a "none" result. Clear sailing to Arcturus II.
Arcturus system
05 April 2331
As there is a planet in the system capable of supporting human life, the Courser's rutter had a reasonably fresh route from Cheyenne to Arcturus and the drill was routine and uneventful. As most of them had gone off on their own during their shore leave, the crew used the free time on the trip to introduce themselves to each other. As Kayla was a minor celebrity, she was a big hit and, flattered by the positive attention, agreed to give a short concert for everyone a couple of days into the trip. Adam was very happy that the old and new members of the crew were getting along.
Adam decided to mod his sniper rifle to the same specs the UC Marines he worked with would do. Olga had some skill, and interest, in modding so she worked with him and it made the time go faster for both of them. Still, Olga couldn't contain her curiosity about Adam's past.
So, I have to admit, I find it hard to believe a bunch of UC Special Forces guys would let a techie like you train with them. There's something you're not telling us, Captain.
Why is that so hard to believe, Olga?
Uh, because only hard-core soldiers or lunatics with a death wish board a pirate ship by themselves and take out the lot without a scratch.
Yeah, I was wondering when you guys would come to realize that was a little unrealistic.
So there's more to the story?
Adam sighed, then smiled at Olga.
You ever hear of MES?
Olga looked confused for a second, then recognition spread across her face.
Metadimensional Extroversion Syndrome? You mean you're a psychic?
Indeed I am. In fact, I can kill people with my mind!
Olga's jaw dropped. You're kidding me!
Actually, yes. My powers are the opposite, in fact. I'm a Biopsion.
What's that?
I can heal living beings with psychic power.
So the UC recruited you to heal their soldiers.
More or less. The UC, and the FC for that matter, will find you sooner or later if you show any psychic skill. They taught me how to use it but I didn't really have the inclination at the time to go deeper, plus I enjoyed jobs using my hands, so I switched over to being the troop engineer.
That's incredible. You're a real UC Special Forces hardcase!
Yeah, well, I'd prefer you keep it to yourself. I wasn't in the service during the Colony War but there are still a lot of hard feelings in the FC so I'd prefer not to advertise my past.
Ha, I don't blame you! Don't worry, your secret is safe with me.
Once they arrive in system, Adam gives Naru a break on the stick and pilots the Courser to Arcturus II. Somewhat surprisingly, they encounter no ship traffic on the way to the planet. Adam breathes a sigh of relief. Now for the hard part of the plan.
Another drill where the difficulty was low enough not to warrant a roll.
I decided to roll on the "military" version of the Onboard Event table and got "Crew entertainment evening" as the result. Luckily we have an entertainer on board!
Adam installs the Customized mod on his sniper rifle. Costs 1,000 credits and would take one week but Olga helping means the time is cut in half. Now the rifle is "carefully tailored to a single specific user" and Adam gets an extra +1 to hit.
Once we reach the Arcturus system, I roll on the Ship Encounter-Frontier table but get a "none" result. Clear sailing to Arcturus II.
Re: 05 - Six-gun for Hire
Abandoned Cryo Lab
Arcturus II, Arcturus system
07 April 2331
The data from the Trackers Alliance is accurate and the bounty's location is easily identified. Adam, Olga, and Kayla disembark while Naru and Esana stay on the Courser. The trio set up about two klicks from the Lab. Kayla flies the drone and sends the feed to Adam, while Olga is there to provide security for Kayla should they be discovered. Then Adam begins the long hike to the Lab. He is pleased to see that the pirates' ship is there.
Adam is wearing an Assault Suit which, among other benefits, allows him to connect his laser rifle and give it essentially unlimited ammo as long as the Suit's Type B power cell is charged. Since the Type B cell runs for 24 hours, that should be more than enough time for this mission. Adam also carries his modified sniper rifle. In his pack, he carries a Stim (aka Pretech Cosmetic) and a Medkit.
Having successfully maneuvered into position for sniping, Adam relaxes a bit. With his Suit's thermal vision, he had no problem spotting the enemies and Kayla's loitering drone confirmed there were only three outside. She also confirmed they were carrying two Combat Rifles and a Mag Rifle. Adam would have ample time to take them out before they could even close to max weapon range. Adam sat completely out of the pirates' vision and watched the feed from Kayla's drone for about 20 minutes. It seemed like the two with assault rifles were half-heartedly patrolling the area while the one with the Mag Rifle stood by the entrance to the Lab. Adam took him for the leader and resolved to take him out first.
Maybe it was the wind or maybe the boss made an unexpected move at the last moment but Adam's first shot whizzed harmlessly by his head. Adam cursed under his breath, racked another bullet, and headshotted one of the gangers. The other ganger freaked out, firing wildly in a direction that vaguely correlated with where Adam's bullets were coming from. While the boss was still frozen, Adam lined him up for another shot, this time striking him cleanly in the torso. The boss dropped to the ground, clutching his guts. Adam quickly moved his aim back to ganger #2 and popped him in the chest. No more movement.
Kayla, do you have eyes on the boss?
No, I don.... wait, I see him now. He's crawling back into the Lab entrance. Do you have a shot?
Negative. Any other movement?
I see nothing else. The other two are definitely dead.
Adam cursed again, this time out loud, and rose to his feet. He headed down the hill toward the Lab.
I'm moving in. Let me know if you see anyone else coming out of the door.
Roger that.
Adam covered the distance in a few minutes, moving more slowly and cautiously as he got within assault rifle range. Kayla saw nothing on her feed, and Adam also had nothing on his thermal vision, other than the cooling bodies of the two gangers.
I'm going to check the ship first. I don't want anyone coming in behind me once I enter the Lab.
Roger that, be careful.
Adam boarded the ship and quickly swept all rooms, laser rifle in front of him. It was empty. He sat down in the pilot's chair and quickly did a system check. The fuel tanks had enough fuel to drill out but the drive was not responsive. Making his way back to the engine room, he discovered the reason why. The drive was fried, basically destroyed. It looked like a fire had broken out here, with heavy damage to the surrounding electrical system as well. There was a dead pirate splayed out on the floor in front of the drive, with a single bullet wound to the head. Adam wondered if that was the work of his hot-tempered bounty. Adam could only imagine the man's reaction when he learned he was trapped on Arcturus II with no way off-planet.
Well, Adam thought as he headed for the Lab entrance, if he thinks that's bad, his day's about to get a lot worse.
How many enemies? : 1d5+5 7
We'll assume three outside and four inside.
Adam's attempt to sneak up on the three outside (DC 6, +2 for DEX, -2 for no skill in Sneak, +1 for sneaking only into sniper range): Sneak check: 2d6+1 8
I'm calling these three a Gang Boss (3 HD) and two Gang Members (1 HD).
Round 1
We'll try an Execution Attack on the Boss. DC 8 with a +2 on the roll: Execution Attack: 2d6+2 6 That's a miss. Ugh.
Fray die takes out Ganger 1.
Round 2
Initiative is Ganger, Adam, Boss Rd 1 initiative: 1d8+2 4 1d8+2 3 1d8+1 9
Morale checks, Boss first: Morale checks, boss first: 2#2d6 8 8 Boss passes, Ganger fails.
The ganger panics and starts to randomly empty his clip in Adam's general direction.
Regular attack on the Boss from Adam. Rd 1 vs boss: 1d20+5 25 2d8+2 6 That's a Nat 20 but there is no bonus for those in SWN.
6 HP of damage equals 2 HD damage for Heroic PCs, so the Boss is down to 1 HD.
The Fray die takes out the second Ganger.
The Boss passed his Morale check so he doesn't flee but he does take cover. At this point, I'll try another Morale check. If he passes, he attempts to rush Adam. Failure means he retreats inside the Lab.
Round 3
Initiative rd 2: 2#1d8+2 6 7 Unfortunately, the Boss wins initiative and gets to act first.
Morale check: 2nd Morale check: 2d6 11 Dammit! The Boss flees.
Arcturus II, Arcturus system
07 April 2331
The data from the Trackers Alliance is accurate and the bounty's location is easily identified. Adam, Olga, and Kayla disembark while Naru and Esana stay on the Courser. The trio set up about two klicks from the Lab. Kayla flies the drone and sends the feed to Adam, while Olga is there to provide security for Kayla should they be discovered. Then Adam begins the long hike to the Lab. He is pleased to see that the pirates' ship is there.
Adam is wearing an Assault Suit which, among other benefits, allows him to connect his laser rifle and give it essentially unlimited ammo as long as the Suit's Type B power cell is charged. Since the Type B cell runs for 24 hours, that should be more than enough time for this mission. Adam also carries his modified sniper rifle. In his pack, he carries a Stim (aka Pretech Cosmetic) and a Medkit.
Having successfully maneuvered into position for sniping, Adam relaxes a bit. With his Suit's thermal vision, he had no problem spotting the enemies and Kayla's loitering drone confirmed there were only three outside. She also confirmed they were carrying two Combat Rifles and a Mag Rifle. Adam would have ample time to take them out before they could even close to max weapon range. Adam sat completely out of the pirates' vision and watched the feed from Kayla's drone for about 20 minutes. It seemed like the two with assault rifles were half-heartedly patrolling the area while the one with the Mag Rifle stood by the entrance to the Lab. Adam took him for the leader and resolved to take him out first.
Maybe it was the wind or maybe the boss made an unexpected move at the last moment but Adam's first shot whizzed harmlessly by his head. Adam cursed under his breath, racked another bullet, and headshotted one of the gangers. The other ganger freaked out, firing wildly in a direction that vaguely correlated with where Adam's bullets were coming from. While the boss was still frozen, Adam lined him up for another shot, this time striking him cleanly in the torso. The boss dropped to the ground, clutching his guts. Adam quickly moved his aim back to ganger #2 and popped him in the chest. No more movement.
Kayla, do you have eyes on the boss?
No, I don.... wait, I see him now. He's crawling back into the Lab entrance. Do you have a shot?
Negative. Any other movement?
I see nothing else. The other two are definitely dead.
Adam cursed again, this time out loud, and rose to his feet. He headed down the hill toward the Lab.
I'm moving in. Let me know if you see anyone else coming out of the door.
Roger that.
Adam covered the distance in a few minutes, moving more slowly and cautiously as he got within assault rifle range. Kayla saw nothing on her feed, and Adam also had nothing on his thermal vision, other than the cooling bodies of the two gangers.
I'm going to check the ship first. I don't want anyone coming in behind me once I enter the Lab.
Roger that, be careful.
Adam boarded the ship and quickly swept all rooms, laser rifle in front of him. It was empty. He sat down in the pilot's chair and quickly did a system check. The fuel tanks had enough fuel to drill out but the drive was not responsive. Making his way back to the engine room, he discovered the reason why. The drive was fried, basically destroyed. It looked like a fire had broken out here, with heavy damage to the surrounding electrical system as well. There was a dead pirate splayed out on the floor in front of the drive, with a single bullet wound to the head. Adam wondered if that was the work of his hot-tempered bounty. Adam could only imagine the man's reaction when he learned he was trapped on Arcturus II with no way off-planet.
Well, Adam thought as he headed for the Lab entrance, if he thinks that's bad, his day's about to get a lot worse.
How many enemies? : 1d5+5 7
We'll assume three outside and four inside.
Adam's attempt to sneak up on the three outside (DC 6, +2 for DEX, -2 for no skill in Sneak, +1 for sneaking only into sniper range): Sneak check: 2d6+1 8
I'm calling these three a Gang Boss (3 HD) and two Gang Members (1 HD).
Round 1
We'll try an Execution Attack on the Boss. DC 8 with a +2 on the roll: Execution Attack: 2d6+2 6 That's a miss. Ugh.
Fray die takes out Ganger 1.
Round 2
Initiative is Ganger, Adam, Boss Rd 1 initiative: 1d8+2 4 1d8+2 3 1d8+1 9
Morale checks, Boss first: Morale checks, boss first: 2#2d6 8 8 Boss passes, Ganger fails.
The ganger panics and starts to randomly empty his clip in Adam's general direction.
Regular attack on the Boss from Adam. Rd 1 vs boss: 1d20+5 25 2d8+2 6 That's a Nat 20 but there is no bonus for those in SWN.
6 HP of damage equals 2 HD damage for Heroic PCs, so the Boss is down to 1 HD.
The Fray die takes out the second Ganger.
The Boss passed his Morale check so he doesn't flee but he does take cover. At this point, I'll try another Morale check. If he passes, he attempts to rush Adam. Failure means he retreats inside the Lab.
Round 3
Initiative rd 2: 2#1d8+2 6 7 Unfortunately, the Boss wins initiative and gets to act first.
Morale check: 2nd Morale check: 2d6 11 Dammit! The Boss flees.
Re: 05 - Six-gun for Hire
Adam paused at the door and reached out to his team on his compad.
The perimeter is secure, as is the pirate ship. I'm going in for the bounty. Bring the Courser down and start loading up the cargo.
Captain? Olga asked. Why don't we just fly the cargo out on their ship?
Their spike drive is damaged, probably beyond repair. That ship's not going anywhere for a while. Oh, that reminds me. There's a corpse in the engine room, can someone please remove it for me?
Uh... yeah. Sure, Captain.
Having issued new orders to his team, Adam cautiously moved to the door. He could see the boss lying there on the floor, just inside the entrance. He looked like he was holding his side where Adam had shot him. Adam crept up to the entrance, swung around to face the man, and finished him with his laser rifle.
Adam took a quick look around the room inside the entrance but there was nothing much to consider. It was a command room but the consoles had no connection to any systems below. Adam made his way down the ramp to the Cryo Lab entrance. Judging from the state of the door and the surrounding walls, whatever experiments performed here had gotten out of control. Adam made sure his Assault Suit was sealed up and he entered the Lab.
Initiative check Initiative check: 2#1d8+2 9 8 Adam wins.
The rules for Heroic PCs allow Focused Fray, where you use your Fray die as a Main Action. I do that and finish the Boss, as he has only the 1 HD left.
The perimeter is secure, as is the pirate ship. I'm going in for the bounty. Bring the Courser down and start loading up the cargo.
Captain? Olga asked. Why don't we just fly the cargo out on their ship?
Their spike drive is damaged, probably beyond repair. That ship's not going anywhere for a while. Oh, that reminds me. There's a corpse in the engine room, can someone please remove it for me?
Uh... yeah. Sure, Captain.
Having issued new orders to his team, Adam cautiously moved to the door. He could see the boss lying there on the floor, just inside the entrance. He looked like he was holding his side where Adam had shot him. Adam crept up to the entrance, swung around to face the man, and finished him with his laser rifle.
Adam took a quick look around the room inside the entrance but there was nothing much to consider. It was a command room but the consoles had no connection to any systems below. Adam made his way down the ramp to the Cryo Lab entrance. Judging from the state of the door and the surrounding walls, whatever experiments performed here had gotten out of control. Adam made sure his Assault Suit was sealed up and he entered the Lab.
Initiative check Initiative check: 2#1d8+2 9 8 Adam wins.
The rules for Heroic PCs allow Focused Fray, where you use your Fray die as a Main Action. I do that and finish the Boss, as he has only the 1 HD left.
Re: 05 - Six-gun for Hire
Moving into the Lab, Adam tried to be as quiet as possible. Everything was silent as a tomb around him. Massive torrents of frozen water had smashed through the roof in multiple places, making the footing treacherous (and noisy) but Adam saw no signs of the remaining pirates or his quarry.
He did come across a number of frozen corpses. Whatever tragedy had happened in the Lab, it appeared to have taken the employees by surprise. Adam leaned down to look at the ID card on one of them.
Ryujin Industries... Project Marzanna. Very curious.
A crunching noise from behind him brought Adam back to focus on the task at hand. Entry deeper into the Lab was impossible through the doors, as they had all frozen solid, but he was able to jimmy open a gate to a crawlspace and creeped around until he spotted two more of the pirates. Adam viewed them through his scanner. Neither were Ike Silvius, but it didn't change his approach. They both needed to go.
Adam tried to quietly shimmy up to a vent and get a clean look at the pair but the thin metal of the crawlspace strained under the weight of his Assault Suit and the pirates heard him coming. Adam took a pair of shots, wounding one of them and killing the other. The wounded man fired back, metal flechettes peppering the thin metal with holes, but the few that landed accurately were safely deflected by Adam's armor. One more shot and the second man was down as well.
Adam jumped out of the vent and waited a long time to see if Silvius, or anyone else, would emerge but the hallway remained stubbornly silent.
Ok, Ike, you and me. Let's do this.
Round 1
Stealth check vs DC 8: 2d6+1 7 Adam fails to sneak up on the pair of pirates
Initiative check: 2#1d8+2 9 8 1d8+1 2 Adam, then the Boss, then the mook (who is going to die from my Fray die before he gets a shot off)
Rd 1 vs Boss (AC 14): 1d20+5 19 1d10+2 7 7 hp damage is 2 HD damage. Not a kill
Boss vs Adam rd 1: 1d20+4 6 2d8+2 13 That's a miss, which is good because that damage would have hurt
Round 2
Rd 2 initiative: 2#1d8+2 9 4 Another initiative win means another kill as I'll use my Focused Fray.
He did come across a number of frozen corpses. Whatever tragedy had happened in the Lab, it appeared to have taken the employees by surprise. Adam leaned down to look at the ID card on one of them.
Ryujin Industries... Project Marzanna. Very curious.
A crunching noise from behind him brought Adam back to focus on the task at hand. Entry deeper into the Lab was impossible through the doors, as they had all frozen solid, but he was able to jimmy open a gate to a crawlspace and creeped around until he spotted two more of the pirates. Adam viewed them through his scanner. Neither were Ike Silvius, but it didn't change his approach. They both needed to go.
Adam tried to quietly shimmy up to a vent and get a clean look at the pair but the thin metal of the crawlspace strained under the weight of his Assault Suit and the pirates heard him coming. Adam took a pair of shots, wounding one of them and killing the other. The wounded man fired back, metal flechettes peppering the thin metal with holes, but the few that landed accurately were safely deflected by Adam's armor. One more shot and the second man was down as well.
Adam jumped out of the vent and waited a long time to see if Silvius, or anyone else, would emerge but the hallway remained stubbornly silent.
Ok, Ike, you and me. Let's do this.
Round 1
Stealth check vs DC 8: 2d6+1 7 Adam fails to sneak up on the pair of pirates
Initiative check: 2#1d8+2 9 8 1d8+1 2 Adam, then the Boss, then the mook (who is going to die from my Fray die before he gets a shot off)
Rd 1 vs Boss (AC 14): 1d20+5 19 1d10+2 7 7 hp damage is 2 HD damage. Not a kill
Boss vs Adam rd 1: 1d20+4 6 2d8+2 13 That's a miss, which is good because that damage would have hurt
Round 2
Rd 2 initiative: 2#1d8+2 9 4 Another initiative win means another kill as I'll use my Focused Fray.
Re: 05 - Six-gun for Hire
Adam walked through the Lab's break room, down a hallway, and found a set of offices. He poked through most of them but didn't see anything interesting. The one at the end of the hallway was locked. Adam again paused and listened for a good five minutes. When he still heard nothing, he pulled out his metatool and attempted to hack the door open.
Surprisingly, the security on the door was fairly tight and he wasn't able to get it open. Hmm, Ryujin put some heavy duty security here. Looks like they didn't trust their own employees. Now I'm really curious what was going on here. Maybe I can go back into the crawlspace and bypass this door.
Adam wandered around the area he could access, looking for another way in. He found an open vent, and someone who had the same idea but failed to make it through.
Adam quickly searched the body and was able to pry free the man's access card. Adam went back to the locked door and, luckily, the card opened it. The office contained nothing of interest... except... yes, Adam was able to boot up the computer. But could he get past its security? Yes, yes he could. Of course I couldn't get a door to open but I can hack a Ryujin computer. Let's see what we see. Hmmm, looks like there was a whistle-blower... and Ryujin ignored him. Shocking. So shocking that I will upload this to my dataslab.
'The value of this data cannot be overstated'. And it seems very likely that the data is still here in the Lab, since no one seems to have made it out alive. After I take care of Silvius, I will have to take a closer look for that data.
Program roll to hack the door (DC 6): 2d6+1 4 That's a failed hack.
Program roll to hack the PC (DC 8): 2d6+1 11 That, on the other hand, is a spectacular success.
Surprisingly, the security on the door was fairly tight and he wasn't able to get it open. Hmm, Ryujin put some heavy duty security here. Looks like they didn't trust their own employees. Now I'm really curious what was going on here. Maybe I can go back into the crawlspace and bypass this door.
Adam wandered around the area he could access, looking for another way in. He found an open vent, and someone who had the same idea but failed to make it through.
Adam quickly searched the body and was able to pry free the man's access card. Adam went back to the locked door and, luckily, the card opened it. The office contained nothing of interest... except... yes, Adam was able to boot up the computer. But could he get past its security? Yes, yes he could. Of course I couldn't get a door to open but I can hack a Ryujin computer. Let's see what we see. Hmmm, looks like there was a whistle-blower... and Ryujin ignored him. Shocking. So shocking that I will upload this to my dataslab.
'The value of this data cannot be overstated'. And it seems very likely that the data is still here in the Lab, since no one seems to have made it out alive. After I take care of Silvius, I will have to take a closer look for that data.
Program roll to hack the door (DC 6): 2d6+1 4 That's a failed hack.
Program roll to hack the PC (DC 8): 2d6+1 11 That, on the other hand, is a spectacular success.
Re: 05 - Six-gun for Hire
Adam found a way down to the bowels of the Lab. He figured that would be his best chance of finding the encrypted data. He was so engrossed in finding this data 'whose value cannot be overstated' that he missed his chance of surprising Silvius and barely managed to duck back behind cover before getting ventilated.
Silvius called out to him, Guess I must be pretty special, if you're coming all the way down to the bottom of this hole looking for me.
Maybe, maybe not. But the credits are good so here I am.
If it's credits you're interested in, I can make that happen. Just walk away and I'll make you a rich man.
Easier for me to take the bounty on you, Ike. I'll be taking your ship, too, just so you know.
Silvius laughed sharply at that. Good luck with that. You're more likely to carry it off-planet on your back than fly it out of here.
We'll see. You made a mess of it but I think I can fix your mistakes.
Silvius' tone turned dark. It was that damn Miller that blew it up, not me! Got us all stuck on this damn rock!
That why you blew his head half off?
Yeah, well, he got what was coming for him.
Sounds like you need what's coming for you, Ike. Man like you ain't fit for polite society.
Fuck you, bounty hunter! I'll carve your heart out!
I don't doubt you'll try.
Adam's calm response only enraged Silvius more. No more talk! I'm taking you out and then your ship's my ticket off this planet!
Adam was about to respond but Ike popped out and started to blast away with his pistol. Adam returned fire and clipped him a good one. Silvius cried out in anger and shot again, the bullet sending sparks flying across Adam's vision as it ricocheted off the doorway, barely missing his head. Adam made sure of his aim this time and blew a hole clean through Silvius' chest. It was over almost as quickly as it started.
Adam walked up to the body, kicked away the sidearm, and briefly made sure the man was dead. Then he scanned the body. Within seconds, the kill was confirmed and Adam was 120,000 credits richer.
Adam picked up the pistol and looked it over. Sidestar, manufactured by Allied Armaments. The preferred supplier of the United Colonies military. Huh, this looks like the 'Skip Shot' variant. This is a pretty rare build. What's it doing in the hands of a scumbag like Ike? All the same, nice little trophy for me.
Adam called up to his crew on the surface.
How's the cargo loading going?
We just started. It took a while to find a clear landing spot for the Courser that wasn't a mile away.
Roger that. Take your time. Silvius and his gang are dead.
Nice work, Captain. We'll see you topside.
Might be a little bit before I get there so don't panic. I'm going to take a tour of the place before we leave.
Anything interesting down there, Cap?
There just might be, Olga. Monarch out.
It took another hour of searching, and some more crawling in vents, but Adam found what he was looking for. The whistle blower didn't make it, but Adam found some data on his body that could be worth a lot... if he played his cards right. He had to be careful how he proceeded, because making an enemy of Ryujin Industries was pretty close to professional suicide.
We are treating the bounty as a Gengineered Killer (4 HD). He also has a special pistol that does more damage and fires two bullets every fourth shot, but has a 1 in 10 chance of jamming.
Round 1
Rd 1 initiative: 2#1d8+2 9 9 PCs win ties so Adam goes first.
Rd 1: 1d20+5 21 1d10+2 6 That's a hit and 6 hp damage is 2 HD. Silvius is at 2/4 HD.
Ike rd 1: 1d20+5 11 1d8+2 3 1d10 9 11 is a miss.
Round 2
rd 2 initiative: 2#1d8+2 6 8 Silvius goes first.
Ike rd 2: 1d20+5 11 1d8+2 10 1d10 4 Another miss.
Adam rd 2 vs Silvius: 1d20+5 25 1d10+2 10 That finished him.
EDIT: Reading the thread again, I realize there were supposed to be four pirates inside. I think I counted the first guy, who crawled inside from outside, twice. Oh well. Maybe he survived and will come back to take his revenge on Adam?
Silvius called out to him, Guess I must be pretty special, if you're coming all the way down to the bottom of this hole looking for me.
Maybe, maybe not. But the credits are good so here I am.
If it's credits you're interested in, I can make that happen. Just walk away and I'll make you a rich man.
Easier for me to take the bounty on you, Ike. I'll be taking your ship, too, just so you know.
Silvius laughed sharply at that. Good luck with that. You're more likely to carry it off-planet on your back than fly it out of here.
We'll see. You made a mess of it but I think I can fix your mistakes.
Silvius' tone turned dark. It was that damn Miller that blew it up, not me! Got us all stuck on this damn rock!
That why you blew his head half off?
Yeah, well, he got what was coming for him.
Sounds like you need what's coming for you, Ike. Man like you ain't fit for polite society.
Fuck you, bounty hunter! I'll carve your heart out!
I don't doubt you'll try.
Adam's calm response only enraged Silvius more. No more talk! I'm taking you out and then your ship's my ticket off this planet!
Adam was about to respond but Ike popped out and started to blast away with his pistol. Adam returned fire and clipped him a good one. Silvius cried out in anger and shot again, the bullet sending sparks flying across Adam's vision as it ricocheted off the doorway, barely missing his head. Adam made sure of his aim this time and blew a hole clean through Silvius' chest. It was over almost as quickly as it started.
Adam walked up to the body, kicked away the sidearm, and briefly made sure the man was dead. Then he scanned the body. Within seconds, the kill was confirmed and Adam was 120,000 credits richer.
Adam picked up the pistol and looked it over. Sidestar, manufactured by Allied Armaments. The preferred supplier of the United Colonies military. Huh, this looks like the 'Skip Shot' variant. This is a pretty rare build. What's it doing in the hands of a scumbag like Ike? All the same, nice little trophy for me.
Adam called up to his crew on the surface.
How's the cargo loading going?
We just started. It took a while to find a clear landing spot for the Courser that wasn't a mile away.
Roger that. Take your time. Silvius and his gang are dead.
Nice work, Captain. We'll see you topside.
Might be a little bit before I get there so don't panic. I'm going to take a tour of the place before we leave.
Anything interesting down there, Cap?
There just might be, Olga. Monarch out.
It took another hour of searching, and some more crawling in vents, but Adam found what he was looking for. The whistle blower didn't make it, but Adam found some data on his body that could be worth a lot... if he played his cards right. He had to be careful how he proceeded, because making an enemy of Ryujin Industries was pretty close to professional suicide.
We are treating the bounty as a Gengineered Killer (4 HD). He also has a special pistol that does more damage and fires two bullets every fourth shot, but has a 1 in 10 chance of jamming.
Round 1
Rd 1 initiative: 2#1d8+2 9 9 PCs win ties so Adam goes first.
Rd 1: 1d20+5 21 1d10+2 6 That's a hit and 6 hp damage is 2 HD. Silvius is at 2/4 HD.
Ike rd 1: 1d20+5 11 1d8+2 3 1d10 9 11 is a miss.
Round 2
rd 2 initiative: 2#1d8+2 6 8 Silvius goes first.
Ike rd 2: 1d20+5 11 1d8+2 10 1d10 4 Another miss.
Adam rd 2 vs Silvius: 1d20+5 25 1d10+2 10 That finished him.
EDIT: Reading the thread again, I realize there were supposed to be four pirates inside. I think I counted the first guy, who crawled inside from outside, twice. Oh well. Maybe he survived and will come back to take his revenge on Adam?
Re: 05 - Six-gun for Hire
Let's do a quick check here of the current situation.
Is the Patrol Boat's spike drive destroyed, or merely disabled? We'll say 01-30 disabled, 31-00 destroyed.
: 1d100 24 Well, that's good news.
Since the Drive-2 upgrade costs 100k, I can jury-rig it for 1/10th the system's cost (10k) and one day's work. Well, it actually says field maintenance takes 4x the time so four days. The problem is that the cost of repairs essentially is the cost of spare parts, of which I have none.
Are there any spare parts in the Abandoned Cryo Lab? I'm actually going to pull out the Mythic GME again here. I'll say Likely that spare parts are here, although I'll have to check again to see how much and if they're accessible.
: 1d100 63 Just barely a Yes.
Are there enough Spare Parts to jury-rig the Spike Drive? First, I'm going to flip a coin. 1 is Unlikely and 2 is Very Unlikely.
: 1d2 2 Ugh, ok. Very Unlikely.
: 1d100 89 Exceptional No. I think this means that yes, parts are here but they're all either behind a frozen door I can't get to, or they're damaged beyond use by the cold.
Rather than randomly roll any more, I am going to say that there is a Settler Colony on this planet that will sell us spare parts, but they'll ask us to do them a favor first. I just need to think of what that might be.
Is the Patrol Boat's spike drive destroyed, or merely disabled? We'll say 01-30 disabled, 31-00 destroyed.
: 1d100 24 Well, that's good news.
Since the Drive-2 upgrade costs 100k, I can jury-rig it for 1/10th the system's cost (10k) and one day's work. Well, it actually says field maintenance takes 4x the time so four days. The problem is that the cost of repairs essentially is the cost of spare parts, of which I have none.
Are there any spare parts in the Abandoned Cryo Lab? I'm actually going to pull out the Mythic GME again here. I'll say Likely that spare parts are here, although I'll have to check again to see how much and if they're accessible.
: 1d100 63 Just barely a Yes.
Are there enough Spare Parts to jury-rig the Spike Drive? First, I'm going to flip a coin. 1 is Unlikely and 2 is Very Unlikely.
: 1d2 2 Ugh, ok. Very Unlikely.
: 1d100 89 Exceptional No. I think this means that yes, parts are here but they're all either behind a frozen door I can't get to, or they're damaged beyond use by the cold.
Rather than randomly roll any more, I am going to say that there is a Settler Colony on this planet that will sell us spare parts, but they'll ask us to do them a favor first. I just need to think of what that might be.