Iron Stars - jaxton

(I don't think we ever had a channel for you before)

9:17 PM

(that we saved)

(Not that I'm aware of)

Uloth is a world that was flourishing, fell, flourished again, and now hovers somewhere between the two. Ascendency numbers have been steadily rising as new symbiotes are formed, though the appetites of both for any kind of food stuffs available. Crops are growing, and the native livestock that have survived the destruction of The Great Dishonor are slowly also climbing in numbers, but things are rapidly outpacing the speed of recovery. As Exemplar of House Lux, finding food supplies is an issue that increasingly begins coming across your desk

Grand High Exemplar Jaxton Ryder didn't typically enjoy spending large swaths of time behind a desk. He had always been a leader from the front, which hadn't changed that much now that he was essentially the power behind the throne of a thriving culture. Beyond that, Ryder's immediate concern was feeding his adoptive people. Agriculture wasn't his strong suit, but he found he was very good at people management. Specifically, finding the best people for the important jobs. Jaxton leaned heavily on the fact that the Chimeran culture had already adopted a meritocracy by the time he arrived, so finding the best was never very difficult. The Exemplar tapped a button on his dataslab and, within a minute, a very handsome older human woman (approximately in her mid-/late-40s) entered the modest chambers via the heavy wooden doors. She wore a sensible, yet comfortable black uniform that matched Jax's own, albeit with less shoulder piping. She silently stopped just inside the room, leaving the door open behind her. Jax swiped a few files from his dataslab and airdropped them onto the compad the woman held in her right hand. "Ms. Jaeger, would you be so kind as to provide me with a merit listing for animal husbandry, scouts, agriculture, and biogeneticists and have it back to me within the hour? And please, try to pull more candidates from outside House Lux. I need to get the Lower Houses more involved in the revitalization of the planet. And please summon Dexter." The woman simply nodded and departed without a word. Jaxton's personal staff consisted primarily of the Tenebrian Empire staff that had been stranded on the planet after the Scream. They had all since individually renounced their Imperial oaths and sworn fealty to Ryder and the Chimeran people. (edited)

Upon her exit, Ryder immediately turned his attention back to the work on the dataslab before him. The man quickly shot off an update memo to his agriculture attaché, Hugo Farnsworth, to update the aide on his inquiry to Ms. Hannah Jaeger. Jax made a mental note to forward Jaeger's results when he received them. He opened recent communiques from Talia Dean and Hunter Cooley, his army and navy attachés (respectively), which updated the Exemplar of promising new recruits and ship modification plans for a special unit Jaxton was assembling outside of the normal command structure. He reviewed the names and their accolades while he awated the arrival of Dexter Vermaelen. (edited)

(Well, theres a lot going on here and I'm not sure where any of this is going)

1

(Hopefully cleared up via DM)

A list showing recommendations from the field comes in, though it becomes abundantly clear that Uloth is rapidly becoming stripped of its ability to continue feeding its 'people' More farmland or ranch land needs to be cleared to have life seeded there, and even better, if an off world colony could be set up to ship food back to the homeworld, that would stabilize the situation even further- as Uloth's islands offer little in the way of large plots of farmland

Ryder silently scrutinized the information presented. For now, as a temporary stopgap, he sent a message to Farnsworth for him to begin organizing the supplies for an expedition of his own. Jaxton ordered Farnsworth to assemble the following in preparation: a large team of laborers (w/ tools, machinery, equipment, etc), a protective detail, survival supplies, and a mobile research lab. The two of them would accompany the expedition to the undeveloped island directly to the south of House Lux to clear farmland and begin experimentation/testing for floating platform farms. (edited)

farnsworth replies that he can have the necessary supplies assembled within the next few days, though some on site exploring ahead of time will help ensure the site is safe and prepared for immediate work. Dangers would need to be cleared out, and the land surveyed to ensure workboots hit the ground with purpose

Jaxton replies for Farnsworth to assemble the protective detail first, set for departure ASAP. Jaxton would accompany them to establish a basecamp, scout, and secure the area. Then Farnsworth would accompany the laborers to arrive with the second wave to begin work.

(alright, so you're going in with the first wave?)

(Yep)

A small team is put together, though only two marines could be found on such short notice. It takes time for other forces and logistical hurdles to surmount themselves, as each noble house takes an exacting amount of time to figure out what to contribute based on their rank and what honor requires

(Do these two count as henchmen?)

(not without the henchkeeper foci)

(I have the henchkeeper level 1 focus)

(then yes)

(When it says "rounding up" does that mean I can have 3 henchmen?)

1:23 PM

(Since I'm level 7 and it's 1 every 3 levels, rounding up)

(yes)

1:25 PM

(but only two could be found)

1:25 PM

(in this case)

(ok)

1:31 PM

After an appropriate amount of fussing, the Lux guardsmen assigned to internal security finally relented and allowed the fully equipped Ryder to meet up with the two soldiers assigned as his honor guard for the trip to secure the island.

1:33 PM

"It's all gonna be fine. If there's an emergency, you can contact us on any of our compads... probably," Jax called back to the newly concerned internal security guardsmen.

The trip over, done by air, takes an hour from the house lux Landing pad and before long you’re landed at the edge of a large island with bamboo like plants nearly the height of office buildings. The trunks are thick and the material tough despite the hollow cores. Grass chokes the spaces between these large growths , every single plant fighting for rays of the precious sun needed for growth

The second their feet touch the ground, Jax does a solid sweep of the perimeter, eyes and ears peeled on the forest and keeping a hawkish gaze for anything that might indicate something out of the ordinary

9:38 PM

(Notice check?)

(Nothing would come back right now as out of place.

Jax assisted in establishing base camp. In particular, Jax paid special attention to setting up the proximity sensors/bioscanners. He had one too many instances back in the day of being bushwhacked in the dead of night (edited)

Base camp is set up consisting of your tents and a few scanners, though the scanning waves have trouble getting through the jungle ahead, the sheer volume of biomass making everything return as a wall of life

That's precisely what Jaxton had in mind. With the base camp secured and Jaxton confident that nothing could sneak up on the camp in the dead of night without at least alerting the guard on duty, Jaxton approached the edge of the choked jungle. "Cover me for a second..." Jaxton moved to acquire samples of the bamboo tree (edited)

As you cut the tree, the knife cleanly severs a piece of it, though there is now a disturbing purple gel inside the hollow stalk. The gel steams when exposed to the sun, and seems to be bubbling the rest of the plant around it, releasing something like a smoking mist , though the breeze carries this small amount away handily

Jaxton makes sure to shield his face, purposely neglecting to take a sample of the purple gel for now. He walked back to the camp, set the samples separate from the camp-proper, and approached the two soldiers. "Spread out a maximum of two meters," Jax said as he bent over and picked up a hefty fist-sized rock, seemingly weighing it before launching it into the jungle at no target in particular, and monitoring sound for any reaction aside from the rock within the tree line.

He knew he likely made an odd sight to his soldiers, but fool me once...

the leaves sway and make a swoosh sound as the rock flies in, along with a bump when it hits either another rock or the ground

Jax turns to his soldiers, "Lets take a few minutes. I don't especially want to move into the undergrowth until we know more about that purple gel inside. We don't know if it's toxic, explosive, caustic, or anything yet and that makes me more nervous than anything else. It seems to have a volatile reaction when exposed to sunlight. I need a sample of it. If we can shield it from sunlight while I collect a sample, I should be able to get a basic understanding of what it is. Unless either of you already know, if that's the case, then speak up. If not, lets get set up to collect some."

Neither of them have any idea what this might be, but as you are their commanding officer, they will follow you in your efforts to get some of the substance for testing. One of them has the idea of using an ammunition container from the ship since it is opaque, and will at least keep out the sunlight

Jaxton assists them in the collection, directing them in the best/safest collection methods. (edited)

(lets get a sneak/dex, since it is going to require some fast and steady hands, or exert, either one, but with dex)

(11) (edited)

(there were 3 rolls in a row, the first one was an 8. did something happen?)

(Yep, I used my reroll) (edited)

2:34 PM

(The middle one was an accident. I accidentally added a modifier)

your hands are steady, and devoid of light the substance seems less reactive. For the moment, it sits inside the opaque ammunition container and does not seem to be eating through it

Jax begins to analyze the goo with his spare bioscanner, taking extra care to note anything that might indicate potential reactions or uses. (edited)

(Roll?)

The bioscanner can only index information that is already known, and this is at least based on the sap that used to come from these strange bamboo like plants. The substance vaporizes in sunlight, but it is not known what the long term effects of it are, or if it is dangerous to inhale

Jax withdraws a smaller secondary sample for the purpose of capturing and analyzing the vapors that are released by the exposure to sunlight. The idea is to place the sap in a transparent, airtight container and expose it, capturing the vapor for a secondary analysis.

The purple mist fizzes inside the specimen jar, and begins making the insides run as though they're made of wax. The vapor does not breach the jar, but seems to have acidic properties

Jax motions for the two soldiers to view the reaction. "Yeah... avoid this as much as possible. Don't get any on you and for the love of the Paragons, DO NOT INHALE. In fact, while we're in the jungle-proper, it'd probably be best if we wore environment masks." Jax produced his own as he approached the tree line and fixed it over his face. "Ok, let's move out. No more than two meters apart."

The group heads into the jungle of bamboo

The jungle quickly blots out the light from the sun above, except for some loose scatterings of beams. There are chirping birds and insects within, along with scampering rodents. There are assuredly other creatures within, though have not presented themselves yet. There are some areas well traveled by animals enough to stop plants from growing, forming something like a traditional road. 500m forward, the survey scanner begins pinging

Jax signaled his men to come to a stop, before indicating the ping on the scanner to them. He then motioned for them to silently move forward toward the source of the anomaly, choosing to stay on the beaten path as much as possible, as that would cause less noise and is likely a safe path since it sees heavy traffic. (edited)

There is a low buzzing in the air, something you feel in the pores of your skin, then your hair, and then finally in your teeth and bones. As you get to 250m of the scanner return, the whole local area seems to be vibrating gently. The buzzing only gets fractionally louder

(Bruh what

)

11:48 AM

(Does the buzzing hurt?)

(not in the sense of damage)

12:14 PM

(but its disconcerting)

Jax signaled to his escort to assume a staggered triangle formation, with Soldier1 two meters ahead in the center of the path and Jaxton and Soldier2 parallel on the right and left sides. They then commenced a slow stalk forward, trying to gain a visual on whatever was the source of the buzz

Ahead, it seems that the trees are thinner, and some sort of pinecone like object the size of a truck is ahead. Its sides are made of overlapping leather like shingles

The group comes to a halt 7 meters from the object/creature. Jax motions to the soldiers to circle around the left and right of the object/creature while maintaining the 7 meter radius perimeter. Jax held his position while waiting for them to assume theirs.

Everyone is in position after a moment, though the object does not change shape or do much of anything, really, aside from continue its teeth ache buzz

Jax motioned to his subordinates to remain in place at the ready and attack only if he first did so. They nodded their reception of the orders. Jax then began to sneak up to the object/beast with bioscanner in left hand attempting to take readings and his weapon "Fafnir" readied in his right. He would only sneak as close as it took to formally scan and catalog the creature/item.

As you approach within 5m, it appears this entire structure is a huge hive for native insects. They dig, scurry , shovel and mate inside, and this must be a colony of trillions

Holy hell... Jax thought to himself upon realizing what he was looking at. Time for the Jaxton Method of testing for hostility (Patent Pending) thought the man as he silently bent down and scooped up another fist-sized rock. Jax made hand signs to his escort instructing them to watch for any reaction, then aimed and tossed the stone over the mound to impact the ground within 5 meters of the opposite side.

The insects begin to funnel out of the hive in a swarm that is greenish black against the sky, rearing up like a wave , to slightly block out the sun

Jaxton began to slowly move back and away from the hive, trying to put more than the 5 meters between them whilst remaining in stealth, but ready to break into a sprint at a moment's notice if he fell under attack. Since Jaxton had not yet opened fire, he trusted his soldiers to maintain their trigger discipline and follow his lead to slowly back away. (edited)

12:59 AM

Jaxton’s inner monologue at the moment: Oh... Kay. NOPE! Fall back, regroup, come up with a strategy. It’s a good thing I tossed the rock on the opposite side of the hive and didn’t hit the hive. If they act this hostile from a probe that wasn’t even a true attack against the Hive-proper, then this requires outside the box thinking. (edited)

Their morale wavers as the giant wave of insects rears up, and although you're crouched in brush, the insects will not take long when they begin to swarm, now working to defend their hive. For now, there is a bit of a staredown as more and more insects pour out,

Jax signals a full retreat to his guard shortly before launching himself into a full sprint in the direction he came from. They knew they were to fall back to a previously safe distance of no less than 300m out in the direction they came from. If that still wasn’t safe, they were to regroup at base camp. As he sprinted, Jax just crossed his fingers that the hive wouldn’t be THAT motivated in their pursuit since there had been no actual damage or threat. (edited)

(Base camp is safe, youre far enough away)

(So are you saying I’m back in base camp now?)

11:44 AM

(All 3 of us?)

(you said you would fall back that far, and thats about where they'd stop following, and yes everyone)

(Ok)

11:46 AM

As the insects gave up their pursuit roughly around their arrival at base camp, Jax ordered the men to take a break and broke out the rations. He knew everyone would be a little shook up by what just happened, so a break to recover morale was in order.

11:52 AM

While they rest, Jax sends a directive message to the R&D department and the agriculture team to fabricate multiple small opaque containers that could be fixed to attach to our existing grenade designs. He needed them to bring as many as they could fabricate within 12 hours and have them dropped off at the base camp.

11:52 AM

Also, a shipment of grenades.

11:53 AM

And, if possible, backup in the form of some workers and/or additional soldiers. (edited)

The first wave of actual explorers and engineers is set to arrive tonight, and there would be security among them. (trying to envision what you're doing with these grenades here, I don't get it)

(I don't trust explosives to do the job by themselves since they are thousands/millions of tiny insects. That's just a stopgap measure. The real weapon is the caustic vapor properties of the goo, since that is likely to kill way more of the insects than a solitary grenade would. Am I wrong in that idea?) (edited)

(ah okay, so you're going to essentially jury rig some chem grenades)

(Yes)

As soon as the group arrived, Jaxton (with the help of other workers) would set into creating as many of the chem grenades as possible before settling in for some rack time. They would move back out at first light.

You're able to make six of them, as there is some trial and error involved. That amounts to 2 for you, and 2 for each of the soldiers working directly with you at the moment

At first light, Jax tasks the engineers to begin work drawing up the blueprints for the floating farms. He and his guardsmen then loaded up the chem grenades and an additional two regular grenades, as Jax explained the strategy. "When we get there, I want all of us to be outside of the clearing in a similar formation as before. Ensure your masks and armor are vac-sealed as best as possible for this encounter. On my mark, we will begin throwing the grenades. Look at this mock-up I made: I am the outside circle here on the left, you two are on the right. The black dots indicate where I want our chem grenades to land, hear me? Once they are thrown, if safe, immediately fall back to this rally point 300 meters away," Jax said, indicating the rally point on a topographical map of the area. "If not safe, rally here at base camp. Let's head out," Jax said before disappearing into the tree line. (edited)

The group assembles at the sleepy morning hive in the pre-dawn light, and there are no other creatures in the area. The grenades have been handed out, two each, and everyone stands ready for your signal. Your orders have been clear and everyone knows what they're supposed to be doing.

Jaxton mentally crossed his fingers and gave the signal. The grenades were primed and Jaxton threw his at their above intended locations, in succession. (Roll?)

3:51 PM

(Or is this the same as an Execution attack?)

(No its an evasion save for the hive, which I'll roll)

The first of the grenades bounce from its sides though some of the gaseous interior begins eating away at the flanks of it

(So the six chem grenades all went off, but only negligible damage? How big are the holes on this thing? And does there appear to be any dead insects around?) (edited)

1:36 AM

(Well, before and after the grenades for those last two questions) (edited)

(I stopped the scene after the first wave of 3. There is light damage but the insects don’t appear to be swarming out. So it’s either killing them or they’re afraid of it)

Jax signaled to his escorts to get ready to fall back at least to the first rally point on his mark... which in this case would be him flat out booking it like before. So with that in mind, as soon as he felt that the corrosive effects of the goo had subsided, Jax quietly approached the hive, hoping to at least catch a look inside of it.

The hive has been puckered and bubbled on the outside. Some of the armor runs and solidifies again like an organic slurry. There is a thin carpet of dead insects around it but thousands more swarm around the hive

Jax attempts to snatch up some of the dead bugs for samples.

The insects begin to gather and swarm as you approach the hive and carpet of dead bugs

"Alright, nah, fuck this noise." Jax said as he primed and tossed a regular grenade into the hive as quickly as he could, taking the short time before the explosion to fall into cover

(Evasion save)

8:20 PM

(Hive failed theirs, but something's happening)

(Success)

1:13 AM

(I think?)

(Yep, says success) The grenade detonates and ignites the trapped vapors from the chem rounds within the hive. There is a large fireball of purple flame that extends upwards, blowing out in all directions and scattering flaming organic shrapnel into the woods. The ground and vegetation is too wet for any of it to seriously catch

Jaxton didn’t wait around for the fireworks. He continued to scramble in to deeper cover until the coast was clear. He then cautiously stood and began to assess the damage, as well as looking for more threats. Seeing the crater Jax motioned for his soldiers to maintain the perimeter. “Add “flammable” to the list of attributes of the goo vapor, folks," Jax said as he edged to where the hive once stood in order to inspect the results. (edited)

There isn’t much left, just a blackened stump and patches of leathery hive that have been signed along their inside

Jax gathered the best, most intact samples of the leathery hive and insects as he could and stored them in his pack. He then signaled to his guards to form up on him and continue their sweep.

Now knowing what to look for, and how to deal with them, six other hives are found and destroyed by your group, and first wave forces during the daylight sweep. By night, the second wave of construction crew, farmers, architects, soldiers and the camp followers needed to run the new working arrive, and begin the long process of felling this large forest for new grazing land

7:00 AM

(3xp, 5000 credits)

Jaxton meets up with the Science Corps guys to provide them with the insects and hive parts samples so that they may better understand these new phenomena. He then turns his attention to the task of assisting the engineering team in creating the high tech platforms needed to effectively handle the seas

(the samples will become research points, and we can circle back to that later since there's not enough with this to unlock anything, but still helpful) The engineers are trying to get some readings of the sea bed to see if there are any conditions down there that would imperil anchors or any other structural supports needing sunk to ensure the farm remains in place and can take the weather. There is a large amount of sediment and silt kicked up, and there is some debate on if this is due to some sort of abundance of sea life, or some other natural phenomena

(How good are the sensors on a corvette? Would it be strong enough to get that kind of reading from orbit?) (edited)

(Too much water/too much stuff suspended in it to give you a good picture)

(I don’t know what to do with that, so I’m also gonna pursue other options) As Jaxton’s team of aquatic engineers work to come up with solutions to that, Jaxton requests his Engineering Corps draw up proposals for infrastructure projects centered on building farm towers (on land, but vertical) and fish hatcheries.

(You could dive to look into it, was the adventure i was trying to set up)

5:49 PM

(we dont really do things here by just ordering other people to do it, otherwise why adventure)

(I wasn’t aware I had water naval capacity - ok) Jax motioned over the ranking member of the armed forces below himself. “What kind of naval resources do we have in the area?” Jax asked the soldier, as he reviewed the read outs involving the first failed attempt at a good reading. (edited)

"We have several blue water ships of light displacement, and a small submersible, that's nearby on the back of one of the frigates"

Jax nodded thoughtfully to the soldier. "Alright, sounds good. I'd like you to contact the commander of the frigate with the submersible. On my behalf, would you please ask them to close on our location? Specifically, I'd like them to wait for me about a half a mile off from the targeted staging area with a pilot and crew for the submersible. I don't want them to potentially kick up more sediment if that is indeed the issue. I'll go have a look for myself what the problem is." (edited)

You hear the message being passed as you've dictated it, and the ship will be in position within the next few hours. A ride out to it is also being found for you. In the background, more of the bamboo trees begin falling, as planting and land reclamation efforts continue

While waiting for his ride, Jax contributed to the felling of the bamboo trees.

12:18 PM

Whenever it arrives, Jax takes his gear, motions his honor guard to accompany him, and climbs into the transport.

The small skimmer brings you out over the waves, to a bulbous looking frigate that looks more like a side oriented seashell. None the less, it is seaworthy and upto the task at hand. A small submersible diving bell is being prepared on the aft deck, with fitters, technicians and sailors all working hard to ensure its ready for immediate use

Upon seeing the diving bell, Jaxton blinked twice to make sure he wasn't seeing things. "That's our submersible vehicle? A diving bell?" Jax slightly shook his head as he departed from the skimmer, muttering to himself, "Man, we have got to get better..." as they approached the shudder diving bell.

A rolling metal ladder is unfurled from the deck and several sailors stand by to help bring it aboard.

6:38 PM

Others watch the horizon and other points around the ship as lookouts, keeping tabs on the surrounding waters

Jaxton grudgingly climbs into the diving bell and situates himself. “Alright, I’m ready when you all are ready.”

The bell pressurized behind you and there is a set of lockers with diving suits in them. They are relatively clean and modeled to fit either chimeric or human

10:37 AM

As the frames are of relatively the same size

Jaxton sighs deeply and then moves to put on a diving suit. "This isn't nightmare fuel at all..."

There is a hiss as the door shuts, and the sunlight is not forced to come in through triple paned reinforced glass. There is a hiss and a buzz as the air mix is adjusted, and a hike in the floor as the crane picks up the bell, and begins winching it over the side of the boat, to be released and lowered into the water. Below, the silt mix remains relatively cloudy, though there are shoals of small fish gathering near the surface, eating the kelp and other sea plants that have been dredged up from the bottom or otherwise caught in the tide

“Welp, in for a penny, in for a pound. Lower me down, folks!”

There is a moment of dislocation as the diving bell hits the surface of the water, and outside large bubbles begin forming around the sinking object. A gentle tension and pull from the top of the bell lets you know the cable is still attached Sensors and other computers begin turning on and the captain's chair swivels around for you to sit down. The interior wall of the diving bell begins to populate with data, the hexagonal screens now showing outside through sensors and not the stark metal wall

(Are there any functions for this diving bell that I have control over, other than the sensors?)

(It also has controls to pilot it, though the range is limited since it’s tethered to the ship)

Jax decides to simply allow the diving bell to continue to sink at its steady pace. There’s no need to navigate anything yet

There is a bump as the bell hits the bottom, and lights begin gently turning on in the darkness, revealing swirling silt around you

Jax begins to work with the sensors, endeavoring to get a more accurate read of the area to determine if it was fit for use.

(Program/int)

(13)

There is a strong thermal bloom 300m north, moving away from the ship and into the deeper part of the seabed

11:02 PM

it is faint, easily missed, but you're dead eyed on the sensors

Jax reports the bloom to the ship up above, then assumes the maneuvering controls of the bell to approach the thermal signal for a better reading

There is a judder, as the cable reaches the end of its tauntness, and the oceanic source of heat is still some 50m away. The water remains cloudy as the diving bell settles onto the bottom. "Well, we could swim for it, see what it might be, and then come right back?"

Jax gives a deep sigh, checks his diving suit, then ensures that his usual weapons are readied. "Sure, why not? Let's go," grumbles Jax as he stands from his seated position.

It takes half an hour to get the pressure suits on, and weaponry is passed out from the small locker on board, just in case.

7:08 PM

The group aside from a relief pilot stands by at the airlock, ready to emerge into the tumultuous sea bed

Jax and team fix their masks, ensure there is no obstructed air flow, and then trigger the airlock cycle to allow water to begin to pour in.

There aren’t any leaks or problems and the door spins open, letting the last of the very warm ocean water come in. At this depth the water is much warmer than it should be, given how little sun is making it through. A scanner built into a housing on the wrist of your suit begins tracking the same heat bloom to the north of you

Whenever the airlock doors finally open, Jax motions for his team to follow as he begins to swim toward the direction of the heat bloom (edited)

The water almost feels chalky against the outside of the suit as you emerge into the gloom, and somehow through the filter you're wearing, you get the scent of sulfur.

“Well, that’s a geothermal vent phenomenon if I’ve ever experienced one. Let’s get closer and get some eyes to confirm or deny that assumption,” Jax relayed to the soldiers via the coms.

(notice/wis)

(Is 9 good enough?)

(I can reroll if not)

(sure is) You see a disturbance in the silt layer as a cloud of the gritty material is blown your way. something down here has disturbed it

Jax attempts to use his bioscanner to get a clearer reading through the silt cloud

(initiative)

12:04 PM

(8 for sea creature)

(Is rolling high or low better?)

12:06 PM

(Due to my alert focus, I can roll twice and take the better result)

12:06 PM

(So, I rolled a 9 and 3)

(rolling higher means you act first in initiative) (edited)

(Cool, thanks. So, 9)

12:10 PM

the massive saurian, basking in the heat of the undersea thermal vent is roused as divers approach, rearing up out of the silt cloud

12:11 PM

it is 30m away, circling

"Make a fighting retreat back towards the bell as best as you can," Jax said into the coms to his men. He began to swim slowly back, his weapon drawn, never turning his back on the creature. Jax leveled his mag pistol "Naga" on the beast, taking aim at its face, and opening fire

(Shoot/dex?)

(it would be an attack roll if we are attacking it)

1:57 PM

(rather than a skill check)

(25/11)

the beast roars, a stream of bubbles coming from its mouth as the shot connects. A bloom of greenish blood fills the water, as much as can be seen with the gritty conditions here at the bottom. It swims rapidly toward Jaxton and his two diving companions. It grabs the one to his right in its large jaws, slamming them shut like a vice, and carrying the two halves away, caught in its hinge jaws

(Where did it carry him to?)

2:45 PM

(And how far off did it swim?)

(he's 30m behind you now, and the one it snatched is dead/eaten)

(Does my other soldier get a turn?)

(missed with a 5)

2:58 PM

4

"Fuck underwater adventures," Jax muttered to nobody in particular as the croc snagged one of his soldier escorts. He quickly used the wake caused by the beast to spin him 180 degrees and pull him toward it (and thus also toward the diving bell) to reacquire a bead on the animal and open fire once again (edited)

3:01 PM

(21/9)

the shot punches into its armored back, sending more blood into the water. It roars, shaking the undersea bed with its fury. the accompanying soldier misses (4) , but the shot sends the beast wide, not eager to be struck again

Jax and his surviving soldier continue to close the gap with the diving bell as Jax lined up yet another shot into the crocosaurus and fires.

5:45 PM

(10/17)

Since his other pistol "Fafnir" is also readied, Jax also levels it on the beast and squeezes off a shot with the second mag pistol.

6:33 PM

(11/15)

The two shots sail wide in the turgid water, unable to get a locus on the target with the swirling debris. The diving bell is in sight. The soldier with you this time is able to draw a bead, your two shots sending the creature back toward him, and with a concussive boom, the brain pan of the creature is blown out. It begins to buoy upward, rolling onto its back, pale stomach toward the surface

Just to make sure, Jax does his own double tap into the buoying body.

7:08 PM

(9/13 & 17/11)

It goes from dead to very dead, but that means it also isnt going to be eating you

3

Jax gave an approving nod and a chuckle at his own caution. He then radios the surface and tasks the boat crew to retrieve the corpse. Jax turns to his surviving soldier, "You just saved your own life and earned yourself a promotion. Congratulations, Lieutenant. Now, lets continue the mission. We still need to confirm the area around the vent is secure." And with that said, he begins to swim off toward it

The vents are scattered through this area, and all belch a slow cloud of sulfur and planet heat into the surrounding ocean. Small crabs and other creatures seem to be basking in it, taking advantage of the opportunity to warm their blood.

Jax leads in the inspection of the other vents to ensure no further surprises (edited)

If none are found, Jax will return to the diving bell.

There are no further surprises, and with the source of the cloudy water found, Surveyors will have an easy time getting a fish farm here, along with other necessities

2:57 PM

(3xp, 5000 credits)

Jax and his remaining soldier ascended to the boat in the diving bell. Once on the surface, the crocosaurus was turned into a rich memorial feast for the deceased soldier, attended by the whole team. Jaxton was granted two trophies from the crocosaurus: the large head mounted in his rec room and a very fine croc-skin belt and pants. With the food crisis solved and back-up solutions planned for futher expansion, Jaxton felt confident he had given the Chimera their destiny back. There was much sadness in the Chimeran Ascendancy when Grand High Exemplar Jaxton Ryder publicly announced his retirement from his position and his departure from the Ascendancy, as a whole. However, he made sure all of his loose-ends were tied off and ensured the transfer of power was nearly seamless. Ryder's friend, Grand High Doyen Adze-Skean, gave a speech saying Jax would forever be considered a member of House Lux and one of the Chimeran people, but that the human's destiny was to return to the stars. And return to the stars he did. After outfitting their best ship, the Chimeran Ascendancy gifted to Ryder the starship Farscape as a farewell gift for services to their species. Accompanying him was his personal guardsman, Je'T-Nar (aka Jet). Ryder tried to leave him behind, but Jet insisted on coming despite knowing it was a one way trip. As they cleared the gravity well of the planet, Ryder gave a final farewell and set a course for where he thought he could do the most good - The New Moon Collective. Ryder triggered the spike drive to bring them to their first stop on their long star trek: Galucury. (edited)

(Gotta roll up a report for this. Will be at a computer soon)

(ok)

Galucury is a system made of two planets, orbiting a pulsar star. Each planet has a pair of associated moons that are barren and meteor cratered. Both of the main planets are radioactive worlds shrouded in eternal night, and have no evidence of current or prior civilization of any kind.

"Looks like this system is a bust for life, boss," said Jet from his position reading the scan results from over Jax's shoulder. "Yeah, looks that way. That's disappointing, but they can't all be winners," replied the captain. "Welp, on to the next one! Next stop, Marilin!" Jaxton half-heartedly exclaimed as he triggered the spike drive to propel them towards the aforementioned new system. (edited)

(alright, 1 more day of downtime on the way)

During his downtime while waiting, Jaxton practices his acting/oratory abilities. Since the possibility exists of first contact, he figured it would be a good idea to become more convincing. (Perform 1/90) (edited)

Atmosphere: Breatheable mix Temperature: Temperate Biosphere: human miscible biosphere Population: Hundreds of millions of inhabitants Tech Level: TL2 The world is populated by a large number of sapient aliens that have yet to develop advanced technology. Humans may not necessarily be attacked on sight but a certain intrinsic tension is likely. Records and ruins on the ground are evidence of human settlement here once as an outpost, though the human community has either been destroyed or incorporated into the native population.

Jet looked over the readouts for the planet Marilin at the same time as Jax, but was the first to speak, "Boss, I believe the expression you like to use is: Score! Alien life AND humans? We're going down there to get a closer look, right?" Jax sat back in his command seat, apparently lost in thought and quiet until he spoke up, "Of course we are. I mean, what's the point of this trip if we don't check out the interesting things along the way, after all?" the captain added with a grin. (edited)

11:25 AM

Ryder then activated his sensor-baffling countermeasures (just in case) and laid in a course to orbit the planet. "If we're gonna set down somewhere, we had better get a more accurate scan of the surface. Until we know how they treat xenos, we should probably make our presence as secret as possible... I just never thought I'd be the little green man," Jax finished with a smile. (edited)

(only got a 5 to detect, so they wont find you)

Confident he could remain undetected as long as he remained out of visual sight, Jax began to scan the surface for any anomalies, in addition to paying close attention to the areas surrounding any human ruins

The entire planet is uncatalogued. Scanners from this altitude reveal little information, The buildings are mostly intact, though some have fallen. If this is due to neglect or battle damage, it would have to be observed more closely

Jax looks for a good place to set down near the human ruins that would minimize their chances to be discovered.

There is a clearing of trees, that would allow you to land and shield you from easy observation in the local area, though the ruins would need to be approached on foot

Jax set the Farscape down in the aforementioned clearing of trees and turned to Jet. “I need you to stay with the ship. Monitor the area surrounding the ship for life signs and take precautions to remain hidden. I will check in every hour on the hour, but otherwise will retain com silence until need be. We good?” asked the Captain as he walked across the bridge from his seat and console towards the arms locker to outfit himself. “Yeah, got it Boss. I’ll keep it in one piece until you get back. Let me know if you need a pickup!” That said, Jax outfitted himself with his usual kit and silently headed through the forest towards the ruins.

It's clear that this was once a prefabricated base commonly used in better days to quickly establish a planet foodhold. The garrison is large, and probably supported tens of thousands of people. gunfire pocks and some flash burns from handheld explosives mar the walls. The wreckage of wheeled black powder field cannons are abandoned behind an earthwork, left to rust for some years now.

1:08 PM

Grass and flowers now grow on what was once an earthen redoubt, complete with now dull wooden spikes facing the garrison

Making sure he remains as stealthy as possible, Jax explores the area outside of the buildings to get a lay of the land and ensure there are no nearby locals he might have to be wary of (edited)

Jaxton can’t hear any locals. There is nothing you can see either, though the area is densely wooded and it’s hard to tell for sure. There are empty bullet casings and power cells that have rusted away to almost nothing all around the outside of the walls, signaling a ferocious battle with small arms

Jax appraises the buildings as he sneaks his way through the base, judging each building by whichever seems the most important. Once he was satisfied he wouldn’t be stumbled upon by randos, Jax sneaks his way to the most important looking building and looks for a way to enter.

There are bodies here, outside the central building in the settlement, and you get your first look at the natives who had now very clearly assaulted this human bastion

9:57 AM

(“Ah, General Kenobi!”)

11:01 AM

Ryder withdraws his bioscanner and took readings of the bodies, at the bare minimum to catalog the alien species’ biological makeup. He also checked the bodies for cause of death, whilst checking their pockets

they were shot, stabbed, and otherwise violently killed in close range combat. anything of value had been since carried off by other grave robbers or battle survivors, though one of them has fallen within reach of a broken rifle, single shot in nature with a long bayonet fixed as a separate under barrel attachment

3:03 PM

the weapon looks breach loaded, though its not clear if its energy, or projectile

Jax leaves the antique-looking(?) rifle where it lays (for now, at least) and turns his attention to the central building, looking for entrances and traps/alarms (edited)

The windows have been blown out and are a bit too high to simply crawl into. The front doors are missing, but represent a way in. There are no visible signs of traps along the threshold of the door

Ryder slowly makes his way into the building, weapon drawn. As he enters the building via the front doors, he reminds himself to remain vigilant for traps, alarms, or anything/anyone he may encounter within

There are a few more bodies just inside the doorway. Two of them are alien along with the remains of a human defender on the staircase up, his remains gone to rot inside his armor

10:01 AM

There is a hall running left, and right, that each open into large rooms. Left looks to be some kind of meeting room, and to the right there are office cubicles set up where admin staff would have once handled their duties

Jaxton decides to check out the meeting room, first. He figures he might as well get that done first. So, he quietly stalks his way into the room, always alert.

The door to the meeting room has been blasted open. Two skeletons are in chairs with spear ended rifles embedded in them, an the skeletons are human rather than left behind by the attackers. the computing equipment has been smashed, and the weapons these figures were carrying are gone now, though bits of their ammunition webbing have been left behind

Ryder checks within the ammunition webbing for any unfired ammunition, in order to gauge the type

If empty or otherwise unremarkable, he moves on to the cubicle area

The webbing has burns on it, indicating powder, though you don't have a concrete way to check for sure

Still in the process of investigating, Jaxton abandons the scene in the conference room and then silently moves to the cubicle area (edited)

There are yellowed sheets of signals intelligence paperwork on the tables though only scraps of the message are legible. It appears they were trying to signal the Tenebrian Empire that the natives were hostile, and were coming in force, though no reply had ever come while people still lived here to hear it.

(Are there any operational computers around)

All the computers except for 1 have been smashed, though the remaining one has all the pieces it needs to function

Jaxton attempts to boot up the terminal

You have terminal access for what looks to be about half an hour of remaining battery time, and may ask questions of the database

Ryder searches for project logs or personal logs for the garrison proper

The garrison was not on planet long enough to begin any projects. Natives overwhelmed it within weeks of the first logs announcing the landings. Personal logs show the colonists had all developed a tight bond with one another on the ride over, and everyone was eager to uplift the natives, thinking this was going to become a hub of culture and industry

Ryder’s next search is for logs detailing their interactions with the natives. Of particular interest would be possible reasons for the native assault and murder of the humans here (edited)

The humans were met with hostility almost right away. It seems it’s as simple as the native populace rising up against would be invaders

(So, that’s all there is to this building in terms of rooms?)

(you didnt go upstairs, but down here yes)

(Ok, cool. I thought there might’ve been an upstairs, but there was a chance I was misreading about the staircase mentioned before)

7:59 PM

Jax does a quick search of the desks in this area, basically just keeping an eye out for anything that looks like it could be important or a portable drive that he could shove into his pack to inspect at a more convenient time and place

The computer drive could be removed to look at in more detail later, but nothing portable has been left behind that also looks like it would still work

Jax carefully removes the drive and places it into his pack for more convenient examination later. (If that’s not something that needs a roll, then add this next part to his action, as well)

10:21 AM

Jax then silently made his way to, and up, the stairs

(It doesn’t). The upstairs is the mayors office alone with several other chambers. (Notice /wis , however )

(11 work?)

Outside near the gate of the garrison , there is a squeal of metal being shifted

9:18 AM

Two alien voice also carry in With the wind, their language a collection of clicks and whistles

(Are there any windows nearby?)

(wouldnt be hard to find several of them on this floor)

Jaxton slides over to the window nearest to the noise and sneaks a peek

Two of the Aitre aliens creep near the gate of the settlement, rifles low, its unclear if they've sensed something or are on a routine patrol

Jax silently begins to search the second floor, beginning with the mayor's office

The machinery and computers have been smashed inside, and thrown around the room. There are large dried blood stains on the wall and many bodies, likely the mayor and his bodyguards

(What else is on this floor besides the mayor's office?)

There is a storage closet on this floor, an archive room, and another small office, all have been trashed to a various degree

Jaxton heads directly to the archive room to search quietly, keeping an ear out for their approach. Specifically, Jax is searching for any pre-Scream artifacts or points of interest that might have been noted on the planet

The planet was a colony, and a very short lived one at that. Your search does not turn up mention of anything matching that nature

Slightly deflated that he was unable to find much of anything of interest, Jax then began to silently make his way to leave

There is a loud clatter downstairs as the alien scouts kick open the remaining 1/2 of the doors, along with some guttural sounding laughter as it finally falls off its giving up hinges. One of them lowers his weapon, and takes a shot at a nearby window, the milled bullet blowing it apart in a storm of glass shards

Jax draws his twin Mag pistols as he slid over to the storage closet to hide inside, remaining as quiet as possible so as to map the locations of the scouts via sound relative to his own internal map of the building (edited)

They seem to be hanging out by the doorway leading into the building and are content with breaking things in their surroundings

(Is there anything in the storage closet besides Jax?)

(what's left of uniforms and just more formal clothing, pretty mundane storage closet)

Jax decides to quietly inspect/search any additional rooms on this floor

There is nothing on this floor additional to what’s been already seen. (Sneak/dex)

(11)

(9 for their notice, you’re not heard, but again, already said what’s here. Nothing hiding )

(I hadn't yet inspected the small office, but ok - moving on)

4:20 PM

Jax conceals his "Naga" Mag pistol and outwardly holsters "Fafnir". The man silently moves down the stairs to attempt to sneak down while they're not looking

(you can check the office, i mean that there is nothing that hasnt been mentioned, no hidden rooms or other stairs or anything)

(I'm cool. Need me to roll Stealth/Dex?)

6:12 PM

(Or is it just straight up they see me?)

(You passed 11 v 9, so there’s no reason you should now fail)

Well, seeing as Jax made it down the stairs undetected, he then decides to quickly and quietly duck into whichever downstairs room is closest to the stairs

Heading back into the side offices, the two scouts grow tired of smashing things in the local area, and begin making their way back out to the garrison gateway, taking a final shot into a window nearby and laughing before moving on (edited)

Using this opportunity, Jax slides out of the building to make his way back to the cover of the densely forested tree line

A larger patrol of the aliens seems to have passed the town, with those two forming the rearguard. The grass is stomped flat, and a few wrappings from whatever these aliens eat on the march have been left behind. You can no longer see or hear them

Grudgingly, Jax doesn't feel like there's anything he can do about the plight of the remaining humans on the planet right now. He decides to make his way back to the Farscape

(3xp, 5000 credits)

Jax boarded the Farscape with a solemn look on his face. Jet immediately greeted his captain, "Hey, Cap! I'm no expert on human facial expressions or anything, but it looks like something is bothering you. What's up? You can talk to your buddy, Jet." Jax allowed a small grin, then shook his head slightly. "It's nothing too serious. This trip to the surface was a bust. There's nothing for us here... for now, at least. C'mon Kid, let's get back up in space. I wanna put some distance between us," said the human. Jet replied jovially, "You got it, Boss." That said, Jet retracted the boarding ramp, sealed the door, and lifted off. As soon as they were clear of the gravity well, they triggered the spike drive. Destination: Thyra.

Thyra is a large planet, frozen to its core as it lies a good distance from the sun the system is named for. Asteroids, large chunks of ice, and other stellar debris fill the sector, making navigational plotting difficult. The region is dangerous, as the sheer volume of debris and the unreliable scanning returns makes any sort of coordinated fleet movement incredibly difficult.

"Interesting system, but nothing truly exciting here," Jet quipped as he looked over the system readouts. "I agree. Well, on to the next. New destination: Attar," Jax said shortly before triggering their spike drive.

(program/int)

(14)

(16) Ground based defenses from the moon orbiting the furthest planet rim-side of the system lock on as your ship exits spike space, the listening post here on high alert with an enemy ship identified. Alarms inside the FARSCAPE begin sounding as the master alert chimes over and over again.

(Can I not still jump away?)

(The jump is not instant unless you have the emergency jump mod)

11:23 AM

(so the situation will need to be dealt with at least for a few moments)

(I assume I can detect that they've noticed me, right?)

Alarms inside the FARSCAPE begin sounding as the master alert chimes over and over again.

(Whoops, my bad. Pain meds kicking in

)

(I do have Low Emissions and Emissions Dampeners, but that should only work as they look for my ship, right?) As the alarms ring out in the cockpit, Jet speaks up in a worried tone, "Boss, someone has a lock on the Farscape!" Jax growled under his breath, "Keep working on getting us out of here. Jump at first opportunity. I'll think of something to distract them." Both of them strapped themselves into their respective chairs as they assumed battle stations. Jax attempted to hail the ship, broadcasting the message out into the void of space, "This is Captain Jaxton Ryder of the Farscape. State your intentions for targeting us."

(We went ahead and double checked the search/detection, they'd have found you) Farscape, state your intentions in our system, we owe you no answers in the defense of our lands

"You have my apologies if I have trespassed into your territory. There is no malice behind my presence in your star system. I am simply a traveler and an explorer. My destination is far from here and I merely stopped in your system purely out of scientific curiosity on my long star trek. I was unaware this system was currently under someone's banner. Now that you know who I am and my intentions, may I have the identity of the person or entity I am currently conversing with?"

"We are a group of independents who were lucky enough to survive the great darkness, and want to be left to ourselves. These lands have been cleansed of psychics, witches, and others who dabble in unnatural forces"

“Then you’ve met a kindred spirit, friend. It was not my intention to disturb you, nor is it my intention to continue to do so. With your approval, I will bother you no further and will continue on my way. You will never hear from me again.”

The lock remains as the spike drive charges up, but since you are no longer on an approach course, the defense system has no reason to fire

“Do I have your leave to depart in peace?”

"Go, and we hope to never see your vessel again"

“Well, that’s rude. There’s no reason we can’t be pleasant. But, thank you. Be well,” Jax remarked as he made the galactic motion for “end the transmission” to Jet. He quickly triggered the spike drive. Destination: Attar.

Your jump drive has you emerging in the same system, popping back in seconds later, as the defense platform now fires.

(Christ, really? lol

‍♂️)

The torpedo sluices from its armored housing on the defense station, running headlong into the side of the ship (you said the same planet in your post)

9:57 PM

(20/11 AP20) There is a muffled explosion as it collides with the armored flank of the ship, the explosion scarring the Chimeran Ascendency colors and emblems on the side

(Yeah, I’m going to Attar, not Thyra)

9:58 PM

(Thyra is the system that has all of this in it)

10:00 PM

(I think we maybe had a miscommunication)

10:00 PM

(Or I misunderstood you)

10:01 PM

(I’m thinking the latter)

(your post at 851pm yesterday was you moving from Thyra to this system, and then you posted your post just now stating you were jumping from Attar to Attar) (edited)

(I thought we were still in Thyra and that you were still describing the system

‍♂️)

(so, I described the old system even though you said you were jumping to another one?

(I think it was the roll request that confused me into thinking we were still in the same system)

10:05 PM

(And I didn’t read properly due to my pain meds, apparently

‍♂️)

10:05 PM

(I now see that you said “exits spike space”)

10:06 PM

(Well, damn. Would you be willing to overlook this since it’s an honest mistake?)

10:07 PM

(If so, I’d like the destination to be Maysoon, instead. If not, well... I understand)

10:08 PM

(It’s definitely my fault)

(Alright)

10:36 AM

(ill get a report up sometime soon)

(Cool, thank you!)

(okay so what system are we leavign for then?)

(Maysoon)

3:55 PM

(Btw, I leveled up when I left Marilin, but I haven’t rolled for HP or anything yet. I’ve gotta fish my laptop out of a box)

Maysoon is a world of yellow oceans and brown-green continents. A human colony on its northern continent struggles for purchase against vast tracts of wilderness. Electricity and other power sources are detecting from scans on the colony itself but they don’t seem to have a way to communicate with space

"This planet is interesting, Boss," said the Chimeran First Mate. "Yeah, not bad. Weird pee oceans. And more humans, eh? We can give 'em a scout," replied the Captain. "Look for a secluded place to set down near the colony. Let's try to stay out of sight."

And so... they did?

(I didn’t make a map yet I will soon, also wasn’t here hardly at all yesterday ) The ship sets down a distance from the human colony , which ends up being a bit far as to not have the ship seen or heard on the way down to the planet. The world is threaded with dozens of tiny creeks and large streams and thick mangrove trees are everywhere

“I don’t mean to sideline you again, Jet. I just need to feel these humans out to see how accommodating they will be toward non-humans and our level of technology. I’ll check in with you every four hours. If I miss two check-ins without giving you an update on how these people treat outsiders, feel free to come looking for me. If you’re discovered, just relocate and shoot me a message. Sound good?” asked Jax as he slid his adventure pack onto his back. “Gotcha, boss. I hope these guys are friendly. No offense to you, but I’d like to speak to someone else,” replied the Chimeran. Ryder simply chuckled as he exited the ship. He took a moment to gain his bearings, then proceeded to travel towards the colony

(Sneak/dex)

(11)

You're quiet as you sneak through the mangrove trees even when a vine in your face turns out to be something of a very large snake. It is quietly dispatched without trouble when its clear you're about to be struck. The colony when peered at through the woodline is residing in a pre-scream megagarrison, where most of the buildings were prefab. It is designed to be self sustaining, and it looks like the residents have lived hard lives trying to carve some extra resources for themselves from the surrounding woods

8:50 PM

extra fields have been planted and several people are working them. There is armed security mixed in, a few on horseback

“Well, here goes something...” Jax mutters to himself as he makes sure one of his pistols is hidden, exits the tree line, walking toward the colony with his hands elevated to indicate he is not hostile. (edited)

One of the horsemen notices, and begins trotting over. The carbine rifle remains in the slot next to his saddle. "We dont get any travelers out here, I dont recognize you as one of ours"

“Well, that’s a good eye you’ve got there. You’re exactly right, I’m not from around here. Listen, just between you and I, I’m really parched, but I need to speak privately with whoever is in charge around here. Do you think you could help me out with both of my problems, brother?”

"Speaking to our leadership? About what? Some stranger coming out of the woods, where there shouldn't be strangers...and now wanting to speak to the boss?"

3:01 PM

"sounds suspicious"

“It is what it is. I can’t really say anything more, no offense intended toward you. I promise you I bear none of you any ill will. Let’s just say I was in the area, spotted the colony, and thought I’d swing through and have a cultural exchange of sorts. Can you give me directions to where I can speak with them? I promise I won’t get lost,” he said calmly and smoothly with extra emphasis on the last word, to subtilely relay that he had no intention of poking his nose where it didn’t belong... as far as he could tell right now, anyhow.

6:16 PM

“But where are my manners? I’m Jaxton. What’s your name?” (edited)

"I'm just field security, if you follow the path here, it'll bring you right to the garrison gates and you can try to work it out with the gate guards. There's a lot more patrols and other security out here, if you stray from the path or think about getting fresh with the workers we wont hesitate to shoot"

Jax raised his eyebrow at the field guard. “Get fresh with...? Is that a thing that happens here?”

Jax simply nods before the answer, likely knowing it before it was given. “Thank you for the warning, sir,” said Ryder as he started off on the path toward the garrison gates. As he walked, he made certain to note defense capabilities and possible reasons for their heightened level of security.

(sorry, your last and most recent message both were with me being asleep and then working out)

7:42 AM

The colony is defended as you'd expect, as it is an all alone human outpost on a harsh world, with dangerous jungle beasts. It doesn't seem prepared for a war against other humans, but the people here are vigilant about their safety. Three guards and a small truck are waiting near the front gate, watching the countryside

Jaxton continued his walk toward the front gate. He approached calmly and seemingly nonchalant about the fact that he's a new human in a colony where everyone likely knows one another. "Hello, I'm Jax. May I get some directions from you?"

"Directions? what can I do for you? You found the only settlement on the entire planet, so you'll have a short trip wherever you're going"

Ryder allowed a chuckle to escape from his lungs at the man's joke. "Well, I'm looking to have a conversation with whoever is the leadership here. Barring that, a place to resupply my stores would be nice, as well."

"Head inside, two men will go with you and bring you to the town center. Not sure what we can do on the supply situation, but we can get you in touch with leadership"

7:35 AM

"Is this amendable?"

"Sounds great, thanks for your help," Jax said before approaching the two men indicated by the gate captain. "Lead the way, guys!" he enthusiastically said to the two guardsmen

The gates open, and you're led into a city that looks colonial in nature. People move all over, between buildings and through an open air market, as you're led to a 3 story building made of yellow bleached brick, the only color this world seems capable of making. The steps are broad, and you're brought into a reception area, while one of the soldiers heads upstairs to get the colony leader. Several other guards in the room protecting other doors and offices eye you suspiciously

(Can I get a good gauge at their current tech level? What kind of gear/weaponry are they packing?)

9:55 AM

Jax comes to a stop in the reception area, but quickly picks up on the fact that the other guards are eyeing him heavily. Jax smiles to them and winks, “I work out.” (edited)

(TL4, but it would be outdated compared to what TL4 people are using now)

Several more minutes go by, before a woman in a long robe , holding a carved staff comes down the stairs, holding the arm of the security officer for balance. "Traveler. My master at arms tells me you're not from here, and came out of the woods"

"Madam, it is an honor to meet you," said Ryder, bowing slightly. He wasn't sure what the local customs were yet, but it was universal among humans that bowing was a show of respect and was thus always a good neutral greeting for an important person. "Your man speaks truth, I indeed came from beyond your borders. My name is Jaxton Ryder. I have titles, too, but I suspect they would mean nothing to you out of context. I am most glad to share my story with you, but I suspect that it might best be told in a less public setting. You are welcome to bring your master at arms if you trust him, but I promise I bear no malice." (edited)

She waves you both into a side meeting room, where the walls have no art on them, and there is only a simple window looking outside at a reed filled pond, where fish jump to snatch insects from the air. "Your story, then. You're the first non-outsider to be here within..years, even before the disaster"

As they arrived in the room, Jax framed himself against the window as he looked out over the reed-filled pond. “Thank you for your discretion. I am not privy to the current politics in your colony, so you can understand my desire to keep what I’m about to tell you in as few ears as possible. I don’t intend on insulting your intelligence, as you’ve likely already surmised the truth: quite simply, I’m not from your colony or your world. Point of fact, before the event which has become known as “the Scream” occurred, I was to be a colonist for the Greenbriar Colony Corporation on the planet Gudrun. Fate had me assume other roles.”

"Can you tell us what you have been doing since then? You're a long way from home, and coming in from the wrong direction for Gudrun"

Jax allowed a brief smile. “How do you know which direction I came from? But you are correct. I can’t give you the full ins and outs of that part of the story for the protection of others. But suffice it to say: I followed a trail of bread crumbs that led me to fix an important injustice. Now that I feel like said injustice has been appropriately addressed, I am making my return to secure space. You should also know that I am not alone. My first mate is with our ship. However, we are chronicling our adventures and will be presenting our discoveries to the rest of “civilization”, such as it is.”

"I see, and what will happen when you present these discoveries to your civilization? Are we going to see troop landers in the sky to 'bring us into the fold?' "

“Not at all. To my knowledge, all of the current polities are more concerned with peaceful integration at the request of the local planetary governments. However, your question does raise some of my own. Do you wish to remain anonymous? And if so, why? No judgements from me, I simply wish to hear YOUR story now.”

"We made our own way of life here, out in the middle of the frontier like this. We have to work hard to get what we need out of the planet, but the outside is an unknown factor now. I can't imagine any of the regimes coming up after the disaster are...particularly noble. I know what the survival instinct does to people. Now you're telling me we have whole governments of people in survival mode?"

“Granted, the old pre-Scream governments are no more. There was an extremely militaristic Tenebrian Remnant, but that has since been neutralized. By my last count, there were six polities of various sizes that have risen in the wake. Some are more noble than others. The polity that arose from Gudrun is called the United Nations of Worlds. They are, as they sound, a democratic republic. Then there’s the Greystar Combine, which arose from an intelligence agency. The Communist Brotherhood of Socialist States espouses a communist ideology. The New Moon Collective is an old-style monarchy. The Elysium Protectorate has modeled itself after an ancient Hellenic Republic. These five send representatives for a monthly conclave to address burgeoning problems. They typically join forces to combat large threats to the prosperity they’ve worked so hard to reclaim. Lastly, the Sovereign Colonies Armed Forces is a totalitarian dictatorship centered around a powerful psychic. Each polity has its own problems, but all have managed to rise out of their survival-only mentality and seek to create a future for their citizens. This is all to say that humans are fallible, but we, as a species, can (and have) band together. Not necessarily just to reclaim what was lost, but to finally look to what this new future can be. Hell, we can even count multiple alien races among our numbers. I understand that the outside world is terrifying, but not living up to your potential out of fear of the unknown is horrifying.”

"How would you say life is among these first five groups, as you know them to be. I understand your name is sworn to one of those banners already. Just a general impression

“My name is currently not sworn to any banner, but I have hopes to join the New Moon Collective upon my return. I tend to go where I am needed. The NMC earned my respect during the last crisis by their sacrifice in bearing the brunt of a xenophobic alien race called the “Shapers”, so I intend on helping them recover and return to their former prominence. Life in the UNW is boring, but boring is a good and welcome change when you’ve spent so long in a state of survival. It’s a testament to their prosperity that they can afford to be boring. I can’t personally speak to the standard of living within the other polities, only what I’ve heard. If you wish for rumor, I can oblige. The GSC does whatever is necessary to accomplish their goals, even using means that others may find unsavory. The CBSS have lofty goals and I wish them well, but last I heard they were dealing with a food shortage. The EP don’t have the greatest past in terms of... military decisions. However, they claim they have learned the error of their ways and now seek peace. They have not yet completely unified their own homeworld. Little information is known about the SCAF, but they are similar in their methodology to the Greystar Collective. Probably even more so, to be honest. I am personally acquainted with the leaders of the UNW and the SCAF. UNW President Harkoni is a stern, but fair man. He has seen tragedy in his life, especially in the direct aftermath of the Scream, but is a good person. I trust him. Alternatively, God-Emperor Silvano Mazzio was always a bit aloof, even before fully coming into his admittedly prodigious psychic abilities. We didn’t always see eye to eye, but we at least respect one another.” (edited)

"I'm not sure anyone in this region of space is actually calling themselves God-Emperor, that seems far fetched. You've done us a big help telling us how things are going out there, but everything sounds like the exact systems that got us into this predicament in the first place" she sighs, sitting back in her chair. "and now you know where we are...and have the ability to tell others"

"Oh, I'm sure he doesn't call himself that, either. It's just something I call him... not so affectionately," Jax concluded to himself. "Indeed, I do know and do have the ability to tell others. When you say that these are the exact systems that got us into this predicament in the first place, what do you mean? The Scream or something other?"

11:17 AM

"If you wish to remain independent, there's nobody to stop you. The other polities appear to be very rigorously against forcing anyone to join. I have a feeling that if any actually tried to force a planet into their number without their consent, the other polities would rise against it."

"So, if you wish to remain independent, I see you as having two options: 1) you either strike while the iron is hot and expand to make yourself viable as an independent power or 2) try to kill me so nobody ever knows you are here and pray that no polity ever comes across you. Just a warning, though... that second option is gonna cost you and I don't just mean from the people that will be injured trying to do me harm. Me being here is proof that you're very locatable and others may not be as friendly as I. I'm willing to help give you the technological blueprints you need in order to better shore up your defenses. You should know this: I am a good man and I keep to my word as best as I am able. If you attempt to do me harm, I will respond in kind. If you let me help, I will help. If you want neither, I will leave peacefully."

"I don't really want either of those things. There's no reason to change our whole way of life, and as much as I don't think you need to die for having the mis-chance of showing up here, you're not making me feel better about letting you go"

"Madam, I came here to speak with you directly because I realize that my presence here is sensitive information at best and downright revolutionary at worst. Like it or not, people have seen me - the first unknown face in years - on my way into and through the village. Your people will be talking about me. There will be rumors. People will arrive at some outlandish conclusions on their own. I know that I do not look the part, but I am no stranger to being a head of state. Believe me when I say, like it or not - your way of life will be changing. That is not a threat and it need not be a warning, either. I implore that you use my knowledge to grow beyond the stagnation of survival mode. You say you fear that the polities beyond your borders are more of the same... so show them something new that works."

(I'm not sure what youre asking her to do here. )

(I guess he’s simultaneously trying to convince her not to try to capture/kill him AND become a more open society AND to be willing to accept his help in moving toward that)

“We don’t want to be an open society and frankly I don’t trust you , so I certainly don’t want your help. It feels like there’s something hidden in all this I’m not seeing. You’re free to go, and to return to your ship but the people of Maysoon aren’t going to do anything just because someone else said so”

"There really isn't anything hidden or malicious, but that's your call. I won't try to change your mind further. Do I have your leave to call my ship in to pick me up? I'd rather I didn't have to trek all the way back if I don't need to."

“It can get you in the fields. There’s nowhere for a ship to land within city limits. Im sorry this couldn’t be the productive session you hoped for, but I have to do what’s best for my people”

Jax nods and gives a small shrug of his shoulders to the elderly woman, speaking calmly and smoothly. "It's understandable. At least now you know you're not alone anymore. That was information that would have meant the world to us when we were trying to reestablish immediately after the Scream. I hope things go well for you and your people and that you flourish." The space captain began to move toward the exit, but then stopped in place and turned to face her once more. "I don't suppose you know of a pilot, doctor, engineer, or scientist that may want to leave? Someone that has always chafed under the rules of your society? I have vacancies in my crew and, if they're wanting to leave, I can provide a place for them." (edited)

“You can check the prison. Do some interviews and see if there’s anyone there that might fit what you’re looking for. This is a small colony but there’s still tens of thousands of us, couldn’t say by name who might be incarcerated right now”

"Thank you, Ma’am. I will do that now and then leave directly after my business there is complete," Ryder said. Then, with a nod to the lone guardsman in attendance, he spoke once more, "Would you like to lead the way, sir?” (edited)

You're given a guide to the prison, a junior militiaman known as Teebes. He is over-eager, and excited to be assisting an off-worlder as this now makes him a very interesting young man with stories to tell in the local watering hole

Upon their arrival at the prison, Jax submits his criteria for dossiers on possible recruitable crew mates: pilot, doctor, or starship engineer.

(connect/cha)

(10)

A list is assembled for you, quickly and on short order, revealing an engineer is incarcerated here for killing three members of his work detail with a pipe wrench. The details of the dispute have been kept from the record

“I’d like to speak to this individual, if you don’t mind!” Jax said to the person in charge of that kind of thing.

You're brought into a very cold meeting room where everything that is not made of cement is made of metal bars. He is gruff, built like a block of wood, and his hands are heavily calloused from years of tough construction work. his face is equally slab like, and his ears the cauliflower of a boxer.

Jax sat relaxed in his seat across the table from the big human. He quickly looked the man up and down, laid the file down on the table between them, and grinned. "So, you murdered three members of your work detail, eh? How's life on the inside?"

"The food sucks" he growls in return

2:14 PM

he drums his fingers on the table several times, looking around the cement and steel space

"I bet so. Just between us girls, I've been on the inside, too. Way back before shit went sideways, back on a planet named Grenze, where I'm from. For a breadbasket world, they couldn't cook worth a damn," Jax said jokingly. Taking note of the man's sizing up the room, he clears his throat a bit before speaking, "What'd they do? The three guys."

"

2:22 PM

management. THey cut corners on a project. Scaffolding fell, six people on my crew died, including my brother. Found out during the work safety investigation they knew the dangerous conditions and wanted to save resources , so they chose comfort over safety"

2:22 PM

"Walked into their office, and locked the door behind me, and we had a long talk about why you don't fuck with people's lives"

“Well, I don’t blame you at all for that. How are you with starships?”

"Not sure, never been on one, or near one before. Colony's been here a long time. "

"Hypothetically, let's say I have a starship and am in need of someone to help maintain it. Would you be capable of assisting if need be? What exactly is your discipline?"

"Mechanical engineering, specifically pumps, and electrical systems"

"Hmm, that'd certainly help a lot. What would you say if I told you that it wasn't hypothetical?"

"If it gets me out of a cell, I'd do anything you needed aboard this imaginary starship. "

1:29 PM

"but we're all out of tinfoil hats, aren't we?" he smirks

(Or do you want me to name him?)

(you can name him)

(Hmm. Scott Turner)

1:36 PM

(So I can call him Scott T. -> Scotty)

1:40 PM

"Well, one more question Mr. Turner... how do you feel about alien species?"

"Never met any. No idea"

"Well, Mr. Turner... wanna be the engineer on my spaceship with me and my alien first mate?"

"Anything that gets me out of this prison cell, and into, almost anything else"

Jax grinned and looked up to the present guard. "Well, you heard the man." He then looked back to Scotty, "Do you need to collect anything or say any goodbyes before we leave? We will very likely never be returning here."

"Nothing, just get me to the ship. Everyone who used to visit me has stopped for some time. Don't think that needs a goodbye, just a good riddance"

Jax nodded and stood from his seat. "They still likely need to do the necessary outbound processing stuff, but I'll be waiting out front for you. By the way, I'm Jaxton Ryder. I'll be your new captain. As long as we're straightforward with each other, we'll get along just fine." That said, Jax exited the room and made his way to the front of the prison to wait on his newest crew member. (edited)

As he waited, he contacted Jet to notify him of their newest crewmate and included coordinates for their pickup beyond the wall.

The ship comes down, outside the city wall, you are picked up, and Jet remains at the controls

As Jax and Scott board the ship, Jet is waiting to introduce himself to the new crewmember, both as Scott's superior officer and as the first xeno each other have met in person (aside from Jax). Once that is out of the way, Jet begins to take them off the planet as Jax shows Scott around the ship. Once in orbit, all three reconvene on the bridge where Jet is inputting the coordinates for their next destination. "You ready for your first spike jump, Scotty?" Jet asked the large human engineer. "Engage spike drive. Destination: Alcatyl."

(I saw this, I need to make a report and cross post a bunch of things onto world anvil then, so this is seen, but needs to be acted on before i can update it)

10:44 AM

(and i want to make sure everyone gets at least one bump before I do)

(Ok, gotcha. Let me know if I need to do anything)

The system of Alcatyl is a pair of planets that sit far too close to the local sun to support any kind of complex life. One of them is enveloped in dense vapor clouds of toxic fumes, while the other is a dead rock that is baking in the heat. A large asteroid belt divides the two planets, and a small signal is appearing inside the dense tangle of floating rock

"Hey boss, we've got some kind of signal there in the asteroid belt. Should we investigate?" Jet asked, not bothering to look up from his console. "Yeah, let's take a look. Bring us in to the maximum distance to get a good scan, but steer clear of those rocks as best as we can. We don't wanna give Scotty too much work during his first week on the job," replied the Captain.

“I’ll help with the piloting, just in case,” Jax volunteered.

(Pilot/dex, one of you )

(9, if that works)

The asteroid field becomes very dense close to the signal but some sort of shattered frigate lies at the center of the rock heap. Iron fragments hang in space along with the bodies of crew members who had been pulled into space when the vessel was destroyed

(So, the frigate is completely destroyed or did it just vent the atmosphere and crew into space via a rupture?)

10:15 PM

(Btw, recruiting Scotty accomplished my goal of recruiting an Engineer - 3 xp)

10:19 PM

(Did I earn any xp for anything else on Maysoon?) (edited)

(should also be the normal 3xp, 5000 credits. Coudl have swore i awarded some)

5:28 AM

(and the ship is entirely destroyed

( Ok cool, thanks) “Ahh, that’s terrible. Poor folks,” Jet said with genuine sadness in his voice. “Can we determine the source of the signal? Things look really bad out there, so I’m surprised there’s enough power to operate a signal,” Jax replied.

"It's certainly the ship" Jet says, looking on at the wreck. "Can't say much beyond that"

“It’s sad, but can we determine what their cargo held?” asked the captain.

1:09 PM

(Is it possible to remotely access their computers?)

(Generally no, since ECM hardens most computers against remote access)

1:25 PM

"There's no information coming back to us remotely. Someone's going to have to go over if we want to look"

"123 Not it!" said Scotty in the background, followed immediately by Jet "Not it!" Jax stood there in stunned silence for a moment. "Did you really just... I was gonna go anyways, not because you... I'm the captain, so I've gotta set a good example. I'm going to go over."

1:34 PM

That said, Jax suited up in his armored vacc suit and stepped into the airlock. "Ready to go. Com check."

The Farscape propelled as close to the wreckage as was safe. "Be safe with my ship. I'll be right back," said Ryder as he closed the airlock door and began to cycle the atmosphere from the sealed room in preparation for the vacuum of space.

The airlock on the other vessel has been breached by some sort of large rock hit, though the offending stone was torn to splinters after the fact. There is no power in the section of hull around it, and the interior of the damaged airlock is dark

Jax maneuvers himself and activates the light on his helmet to illuminate the interior of the airlock through the breach.

The hallway runs left to right inside this shard of the corvette. There are no bodies inside the tunnel as far as you can see upon entry

"Alright, I've reached the airlock. It seems damaged and without power, but usually these things have a manual release in case of power failure like this," Ryder said aloud to his crew back on the ship as he searched for a manual release of some kind.

There is a flywheel to the right of the airlock, it is slightly rusted, but otherwise seems to move freely enough

“Found the manual release. Looks rusted, but operable. I’ll give it a shot,” said Ryder as he brushed away as much of the rust as he could from the mechanism. Once completed to the best of his ability shy of a professional cleaning, Ryder began to operate the flywheel in an attempt to open the door

It slides with a few catches and jerks but the airlock slides open, revealing a dark ship interior within. No bodies float in the corridor, and it runs from left to run. There is a laminate placard on the wall pointing the bridge to the left, and engineering to the right.

“I’m in. I’m going to inspect engineering first,” Ryder said into his com as he engaged his magnetic boots and began to walk down the corridor toward the aforementioned section of the ship

The tunnel warps as damage from the rocks has deformed it, and you pass a body pinned to the wall by a fallen ventilation shaft

Jax passes through the damage, being as careful as he can as he continues to move towards the Engineering section.

The body is left behind, still pinned to the wall, and the engineering bulkhead had slammed down in futility, trying to prevent the explosive decompression of this chunk of ship. A large tool cart is mashed into an unrecognizable shape, and there is enough of a gap between the door and ground to squeeze underneath, though it will be very tight, especially in a suit

Jax took one look at the gap he'd have to squeeze through for engineering and shook his head a bit. "That's a tight fit. I'll circle back to that," Jax said into his coms as he turned back to inspect the dead body pinned to the wall.

The body is wearing engineering Coveralls and has a compad in hand though the screen is broken. A large jack like rod hangs and floats in his dead grip in the other

12:40 PM

He must have been racing here to prop it up before the decompression wave killed him

Ryder snagged the compad and looked for a way to jack his own dataslab into it to pull information.

(Program/int)

As you begin ddebating the best way to get this completed, Jet cuts in "Boss, lots of ships just entered the system. A lot of them, and one of them's real big. You might wanna make your way back over if you can get away, just in case we need to beat it"\

“Yeah, sure, sounds good. I can inspect this pad later,” Jax said via coms. He quickly made his way back to the airlock for the purpose of returning to his ship

(You can send a message in unaligned Stev if you want

As soon as he returned to his ship and changed out of his space suit, Jax approached the coms. “They flying any known colors?” he asked as he approached Jet.

1:54 PM

(Are they?)

1:57 PM

“Or do we recognize their vessel profiles?”

(They’re not , no)

“No on both counts, sir,” Jet replied. “Well, they already know we’re here and they haven’t blown us out of the sky yet, so either they haven’t seen us, they don’t want to talk to us, or they’re waiting for us to talk to them. Fuck it, let’s give ‘em a ring,” Ryder replied.

Returning to the Farscape and the docked wreck, the two marines continue working with the tools to try to get the body down under your supervision. One of them is running a power saw, and gestures for you to be in place to catch it just in case they had anything dangerous on them that an impact might set off.

Jax assumes his spot to catch it, just in case

He also works on pulling data from the busted compad, as he was doing before. (edited)

You catch the body, as it falls and you're able to secure the compad. the ship was patrolling out here when the Scream hit, sending it on a collision course with local space rocks, and it was destroyed by the uncontrolled acceleration. The ship was flagged as Black Sun, but none of the crew are wearing military uniforms. there are hints that these might have been mutineers

(Anything on cargo?)

(Only info is what I posted)

(Does the ship have a cargo bay? Or would I need to look that up on the ship computers or something?)

(Not one you can get to from this piece of the ship but yes)

“I’m gonna head to the bridge to see what I can pull off the computers. Let’s see if we can rig a generator to it, if it needs it,” Jax says to the soldiers.

The blast doors never lowered, the ship was killed too quickly to allow safety measures to trigger. Bodies float in the bridge, frozen by the touch of unfriendly void. There are ten in total here, the deck officers and a few of their secondary. It must have been between watch when the vessel was marooned and then struck.

8:24 PM

Only a few of the computer systems are still intact (edited)

Jax locates one and attempts to boot it up and gain access

fragmented data beings spilling down the screen, and a rough schematic of the ship appears. It is awash in red showing where segments of the ship have been torn away. The cargo bay files are accessible, though the module is not connected to the same chunk as the bridge. Aside from rations, small arms, and some trade goods as an offering for whatever neutral port to take them in, the ship was not carrying anything especially valuable- These men and women were defectors fleeing from the Black Sun, and their only wealth was in however long they could stretch their supplies before they found a new home

Jax nods slightly at the list and redirects his coms to open a private channel the Farscape. “Scotty, come in. I need you to do something for me.”

The ship is listening, interested in what you're askinh

“Could you suit up and come assist the soldiers in getting into engineering and assessing the situation there? I’m gonna go check out the cargo section.”

“The soldiers won’t be leaving the ship. I’ve tried getting them to help with a few things and they’re not leaving the bridge”

(Oooh, I assumed the two people that were helping Jax in the wreck were the ones that were gonna be with us) (edited)

(Theyre they’re for watching you)

9:09 PM

(The whole point is you don’t run and tell the empire )

(They’re for watching me, Jaxton Ryder, or me, the crew of the Farscape?)

(Their goal is to prevent the ship from running. You are the captain of that ship)

9:28 PM

(This is splitting hairs. Point is they’re not going to allow you to easily slip away )

(Oh, I’m not trying to be obtuse or anything. I’m just trying to clear up a misunderstanding: there are two soldiers on the bridge of the Farscape and two soldiers in the wreck with the dead body near engineering?)

(Two soldiers in total, once the body was cut down they'd have gone back over)

(Ah, ok! Where is the section containing the cargo in relation to the part of the wreck with the bridge and engineering?)

(It's the other half of the broken ship, near the aft. Engineering would have been the top deck with the extra engine space and hold underneath, but since the ship was slain down the middle)

11:14 AM

(cant get to it from inside this piece)

(Can I determine the source of the signal from here on the bridge?)

The signal is the automated distress call the ship was programmed to begin sending as soon as it was stuck By the asteroid

Jaxton deactivates the signal and coms back to the Farscape, “Can I get someone to meet me at the cargo section of the wreck? I wanna try to recover some of this stuff. It’s pre-Scream, so some of it might be valuable to certain collectors.”

Jet is willing to come over and help look, since the marines arent likely to leave the bridge of your vessel anytime soon

9:13 PM

Scotty is still aboard

Jax heads over to the airlock, preparing to go EV to reach the part of the vessel that is currently inaccessible from where he is currently located.

You and Jet both don suits and prepare to make your way inside. The main deck is crumpled but jet has brought a bulkhead breaching charge of his own invention with him, and prepares to set it up in the shape of a door frame

9:44 AM

(Think like a det cord kinda thing)

Jax sets up clear of the charge, waiting for Jet to trigger it. “On your mark, buddy,” Jax says via coms.

There is a muffled pop as a doorframe sized sheet of metal is blasted inwards, making a convenient door for you both to enter the hold. True enough, you can already see military stores of food, potable water, spare uniforms, and the other supplies a soldier might need to sustain a ship. They were low on many important things matching what the log had said.

“Go around checking if there is an expiration on those food stores and if it has passed according to our pre-Scream measurements I taught you. And see if there are some uniforms in Scotty’s size. The guy didn’t have any variety when he left Maysoon. I’m going to search for the arms that I saw mentioned in the manifest,” he said to Jet.

He moves off to go look into what you asked him to do. The armory is also ont his level, and the doors are intact, but closed. A metal flywheel sits on the bulkhead wall, and looks to be more easily spun than the one outside when trying to get into the ship

Jax begins to spin the flywheel once more in order to open the door.

There is a grind and a squeal as the door begins to open. Cut off from the elements, a dozen laser rifles, their power cells, and a suit of power armor are locked down in here, ready for use in a boarding situation that never arrived.

Ryder’s eyes light up at the sight of the weaponry and armor in the armory. With a grin, Jax calls out over the coms to Jet, “Jackpot. I claim all of this for us via salvage rights.” He walked over to the power armor and began to inspect it.

It is a standard assault suit, with no modifications, painted in the Black Sun black and yellow scheme.

9:49 AM

The type B cell in it is dry, but serviceable and could be recharged after some time connected to your ship

Jaxton looks for an antigravity sled or something to strap everything on for easier transport

There is a grav ruck that needs a type A to work

(Can I use items from my pack or is it assumed I left it back on the ship when I got into the space suit?)

(You can use anything that’s readied or stowed )

Jax removes a fresh type A cell from his pack and places it within the indicated slot for the grav ruck (edited)

It begins to float and a grab bar extends from each end allowing you to push or pull it with ease

He moves the sled over to the power armor suit and begins to load it, first

(Nobody is going to stop you loading any of the gear or anything down here, and the AA marines are on the bridge of your ship so theyve got no reason to stop you from doing anything over here, especially since Jet is there too,)

(Ok, cool)

5:44 PM

Jax loads up all of the weaponry, power armor, and as much as the other supplies as he could onto the sled and, after making multiple trips when necessary, transferred the cargo contents to his own hold

5:45 PM

Jax then directs Jet trade places with Scotty, and have the engineer join him back on the primary portion of the ship, attempting to access engineering (edited)

Scotty is able to get the door fixed, and the engineering section is horribly damaged. The engine is in ruins, slain by the direct asteroid strike. One of the terinals here still works, and he thinks he might be able to strip a few parts from the engineering section

Jaxton approves the project, even offering to help with the labor

(fix/int)

(10)

You're able to get an extra part that Scotty on his own did not have the prophecy to remove, bringing you to three total units of spare parts tucked away safely for your own journey.

Satisfied with their haul and with the emergency beacon successfully disabled, Jet and Scotty return to the Farscape to wait out the time until they would be able to depart

With everyone aboard, the cargo situated and your ship not needing to refuel, you see the task force leave, entering spike space. There is a wave of tension across the bridge, as now you are truly on your own out here in the void

Jax turns to the soldiers, “Where was the first destination again, guys?”

"Chhavvi, then Mohini, Laria, and then off to Sumati, from there we'll be getting off your ship, and you'r'e free to go where you will"

“Chhavvi it is, then! Jet, if you don’t mind?” Jet then input the coordinates and, after clearing the field, triggered the spike drive

Invasive Atmosphere Hostile Biosphere TL 3 Hundreds of Thousands of Inhabitants The system is centered around a single world in the habitable zone, though the atmosphere is reading as incredibly invasive. The natives on the surface have constructed some sort of energy screens around their settlement that keep the as now unknown effects of their atmosphere at bay. Hostile fauna also patrols the settlement outskirts, feasting on the current residents as well as one another depending on what is available. The local community used to be much richer, but something happened recently to crush its source of prosperity. Different factions of the community might be trying to grasp at the remaining dregs of wealth, others might try to restart the failed industry, and some might look for a new livelihood. Any group or entity thought responsible for the collapse is likely to be treated very harshly, and some locals might find profit in shifting the blame to their enemies.

9:27 PM

(and 3 days of downtime on the way here)

The marines are patient, and observant, before you end your sojourn back in UNW space at the Sumati system. A second planet exists here now, where none had a few years ago when you were here last.

5:18 PM

The marines leave, and the Farscape is once again for you, scotty and Jett