Iron Stars - rogan

Rogan Tuttle looks at the gray sky of Jahnavi. The air is dry and another dust storm is rolling in, and the farming equipment is already being hauled back to a hangar converted into a workshop and supply shed. The bell for prayer rings twice and everyone not on watch or with an immediate job begins filing into service. Rogan has completed his rotation for the day and begins filing in with the crowd. The meal after service is usually the best one and Abbot Balvarrata keeps things short as everyone is tired. He is an elderly man by sangha standards, nearing both sixty and the end of his life as the virulent cancers caused by the liberation treatment enact their final course of health consequence

3

Rogan stays mixed into the crowd, his natural aversion to standing out winning out over looking for friends. That can wait for later, he thought to himself. Feeling the jostling of a mass of people was comforting in its anonymity. He found himself a place near the electronics, since the Abbot somehow found him whenever the service needed help ever since he arrived. Rogan blamed his stupid smile. Dang thing makes me look like I want to be helpful.

01:00

(Not using any skill to hide)

The service has a few moments before it begins and Is started with some advertisements from the Greystar confederacy along with the news (the most recent post in the gal net news channel) The abbot begins getting ready to take the pulpit for a few comments as the reel finishes. This planet of Jahnavi has been incredibly deadly to Greystar explorers and they’re desperately trying to leverage local help to explore some of the ruins - former settlements and military facilities destroyed during the religious war that destroyed so much of this world and released the Liberation agents into the water

Rogan's eyes light up as the thought of exploring fantastic ruins races through his mind. He pictures himself sneaking into an old fortress, never being seen as he investigates the haunted spaces. He shows his war prizes to the Abbot, and the Abbot praises his resourcefulness. As he finishes, that sappy grin takes over his face as he steadies himself to talk to the Abbot afterwards.

Service is quicker than normal this evening. The abbot stumbles in a few places as the effects of the brain tumors advance on his memory and speech centers but he’s strong enough to finish and you’re able to get his message about sacrifice and the duty one has to this family culture. Everyone begins breaking off to eat as the abbot slowly takes the microphone stand apart to be packed away until morning

Rogan finds himself pulled toward the Abbot, starting to help him finish the cleanup before he realized what he was doing. His smile was evident as he started asking the older man questions. "Abbot Balvarrata, is it true that we can go and explore some ruins from the old war? That sounds like a real exciting thing. Do they pay for that? Do they send us in by ourselves? What would we find? What would they expect me to bring back? What kind of monsters are in the wreckage?" he realizes that he never stopped to wait for answers in his haste. So, he finally shuts his mouth and waits. Smiling and helping.

The Abbot is serene as always. He doesn’t seem troubled by the questions. “The expeditions are mounted by Greystar. They usually do send help but the conditions are that those expeditions are filled out by locals. It helps build the trust between us. Many have defense systems or old battle robots that still functional. There may be others out there that we have not run across”

01:51

“Part of exploring is finding out”

Rogan smiles and nods through the Abbot's answers, waiting for him to finish, "How do I sign up, Abbot Balvarrata? I bet I could find stuff that nobody else did."

"I'm ready right now. Would they send me out today?" he asks, with a little disappointment after the words come out, since he might have to miss dinner.

“Not today. We are expecting a ship tomorrow. The rest of the team will be arriving with them. You don’t want to be in the open desert when the sun goes down anyway. There is no way of knowing what’s out there anymore “ (edited)

Rogan's emotions rollercoaster as the Abbot starts with 'not today', but then rebounds when he says tomorrow and he also realizes that he can get dinner, so that smile returns, and he finishes helping with the sermon breakdown. His mind is too excited to understand what he means about his warning, so he replies, "They are coming here? Awesome! I can't wait! Do you need any other help?"

"None. Thank you" he manages, the short phrase doesnt seem to tax his mind too much. "Will inform them of your eagerness. You will be sent out with others. Remember to be cautious"

Rogan smiles and nods eagerly, "Thank you, Abbot Balvarrata!" he says before turning and running to get his dinner. His excitement overrode his natural desire to hide, so after he arrived for food, he looked around instead of covering up.

(unless you had anything specific you wanted to dive into, im sure you're eager to get going, we can fast forward to the following morning)

1

(We can look into if he made a friend that also wants to do this job, but that can be part of the following morning activities.)

18:33

(He's not easy to connect with, but an outgoing person might.)

Brey Muller is another member of the Sangha who has taken the Liberation treatment. Most who have do not truly have strong friendships, or feel much of anything that isn't devotion to Red Sangha. He none the less has been friendly to you, as a fellow psychic. Members of the Black Lotus and the Psychic Coterie attached to them are very few given the many long years of battle. It was hoped that you would take the Liberaiton and truly join them, but Muller has not pressed the issue more than his first and only offer of it to you- and has been pleasant enough to work with since you refused him thus far.

19:09

You don't have many friends here, but he is the one you'd be the most familiar with

2

(Nice. Wasn't expecting an actual contact, so that's a bonus.)

He is currently scooping some of the reconstituted protein meal into his plate , deep in thought by time you arrive at dinner

Rogan brings his plate to the table, sitting across from Brey, "Good to see you, Brey." He changes to a more quiet, conspiratorial voice to continue without attracting attention, "Did you know about the missions to the ruins? I'm gonna go do it. Do you think there's something special I could do out there?"

22:55

With that, he says a quick prayer and begins eating his food slowly, savoring each bite.

“Of course. Everyone has talent to bring to the table. And you’re a psychic too.” His voice is even, the same tone as the abbot. “There is more than enough reason for you to go”

Rogan nods, "I know. But is there something that you would be looking for while I'm out there?"

"Something... special ... that was lost, maybe...," he said, hoping Red Sangha needed his help finding something.

(The whole idea is they don’t know what’s even out there anymore. That’s why you’re exploring. Brey wouldnt even have a guess )

04:29

“I suppose so. Good luck finding whatever that might be then. “

(Gotcha. In that case, he's ready to go.)

"Thanks! I'll tell ya all about it when I get back."

Brey goes back to picking at his sad dinner. You eat, wash, and can hardly sleep as morning comes and the blocky form of a Greystar free merchant cuts across the sky a fair distance away. It sets down 200m from the walled settlement The Red Sangha lives in, and you can see ten figures emerge from the craft, only half of them are the armed adventuring type.

His interest piqued, and with nothing else to do before breakfast, Rogan tests some of his sneakiness by racing to the edge of the wall, getting a count on who is staying at the transport versus coming into camp, and shadowing the ones coming in to listen to what they talk about.

(sneak/dex)

(Sneak+Dex check: 5)

(you get to roll twice because of incognito, if you wish to) (edited)

(How does effort work? I didn't want to burn it before he needs it. But if it recovers before they would leave, then sure.)

(usually a scene ends up being the entire dungeon crawl the way we do things, hanging out here in the village and then getting to the adventure area would be different scenes so you'd get the effort back, un;ess something is effort for the day, which you wouldnt get back unless we had 8 hours of rest somewhere safe)

(Then, sure. Second try was a 9.)

There is a site to the far south they're interested in where a ship might have crashed from during the schism. Compared to what is flying now, it might not be valuable as a space vessel, but if the spike drive and reactor work - a nuke snuffer and power plant for the city are two things that the Red Sangha can't afford to turn its noses up at

Rogan takes that in and breaks out of his stealth to walk up to and talk to the pilot (if he can figure out who that is), "Are you the pilot for the mission to the ruins that we were told about? I've been dying to work on something more complicated than Comms gear. Do you need any help fixing up your ship before we go? Oh, sorry. I forgot. Hi. My name's Rogan. Rogan Tuttle. Tech and Pilot-in-training, plus I've got a couple of other skills."

"Hi Rogan. Yes I'm the pilot, but I wouldn't be ruin diving with you. You're walking home if something happens to me. Were you selected to come with us?"

"Absolutely!" he says, with an excitement that burns down a bit as he wonders who will be going with him. "Am I the first to show? Or did you bring other divers with you?"

"No one's gone as far as to track us down before we meet with the Abbot, so I'd say you're the first"

Rogan grins that grin, feeling proud at being first, and with a little extra information. So, he decides to go ahead and ask more questions until it's time to meet the Abbot and whomever else is going, "Since we're here, could you tell me about how we'll be getting there, and then getting in?"

“I’d rather do this briefing once with the entire team but if you give me your name I’ll make sure you’re picked. You’ve got the right head on for all this.”

Rogan repeats his full name to him with that mixed emotion of having to wait, while still expecting the coming excitement and adventure to make the wait well worth it. (edited)

The meeting with the abbot is over an hour and you’ve worn a small furrow into the dust outside the temple doors before they re emerge as you pace endlessly. Three other red sangha members look to have been selected and the pilot waves you over so the entire briefing can happen at once. They’ve all got somber looks on their faces

Rogan looks at them, wondering why they would go through a mind-altering that would take away parts of them, but puts that away as the thought of the upcoming briefing and adventure struck him. He dashes over, very ready to listen with a smile of excitement on his face. "I'm here! Annnnd ready!"

(He'll start asking any questions from those he already asked, if the briefing doesn't cover it:) (could you tell me about how we'll be getting there, and then getting in?) (how do we leave, and what could we bring out, could we have transport for the bigger items, and how do we get ourselves picked up if the initial pickup has a problem?) (what can we keep!?!)

The free merchant the Greystar team arrived in is your way there since its capable of atmospheric flight. It will also be your way out, and its 100 tons of empty space inside is enough to move bigger items you find. We're salvaging a ship crash, and the Red Sangha settlement here is getting the spike drive and reactor from it- which should end up taking most of the room inside. Any smaller items you find aboard the ship you can take. There may be security bots aboard (a quick note though, SWN discourages basically picking up every single piece of scrap metal you come across, if there's something big or worth taking ill be sure to signpost it)

1

(He's ready to go. I don't think there's much more for him to say.)

Rogan understands that there's only one way to get the stuff out. They have to eliminate the security bots. All of them. "I think I get it. We clear the bots, you come in and we load up the ship. I'm ready to head out."

The adventure team heading into the wreck is made of six people, three from Red Sangha, and three from Greystar itself representing an equal partnership. You seem to be the only psychic among the group. The free merchant lowers its ramp and the pilot heads forward into the cockpit to get the ship into atmosphere once you're all aboard. The wreck is far distant to the south and you have a few hours of flight time before getting there, as everyone settles in for the short trip. You're invited to use the locker and armory aboard to borrow any gear you think you might need

Rogan immediately heads to the locker and armory, hoping to find something better than what he has. He especially wants to strap on a rifle, along with some batteries and comms gear, ooh, and maybe a grenade, although he doubts they would let him have grenades. He doesn't hold out hope for combat armor, but he looks, nonetheless. He is almost completely full of hope, so he looks without worrying whether he'll be disappointed. Once prepared, he hikes up to the pilot's cabin to ask to watch, "Do you mind if I watch? I'd really love to get a little flight time in, if you want a bit of a break. I wouldn't know where we're headed yet, but I can follow a flight plan." (edited)

(Just denote what you're actually taking, and add it to your sheet so we have the right items readied/stowed)

19:49

"The Confederacy would have me if I let you fly it and we happened to crash, but you're more than welcome to sit in the co pilot seat and I'll explain some of what I'm doing to you"

19:49

"Government issue. You understand"

(Rogan would definitely upgrade with:) (Combat Rifle) (-or Laser Rifle if there's no combat rifle-) (4 batteries) (Combat Field Uniform) (Compad) (Field radio) (Binoculars) (Rations-3 days) Rogan answers, still very excited to be able to sit up front and talk to the pilot, "I do. I don't want to get you in trouble, but I'd love to watch and sit up here." (edited)

(either rifle is available, whatever you like better)

(Combat for certain)

21:42

(Added those to his sheet. Maxed readied and stowed items without going over.) (edited)

Rogan watches the pilot, asking questions about the positions of the craft's gauges, displays, and controls. After a bit, he starts asking what the pilot might know about the ruined vessel and its bots, "What kind of fight do you think the security bots will put up? They would be ..., what, a couple decades old, right?" (edited)

(He really isn't expecting much of an answer, since nobody knows what's out there. He's hoping the guy has a history background, but is ready to land and go explore, even without an answer.)

00:11

(Before he leaves, Rogan will ask the group their talents, and will say that he's good with a gun, fixing stuff, piloting, and sneaking around. He wants to know if there's a leader, who can do what in a scrap, and who else is carrying a radio.) (edited)

(everyone has a compad so you’d be able to reach anyone. I’ll get the deck plan posted when I’m back to a computer )

02:10

The readout of the wreck and where things should be begin generating on the ship console and your compads as you begin setting down 500m from the wreck outside of weapons range

Rogan uses his binoculars as they get closer to look at the entries, looking for tracks or signs of security systems. He reports what he sees and advises to get a look all the way around the ship before entering.

The best way in looks like the botanical garden at the head of the ship. The dome is partially broken open to expose it to the wasteland sun. You don’t see any tracks outside or any signs of security systems or bots from the outside - but it’s a decently sized ship and you’ll no doubt see something once aboard

As they get closer to the ship, Rogan tells another armed person of the group to use the cover from the walls of both sides of the broken opening to look inside the Botanical Garden before a third should move inside to start clearing the space of defenses. "Once we get inside, we need someone to be scanning for movement and one or two more to investigate for valuables as we go." He continues, "If we start taking fire, everyone is helping with that. Nobody is safe until that bot is down. Or bots."

13:57

"We're here for the reactor and drive, but if this thing was a science ship, there may be some science-y stuff around."

Rogan considers his plan some more before letting someone else enter the ruined ship. He realizes that he should try to sneak in with them covering him, rather than ask someone else to walk in. He quietly puts his hand in front of the person preparing to move and says, "Cover me. I'll go in first." At which point, he stealthily moves in, going to the best, nearest point of cover.

(sneak/dex, and this is a new scene in terms of effort if it ends up being important for your decision making)

(Check result 8, no effort this time)

You sneak up to the cracked biodome and peer into the darkened interior. Overgrown plants dominate the space almost entirely and they'll need to be hacked through to get to the other side of the chamber and deeper into the ship. Local animals have also made dens in here, taking advantage of the shelter and greenery to make homes. Birds caw in the small fruit trees and you can hear rodents skittering through the brush

Looking disappointed at being held back by the greenery, although impressed that it grew without care, he stows his binoculars and switches hands from holding his rifle. He pulls out his monoblade and switches to his pistol while he works on cutting through the foliage. He asks, "Let's keep someone on scanning duty while two people with weapons cover the other three making a path. Be sure to let us know if you see movement that's from something that is big enough to hurt us." He rethinks, frowning in his worry, "Unless it slithers. Shoot it if it slithers, no matter what size it is. Double tap, just to make sure."

"Hey, can anyone identify these fruits? They might make some nice, fresh dessert."

(If nobody seems tech-savvy enough to use a ~~Compad~~ Dataslab to ID the fruit trees, he will holster his pistol for the time needed to check.) (edited)

Someone will take a look at them while the rest of you begin cutting a path toward the airlock door leading deeper into the ship. It is difficult work and most of the growth is very thick. You scatter plenty of small animals from their burrows as you continue working and after an hour of cutting, taking small breaks, and cutting some more- you're at the flywheel to open the sealed door into the rest of the ship. The fruit seems mundane enough. Exotic to this world due to the conditions here, but nothing that has not been seen in other parts before

(Once we clear the door, we'll repeat the entry into what should be the Comfort Center) Rogan confirms the armed two are on each side of the door while he unseals the door. He also makes sure the other three are off to the side and not in a straight line behind the door, like targets. He pushes open the door partway and backs away, just in case. After a short wait, he scans the room for movement or unmoving bots.

Original message was deleted or could not be loaded.

Pinned a message.

03:42

The comfort center is the relaxation area at the front of the ship. It’s missing a galley it must be somewhere else in the vessel. The furniture bolted to the deck has been pockmarked and moth eaten. A dead holoscreen with a crack running down the middle hangs on the eastern wall next to a vent where the grate has been pulled away and hangs by a single screw

Rogan is not an extremely clever person, so he will methodically clear the rooms to make sure they are empty of bots. But First, he will see if he can fix the library system. Then, he checks the vent for guests with his thermal optics, and then the other rooms. The three labs, observatory, dark room, and activity locker. (Edited) (edited)

(We're going to take this one room at a time, because there are different things in all of them and shotgunning big blocks of information out here means you're not going to read most of it)

13:44

The vent has some warm tracks in it. They're large. You can't tell what they might be from- but it is not mechanical. The interior bulkhead leading into the central library is jammed, it refuses to rise past 1/4 of the way up its normal height and is too low to crawl under. Access to the library means access to the rest of the ship, as the other rooms are hubbed around it

Rogan looks at the bulkhead in frustration. But before he does anything else, he warns the crew, "Be alert! There's something big that's been in that vent, and it's a critter. We're not hunting here, so don't worry about damaging the thing. Take it down unless it's not trying to kill us." As a fixer, he does the standard first steps to opening the bulkhead, he looks at it to see if there is an obvious problem jamming it, and asks any of the others if they see anything. If closing it could help dislodge whatever is jamming it, he'll do that next. "Trying to muscle it open may jam it worse, so let's see if we can clear the thing. If we have to, I hope someone brought a crowbar or two." (He would do that last.)

(fix/int, at +2 since one of them has a post-tech tool kit)

(Snake eyes for a 3.)

It is now jammed worse. It can be cut through, but you probably will not be inside until late in the afternoon- severely cutting down on your time to explore before pulling back for the night. Heavier tools are deployed from the ship, along with technical support to use them, and you're forced to take a very extended lunch break while the engineers hack away at the bulkhead

Rogan frowns in disappointment. But making the best of it, he takes one of the fruits from a tree he's never had before and samples it, looking forward to the fresh taste and texture. When he finds one that he likes, he pulls another off and offers it to the technician that had the tool kit. "Well, this sucks," he comments to the tech. "At least we get a little real food. Who'd have guessed, right?"

(Added more goals, since the others were marked at 0)

Considering the lost time, Rogan decides to open the bulkhead to the Extra Vehicular Activity Locker after getting into the Comfort Station -first-, then the Library in the center. He tells that to the group of six, along with, "But none of that happens until this first bulkhead opens up. At some point, we'll probably run into that critter from the vent, so that's one thing we need to be looking for. We always need to be ready for a fight because security bots could come from any room." He waits a bit for that to sink in, then adds, "So, as soon as that bulkhead opens, we start clearing rooms. We don't have time to spend here, so let's see what's in that Locker, and then head to the stairs to find what we came for."

There is a wrenching screech as the tools that had previously been biting metal cut through the door, finally, the broken metal is kicked inward, and you're free to move into the library from the comfort station. Walking around the ship you were unable to find other ways in and were forced to wait for the cutting to finish. The library is dark, and you hear a faint clicking and whirring in the darkness- there is a processing unit of some kind working inside, somewhere.

Rogan thanks the heavy-equipment crew, and proceeds to direct the clearing of the first room, followed by the entry and clearing of the Library. As before, two armed members would flank the door while Rogan sneaks into the room and points out the next steps, while the other three stay behind cover. Rogan investigates each bulkhead to see which doorways are open, and then the computing noises, hoping to be able to gather ship's data into his Dataslab. Meanwhile, he'll make sure a watch is posted on the vent and open doors, in case visitors arrive. "Does anyone have some skills with computers, before I try my luck?"

(initiative)

(First roll was Initiative: 2) (edited)

20:38

(It says no valid token was selected. This is my first time using Roll20 for combat.)

(There won't be tokens since we do not use battlemaps with character tokens on them)

22:08

(So it will always display that message. There's no error with the roll itself)

22:10

A floating drone rises from behind the couch 15m away, the source of the processor noise you were hearing. its pair of laser rifles send shots into the doorframe, trying to suppress the two riflemen with you, though failing to hit either one of them due to their strong cover. They shoot back, one of the shots damages it slightly, though not enough to shoot it down. (Rogan up)

(First combat questions: 1- Do we get 2 actions?, 2- Can they both be firing, or does 1 have to be a move?)

(Starting at page Page 48 of the core rulebook you can find the actions, and what they cost. You have a single main action, a single move action that has to be taken all at once, and any amount of on turn actions when it’s your turn)

(I see. It makes more sense now.)

Rogan fires a burst at the drone, (11/10, no shock) then moves to the cover of another couch, kneeling behind it and listening for the drones movement.

22:35

_ (Does he have the movement for that? If not, he would skip the better cover for partial cover.) (edited)

The shot glanced off its armor plating and you’re able to get into decent half cover for yourself. It’s concealment but won’t stop an aimed shot. The drone fires and destroys some of the couch around Rogan , setting some of the stuffing on fire but he’s not hurt. The two soldiers near the doorframe return fire , both shots connect this time now that they’ve been able to set themselves and your distraction gave them a second to aim. The faceplate of the sentry bot is blown out and the second hit sends its grav plate tumbling out the bottom like it has been disemboweled. It crashes into the floor and catches alight - and is very much out of action

Rogan turns back to the bulkhead and compliments them, "Nice shootin'! And thanks. Looks like we're all healthy, so let's keep it up." He looks for a way to connect his Dataslab to the library system, but then remembers the need for speed. So, he sets the group into positions to open the vehicle activity locker. "Let's see what's in here, and then check on the library."

(Ready to open the next door)

(With a program/int you would attempt to try to download the contents quickly)

14:30

The EVA room has several warnings and is sealed off by an airlock door. It warns that in space vac suits and helmets need to be worn beyond this door and that the compartment could open to space at any time. The room is dark and silent from what you can tell. Through the window you can see eight EVA work pods tucked into nacelles. A flywheel in the center of the airlock door can be turned to open it.

(Program/INT check: 4) Not expecting to get much out quickly because he never much picked up programming, Rogan turns toward opening the EVA airlock and making sure that there are no living being in there. One thing he expects from space suits is that if there is someone hiding in a suit, his thermal vision shouldn't see past the suit. So, he is pretty sure that they need to check the room and suits out. "Let's open the EVA up, next. Positions!" he says, starting to get used to this.

Rogan takes a quick look back at the destroyed bot and couch, confirming that no fires are lingering before opening the EVA inner airlock.

(Don’t get too far ahead of me I’m starting to miss things)

21:13

The compad will download before you leave but you’ll have to leave it here and will be without comms if you decide to leave it . The Eva hatch opens and you’re let into the bay. The suits are standard model , reinforced, gyro jets, and cables for grav sleds. Each also has a robust heating system and other amenities to make extended work outside a spacecraft easier and more comfortable

Rogan leaves his compad behind, and then uses the radio to call the ship/pilot, "This is Rogan. I'm going to be without my compad while it downloads the wrecks library data. I'll need you to use radio comms, over." While he waits for the response, he confirms all the suits are empty, and the airlock itself has no stowaways or other useful items. (Next step will be finding out which level or levels have the Drive and the Reactor. If his Dataslab has those details, he'll look it up. Otherwise, he'll ask the Pilot if they have those locations.)

There is a flight of stairs heading down near the galley and cold storage room. The engineering deck is likely below in the belly of the ship since it is away from the crew areas

Rogan has the others follow him down the stairs, with him sneaking as best he can and using his regular and thermal vision to look for trouble. He says, "Follow me with a little distance. You two with the weapons cover me as best you can once we get down there."

You enter the drive chamber first and as you head down the stairs you hear clanking in the darkness. Your thermal vision picks out a clanking security bot that is large and hunched in the corner of the room, scanning for threats

Rogan continues the standard plan, coming down stealthily, whispering behind him to the others, "Security bot in the corner! Get to cover!" but then ducks to cover with his rifle poised to fire.

(It hasn’t seen you yet. You guys would get a surprise round)

1

Rogan points it out to the folks with guns and directs fire at it, making sure everyone firing fires near cover, and takes cover after firing. "Now," he whispers.

(Both of them have missed. We will get your attack result and then initiative)

(15/15, no shock) (Initiative: 8)

(7 for the war bot) your combat rifle shot hits something important, and you can see its frame rock forward before its gyros correct its balance.

Rogan continues to pour fire into the war bot, keeping to cover as he can. He calls out to the others, "Keep firing! We'll take it out. Keep back if you're not well armed."

15:42

(15/15, no shock, again!)

(only melee weapons have shock so we won;t expect to see any with a combat rifle) The robot is struck again in the same place, and this time your companions are able to zero their shots. The sentry bot falls, belching dark smoke into the confined compartment through several new holes blasted into it.

Rogan smiles a happy smile, feeling like he finally contributed. He leads the way, trying to figure out how to disconnect and remove the drive and reactor. "Nice shots, again! Let's get the drive and reactor removed so they can be taken back to the ship."

The technical crew from the Greystar vessel will be handling this portion of the removal job. Darkness will be here soon, and in the meantime your skills are far more useful clearing the remainder of the upper deck, ensuring no security bots alerted to the cutting and salvaging can hurt the engineering crew

(The Top Deck, or the entry deck?)

17:58

Confirming that this deck is clear, Rogan leads the others to finish clearing the ship of dangers, remembering that there is a living being here along with other potential bots. He talks to the others, "Let's clear the kitchen and food storage areas next. I have a feeling that whatever it is that was recently in the vent has plenty of meals in there," he says while leading them back upstairs into their normal placements at the door between the library and the kitchen... foyer(?).

18:00

Once in place, he'll make sure the three are off to the side, and the two gunners are on each side of the door. He'll nod to them just before he opens the bulkhead and sneaks in.

(entry deck)

1

18:01

(the map we used at the beginning is back where we are- if that's what you meant)

(Actually, I was asking about whether we needed to clear the uppermost deck, since the stairs looked like they could go down to the engine room or up to a third deck or higher.)

(But we have to clear the kitchen, et. al. anyway, so now's as good as anytime.)

(I didnt have anything for up there, was just going to leave it at these two decks. Only so much danger/potential combat that is reasonable with you at lvl 1) (edited)

19:17

The door to the kitchen is kicked inwards as you sweep it with the other two Sangha volunteers. Their rifle work is steady, and a security camera is shot apart from over your shoulder- just in case it reports back to anything

Rogan smiles back to the gunners, his excitement re-built from finding and clearing the engineering space. He praises them again, "Thanks. Let's check the pantry first. Then the cold storage. Remember folks, there's likely something alive and quick, so if you don't have a weapon, stay behind someone who does." He pauses while everyone takes their places. "Ready... and Go," he says as he opens the pantry door.

There is a screech as some kind of rodent creature the size of a cat dives into a bag of half chewed grain stock that the crew would have used for bread or oatmeal back in better days

Rogan finds himself unsure of himself, but decides that the rodent could carry disease, so aims at the thing, "Last chance, if anyone wants to study the critter." (If nobody stops him, he'll shoot it.)

The confederation is interested in the animals that make up the web of life on its planets. Killing the small creature just because seems like a waste and one of the soldiers you’re with attempts to trap it, making a noose wand out of a long metal stick and thick metal cord

03:26

Just to catch a leg or mid section if possible

Rogan says, "Okay, if we're gonna catch him, let me have the wand." Rogan uses effort to Fade and get closer to the rodent to slip the cord around its midsection while it's eating.

He thinks to himself, 'This is nuts. I went from deciding to put the rodent on ice to expending more Effort on saving it than I have so far in this ship. This is nuts. I hope no mind reader is reading my thoughts right now.'

(You're technically too close to use fade, but this is a minor distraction so we'll say its alright for now)

15:08

The wand slips effortlessly around its middle, a small squeak is the only evidence its been captured before one of them manages to get it into a small cage

Rogan has them do a quick search for useful foodstuffs before he returns to planning their next steps, directing them to the cold storage bulkhead. He makes sure they, including the one holding their cage, are all in positions. And then he opens the cold storage. “One two, three.”

The power system has failed and you are hit full in the face with the rank smell of dead and spoiled produce. Noxious fumes billow out into the main compartment and it drives the both of your companions back with how powerful it is.

Rogan immediately takes a quick thermal scan and closes the door. He then bolts away from the smell toward the library to get some fresher breaths. ”Ugh! That was horrible. Gonna need an EVA suit and the airlock open to open that thing back up. Let’s get back to that later. Onward to the Geology lab. That sounds less smelly.” and he positions everyone again.

There is a keypad and heavy electronic seal keeping the lab closed. An interface port on the bottom of the pad allows you to interact with it through your compad- or one of the pads belonging to a team mate

(Fix/Int? with +2 advantage for asking for help from the squad?)

(none of them are trained in fix so they are not skilled enough to do anything to help you. )

*Rogan is hoping that he learned what not to do from the first bulkhead getting jammed problem from earlier, so he will trust his instincts and try to find the open the heavy seal and bulkhead).

(we had the advantage of the ship's engineer earlier, but he's downstairs right now working on extracting the vital components of the wreck you were asked to get)

22:06

(fix/int to try to physically force it open, or program/int to try to hack the pad)

(4)

There is a very loud chirp as the security system begins going off, and a small automated turret lowers from the ceiling- red targeting laser making the 5m space between you and it feel very small indeed.

Rogan shrieks, "Ahh! Take cover!" As he gives up on the Compad and switches to the rifle, while looking like he wants to run and take cover in the Comfort Station. He'll try to get off a burst as soon as he can.

(Not sure how many of these four he can do, but he'll: let go of the Compad, switch to the rifle, fire a burst, and hide in the Comfort zone unless the couch nearby offers quick cover)

(it depends what's readied and stowed. Let me get your sheet in front of me)

23:29

(combat rifle was readied, and dropping an item to the ground is an on turn, so nothing special needed there, you've got your 10m move to get into partial cover, and you can use your main action to fire)

23:29

(we'll keep the same initiative we've been using, so its you and your companions up first before the turret)

(14/12, 0) He gets behind the couch and fires, wanting that partial cover and a little extra distance to make sure his shot isn't from too close.

The shots hit the ceiling around the iris hatch, but not the actual turret itself, and the suddenness of the turret's appearance has your companions loosing panicked, unaimed shots before they dive into cover alongside you. The turret's laser weapon cycles up, spraying the interior of the comfort space in a hail of suppressing laser bolts (evasion save) (edited)

(5 vs 14 - that was a bad roll)

(7 damage)

15:16

(back to your turn) (edited)

(I'm out. I haven't leveled yet.)

Time passes, you fade from consciousness to the roar of gunfire and the heat of rounds passing through you and around you. You awaken in the medical deck of the Greystar ship, and the clock on the wall has you at 8 hours from where you'd last checked your compad. Your possessions have been piled up and cleaned- neatly arranged on a chair, and medical equipment has been plugged into you in several places. You feel terrible, but you're alive.

16:26

(one of the guards was able to stabilize you)

16:27

Below, you hear the cargo bay beginning to winch closed, the operation must have been at least a partial success

Rogan looks around the Med Deck, looking to see if anyone else was hurt. He also looks for someone to ask questions about what happened.

There is a medic, tending to the other two members of the team, who seem not as bad off as you but still wounded.

He waits for the medic to leave the other two before he waves, “Hey! What happened? That thing do all this?” he asks, gesturing to the others and the medic.

16:58

“What-all happened afterwards? I imagine they got the drive and reactor brought over, right?”

"The entire defense system activated. We went too fast and were not careful or observant of our surroundings. We dragged you out and extracted the objects we needed under heavy fire. Everyone has been wounded, but we were lucky nobody was killed"

Rogan thinks about that, “Well, it would have been nice to be able to disable the security. But they would have needed a better or luckier equipment guy to handle that. Seemed like anything I tried to fix went haywire.”

THey dont really have anything to add to that, everyone is eager to get some rest. The ship begins to spool up its atmospheric engines to transport you and your precious cargo home. (3xp, 5000 credits)

2

(HP roll: 3, so HP= 7 (6+1) (Attack Bonus increased by 1 to +1) (Saving throws automatically adjusted in character sheet) (Added Focus: Psychic Training Level 1 with Telepathy to bring Telepathy to Lvl 1) (Added 3SP to Telepathy to bring it to Level 2) (Gained Telepathic Contact Core Technique Levels 0-2) (Gained Facile Mind -Lvl 1 Technique) (Gained Suppress Cognition -Lvl 2 Technique) (Gained 5000 credits to go to 22,200) (Does that work out?) (edited)

(Psychic Training, like all foci, when taking after character creation grant 3SP towards the skill indicated. so if telepathy was at -1 it would go to 1. 1SP for -1->0 and 2SP for 0->1)

19:52

(unless you are also spending 3 SP to go from -1->2 for a total of 6SP spent)

1

(That’s what I was trying to write out. Thanks)

(and a better, more easily understandable, way to list it might look something like this:)

Level 2
Telepathy -1->0 (1 SP)
Telepathy 0->1 (2 SP)
Focus - Psychic Training (Telepathy) 1->2
Telepathy-1 Technique: Facile Mind
Telepathy-2 Technique: Suppress Cognition
HP roll - 3
HP Total - 6->7

(edited)

(How do you make that black background?)

(the key with the tilde on it ` x3 at the top and bottom

19:56

` Stuff and things `

19:56

(will look like) stuff and things

Level 2
Telepathy -1->0 (1 SP)
Telepathy 0->1 (2 SP)
Focus - Psychic Training (Telepathy) 1->2
Telepathy-1 Technique: Facile Mind
Telepathy-2 Technique: Suppress Cognition
HP roll - 3
HP Total - 6->7

20:15

(Thanks, got it)

(looks good to me, im game to continue when you are)

1

(Ready!)

Rogan falls back into a sleep, still recovering from the energy blast he took from the defensive turret. His sleep is restless, filled with thoughts, and images of people. Some that he’s seen on this trip, and others that he doesn’t recognize. The dreams are so boring that they don’t even wake him up. It’s like he’s dreaming of people going through their normal routines on their trip. Except, their consciousness has their own internal voice, too. It doesn’t sound exactly right for the ones he has started to know better. It’s like Rogan disagrees with how they perceive themselves. ”What is that?” He thinks to himself.

21:26

He wakes up confused, and decides to get up and ask if there’s a new mission coming. So, he gets up, still the worse for wear, and goes to one of the leaders and asks, “What’s the next mission?”

"We're going to be landing back at Sangha City in a few minutes. We'll offload the cargo, get you lot settled in the city, and we have urgent business back in confederation space. "

“Urgent business? I don’t really need to settle down, yet. What is it?” he asks, trying to pay attention with all his senses, even to thinking about what he’s thinking.

(I should ask what you’ve got in mind going forward if you have any ideas yet

(He’s still learning to use his Telepathy skills, so there’s that. He would like to continue doing missions that test his infiltration, but he knows that he needs tech help. He’d also still like to get a chance to drive something, since that and shooting are his best non-psychic skills.)

03:29

(He’s not a real bright guy, so he doesn’t have a lot of different ideas on his own. He might be willing to hold off on missions if someone told him he needed to train. In the end, he sees himself as a sneaky psychic that can get into and out of places and will be trying to train in Far Thought so he can communicate during secret missions.)

(what do you personally want to do though. Is there anything you’ve seen in the game world you’re excited to do? )

03:37

(If nothing jumps out at you I’ve got an exploration mission with another pc you can do)

(That sounds cool! I’m in.)

“Exploration mission on the other side of the Acastus rift. Big opportunity there to see things no one has seen before”

(Actually, I’m a social player, so I would be most happy spending the rest of my active time with others.)

“There’s someone on site already and she would be happy to have a psychic companion I’m sure “

Rogan gets that grin on his face again, “Ooh. Really? That sounds great!” He gets a little self-conscious, remembering his failure that still hurts, physically. “I’ll do better than this time! I know that lives depend on that.”

(4 days of downtime to Acastus and then through the metaspace rift in their system to linyas thread

~~(With a huge funds influx, could Rogan go ahead and purchase and mod~~ ~~a Field Emitter Panoply~~ ~~(edit: Storm Armor) with that polymorphic armor using the pretech reward that was also part of it?)2~~ ~~(How does that change how it looks?)~~ (See below) (edited)

17:19

(I understand that he couldn't do any of that until he's in comms with a vendor. I am okay to RP that, although he'd just as well like to order it and have it ready for him wherever he could have it delivered/picked up.)

(After further review and consultations, I think I'll copy Raeslin's idea and have the Polymorphic armor mod put on an Icaris Harness, instead. I'm crossing out the entire first note to you, but the order and delivery/pick up is still a question.)

(You'd have to wait until you can at least comm a vendor, which we are not able to do from this side of the rift)

(Thanks. I expected to have to wait until we got back to Linya's base at least. What would be a reasonable plan for order+pickup/delivery? Or is that dependent on what happens after all this, and what new things we/Rogan need to do?)

(I guess I answered my own questions for the short-term. May as well wait until we get back. Rogan probably doesn't even realize that he's been blessed with an unbelievable amount of wealth, more even than the previously-unbelievable 22k credits he recently got.)

(you answered your own question)

1

(I'll start readying a shopping list for when he gets back to comms. I'll Pin it when it's ready.)

Level Up
Level: 3
Focus - N/A
New Telepathy-1 Technique: Transmit Thought for 1 SP
New Telepathy-2 Technique: Far Thought for 2 SP
Old HP: 7
HP roll: 7
New HP: 8

Shopping List
- Gravflyer 112k
- Icarus Harness 8k
- Assault Suit 10k
- 4x Power cell, type B 400
- 2x Solar Recharger 1,000
- 2x Backpack (TL4) 100
- Medkit 100
?- Taros Rifle 2,500 (He is a Taros)
Total: 134,100 credits (131,600 without the rifle)
Ship building (paid by Greystar Management):
- Free Merchant "Link-1" 1,295,000

20:44

~~"Link-1"~~ Corrected Overcharge in https://discord.com/channels/345912178072879106/655843107539124224/822928481809334312 (edited)

(please post this in #shipyard-updates )

Original message was deleted or could not be loaded.

Pinned a message.

From: Greystar Agent Rogan Tuttle
To: Corporal Smorkle

Good evening, Corporal.

When would you be available to work out how I can build on some land? I'd like to make a home on Suha, and could use your help with the legalities and builders.

Thank you for your assistance. 

Respectfully,

Agent Rogan Tuttle

The Corporal's office needs to know what settlement you'd like to build it in so they can properly assist and provide you an estimate for costs

I'd like to build in the country, along the water. Preferably where I can place landing pads for freighter-sized space craft and grav-flyers, which would be my primary means of gathering necessities to the homestead. I would like it to be up-wind of the Singularity Gun so that I could low-tech sail to it in a relatively short time in case of emerging need.

23:06

(He would keep the confidential details for Smorkle himself)

They will deny any sort of access to the gun, representative of the Confederation or not.