Iron Stars - theta

Theta Eastmarch walks the streets of Central, on Gudrun, the former capital of the UNW before the triplicate deep space platforms were constructed. The streets are sparsely populated today, normally teeming with people. News of the shaper attacks elsewhere in UNW territory has people spooked, and you notice more civil defense personnel out today, as well. An armored personnel carrier rolls past on the empty street, the soldier in the roof hatch giving a half wave as the vehicle rolls by. Fearing looting by people addled at the shocking news, the market stall purveyors have pooled their money and come up with a handsome purse for someone willing to keep an extra eye on things, and that is currently where you are headed

"Hopefully I can get to these merchants before someone more unscrupulous tries to gouge these people. They must be terrified - I am." thinks Theta as he closes in on the market square, looking to catch the eye of whoever is in charge. He double-checks his laser pistol is within easy reach - anything can happen on a day like today.

Your employer is a man known as Graven, the director of emergency services for Gudrun, and one of the original colonists on this world. He is tan, tall and wears a ceremonial turbin in the same shade of khaki as his faded combat uniform. You see him in the center of the market square as you round the corner , and he looks to be talking out some kind of disturbance

Recognising him, Theta casually approaches the discussion, attempting to give the air that he's supposed to be a part of the conversation. He stands beside Graven, making his presence known without interrupting, and folding his arms. "Everything alright here, sir?" he interjects when there is a gap in the conversation, "On a day like today I wouldn't want you to have your valuable time chewed up by issues you can delegate." (edited)

He smirks. “Thanks for that. A bunch of the merchants here are saying they’ve seen some kind of really tall figure. Way too tall and skinny to be human...so they say, watching from the shadows around the market place. Doesn’t do anything but observe but can we really dismiss something so fantastical in light of what’s going on?0

"If it's not human, what do they think it might be?" Theta asks both Graven and those he was talking to. Standing tall, but with a concerned expression, he continues: "Can you give me a better description if what they saw, when and where they saw it? I'd be happy to investigate. People say all kinds of things about the Shapers and I'd hate to find out one of them was true." Although he is speaking to Graven, Theta keeps an eye out, scanning over heads, down streets and alleys for anything abnormally tall.

"I don't want to speculate, but that's why we need someone to look into it. They said it was tall. Way too thin to be human, dark clothing. Something like that should stick out if you sniff around a little."

03:41

"One of the merchants may have seen more. I'm getting swamped over here just trying to figure out what is happening"

"Sure thing," he smiles, extending a hand, " I'll get in touch when it's resolved" Theta turns and leaves the market square briefly. He spends a few moments adjusting his appearance slightly - rolling his sleeves up, tying his mid-length hair back into a bun as best he can, donning some sunglasses and tying his jacket around his waist, making sure it covers the pistol holstered to his hip. He changes things just enough that a casual observer may not notice he was just speaking to the director. Theta re-enters the square and speaks plainly to each of the merchants, asking the same questions he asked Graven, letting them know he is working for the emergency services, but again keeping an eye over his shoulder, hoping to appear to onlookers as a non-committal customer.

(I think rather than drag you through extended RP for lots of red herrings, lets get a connect/cha check)

(good call - 4)

(Such social grace)

You spend several hours getting little more than rumor and conjecture from the merchants in the square, when a blood curdling scream a block over sends security forces running in that direction

Theta rushes over, following the security guards, staying about ten metres back. As he approaches the source of the noise he looks for a way to get a better vantage point or higher ground - a balcony, window or a hill, even a large vehicle (Do the guards know he's working with them?)

(Yes, id say off screen since you’re already working in this capacity they’d know you)

Theta will still follow behind the group then, far back enough that he can see if anything is moving behind the group, but not so far back that he feels he is isolated (edited)

There is a lamppost that looks like it can be climbed to give a better view of the scene. A merchant, parcels and cart of wares overturned behind her, has been...reduced seems to be the proper word. A half broken down skeleton , covered in shreds of meat, and with only half a face still remaining stares up, at the sky

"Jeez, I was hoping it wouldn't come to that." Theta mutters through his teeth. He stops, opens his pack and spends a moment getting his Metatool out of the bag and securing it to his wrist. He also pulls out a power cell and loads his gun. "Probably don't have time to look over him properly. If that's what's left I don't think I need the details anyway." Taking a deep breath, makes a running jump at the lamppost, trying to clamber up it for a better view. Succeed or fail, he only plans to spend a moment there before catching up to the group of guards, weapon drawn.

The body is fresh, its wounds done quickly and expertly, and far too fine for it to be the work of an animal. A few tracks head west, away from the market, before they seem to just vanish, the blood either drying out too fast to continue leaving traces behind, or the bloody shoes discarded

Theta reaches an arm out and grabs the back of one of the security personnel, calling out to the others nearby: "Hey, down here, there are tracks. A few of you should come with me while the others look through the surrounding blocks." Without waiting for a response from the others, he turns and runs in the direction of the tracks, looking down every side-street and alley he can while keeping a pace. He looks for other people as well, trying to read their expressions. "Have they seen anything? Are they afraid?"

(Let’s get a notice / wis )

(12)

You see a flicker of movement in a side alley that no one else seems to notice, but the figure you do see matches the description you've been given so far.

Theta stops and turns around, looking to grab the closest guard behind him. Raising a finger to his lips to shush the guard, he peels off into the alley, attempting to remain as quiet as possible.

Heading j to the alley you see the bloody footprints have begun again. Three strides and they end at a dumpster , not very full with trash from what you can tell but the lid is down

Theta draws his gun, holding it up beside his face with one hand. Crouching low, he uses his other fist to bang on the side of the bin the times loudly, his eyes trained on the section of lid closest to him.

Something inside shifts and violently strikes the back of the container but doesn’t emerge

"My name is Theta Eastmarch," he calls out after swearing under his breath. "I'm with the emergency services. State your business or show yourself in the next five seconds, or I'm going to shoot you through the dumpster." He takes two steps back down the alley, towards the direction he came from. Sweating, he begins to count down, his pistol trained on the wall of the bin. "Five. Four. Three. Two. One."

Nothing happens within the dumpster

Gritting his teeth, Theta lifts his laser pistol and shoots at the side of the dumpster. (17 / 4 unless you want to add penalties for shooting a bin)

There is a scrabbling within as the shot punches through the thin metal and strikes whatever is within. It bursts out of the top, a half fleshed skeleton , slick with blood where it is without flesh

(Not in initiative yet, you can act if you need to again)

"Well, I'm definitely shooting that again." Theta mutters, firing again, then moving backwards towards the entrance to the alley. (Does it look human? Or like it used to be?) (11 / 6)

(It’s halfway between human and something else that you’ve not seen first hand)

14:16

The second shot takes the malformed creature in the head, and it deflates like a balloon, to bend over the lip of the dumpster, face down, toward the cold metal, back to you. Droplets of blood run from the places where the scrappy flesh is absent , and from the laser wounds. It begins to collect on the pavement

14:17

You hear the other guard in the back of your perception calling for backup, a medical team, and crime scene investigation officers p

Theta holsters his gun and slides down the wall of the alley, waiting for the other guards to arrive. "Hey," he calls out to the guard that followed him, "Ever seen anything like this?" After a pause, he adds,"Oh, and are you alright? Thanks for coming with."

He nods. “You shot it through before it could do anything. The fuck is that? Any idea?”

00:30

In the distance you hear the first of probably many approaching sirens

"People are talking about 'Shapers'. Maybe it's one of those. If it is, I really don't care to meet any more." He grins. Groaning, Theta stands and approaches the dead creature, inspecting it for anything that might give him any clues about its origins. He photographs it and checks around the other side of the dumpster for any more footprints. "Do I need to be here to report the rest of this, or can you handle it? I need to find Graven."

01:47

(can I call Graven, or do I have to find him?)

(You can call him )

Theta walks to the other end of the alley and dials Graven. "Hey, I'm sending you a picture of the thing that was hanging around the markets. I killed it - it managed to kill someone first and I didn't feel safe to capture it. Do you know what it is?"

“Stay where you are” he says back sternly. “Secure the site. I’m bringing an academy expert with me and we can make a positive id. I don’t want to start a panic”

"Not a problem." Theta looks back down the alley and calls out to the other guard, "Hey, I'll cover this end to make sure no one comes in. There's an expert coming to have a look at it. Can you cover that end?" He steps out of the opposite end of the alley that he came in from, leaning against the wall and watching any foot traffic that goes past closely. Every now and then he glances beck down the alley to make sure nothing has changed

Graven arrives a few minutes later with a small Korean woman dressed in relatively plain looking scrubs. The only ornamentation about her is a small rainbow heart necklace around her neck that looks to somehow be made out of one solid piece of crystal. “Mr EastMarch. This is Doctor Ahn from the academy. We are going to take a look at whatever it is you found, if you’d like to accompany us.” As he speaks a pair of personnel carriers also arrive as soldiers begin closing down the street

"Jeez, thats a lot of people for one alley." Theta thinks to himself before responding. "Call me Theta," he says to the pair, turning to lead them down the alley, "it's over here. I saw it in this sidestreet and shot it through the bin. Then it jumped up and I shot it again. I'm interested to find out what it is, doc."

She kneels over it and you feel the air get chilly, far too chilly for mid summer. Doona looks pained and her eyelids flutter as she makes contact with whatever this creature happens to be. “There are....one...no...two beings in here. One is a shaper. I can feel it. But it’s not the same as the warriors. And....” Small tears begin to form in the corners of her eyes. “The person it tried to flesh change into. They’re both in here. He’s in so much pain”

13:08

(Basically the shapers tried to make a T-1000)

13:08

(And failed )

13:14

Graven looks stern. “If you’ll accompany me theta. We need to inform the council. This is something we didn’t know they could do”

Theta nods and follows. (I'll follow this up in the council channel)

(3xp, 5000 credits)

(That takes me to Lvl 2. New hit points: 14, AB now 2 3 Skill points + 1 Non-combat going to Shoot and Notice - both now lvl 1 New focus: Close Combatant, taking Shoot to lvl 2.)

Theta leaves the council meeting about as bewildered as he arrived to it. He stops for a drink at the closest bar he can find in Central before making his way over to the Task Force Phoenix base Seung told him he could use. On the way, he sends a message to Hinkler Batch: "Hey - I'm Theta. I was told by the council that you might be able to help me. I found a shaper on Gudrun, and I'm trying to figure out if there are more." (Hoping to meet any key people in the base and understand what equipment is there and what the capabilities of the SWAT team are. I'd also like to make a goal to learn how the shapers made it to Gudrun, if that's appropriate?)

(All significant people have been moved to his own planet, Terezinho, but the base has some maintenance bots that take care of the place and probably just a small skeleton crew to keep things running if it’s ever needed again. As you figure out how you want this task force to work they’ll be able to use this place

03:08

(The swat team is provided by UNW intelligence and they’re just paramilitary peace officers, but with military grade combat gear. Pretty much like how they operate today)

(Plus their own transport)

Theta spends some time sitting and thinking about this new situation while he waits to hear from Batch. Eventually, he begins to come up with a skeleton of a plan. "We need to know if there are more on Gudrun, and eventually made it to other planets." He mutters to himself, taking notes. "But we can't make any kind of panic, we have to be covert. I'll send the SWAT team out disguised as civilians in different areas of Central. Since the first one showed up in the market, its probable there are more there, if any. What if the ones we saw were some kind of failed experiment? What if the successful ones are impossible to spot? We can only wait for them to reappear." Eventually he sends a message to the SWAT team relaying his thoughts. It tells them to station themselves around Central as civilians, looking for any signs of shaper activity, while remaining as covert as possible. Theta tells them he will take up a position near the market square, where the first creature was found.

As they begins spreading out into the market you have a knock on your door. A tall man in a khaki storm coat and wide brimmed hat meant to take the weather stands at the threshold. He has an antique long rifle behind his shoulder and a pair of revolvers on his hips. The rawhani Born is tan with dark hair, and deeply lined features from a lifetime of the harsh desert wasteland conditions.

"Hey. You must be Batch. I'm Theta." He says, extending a hand to shake the visitor's. "I was just about to head out to the market to do some scouting. Do you want to come with me?"

He nods and adjusts the strap of his rifle. “Nice to walk around a market and be the hunter instead of the hunted.” He says as you begin making your way outside. “Much nicer here than Rawhani

"I'm sure it is. Let's get going - I'll drive. I just need to grab some things." Theta heads back inside to collect the items je mentioned at the council meeting - line shunts, a laser rifle and some Type A cells. (if they're all available. Also taking the gravbike as a vehicle if it can fit two on it.) As they make their way to the market, Theta continues; "Have you been briefed on what's going on? We're going to look around for any signs of these shaper-hybrids. My concern is that the obvious and ugly ones are failed experiments, and that successful ones will be harder to spot. Anyway for the time being we're just looking around, hoping to learn things without alerting them. If they have a base of operations we'll get the whole team together to take it on unless we get a perfect opportunity. Have you run into theae things before?"

(It can fit two, and cells are available)

(He'll take three cells) "Guess we're going shopping, too." Theta mutters before heading out to the gravbike.

“I know enough of what’s going on. I share the same fears as you do. I think I can lend my talents to doing some tracking and see what we find. I’m wondering if this is TFL work or if this is the actual shapers trying something new”

"Did you have much experience dealing with TFL? I only ever read about the attacks in the news. I don't want to imagine how they might have gotten hold of shaper tech, or actual shapers, if you're right. That might be even worse than shapers finding a way to Gudrun. "You're Rawhani, right? How do you fit into this council stuff? I've just found myself knee-deep in it all of a sudden. Not used to all these resources and all this...trust, I guess."

"If i had to guess, and if it is in-fact them...I don't want to jump down any rabbit holes just yet, they'd have gotten their hands on the material during the intelligence services raid on the Vapormills Recycling plant. There was a shaper drone ferried down there as bait, and for disposal. Hours went by before the disaster that was that assault. Any number of TFL operatives could have spirited off with a tissue culture"

03:09

he thinks for a moment on your second question "People have mixed feelings about the council, but I understand that the President is trying to give the UNW's most capable people a forum to discuss the future, and coordinate. You need to remember, shes not just the leader of one world, but over half a dozen now. I find the council to be good people, individually, but they could do with more working together. Strong willed people with deep pockets, and large caches of resources very rarely stay shackled to a cause that isn't strictly their own, for long"

"Would TFL have the tech and the brains to make whatever that abomination I found in that alley was? I never figured them the type, but like I said, I didn't meet them. "I've never thought that hard about the council to be honest. Gudrun has come a long way in a short time, but I've never had much of a mind for politics. Never really asked questions above 'What needs doing?', you know? But I guess it's getting harder to sit on the sidelines. Sorry if that's offensive or something, I know you've probably seen all kinds of things that I was able to ignore."

(hey, just wanted to ping this since it's been a little while)

“I’m not sure what they’d have access to. That’s what we are here to find out I suppose. And your eyes are open now. Most of what’s discussed there takes place out of the public eye. Unless you’re working for one of the people in that room you don’t know what’s happened or happening until it’s on the news

"I guess I'll find out how much of a blessing my eyes being open is over the next few months. Pays well, though. And it's good to be first-hand with this shaper shit. Anyway, lets get into town and have a look around. I think we should try to stay as covert as we can while asking around. I hope it goes without saying - be careful who you talk to."

He nods. “I spent the last few years hiding from corpsec and their anti psychic purges. The stupid ones died during the scream or got rounded up after. I know my way around” You both begin surveying the densely packed market, and surrounding streets for more evidence of another creature or someone paying interest to the investigation site, still marked with yellow tape

04:50

Though the body is now gone and has been for hours

"Sounds like a rough ride. Hope things are better now." Theta responds, making sure to make eye contact to convey he's being genuine. He returns to surveying the crowds: "Do you want to have a look at the crime scene? I figured I'd just message the guy in charge, Graven. Saves us being spotted poking around." Without waiting for an answer, Theta sends a message to Graven: "What did you find at the crime scene? The murder. Anything else at the dumpster, too?" He tries to recreate the attack as best he can, pointing out areas of interest to Batch as discretely as possible. "There was a scream over here that everyone ran to. I was in the square when it happened. The creature ran away. I guess the question is was it running to it's home, or away from it? If it even had a home. Originally I was told the merchants here had seen a figure around a few times. If the figure they reported was a different being, we might still be able to catch it hanging around. Otherwise it must have lived or rested nearby, maybe we can find that place. I reckon we should start near the body. That person could have been killed if it felt cornered or wanted to protect its home, if it's like an animal. If it was out hunting someone, waiting for them to walk into the wrong place by chance, it might have left some clues in an alley or something."

(lets get a notice/wis at +2)

(12)

You notice the crime scene undisturbed but following the path the creature took, it appears to wander around to the west and then north side of the market. It appears the creature did not nest here but ran here after it was engaged. It originated elsewhere

00:51

“Market looks alright” Batch says, you hear his voice is strained as he senses using his powers rather than the senses provided by his body

00:51

“Wait a minute. North side of the market. Something’s off”

"Looks like that's where it came from last time, too. I'll head over - keep a bit of distance." Theta responds before tapping Batch on the shoulder and heading off briskly towards the north side. Theta wracks his brain for a way to get over there quickly before having a strange idea. He's going to fake a phone call. He stands up straight and walks quickly across the market square. He begins to speak loudly, in a smooth voice, but with an angry tone: "What do you mean my shipment's running late? I've promised the client it will be with them in less than a week! No I don't care about whatever stupid permit you think you need, just get it done! Remind me why I hired you again? I'm coming to the office."

(I just want tk make sure things react properly to what you’re doing here. What’s the endgame for this?)

(Aim is to cross to the north side of the market quickly without it being obvious that Theta is trying to make a beeline for whatever Batch has noticed. He figures if he just marched through the middle of the square anything watching might know it had been detected. So he's trying to be fast and nonchalant at the same time)

(Gotcha) You and batch make haste across the market to a street on its north side. There is a White House four doors down from where you are and the door has just slammed shut with a rattle of chains on wood

Theta looks up and down the streets to see if anyone else has noticed or is watching. He turns to Batch: "I don't really want to snoop around random houses. Can you get any sense of what's going on inside? I can try to get into the sides or the back if we need to." (Is it possible to get around the sides or back of the house? Or is it a terrace or similar)

(It’s close to the other houses but there are alleys you can utilize)

Trusting that Batch will let him know if something is wrong, Theta takes the first few steps down one of the alleys beside the house and looks for a window to peer through.

Batch holds you back for a second and closes his eyes

04:20

You feel an electric tingle brush against your skin and he gently extends a hand toward the home, subtly. After a moment his eyes open. “Three people in the bottom floor, one upstairs. Lots of electrical equipment inside too but I can’t tell what for. It might be totally innocent, it might be a TFL listening post. “

Theta nods. "Alright I'll have a look in. It'll be a bit risky if there are three downstairs. Can you keep watch?" He walks into the alley and crouches down, looking for a window to look through.

Batch nods and keeps an eye on the home, using his senses to feel the people moving around inside the house

03:36

I will warn you if anything changes he sends to you through telepathy. Just think back to me if you want to talk. It’s that easy

03:37

Inside the home you peer through a dirty window to see a lone taros man eating a salad at the table. He is looking at a newspaper and frowning

There's just one guy eating. He's Taros, but let's not get carried away. I'll keep going. Theta scans for another window on the same side of the building, or a way to look into a window upstairs - a wall, ledge or balcony to climb quietly.

You’re boosted up with the help of a small ledge and some strongly rooted Ivy. There is a second floor window that peers into some kind of bathroom like room. The appliances are a bit dated and show their age

03:13

It’s currently empty but the window is unlocked

Hey Batch, how good are your senses? Would you be able to tell me if they're about to find me? I'm going inside Theta opens the window, propping it up if he can find something to do so, and climbs inside.

(He can tell you where they are relative to you but their electrical signals wouldn’t change for them becoming alert

Let me know if anyones coming upstairs. Theta thinks as he enters the bathroom and makes his way to the door. He presses himself flat against the wall next to the door and reaches his hand out, opening it by a crack as quietly as he can. (Does the door have a lock on it?)

(From the inside for privacy but not for outside)

03:59

Looking out into the hallway you see wires and cables snaking across the ceiling, held there with wires, staples and rivets. In a few places just tape. It appears to be a temporary or ad hoc construction job.

04:00

There is a pale blue light coming from the room on the right , at the end of the hallway. The stairs are on the left side, and right now it sounds empty down there aside from the taros man reading the paper

(Can Theta start filming what he sees without being too obvious? And is the door open?) Theta heads to the room with the blue light - creeping along the wall in an attempt to make the least noise possible. Stopping at the door, he looks to see if he can peek inside.

(The compad is a lot like a modern smartphone the way I always viewed it

(Then Theta will film everything while he's in here so that it can be looked at later)

(Sneak/dex)

(13)

Theta sneaks through the house unheard and unseen, peaking through the open door. Large amounts of computer equipment have been set up, with long cables and tubes running so what looks to be a bathtub ripped out from another section of the house

15:08

Containers of milky fluid in different hues churn as the keyboard taros presses different functions and the water in the tub begins to froth

15:08

Though you can’t see what is under the surface

This doesn't look like a comms setup. There's enormous cables everywhere, feeding into some kind of laboratory. Tubes of goo everywhere. I'm coming back, we need backup. Theta turns to make his way back out of the bathroom window and down to the ground to speak to Batch.

Batch is out front in the cover of an alley. He doesn’t need to see the building to act as early warning for you “Trouble?”

"Probably. Recognise any of this tech?" Theta holds out his compad to show Batch the recording. "I think we should call for backup. We could try to get in again later tonight, or we could bust the door down, or I guess we could knock and ask them politely what's going on. I'd prefer the first option - it's safer and we don't actually know what they're doing here."

“I don’t recognize what any of that is, as a whole. I can feel the individual computers and wires but I can’t tell what they’re doing with them, if you think we’re in over our heads let’s get some help, then”

13:29

(CIS has several squads of combat troopers on its payroll)

Theta nods, before leaning against the wall of the alley and sliding to a sitting position. "Yeah, let's do it. And we'll send this clip to Dr Ahn in the meantime to see if she can tell us what all this stuff is. We should keep an eye on the place until then." Theta calls in to the SWAT team he had stationed around Central: "Can you all come to my location please? We've found something."

(They’re in squads of 10, how many were you thinking?)

02:37

(And do you want them coming in hot. Or slow roll as possible

(One squad - come in quietly)

The squad in full kit moves in from opposite ends of the street. They silently form up in the alleys around the property, flush with the building. It doesn’t appear you’ve been noticed and batch doesn’t sense any troubling moves from@within

02:54

(Basically he’s acting as the heartbeat sensor from rainbow six )

Theta turns to Batch. "If they all come downstairs, send someone in upstairs to see if they can find anything. Get them to come back out the bathroom window if people are going to climb the stairs." Sweating, Theta stands out the front of the house and bangs on the door with his fist. "Open up! I'm an agent of the council. We have reason to believe there is suspicious activity inside the building. Come out and explain your intentions!" (edited)

The Sleepy eyed taros you’d seen reading the paper comes to the door after a tense moment of waiting, rubbing his eye and yawning. You can smell breakfast inside the house, the smell of sizzling beef and thick fatty cuts of what might be lope. The SWAT troopers keep their perimeter. I don’t feel anyone else inside moving, but they’re there. Something about the house feels off though (edited)

Let me know if you can figure out what it is. Or if you think we should speed things up. I figure the council shouldn't be busting down random doors. Theta holds out a hand to shake. "Hi, my name's Eastmarch. We've detected a strange electrical signal coming from the building. Care to tell us what that might be? I trust that you understand that there are threats to the citizenry of Gudrun and we need to investigate this sort of thing. The signal we've detected is coming from upstairs in this building. If you could show us around, I'd appreciate it."

“Ah you’re here to read the meter then” he smiles. “Any chance you could come back in a few minutes. I’ve left the stove on you see” He begins taking a step back into the house

"I'd prefer not to fuck around if I'm honest." Theta says, stepping forward and crossing the threshold of the house, "Me and the eleven other personnel with me have other things to do today. We'll follow you to the kitchen. We'd like to meet your three friends as well." Is someone going to shoot me from behind the door or something, Batch? Theta thinks, doing his best to resist putting his hand on his gun.

00:52

To himself, he thinks: I'm not going to play games with this guy. He'll find a gun or an explosive or something. He's already winning - I'm way too exposed here.

“My friends?” He says, showing you in. He heads over to the stove and looks at one of the knobs. “I think it would be impolite to bother my friends...”as he twists the knob THETA! HE JUST TRIED TO TRIGGER A BOMB. I CUT THE ENERGY FROM THE DETONATOR!!

16:30

The man looks down at it in confusion, expecting for the lot of all of you to be dead right now

For a moment Theta freezes as a chill comes over him. He was expecting them to have hidden guns, not hidden bombs. He could have died right there. Blown apart by a stove for trying to engage fairly. Dazed, Theta wordlessly draws his gun and points it at the man. His finger hesitates over the trigger for a moment, but he shoots.

(We can do a hit/damage)

(17/5)

He falls backwards shot through the chest. He’s dead before he hits the ground

00:04

The special weapons team moves into the house behind you and you hear the team going upstairs run into contact, as those in the lab room try to either defend themselves or destroy their work

Theta takes a second to digest the situation then runs upstairs, gun drawn, looking for the main terminal in the laboratory room. He plans to get whatever information he can from the computers and systems in the building before any information is lost.

Should I make an appearance? Batch asks, mentally though you can see him out in the street. He’s got his long gun leveled at the upper window and is dialing in an adjustment

Yep. We need to stop them from destroying evidence. I need to get into their computers. Theta replies, continuing to sprint through the building.

You hear the snap of a heavy gain rifle from out in the street and upstairs one of the house residents tumbled out the broken window. The gunfire upstairs abruptly halted

02:07

“Clear!” Someone calls out upstairs.

Theta makes his way into the room with the mysterious equipment. He searches for a terminal, compad or any kind of computer he can get into, pulling a line shunt out of his bag in case he needs to use it.

You can already see you’ll need the shunt. The work is heavily encrypted and riddled with security failsafe

"The rest of you search the building, see what you can find. I'll need some time with this so set up some defenses as well." Theta says to the squad members before turning to the console. (First I'd like to hack to answer a specific question: where should the shunt go ?)

(Usually it’s spliced into a cable or directly inserted into a port. You could really do either on this computer. I don’t think there’s any set standard way to do it)

(I'll aim to hack to answer the question: What are they doing here? Since a full download would be a big risk)

(Program int at +2)

(12)

Information begins to download with a crackpot theorist going on about trying to fuse captured shaper material with a willing or unwilling volunteer to create some type of shape shifting assassin. The marketplace creature you encountered looks to have been a beta test that ultimately failed

Theta steps back from the computer for a moment, processing what he's seen. "Right," he says, turning to the squad around him, "We need to find out who these people are, where they got this gear from. If they're TFL we need to know if they have new funding or are getting it from their old friends." He walks downstairs, looking for Batch. They're making hybrids of some kind - assassins. Does that sound like TFL? Who would have put them up to it? Weren't they getting money from the Bladonnan government?

That sounds like the TFL. We could never prove a direct link to do anything about Bladonna

04:57

It was a matter of who made a mistake first. They just may have now, with this

This little cell must have been getting instructions from somewhere. Lets take all their stuff back to the base and go through it. We can leave some people here to lock down the building.

We should get the director involved in this. He needs to know what we found

You mean Seung? He's in charge, right? One hundred percent.

Dorian Guerra is the Director. He could be advised. He’s been following up the first league threat for a while

Alright, let's get in touch. Theta types up a message before taking Batch back to the base on Sueng's gravbike:

Director Guerra,
This is Theta Eastmarch.  I think we met briefly in a council meeting recently.  Hinkler Batch and I have found a TFL outpost on in Central on Gudrun.
The shaper thing I killed near the market was an experiment of theirs that didn't go as planned.  They're trying to make some kind of hybrid - an assassin that can change its appearance.
We killed the operatives in the laboratory and have secured it.  Planning to go through whatever we can find back at the Task Force Phoenix base.  No idea yet if there are more of these labs, or where the instructions or the money is coming from.  Could use your guidance.

Theta

 Theta,

Glad to hear you survived your first brush with our friends in the League. I’ll coordinate with local law to secure the site and have them do whatever analysis they’re capable of. I’m not thrilled about my hunch that the shaper creature had TFL’s involvement behind it. I suppose it’s better than finding out the Shapers made it past our warning systems. 

My last contact with TFL led me to some estates in Bladonna. All I know is that it’s located somewhere on the outskirts and codenamed “The Farm”. We know it’s a training camp and I suspect rigged with enough explosives to level it and the surrounding area in case of discovery. 

Keep pulling this thread, Theta, you’re on the right track. You have whatever resources CIS can provide and I’ll leave the Strike Team attached to you for the duration. 

If you think you find the Farm, pass the information along as soon as you can. TFL is full of zealots, and they’ll kill themselves for a shot to kill us; especially if they worry they’ve been discovered. Tread lightly.

Let me know if there’s anything else you need. 

-Guerra

Back at the Task Force Phoenix base, Theta turns to Batch. He rubs his eyes and exhales loudly, decompressing from the mission. "I appreciate your help with this. We couldn't have pulled that off without you. I would have died. Thanks. Are you in for more?" He sits back in a chair, staring at the ceiling. "I need to do some shopping before going out again. Weapons, line shunts, that sort of thing. Do you have a recommendation? Can I requisition it all from CIS? If the place is as defended as the director says, we'll need to be prepared. First step is finding the place - the Farm. I guess we start by going through what we found in that house."

“I’ll need a rest myself , I spent a lot of my mental energies keeping tabs on the house and stopping that bomb. If it was me in your shoes I would leverage CIS resources and contacts for this as much as possible. Task force Phoenix isn’t the kind of organization nimble enough to counter a threat as nuanced as the TFL”

03:39

(Dorian has agency elements that can let agents requisition gear and use some other abilities. I think a good pm convo might be what exactly he can do for you. Agencies are blind as to what other intelligence groups have in terms of elements or assets, so a public discussion gives unfair advantage to others who might be casually reading along)

"Well it's been a pleasure, Mr Batch. I hope I can return the favour of saving your life one day, if it needs saving. I'll take your advice." Theta pulls out his dataslab and has a brief conversation with the director, requisitioning some gear. (Shopping list: Sniper Rifle Demo Charge x2 Line shunts x5 Power cells type-A x3) "Right," he mutters, "I need to go through their data." (Hoping to look for any instructions or locational data the outpost received, any payments made, any external communication lines they might have had, either through compads on the bodies, or computers and other gear in the building.)

The goods are gathered and sent over to you via secure courier. They should be at the Gudrun intelligence station by day end. The records point to orders from an area called “the farm”

03:18

They seem to have an idea UNW Intel is watching them though they’re amateurish in their attempts to hide all but the most sensitive communications

"So the Farm is running this operation, and they know we're watching them. But I still have no idea where this place is." Theta murmurs as he works. "What about suppliers? Anything about where their equipment came from, or who paid for it? This place could be anywhere." He continues to dig through everything he can find. He sends a quick message to the team back at the house requesting any information they've found in or around the building as well.

"Dorian said it's somewhere in Bladonna. I wonder if we can do a flyover or something."

The link you have discovered seems to be the only discernible information here. You can reason they obtained the material in the chaos of the recycling plant explosion when marcion used the recycling of a shaper probe as bait to uncover a TFL operation there

"Fuck it," Theta says, exasperated, pushing his chair back from his desk and standing. "I'll just go there." (Would Theta know how well he'd fit in/get around/how to avoid raising suspicion in Bladonna?)

(It’s a taros held city. With the UNW now being the UNW , aliens which technically humans are there are more common but a minority. There would be a small UNW army presence.)

02:09

(You’d be noticed but not such an anomaly as to be freakish)

(Would it be incredibly obvious if he was carrying a sniper rifle? I'm guessing so. Theta will take one of the transports to Bladonna when the gear he's requested arrives, and will leave the rifle behind if it's going to cause problems.) (If he's taking the rifle, he'll have to find some bullets in the base because he forgot to order some.)

(It’s got ammo and you’d be carrying a long rifle in public. Youd stick out as you would in the modern day, as either a crazy person or a lawman. Neither one helps your cause)

(Leaving it behind then, and heading over when my shunts and ammo arrive. He'll leave the demo charges behind too. Is it a long trip, or one I can make on the gravbike?)

(Gudrun is huge. You’d either fly or take a shuttle up to space and back down)

(Thought that might be the case. Theta will find a way to fly, he's trying to look as civilian as possible. If that means leaving his pistol behind as well, that's fine, but if he can bring the line shunts he will.)

(Line shunts are small. You can conceal those easily as well as the handgun)

(Alright, sounds like a plan then. Theta will spend the rest of the day reading up on Bladonna before taking the shunts, handgun and power cells with him the next day to catch any flight he can find.)

There is scant information, the UNW had unsuccessful negotiations with them when it came to unifying Gudrun.

16:37

(I'll try to find something, i believe there's a handout)

16:38

(UNW intel, intel reports, taros confederacy, it has observations from previous infiltration attempts)

(Is there contact information for Agent Esperon, and Kardin? Otherwise I'm happy for Theta head over)

(Agent espeon was a Vapormills Intel officer Silvano was working with before cis was an idea. Karadin was the fake name Silvano used going into the city. They were one off kinda things)

(Guess he's going in blind then - he's alright with that, has a few ideas about how to make the trip useful)

(What you’ve got is what’s known. Nobody really bothered with them once Gudrun unified and they’ve been doing their own thing ever since)

(Yep, I'm happy with that, he'll go to add to that knowledge and hopefully find some connections and leads)

The flight into the city is quiet. There aren’t many people on the plane and those that are look to be either wealthy, or taros clergy of some kind. It’s a dingy plane compared to some you have been on, and you notice the tell tale posture of armed private security around a few of the taros on board

Theta quietly leans forward in his seat, resting his head in his hands. He closes his eyes, listening out for any conversation they might be having. When can I catch a glimpse of their faces? He thinks to himself, I'll wait until they get up to leave the plane. Could be too risky to stare on the way back from the bathroom .

Most are happy to be heading home for the harvest festival. The lower classes won’t have good food from the sound of it, but those on the plane will be profiting from the fruits of the underclasses labor

Theta rolls his eyes at the undertone of greed and luxury from the passengers. Sitting up, he looks around for someone nearby that he can ask about the festival, hoping to present himself as a tourist.

Someone in clearly servants Garb is sitting across from you, looking down at the floor and not at his betters

Theta leans forward and tries to catch his eye, whispering to him: "Hey, can you talk? What's Bladonna like, and this festival? I'm visiting but don't know much about it."

He looks a bit nervous. “It’s like no other. The city is amazing and everyone is happy. There’s enough food for everyone.

(Can I check if Theta thinks he's being honest?) "That's good," Theta says, grinning. "I'm really hoping to try some local food. Where should I go, if I'm looking for food, or to buy things?"

(Sure. Notice or talk/ wis)

(Notice - 9)

It looks as though he is saying what he has been coached to say, unwilling to risk the wrath of his very within earshot employers

Theta tries to code his words a bit, but knows he's not the most eloquent speaker. "What I really want in my trip is to avoid trouble. Where should I stay away from? I've never been to Bladonna, only UNW cities. Are there gangs or groups I should be afraid of?"

“I’d stay away from the lower production districts. A gang from Egons moved in called the cogs. They keep talking about freeing the city from its benevolent overlords but I don’t know why anyone would want that”

"They sound dangerous, thanks for letting me know. If I ran into these cogs, who should I tell? What do the police and army look like? Are there lots of them around?"

He doesn’t seem willing to say anymore , and his employers seem to be observant now “Didn’t realize my butler was working for you as a savant now.” One of the aristocrats says

Theta looks over to him, smiling, "Oh, sorry. I didn't want to interrupt you with my silly questions about tourism. Figured you were busy." The delivery is quite flat, though, and he doesn't make a lot of direct eye contact. (Trying to convey a bit better than I have been that Theta's not a great talker. Most of the time he talks pretty flatly, he tries to make it very obvious when he's being sincere to compensate.) (edited)

“No no. We don’t often get a human in Bladonna and if you’re on this plane you must certainly have means. Come up here. Sit with us. “

23:46

“Can we get you a drink?”

23:46

The butler looks relieved to be out of the proverbial hot seat

"Sure," Theta says, trying to hide his uncertainty. "Thanks for your help." He says to the servant before standing and moving to sit with the aristocrats. "I don't drink, but thanks for the offer." Settling into his chair, he tries to get a good look at their faces. "So what do you do that's put you on this flight?"

“We are city officials. I’m the master of the guard and this gentleman here handles the roads and bridges , that sort of thing”

"Oh, that's impressive!" Theta raises his eyebrows, "You must know everything about the city. Where should I visit?"

“As a tourist? Central district. By the spire. There’s a grand market and the temples there are Richly done. The streets are even paved.

03:16

You won’t find a better set of attractions anywhere”

"Great, thanks. Oh, I also wanted to ask a local - Is there anything I should avoid saying or doing? You know, customs a foreigner might not know?" Hopefully I can just keep asking surface level questions until they get bored. Don't want them upset with me. Don't want them to remember me. Don't think I can ask them about TFL if I'm a tourist. He thinks, trying to keep an earnest face and tone.

“Just remember to respect the Priest-King in your public discourse and try not to show sympathy to those in the out districts. Those lazy good for nothings will bleed and honest heart and wallet dry

"If I wanted to visit those districts, you know, just to see them - where would I go?"

“Trust me. You don’t want to do that. It’s impossible to get through the city gates into those other districts without paperwork anyway. A lot of paperwork. We do it on purpose

"I'll take your word for it. Thanks for your help." I need to get more out of them without blowing things up. If the government is funding the Farm, these are the people to talk to Theta swallows. "You know," he says, acting excited, "There's a lot if anti-Taros sentiment where I come from. TFL were a big deal for a lot of people I know. I'm excited to be getting out to a Confederacy city."

“Oh yeah? Well keep your wits about you. Even for a human that seems to agree with us, it might be better to keep your wits about you”

"What would put me in danger? Are there groups in Bladonna that don't like humans? TFL isn't a thing anymore, is it?"

“It’s hard to kill an idea. That’s all I can really Say.”

"All you can say? Are you prohibited, or do you not know?"

“That’s all I really have to say about it. It’s hard to kill an idea. You know?”

"You're right. Some people back home say there's an interest in keeping these ideas alive. They think that TFL still has money coming from somewhere. What do you think?"

“Who could know. The banks certainly aren’t checking where their funds are going. “

(Can I check to see if Theta thinks he knows more than he's letting on?)

(Your previous check was good enough. The bank is a big lead)

04:54

(They’re assuming you’re of means but obviously not suspecting you’re law enforcement or intelligence)

"Why do the banks not care where their money goes? Especially if it could be funding terrorists. Wouldn't the Priest-King want to stop that?"

“The Priest-king has more important matters of state to worry about. I expect he lets his ministers handle that sort of thing. There are so many of them...”

"Which ministry looks after the banks? Don't you think they should be sure that TFL isn't being funded through them? Or would they not be looking because it's something they want?"

“I think that’s enough questions for right now. I don’t really think explaining all the government intricacies to a human is how I want to spend a flight”

"Alright, that's fair. I'll let you enjoy the rest of your flight. Could you let me know one more thing though? What's the name of the biggest bank in Bladonna?"

“The biggest bank. Hmm. I’d say the Central Polis Bank. They’re really the only one.

"Central Polis, right. Thanks for your help. Enjoy your flight." Theta stands and moves back to his seat, nodding at the servant again as he moves through the cabin.

(Anything else before we get there?)

(Nah - trying to avoid Cha, Talk and Connect checks haha. Planning to scope out the festival and the bank, then try to get into the lower districts, or find some servants to talk to later)

The flight lands in the rough airstrip outside the city, to a terminal and two planes parked there

04:05

There are close to 500 passengers waiting , mostly upper class and their families

Theta stays quiet, checking his compad looking out over the airstrip as he waits to be navigated through the terminal. He keeps an ear out for any discussions that might be being had about either the festival or the cogs.

There is heavy security at the terminal , armed guards and technicals patrol the borders of the fenced off area. A few guards chat near the door that leads into the terminal. One flicks a cigarette into the ground and grinds it under a boot.

02:15

Heading through the terminal looks to bring you out to street level inside the city

Right, Theta thinks, taking a moment to breathe in the air of the city before pulling his hood up, I need to know when and where this festival is, and I need to find a way to the lower production districts. Maybe I can pay someone off, either to get me into the district or to point me to the cogs. Maybe I won't need to. The gang and the bank are my best leads, but I don't think I'll be able to talk my way through the bank and the government. Probably best to start in the middle and work outwards. This festival might attract some interesting people, or provide some good cover. He begins to make his way to the Spire.

The spire is hard to miss and security is heavy as you get closer to it. A handful of troopers riding in a personnel carrier pass by, clothed in personal colors of the priest king rather than the UNW army

18:23

They look at you curiously for a moment as the vehicle speeds by

Theta continues on, unperturbed by the increasing security presence. As long as they believe I'm a tourist I should be able to get to some interesting places. He thinks, his eyes focused on the Spire as he gets closer. He looks around for a shop, a bar or a merchant as he goes, hoping to ask for some information.

There are some merchants selling trinkets in the square outside the spires walled security zone. A few food peddlers and a prayer rug merchant are also there, preparing to hawk wares to pilgrims

Theta approaches one of the rug merchants, waving and pulling his hood down. "Hey there. I'm new here. Can you tell me about these rugs? I'd also like to know how to get to the festival."

“Ah the rugs, you like them? Sermons can go for hours sometimes. It’s nice to have something padded underneath you to sit on while you listen. They double as something to keep the sun off your back and head

"I do like the rug. Are they heavy? I don't know if I can carry one around all day. Could you tell me when and where the harvest festival is?"

“They’re not heavy. They are comfortable though. The festival starts tonight with the parade of sinners. You’re in for a real treat if this is your first time”

"What is the parade of sinners? And how much for a rug?"

“Those convicted of a crime this last year are parades through the streets in long lines. They’re all chained one after the other. Most of the time they’re pulling floats for the priests or other religious Things

03:32

People throw stones. Fruit. Sometimes worse. They’re whipped and hit. Again, sometimes worse. Anyone who makes it to the end of the route, from the spire down to the southern agricultural zone , without fainting or dying gets to be freed” (edited)

Yikes. Sounds like good cover though "I'll be sure to go see it. I'm also interested in seeing the lower districts. How do I get there?"

“You actually want to go to the lower districts. Hah that’s stupid.

04:50

They open the gates between for the parade already and that’s as close to those filthy half faithed curs as I ever want to get

"I might not ever come back to Bladonna, want to see as much as I can. Thanks. I'll take a rug for 20 credits."

He opens a small compartment on his stall to show you the different colors and styles available. When you have one selected that you like the auto loom quickly produces and felts it, making it both comfortable and mostly waterproof

Theta picks a straightforward, dark red mat. When it's complete he pays the vendor and thanks him, before heading off towards the gate to the lower districts, hood up again, carrying the mat over his shoulder. On the way, Theta watches to see what kind of attention he's drawing. Hope this mat ends up useful. Or at least doesn't make me more of a target somehow. Wonder how I'm going to find people in the lower districts. A bar might be a good place to start.

You’re not given much attention with a hood and now prayer nat. The look almost makes you appear a pilgrim of some kind. There is a bar near the transit gate you come to, a small roadhouse type setup without the over the top trappings you’d expect from the core district

Might as well start at the first place I see. Theta lowers his hood and walks through the front door, scanning the room as soon as he enters. I'll probably need to look somewhere more run-down, but maybe I can get some direction.

The door opens and is made of a thin wood. It’s light and shuts gently behind you. Dingy light brings the insides into some kind of rough illumination. A handful of upper to middle class patrons are at the bar, some drinking quietly , a few in conversation. One reads a well thumbed prayer book over a beer in the corner

Theta approaches the bar and orders a drink. He leans in against the counter and speaks to the barman: "Hey. I'm looking for some directions around town, can you help? I'm a journalist from Central looking for some information."

A clay mug of a strange smelling distilled spirit is placed in front of you. “I suppose I can answer a few questions if they’re short. Eh you know what. Doesn’t matter. Not like the place is that busy”

"I appreciate it." Theta says, taking a slightly hesitant sip of the drink. "I'm writing about the festival, and wanted to know what people on this side of the gate think of it. I'm also writing about the shapers, and was wondering what people think of them over here, if there have been any incidents around them that people talk about."

“Everyones worried about the shapers. I don’t think that’s really worth a story”

02:21

“What about the festival though. Just what we think? This is the best time of year for us here”

"Does everyone think that? If I went further into the district and asked the cogs, would they agree?" Theta asks, leaning his weight against the bar. "Just seems like people don't always say what they think here."

“The cogs. You better be careful when you bring them up. Especially in here. You sound like you know where they’re holed up. “

"I don't. You're right, I'll be a bit more careful. But you didn't answer my question."

“Festivals a good time if you haven’t been convicted of a crime. What makes a crime depends on where in the city you are. And social class. Not much different from humans if you look at it”

"Fair point. Can you tell me anything else about the cogs? I'm looking for a lot of different opinions on it."

“Troublemakers really. As long as they don’t spray their stupid logo on my building I’m ok with it. It’s worse out in the lower districts though. Attacking purity officers and burning government offices. Wannabe revolutionary bullshit”

"Can you show me what the logo looks like? I won't tell anyone it came from you - anonymous sources, you know?"

“It’s just a cogwheel. Pretty simple really”

"Imaginative stuff. Alright, thanks for your time." Theta pays for the drink and leaves the bar. He turns and looks back to the open transit gate and the people milling around through it before heading deeper into the district. A cogwheel. They seem infamous enough that I should be able to find them. What then? I guess they either get me to TFL or they help get me into the banks. Seems like they'll be on board for that.

The guards who normally require whole satchels of papers to allow people to move from district to district are acting far more lax during this festival and as a result you’re able to get through into the outer quarters easily The conditions are immediately far more haphazard and filthy, most of the barrels you pass have trash fires burning in them. Greasy sluce runs down the gutters

"Yeah, this feels like it might be a bit more anti-establishment." Theta mutters to himself, hugging the sides of the street and trying to remain inconspicuous. "I need to find...a sign? Shit, it might just be easier to ask around. Maybe I should just go looking for trouble." He sighs and lowers his hood, revealing his very human mess of longish brown hair. Prayer rug over his shoulder, he wanders through the filthy streets, looking for a bar, a market or some other kind of gathering place away from the guards.

(Lets do a connect/wis at +2 since your look the part)

(6)

A group of oil or grease covered Taros disappear down an alley ahead. One of them has a bag that is equally covered in the same substance

Theta walks over to the alley, slowing down to stare down it, while remaining on the street. Did they keep going? Or have they stopped in the side-street?

The handful of shady figures is bent down looking into the bag , and are whispering excitedly amongst themselves

Theta looks left and right, checking who is around him on the street, before leaning against the wall at the entry to the alley and attempting to hear what they are talking about.

You hear the hiss of aerosol cans being shaken and tested in the wind for a clean feed. After a moment they begin working on getting a cog design posted up on the wall

Theta watches as they work, planning to follow them when they finish. No point confronting them here if they can take me somewhere useful.

They then look into the bag and after replacing the paints, begin handing out small bundles to one another. There is a moment where they embrace one another and whisper things in low voices. One has tears in his eyes

22:28

The bundles are wrapped in dirty sack cloth but you see a few random wires and fuses poking from them all

Shit. Theta steps forward into the alleyway, keeping his hands visible. "Hey," he calls out, "Can you help me? I'm not from here."

They quickly try to stow their devices “What. What do you want?” The closest one asks. The others close ranks behind him and try to prevent you from seeing into the middle of their huddle

Theta puts his hands on his hips and relaxes his frame a bit. "Well, to be honest I want to know what you're up to. You're cogs, right? I might have some information for you. Or are you just admirers?"

“Depends what kind of information you have”

Theta casts his eyes over the cog on the wall. "To be honest I think I need to talk to someone further up the food chain than you. It's a job against an important part of the establishment. If you join me, you probably have a better chance of having an impact than whatever you have planned with that bag. Better chance of surviving if you're planning what I think you are, too."

“Oh yeah, you know anything about blowing up government offices?”

03:59

“There’s a cafeteria across the street, and a security office at the end of the road. Anyone who works for the spire and the god king deserves to die”

"I know a bit about explosions, sure." Theta replies, taking a step towards them. "I have a better idea though. You're planning a random act of terrorism. How would you like to be the good guys instead? If my plan works, you have a chance to bring down your king. Lets pack this up and have a talk about it. These buildings will be here later, I won't be."

They all look at each other. “There’s going to be hell to pay if we go back and this stuff isn’t in flames”

"Not if you come back with a bigger and better plan, right? I can't be connected to something like this. I can help you take on the bank, and the priest-king, but you have to back off here or I won't be able to. It has to happen today."

“That...that could work. But we need to come back with the plan. Or else. The Captain-General hates inefficiency”

Theta sighs and rubs his eyes, glancing back down the alley to check they aren't being watched. "Alright fine. I'm a mercenary. On a job, I found a TFL base in Central that was using shaper tech. I think they're funded by the Central Polis Bank. The upper class I've spoken to here don't care what the bank is up to, but they might we can show they're helping the shapers. Even if they don't, UNW would jump in. I need the cogs' help showing the bank is sending them money, and finding out where the money is coming from. I think it's government money." Theta pauses for a moment, making sure all of the threads he's connected fit properly, both for himself and his new companions. "I think that means we need to break into a bank and get into their systems. Only problem is I don't know which accounts TFL would be using." (edited)

“Would collecting the data as a whole and having the UNW look it over not work? We would only have a few minutes before the Spireguard mobilizes”

"Yeah, good call. We'll get everything and figure it out later. I figure the best way to get the data is to get into a branch during the parade and get inside a terminal. What do you think? We need to get moving. Do you want to call your boss?"

“No. He will just interfere. The parade should be starting soon. We should at least get near the gate. We can sneak into the upper district when things get going”

"Lets go then. Maybe leave the bomb." Theta says, taking the lead to exit the alleyway.

One of them grumbles but stashes it under a large pile of trash in the alley. He shrugs and then falls back into line with the rest of you. Emerging from the alley, a very loud bell tolls once, and a chorus of drum beats begins to sound from the spire district

"I guess that's the parade starting." Theta says to his new co-conspirators, "Let's get moving." He begins to walk quickly back towards the security gate, calling back "Will they stop us getting through the gate?"

“Not for the parade. There’s just going to be too many people in the street, but they always sweep when it’s over, trying to catch undesirables in the wrong district and the like”

20:15

“How else would they get the first crop of prisoners for next year”

"Sure. We'll have to make sure to get you out in time then. We should be able to get into the systems from any branch - a smaller one is probably less secure than a bigger one. Let's find one near the parade path." Theta thinks back over what he just said, trying to gather his thoughts while moving quickly through the unfamiliar city. "Unless we need to go to the main branch because it's all protected or something? I think any branch will be alright." (edited)

“The intricacies of government banking and how they hide their money is beyond any of us. The local branch should be helpful even if it doesn’t immediately get us to goal. Let’s try to be off then” They begin melting into the crowd with their plain clothes and likewise ordinary looking prayer rugs

Theta follows the closest to him at a short distance, his hood drawn low. Listening out for any sounds of alarm or concern, he makes his way through the crowd. Hope these guys are smart enough to get us back out of here. I'll have to flick the data over to CIS when I get my hands on it. I doubt these guys have the skills to pull it apart anyway. He brushes his hand against his pistol as he walks. I'm screwed if this starts to unravel.

There is a cheer and a number of chalk guns are fired as the first of the chained prisoners is led through the gate nearest you. They’re leashed to some kind of rolling confessional stand by macabre looking harnesses, and a robed taros priest whips one who stumbles. The charcoal chalk mixes with open wounds on many of them, working to bind them and stain them a patina of sinners black

02:06

The crowd begins to rapidly form, cheering and throwing produce at the offenders

Wonder how good this treatment of prisoners is at keeping the public eye off the Priest-King. What else is he hiding? Theta pushes his way through the throng of people, doing his best to not be slowed by the gathering masses.

(Sneak/dex, for moving through the crowd without security forces. Won’t be a high dc but there are patrols)

(4)

2

There is a patrol beginning to shadow you, seeing you moving against the normal flow of traffic

This is heading south fast. I don't even know where the cogs will end up. Flustered, Theta speeds up, pushing his way through the crowd quite aggressively, rushing to reach any nearby building or alleyway. I guess I'll...pretend to have a stomach bug? I can't let them distract me for too long, or find the cogs.

(You could make either. Do you have a preference?$

(alleyway)

You’re able to make it safely down the alley before the guard , and have some time before he is due to catch up

(Does it go all the way through? Or end in a wall?)

(Passes through)

Screw it, I'll just run through and circle back. Theta takes a few extra steps into the alley before breaking into a sprint for the other side.

You seem to have lost the tail and the street is thronged with hundreds of taros watching another of the macabre floats pass by with its prisoner chain gang

Theta keeps running, hoping to turn down the next street and get back around to the cogs quickly.

You all find each other again with the branch of the central bank down the street. There is one patrolman outside whistling to himself and very distracted by the slight glance of the celebrations he has

Theta steps in close to his new comrades and whispers: "Alright this is going to be hard. I need at least 10 minutes to actually get into the system, and pulling all of the data is not an easy thing to do. I also need to stick a few of these into their data lines." Theta produces a few line shunts and shows them to the group. "Your jobs are to distract the staff. I might be able to get in wirelessly but I expect I need to e able to get to an unmanned computer or maybe into the server room. Let's case the place first, you know? We don't have a lot of time. See what you can get out of the staff." Standing close to the group, Theta opens his metatool, looking for wireless networks to access. (Would Theta have any intuitive idea of how he's going to get into this system?)

(The metatool is just some hand tools in a convenient housing. Actual tools. Nothing electronic or full of sensors, so it wouldn’t let you access a wireless network)

02:20

)your compad could, wirelessly, with a program/int check)

(my bad! 9 on the check)

Theta is able to access the banks network , getting into the developer side of the network, bypassing the customer facing side

Theta looks up. "Can I get you guys to distract the staff? Tell them you're after a loan or something? One of you stick with me in case I need some help." Theta looks through the network to understand the layout of the system - where he'll need to put line shunts to download transaction and account data.

The server is in the building. Looking out at the small branch office, it’s few tellers man the counter. The vault is behind them and there aren’t any offices save one, the branch manager.

04:03

The only other spaces here are a unisex bathroom and the small conference room where your ruse to lure the manager away is currently taking place

"Right," Theta says to his companion, "The server is in the building, we need to find it and get me there. It'll either be behind the counter or in the manager's office." He glances over at the tellers, and looks around the rest of the room. "I don't think we'll be able to get in there by sneaking past them though. Come with me." Once the manager has left their office, Theta walks straight in, looking around for any small server room in the corner, and walking behind the desk to see if there is anything useful on it. (edited)

The rest of your companions break off, to talk to the tellers and otherwise run interference for you

01:49

In the room, there is sometihng small under the desk, a black box the size of something you might normally buy shoes in. several lights blink on the front, and cables run into the floor, neatly out of sight

"Alright, I hope they can keep this up for a while." Theta plugs a line shunt into the cables and begins to hack into the server. He sits down against the leg of the desk, hoping to remain low to the ground. (How long does Theta think this will take? Does he need to stay next to it while he works?)

(I've got to read up on how those work, Its been a little while)

(Whenever you're ready!)

(Hack the server to accomplish what, would be a better question. THey'll allow you to bypass most security, Just trying to get an idea on if there'd be anything super-robust in the way, or the size/amount of info youre trying to get)

(I think he'll need to copy all of the data he can get, transactions and accounts since the start of the shaper crisis. Theta doesn't know what bodies are sending money, what TFL accounts would be called, etc. So it would be a lot of pretty confidential stuff. Nervous about the check haha)

(We will need a Program /int but the difficulty will be reduced since you risked already and line shunted this)

(6)

The shunt does its work and burns our trying to hold back the digital security. The data in aggregate has been downloaded but it’s far more than you’d have time to analyze now. Next door you hear the meeting wrapping up, as your cog partners didn’t really have much in the way to prepare for this

03:08

“It’s odd you’ve shown up for a loan with no citizenship point documents and nothing showing your income” You hear the manager through the wall

Theta wipes his forehead and pushes his hair back. Phew. He stands up and exits the manager's office, glancing over at the tellers to see what they're up to, whether they're wondering what he was up to.

Everyone seems to be eager to go

02:45

The cog in the room with the manager nods toward the door

Theta coughs once, loudly, and exits the building, walking up to the edge of the crowd and waiting.

The cogs pile out, and form up near you in a loose pack, trying to get some of the crowd to fill in between you and the bank

Theta sighs and closes his eyes for a second to relax, then begins to lead the cogs back to the security gate they came in from. (edited)

12:02

When he gets a moment to speak to one of them, he whispers "I might need you to get me out of the city if they detected that."

“We should get you out anyway if you got what you needed. We have a way to do it if you’ll come with us”

"Lead the way. Who should I be in touch with when I've gone through this? I need to make sure you're rewarded properly."

“If all goes well, we will have a chance to free the city and become a true part of the UNW. We will find you again “

01:11

“There’s a smuggler we use, his name is Amik. He took over for this woman called Kade , but he delivers just like she did. We have a weapon shipment coming in tonight. If we are meeting him maybe he can get you back out”

"Alright. Happy for you to take me to him. I'm Theta, by the way." Theta extends his hand. "I'll send this off to my boss." As he's shepherded through the city, Theta types up a message to Dorian:

Director Guerra

I've followed the threads left behind by the TFL base in Central.  I've gone to Bladonna and am in contact with an insurgent group called the Cogs.  I haven't told them I'm working for the council, but they might suspect it.  

They've helped me hack into the Bladonnan bank in the aim of showing the government is funding TFL and their shaper research.  These insurgents are hopeful that exposing this will lead to a revolution that will let Bladonna join the UNW.  I'll send through the data for analysis as soon as I'm out of the city.

I'm hoping that finding and exposing this will get me in front of TFL, the bank or the Priest-King of Bladonna to get them to forfeit the tech.  No leads on the Farm yet, but this could lead to something better.

Depending on how things play out here, I might need some backup dealing with the fallout.

Theta

(Seen. Dunno if I can respond IC yet since Dorian’s off planet on a mission. Jerud is probably acting in his stead and could respond. Up to Neko)

(anything dorian sends would be several days round trip, but Jerud will respond)

Agent Eastmarch, 

If you can escape the city through local means, you're advised to do so at first opportunity. We have a detachment of CIS marines standing by aboard a drop craft if you find yourself under fire. You have latitude, but this operation will work best if there are no accusations of UNW wider council involvement until the data you've gathered is analyzed

Theta deletes the message as soon as he's read it and continues to follow the cogs through the city. "Anything I need to know about this Amik guy?"

"Weird mustache, fond of a drink. He's a hard worker. His trade is illegal, but he might be the only honest Taros doing it, now that Kade's out of the game" (edited)

"Sounds like good company. Do you think it will be hard for me to leave? I have a sinking feeling I wasn't as covert in pulling this data as I could have been."

“Not sure. If we go quick and we go now, we can probably get you out before security tightens the noose on you. “

13:30

“There’s a warehouse we use in the agricultural district since it’s close to the border of the city. Let’s wait for him there”

"No time to waste then. I have everything I need."

It’s not difficult to get through the city with the festival going on and your passage is hardly noted by anyone who might threaten you You’re brought to a large two floor warehouse near the most outside wall of the much subdistricted city , and are brought into the upstairs office at the back of the building. The windows have yellowed and the floor of the warehouse is virtually empty. It’s clear it hasn’t been used long term for any length of time

Mostly silent, Theta wanders around the office briefly, looking for entrances and exits to the room, the floor and the building. As he waits for his escort he checks that his gun is still secured to his hip. Seven shots still. Should be way more than I need if this is a trap...and I survive. If things go south with Amik, I guess I'll be with a pile of weapons being smuggled in.

There is a side service door downstairs and a window that is grainy and filmed over, but does lead outside if you break through it

11:35

A small truck misfires as it comes around the corner and begins making its way down the row of warehouses down to this one. You can sense the tension in the air

11:37

In faded paint the side of the truck says “Ample Amik Baking Company” though the compad frequency number is too faded to read

Theta watches the truck approach from the window, leaning against the wall of the warehouse to lower his visibility from the outside. Waiting is always the worst part. he thinks to himself. He casts his eyes up and down the road, looking for anything suspicious, or anyone else watching the truck. I don't like being stuck inside when I don't know where a threat will come from.

There is a loud rattle and the door groans as one of the cogs pulls on a rusted chain, winching the door open. The factory floor is momentarily loud as the battered truck pulls in, and the door shuts behind it. Five cogs begin moving toward the truck, looking to see their friend.

00:26

There is a flash from the cab, and a muffled bang. The back of the truck opens, as the first of the black armored spireguard hiding inside jumps out, adopting a crouch with his weapon raised

00:26

(Initiative)

(6)

(You’re first. Then the spireguard. Then the cogs )

(Just the one guard visible, possibly more in the truck? And Theta's upstairs in the warehouse, by the window?)

(I think it’s safe to assume a second at least in the cab since you saw a muzzle flash , but yeah possibly and probably more in the truck. You’re upstairs. Interior office Window looking down onto the factory floor, exterior office window down to the street below but it’s a bit of a fall)

Taking cover against the wall of the warehouse, Theta draws his laser pistol, smashes the corner of the grimy window with it, and fires at the guard. (13/7)

The Spireguard is hit and falls with his chest blown out. Another two emerge from the back of the truck and fire into the surprised Cogs. One misses, the other makes a quick kill, sending the resistance fighter into the ground before he even knows he has been killed

03:34

The cogs are wavering, failing to recover from the swiftness of the attack, and their shots go wide, those who are able to respond in any meaningful way

"Why did I think these people were soldiers?" Theta mutters to himself, firing again before running down the stairs to reach the service door of the warehouse. (8/4 on the shot) (He's trying to get out the service door and around the building to flank, but only if it will take a turn or two, otherwise he'll just shoot from whatever cover he can find when he gets there - the door or the corner of the building.)

(Two turns. The end of the first move as you on the warehouse floor near the door

"Can't let them see my face." Theta says to himself, as he runs over to the door and pushes it open, leaning out around the side of the building and taking another shot. (15/7 if he can see a target)

This shot hits one of the spireguard. He and his companion level their weapons at you as you fire before sprinting out the door (18/1 15/5. Not sure if the 15 hits)

(AC is 15 so they both hit) Theta cries out as the shots graze his arm and strike him hard in the leg. He fires again at the one he already hit as he runs, looking for cover to dive behind. (11/6) (How far is it between Theta and the guards? Hoping to close the distance a bit if there's cover available in that direction.)

(so did you go outside and are looking for another way in? or are you shooting down from the office now, I'm a little lost)

(Yeah me too, sorry. I was originally hoping to lean out the side door if it has an angle on them, and if not to leave through the side door and go around the outside of the building. I thought I'd exited the building and was looking for cover.)

(Alright, so shooting from the side door, got it, the guards are 30m from you, and there isnt any meaningful cover on the warehouse floor, it was fairly empty)

(I'll just hang in the doorway then, hiding behind it after shooting, if that's alright) (edited)

The second guard falls, as another two emerge from the back of the truck, and begin firing on the cogs (three total on the factory floor now) One levels his rifle and fires, the high grain round rocketing toward the door

02:43

(Missed)

02:43

There are sirens beginning to blare in nearby districts now, as the shootout proceeds.

"Stay or fucking go, Theta?" He asks himself through gritted teeth. "We need to leave!" He shouts over the din of gunfire to the cogs. He shoots at the guard that hit him, then backs up along the wall of the building as far as he can, gun pointed at the doorway, moving away from the street the truck came in on.

02:57

(19/7)

You hear more gunfire and screaming from the warehouse, and the crump of a grenade detonating inside the building. (you do have the aerial pickup available , just a matter of do they come in here, or do you get out to the countryside and try) It seems the gunfight is keeping the attention of the hostiles, and any other responding forces are too far out to contain your movement away right now

03:02

You escape the warehouse fight in the shadow of the exterior wall of the city

Theta runs for a few hundred metres along the wall of the city before stopping to catch his breath. He wipes the sweat off his face before sending a message to Jerud:

Compromised - I need that pick-up.  I'll send you my co-ordinates.  Need the marines to come into the city, my ticket out is dead.  Spireguard are all closing in on a warehouse near me so I'm going to head in the opposite direction as far as I can to be picked up - we have a distraction so we need to act now.

Theta shares his location with CIS. Looking at the wound in his leg, he sighs and begins to upload the data he collected as well. "Just in case." He begins to run through the district, trying to create as much distance between himself and the warehouse as he can while avoiding main roads.

Above, there is a shriek , as two atmobombers escort the drop-ship in. They declare UNW identities, and the city air defenses begin to open fire.

03:20

The hot tracer rounds streak skyward, a few deflecting off the side of the lander.

03:21

The skilled pilots quickly dive, and level out below the transverse angle of the guns, and within a moment sets down at the end of the street, the marines inside fanning out into a defensive semi circle

Theta sprints towards the door of the craft as soon as he sees it open and dives inside at full speed, collapsing onto the ground as far into the craft as he can get.

(6xp, 10,000 credits)

03:26

The marines collapse back inside with more order than your grace-ish dive inside. With a slam the armored door shuts and the lander streaks skyward as the bombers drop flares, enough to dissuade any missiles and confuse the tracking software of the guns. The fact that Bladonna has fired on UNW assets has not gone unnoticed, and none of those aboard the lander think that this was anything but an attempt at intentional fratricide.

Still panting once the ship is in the clear, Theta lets out a loud groan as he flops into a seat and stares at the ceiling of the fuselage. "That could have gone better." He rests for a few minutes to let his churning stomach settle, then contacts CIS:

Director Guerra, or Jerud

I tried to work with the rebel fighters who helped me secure the data from the Bladonnan bank to get me out of the city.  We were ambushed, I'm assuming most of them are dead.  The leadership might still be intact but it's hard to know if they'll be sympathetic to me.  They probably know I'm with UNW at this point.

Since my way out of the city was compromised I asked for a pickup from CIS inside the city walls.  Our ships were fired upon by the Bladonnan military but no one was hurt.

One possible explanation: I believe my hack was able to collect the data we need, but it wasn't covert. The government is taking measures to stop me escaping, or they see it as some kind of action worth military response.  Maybe they would have fired on us either way.

Regardless, I'm alive, we have the data, and we may have allies in Bladonna.  Let's find out what we can from the data - hopefully it will show us some leads on who is funding TFL's shaper research.

Theta sends the message and turns to one of the marines: "Where are we headed? The task force base?" (Theta's hit level 3! I'll get level up info to you later today)

(Level 3: Health: current health + 1 = 15, rolled a 14 (3d6 + 6), so max HP is 15. 5SP: 3 + 1 (Partial Expert) + 1 (CIS Agent) Spent on taking Program and Sneak to + 1 and increasing Int by 1 to 12. Turns out my AC is 16 instead of 15, I'll just wait until I get the chance to heal completely anyway. Was looking at Natural AC without the Dex bonus, my bad. I'd also like to add a goal: End TFL/Bladonnan shaper research)

(Their rebellion is going to be on the news in a couple days when the month flips

(Looking forward to it! Happy to head to the task force base or any other CIS outpost and work on crunching the numbers Theta's downloaded. If that's going to take a while he can look for some other work while he gets through it.)

(I'll get the group mission set up)

(And we can return here when ready, as the survivors of the brotherhood assault make it back to friendly space)

(Level 4: New Health: 4d6+8 rolled 27(!) 5SP: 3 + 1 (Partial Expert) + 1 (CIS Agent) Spending on: Program 2 (3pts) and Int 13 (2pts) )

(So we have the rebellion in Bladonna we can possibly do something about if your pc is interested)

(That sounds great! Sorry was super busy today. Also have to go through the bank data and see what that brings up. Can put that on the backburner for the rebellion though.)

Jerud and now Dorian working in an administrative capacity have spent the return trip from Savita nursing their wounds and going through the data recovered from the bank. The Farm is mentioned several times in the data, and is now thought to be located on the outskirts of Bladonna. The city in rebellion means handling it will come in contact with regular Bladnonnan spireguard forces. To their credit, those from Bladonna serving in the larger UNW army have not joined the rebellion, and have voluntarily agreed to surrender weapons and remain in confinement until the conflict is ended. Many of the UNW officers remember the Tenebrian/Black Sun war, and the devastating insider attacks that ripped through supposed peaceful bases and training camps.

15:13

It is also now abundantly clear that the TFL was getting financial and material support from the Bladonnan government in exchange for destabilizing the UNW

Theta reads through the report on the banking data again. Alright, so I have to get back into Bladonna and find the Farm. I could try to get some UNW backup - probably not much of a CIS force I can use after that assault. Maybe I can find some locals to help, but they'll need to be better trained than last time. Going to be harder to get into the city now. He sighs and stares at the ceiling. "That place is supposed to be a fortress," he says to himself, thinking aloud now. "I need to shut it down and make sure none of the research gets out. I guess I'll do some recon first. But there's no way the Spireguard will let UNW do a flyover right now. So I'm going on foot. Maybe the answer is to help the rebellion then go in when we have better control of the area. A human won't be very well received though." He types up a message to Dorian:

Dorian,
I need to get back into Bladonna.  Tyring to find the farm but there's no way they'll let us in close by the air.  Have we heard anything from the Cogs?  Have we shown them their government were funding the shaper research?  The Cogs said they'd reach out but they could all be dead.  I need a way into the city, I'm thinking they're the answer.

Agent Theta

Entering the city is no longer possible. Satellite images show that the Spireguard is mobilizing and preparing to begin occupying key resource sites around the city. Local forces on Gudrun are preparing to respond. Your focus is shifting now. 

This confrontation has gone from a cold war to an open conflict. We have evidence that a senior Bladonnan officer is planning to meet with the farm and those who run it. This could be a major opportunity to cut the head off the snake or cause confusion within their own ranks

We need our best on it, that is you

I can do that.  I'll need to find a way to get in close.  Can CIS take me somewhere nearby?  Last time I flew in on a commerical flight, so I couldn't bring any gear.

Do we know anything about the people running the Farm? Who are the targets here?  And do we have any operatives as back-up?  A small strike team will probably work well while the Spireguard is busy at other sites.  We'll  aim for intel and sabotage.

It’s determined that you can get close and as far as the strike team, with CIS forces depeleted after the battle against the brotherhood, @Deleted User and the team he has hand picked are going to be working with you for this mission. Transport is arranged to the military base near Prime, where the planetary defense forces are beginning to muster

Zlatomir doesn't remember when he was made then squad leader, but nobody else was questioning it and he was simply rolling with it. He leads his three men with a hatsful march, seeking to reach the target location ASAP; it would be an embarrassment if they outright missed the opportunity

(Theta is in a different time zone, usually early evening we get a post so once he's on and catches up we can get rolling)

22:38

(I'm going to use this mission if successful as a bonus to the mass combat I'm going to roll out after this, giving your side a positive modifier with the enemy command structure missing some pieces)

(

)

Theta collects his sniper rifle, demo charges and line shunts from the Task Force Phoenix base, and arranges to be picked up from there to go to Prime. Theta calls Zlatomir on the way to the base. "Zlatomir, I'm Theta - looking forward to working with you and your crew. I just want to make sure you're up to speed here. We're scouting out the Farm, a TFL base on the outskirts of Bladonna. Bladonnan officials are heading there soon to meet with the TFL. Our aim is to get as much intel as we can, and if possible, to sabotage their operations, and to confiscate their research. We don't know much about the place at all, so I'm hoping we can either stamp out the problem now, or get enough information to come back with an appropriate force later. I think we'll have to figure out the rest as we go. Any gear you need is on me, just let me know what you need." Theta arrives to the outpost as early as possible and waits for his squadmates to arrive. Never been in charge of something like this before. he muses to himself, Guess I'm climbing the ladder. Pays well. Maybe I can even have a real impact, if I keep going. Have to get through this first, though. Hope this group has their heads screwed on. (Are there any listening devices or bugs I can requisition? Would that be a survey scanner? Would also like to pick up 2x Storage Units and a Tightbeam Link Unit, if possible.) (Been a bit unavailable the last few days but I should be around in your evenings more often from now!)

(I can check darkness visible and starvation cheap. Nothing in the core book really fits , but the link and storage works fine that is available)

Zlatomir would answer his compad, receiving the call "Ah yes, Theta. You must be the one commander was referring to. I was only told we needed to take out a General believed to be meeting there, but we should have an adequate team for all that. As for equipment, I believe my compatriots have everything they need, but I would like to see about borrowing a Sniper Rifle; the one I was issued does not have the firing range appropriate for extreme distances. Other than that, we will meet you at the pickup shortly." Arriving with his crew, Zlatomir would approach Theta at the ready. It was oddly trivial to narrow him out from the outpost, but he could say the same for himself. "Greetings." He gestures his hand to the the three men who had followed him "Thatcher, Jameson, and Rodrick. Communications, Medic, and Demolitions respectively. You already know my name, and you could say I'm a sharpshooter too."

((I don't know if those NPCs had actual names or not, but I thought it would be best to call them something other than just by their roles.))

(You can name them if you want to. I tend not to since most of them are just a one off, but theres no reason we cant)

(Couldn't find anything explicit in the source books, so I'll go without. Storage units, tightbeam link, and a sniper rifle come to 2400 credits. Just realised I'll also need ammunition for the sniper rifles - can I get 20 bullets (10 each)? Not sure if that has a cost to it as well.) "Nice to meet you all." Theta says, handing out equipment. He doesn't feel like he looks like he's in charge - a little unkempt, and wearing plain, dark clothes. "I didn't know you were told to kill the General. That changes things a bit. If that's what UNW is after, that's fine, but we should try to do it without raising hell - we'll be outnumbered in a firefight. We should aim to get him as he's leaving, or after we've got what we need. I think we'll need to get there first, though. I'm ready to go if you are - no time to waste. That said, uh...I'm not sure how we're getting there. One second." Theta's pale face flushes a bit as he realises he's missing a few details of the mission he's supposed to be leading. He leaves the squad and asks around the outpost about transport to the Farm.

(Zlatomir has ammunition, which is apparently a universal thing, so you don't need to worry about buying ammo for him) Being given his rifle, he makes sure it's currently unloaded before raising it up in a safe direction, inspecting it's condition and the sights "I believe the idea was that we would get there, find a vantage point-- which, with this thing, we can get up to a mile away at best --to take the General out before making our leave. Odds are, they won't be armed with snipers at the meetup, and if they are, then likely we will move out of their sight by the time they figure where the shot came from." After he's done inspecting, he looks to Theta "If we are also looking for information, however, that does definitely change things. I can still hold a position to spot and, when the time comes, take the shot, but if we are to get in proximity? I hope you know how not to get seen." Zlatomir follows the requesting Theta, with Thatcher, Jameson, and Rodrick following the two's lead "Sabotage can easily be accomplished if Rodrick can get in close with plastic, but I'm blind as far as finding research."

(They want both)

14:47

(Once you get the info there's no reason to keep them alive)

"My approach with research so far has been to take everything and sort through it later. That's what these are for." Theta waves his hand towards the storage units and tightbeam link. "This link unit will let us transmit any data we collect back to these storage units, as long as we can point the laser in the link to the storage. The hope is that we don't have to carry these units all the way through the base. "As for my skills, I'm pretty good with computers, and at not being seen, so if we're heading in, I can handle it. Been in some up-close-and-personal fights too, if it comes to that. So it sounds like we have a pretty diverse team, that gives us good odds in my mind. There's a lot of variables in this mission, so it's good we have our bases covered."

"So you will be taking the lead with Rodrick and Jameson into the Farm to capture data, with Rodrick setting plastic in key points and Jameson being ready if the cover is blown. When you have what you need, hopefully before the General had come and leaves, you three slip out, I take out the General, and Rodrick blows the place. Thatcher will be with me as my spotter and keep all of us in touch."

"That sounds like a good plan - we'll use that as our baseline. The only alternative I can think of right now is that if the layout of the place makes it hard for you to find a secure position, we might want to blow up the general's transport. I have some extra demo charges, and it might make a good distraction if we need it, so we should remember it's an option we have. Also, I have two of these storage units but I don't think they'll need to be together. So we can leave one with you, and I'll take the other. Always good to have spares - no plan ever works out."

"Depending on how the plan goes, I'm not intending on getting too close to the site itself. Hopefully I won't need it."

"That's the best way to do these things, from the safest possible position - very far away. I always end up way too close for comfort!" Theta laughs, trying to relax. "We should leave any other details for when we get there - no point speculating."

Zlatomir nods "Let's waste no time. Do we have a transport vehicle, or are we on foot from here?"

(You're going to be comet chuting in from the orbital platform so their city radar doesnt see you)

17:49

A set of comet chutes with dandelion safety systems has been set aside for the team, along with an equipment locker that can also survive the jump, while keeping the internal components safe from the heat of re-entry

"... So basically on foot. This helps, but it's going to be a long trek back to a pickup zone, unless we hijack a ride. Well, I'm at least prepared for a weekend out in the woods."

"Well, that's exciting. I've never used one of these chutes before." Theta grins to himself at the thought of dropping in somewhere unseen from orbit. "You ready to go, Zlatomir? I'm all set."

Zlatomir nods, strapping the chute to himself and making sure all his personal equipment is equally secure "See you on the other side, comrade."

A wraith shuttle brings you and the equipment up to Trivedi cloud. On the ground, a scouting team is placing a navigation beacon for you. The helmets you're provided with have a heads up display , connected to it on the ground, and displaying the path you can follow through the air to make it. It will be a 5 kilometer walk once you make it to the ground, a forested area concealing your approach

(we dont need pilot checks here, since they're preparing an LZ for you)

(So just to be clear, they were first in a military base on the planet, but went up to the space station so they could chute down and walk the rest of the distance?)

(It’s the only way to get close enough without their radar picking you up. They’d see a plane or space ship)

05:20

(But a man sized object would have them also detecting every single bird in the sky )

05:21

(You can reason that if they see UNW aircraft in the area they probably won’t want to risk all gathering in one place like they’re doing)

"If only the five-k walk was as fast as the two-hundred-k fall, hey?" Theta laughs a little nervously, adjusting his helmet for the hundredth time. "At least their anti-air guns would have a hard time hitting us if they saw us." He notices he's fidgeting and takes a deep breath to calm himself. "I'm ready to go. Let's get this done, every extra minute up here is wasted."

Zlatomir chuckles with Theta's gags "Aye, bigger bullets don't make it easier to hit smaller targets. Let's get do it!" Personally eager for the mission, he leads the dive by going first

Theta jumps last, making sure that the other members of the crew make it out into the air safely.

The team all jump free of Trivedi cloud, the last two out keeping the storage container tethered between them. The wind whips past, and the beacon on the ground begins blinking. A glide path through the clouds begins displaying, showing you how to get close. A small report on ground conditions also appears on the side of the helmet, showing an overcast sky and just above freezing temperatures. The scouts were able to withdraw after placing the beacon, but suggest shooting it out once you land, just in case any listening TFL or Bladonnan techs get a lucky sniff

Once he lands, Zlatomir awaits for the remaining soldiers to meet him on the ground, afterward taking off the helmet and popping rounds into the beacon as suggested "That was the first fun part, now for the first monotonous part."

It shorts out, the metal crumpling under the force of the impacts. It’s signal vanishes from your compad network

Theta lands and takes off his jump-suit, stowing it in his storage locker and taking his gear out. Staring at the sky, he responds "Monotonous, maybe, but a walk in nature is pretty refreshing. Been stuck in cities and compounds for too long lately. Let's get going."

"Of course. Things can feel cooped in the barracks, and five kilometers isn't that far, anyways..."

The group assembles on the ground and the correct weapons are passed out to everyone. The Farm, as it has been nicknamed is a large manor home with a large garden surrounding the home, almost all of it is ornamental in some way, and local news before the rebellion mentioned the church taking it over from a Bladonnan noble who was seen to be dabbling too much in secular affairs. Since then, with the information the UNW now has, its spacious grounds and large manor home have served as the main TFL training camp and coordination center- with their tacit government support. It has also been noted that if there is anymore research being done with the captured shaper genetic material it is being done here.

19:11

The path to the manor home winds through a loose forest, where the trees are thick but spaced widely apart. It is autumn now, and the leaves are beginning to come down

"Could almost forget what we're here for in a place like this. Dropping in behind enemy lines to kill people and blow things up. We need to find a hill or something for you to look out from, right? Let's circle around a bit when we get there to make sure we find a good spot. Any recon we can get from a distance will be useful information."

"Right. Without a solid vantage point, I'm just an infantryman. Once we set up, we can get to work." Joining Theta, Zlatomir eyes around and circles the parameter, searching for a good location to set up at with his sniper

There is a wooded hill, 1.5km from the manor in question where if you are low and do not skyline yourself, you can see a commanding view of the grounds (aided by binoculars and your scope) A two taros TFL Rocket team is entrenched on the roof of the manor watching the sky. Sandbags surround their position but the tops of their heads are sometimes visible , poking above the cheap barricade. Two guards stand at the front door of the manor though their weapons are not visible. A taros with three wolf Beatles on leashes. Of chain patrols the gardens

"Very good... that hill should do nicely. Thatcher and I will head up there and set up, we'll have to figure out your entry from there."

"Sounds good, we'll get an overview of the complex from there. I expect there will be a large yard in either the front or the back, but the sides of the building might be more accessible. There might be external access to a cellar or basement we can use to get in."

06:30

"Also, these houses tend to have a lot of windows. If we can get network access above ground, we might be able to use the tightbeam link." (edited)

Zlatomir and Thatcher, the spotter, spend the next hour hiking and getting into position. A storm cellar like hatch is spotted on the eastern side of the building. There are no guards outside the hatch directly, but the patrolling wolf beetles do pass this way. The grounds themselves are lightly patrolled by actual bodies with guns

Theta turns to his two companions. "Rodrick, Jameson. We'll start by getting into that basement. Chances are the door is locked, so we might need some time to get in there. If we wait for a patrol to pass, I'll run up and check the door, while you two let me know if I need to get out of there. When I know we can get inside, you two should come and join me."

Up at his position, Zlatomir gets low while handing over his binoculars to Thatcher to spot with, the two getting an overview of the Farm "... Maybe we should have agreed on how we were going to maintain communications with each other."

(everyone has compads)

05:33

(I wasn't going to be a hardass about it)

(Alright, so theta sneaking on to the grounds, with Zalt and spotter on it sounds like overwatch) A road passes in front of the manor home. There is no fence surrounding the property, but there is a hedge thick enough to stop anything but serious vehicle traffic. Three cars make the turnoff at the end of the land, though they're still several minutes from coming down the backroad to the manor house

Staying low to the ground, Theta makes his way as quickly as possible to the backroad. The back should be an easier target than the front. Less open space, I just have to stay ahead of the cars.

As theta makes his way to the back of the house, Zlat and his spotter hear the snap of sticks cracking in the woods behind them. It is not very close, but close enough to be heard

Zlatomir rolls over onto his back, setting his sniper down to aim back with his standard rifle, alert that someone may be advancing on his and Thatcher's position

A wolf beetle puppy bounds out of the woods. Something like a lead trails from a neck collar but no person is attached to the end of it.

15:29

There are more sticks snapping in the woods, getting closer and fast

"... We have a situation here." Zlatomir taps Thatcher to let him look and notice himself

“Shit. Maybe the owner? How do we want to handle this?”

(I'm assuming they don't have suppressors, so...) "If we open fire, this mission likely going loud out the gate... but I don't know how many of those things I can handle stabbing." As a desperate measure, Zlatomir rummages into his pack for a ration portion, tossing it back over the beetle's head and behind it "We might need to just keep them distracted for now."

(Not in the book no, we tried to homebrew something and it made so many arguments about what could be heard and not. Stopped being worth it) The beatle stops and sniffs the air as the ration pack flies overhead. It pauses for a moment to regard zlat and his spotter , before bounding back into the woods feverishly after the food

04:48

On the grounds of the manor, Theta makes it to the short hedges surrounding the property. The guard with the wolf Beatles is passing by the eastern side of the home, in theta’s eventual path. He is not visible to any of his companions

Well, I'm off to a great start. I should have a bit of time, so I'll just...wait. And hope the cars don't come. I don't think I can take them all out quietly. I'll move quickly once they're gone to make up for it. Can these things smell me? I really need to spend more time outdoors. Theta presses himself as close to the hedge as he can get, peering over the top of it to watch the guard. Mind racing with the possibilities of what he could do and what could happen next, he takes a deep breath to calm himself.

The dogs paw at the ground, and raise their noses to sniff the air, before leading the guard back around the back of the house

Theta holds back a sigh of relief and continues, trying to remain below the hedge but travel quickly to make up for lost time.

Zlatomir rolls back onto his stomach, resuming his role as overwatch but keeping an ear open for his flank

Rounding the back of the house you see a small service door leading inside. The guard and his pack of dogs have just walked past it. Out in the road, the three cars are just a kilometer or so from the meeting place. The center vehicle has clear bladonna military markings on it

Theta scuttles over to the door and takes a moment to inspect it closely, checking to see if it looks like it is locked, whether that lock is physical or electronic, and whether it seems like it is alarmed, whether there is a window in it he can look through, or anything else he can spot up close. (If it seems safe enough to do so, he'll try to open it.)

The cellar doesn’t look to have any physical security measures aside from the armed guards patrolling the manor grounds

01:52

There are not any windows this low to look into

01:53

The left side panel door opens to a dark staircase leading into the manor basement. You can see a rack on your right where fifty very expensive bottles of wine have been left to age. Ahead of you a small service stairwell leads up to the floor above. It sounds like a kitchen is hard at work upstairs

Theta gently closes the door behind him and pauses for a moment at the top of the stairs. Shit! I have to get the others in here too. crouched on the first step, he whispers into his compad. "Team, the door is unlocked, but I don't think Rodrick and Jameson will be able to get in the way I did - the cars are too close. They'll either have to wait a few minutes until the coast is clear, or try something else. I think they should hang back, wait until the general is inside, and then come to join me. If they get the opportunity, they could put a charge on the car, or the road leaving the manor, either just in case Zlatomir misses the shot, or to some noise after he hits it."

Zlatomir speaks into his comm to communicate to his ground team "Looks like the General is arriving, yeah... at least now if we go loud, I can still take the shot. I still say you remain careful." He watches the oncoming vehicles through his scope, seeing if he can ID the General

"If things go loud, they might not expect me to be inside, either. I have demo charges. I'll get moving, good luck." Theta begins to creep down the stairs, looking to explore the basement for any infrastructure like a server, before moving on.

"You know what you're doing, I'm sure. Do you want us to retreat without you after taking out the General if things are hot?"

(You can assume if Zlat pops him on the way in, they're going to be more focused on finding the external shooter than an internal sweep. Zlat is in a good position with dense woods, and superior equipment- but thats just one option)

"If you're in a safe position, stay. But we don't have a vehicle to get us out of here quickly, either. You'll need a head start if you have to run. I can take my time."

The three cars begin to pull into the long driveway, leading up to the grounds. As the center car turns, Zlat is able to get a clear ID of the General, as the sun illuminates the window and cab of his car

"Sights on the General. I'll let you make the call when and if I should take the shot prematurely."

If he shoots now, I'll have a pretty clear run through the building, but he'll have to leave me behind to manage the data. "Are you safe to wait until they're leaving? We don't need the distraction just yet."

"I should be safe, he only just arrived. Was planning on waiting until either you found what you need and got out, or if he was about to leave whichever came first. Just let me know if you think I should take the shot sooner than later."

(So we know the kitchen above theta is occupied, where this cellar leads up into. But not heavily traveled

"I'm underneath the kitchen, they're probably cooking for the meeting. We'll wait a few minutes. It should empty out. Rodrick, Jameson, that might give you a chance to meet me down here." Theta sits himself as comfortably as he can against the wall by the stairs, pistol drawn, and waits.

The footsteps stop and after a few moments the room sounds emptier.

Slowly, carefully, Theta creeps up the staircase and attempts to crack the service door open and check the room.

A lone taros washes pans in the sink, back turned to the cellar door

Theta attempts to move into the room, crouched low, hoping to keep countertops and benches in between himself and the worker as he exits the kitchen through the first door he sees.

The swinging door takes you into a dry storage room. A ladder heads upward through a trap door ; and passing through the storage room there is another door that leads out into the main hallway of the homes ground floor

I'm thinking corridors are bad. I'll try the next floor. Theta gingerly climbs the ladder and listens at the top for any noises on the other side.

There is a small tap and click at the top of the hatch, the pattern is rhythmic, almost as though something is being spelled out through the pauses and taps. The gentle buzz of power being run through a line, stopped, and then run through again accompanies every dot and pause

Theta pushes the hatch open and climbs inside, quickly, hoping to take anyone inside by surprise and no not dawdle on the ladder.

(Lets get a sneak/dex)

11:47

Outside, the three cars pull up to the front of the house. Guards, 10 in total, begin stepping out of the convoy vehicles and one opens the door for the general, zlat is able to get an even more clear identification. The doorman salutes and he and the general seem to be familiar with one another as the officer stops to talk with him

(14

)

2

"The General has arrived. Ten guards came with them. Currently speaking with the Officer." Zlatomir tries to keep Theta updated on the current situation, assuring that they have a rough estimation on how much time they have

There is a comms operator working at a small desk. The Taros version of a telegraph has been set up, cleverly spliced into existing utility lines running from the house, to the citywide network outside. He is occasionally looking over at a sheet, though the writing on it is too hard to see from your perch behind him

I don't have a knife, definitely don't want to shoot him. Maybe I can wait for him to leave. (What else is in the room? Are there any cables running along the ground, is there any furniture to hide behind? Anything Theta could use as a weapon or to tie the operator up?)

(There are cables running across the floor , there are packing crates in the room that are nailed shut but stacked up. A door on the western wall leads out of the room@

Theta quietly moves over to hide behind the crates, hoping to wait for the taros to leave.

06:06

(would he be visible from the door from this position?)

(Not from here no)

12:44

The operator sighs and turns the papers over, another stack is underneath. He fixes his glasses and begins tapping away at this new set of messages

Outside, there is another set of dust clouds at the end of the street, as the first in a long line of old-generation armored personnel carriers begins heading down the road. The flags of the Priest-King, and the secondary flag showing the black Spire in the city against a white field fly proudly

Theta supresses a matching sigh. He's not going anywhere. Maybe I can stay put too. (Would he be able to splice into the network with the cables on the ground? Planning to plug into one, perhaps using the tightbeam link to keep the storage unit in a secure spot.)

(Yes you can )

06:12

(A line shunt would work on the cables if you have any)

Gingerly, Theta crawls back over and attempts to shunt into the cables. He aims to apply the link unit to the shunt, and leave the storage unit in the corner, behind the crates with the link pointing at it.

06:13

(unsure whether the link unit has to point at the shunt from the storage unit or the other way round, Theta's a smarter man than I)

(I think this is an instance where IC knowledge is greater then ooc)

06:15

It becomes clear after a few moments of listening in that these are orders for various bladonna spireguard units. Deployment zones, marching orders and rules of engagement are all being passed through this room, along with a brief mention of warheads filled with “the flesh alchemy reagent”

Crouched behind the crates, Theta sends a message to the team:

I have a listening device set up.  If I try to get into their network and download everything they've got, there's a chance they'll notice me. I'll do what I can, but we could be going loud at any time.

(Do I have any level of access to the system with this setup, or is it just recording? Would I be able to hack in from here?)

(You have access)

06:23

(But depending on what you do there may be program checks)

First things first, have to make sure we aren't all about to die. (Do they have any weapons systems or alarms?)

(Nothing networked if they do)

Going to assume they're smart rather than unprotected. This will be interesting. With a few hurried taps on his compad, Theta attempts to download all of their communications and documents that he can reach on this system.

The downloads themselves will take some time but will continue without your direct need to control things directly. There is a section of sealed files that won’t copy (program/int)

(12)

Outside and around the complex a steam powered alarm begins to sound. The general looks up, dropping his cigar. His bodyguards begin motioning for the armored car to pull back up, but it is well out of position

06:37

The armored column begins to turn down the street but will@not be here for a few moments

(trying to keep this moving the best I can Zlat. thanks for being patient)

(It's alright, I understand. This is more of a "wait until clearance" scenario for a sniper, at which point I'll flub my Execution roll.))

(I'm sure you'll do great

)

(What's the comms operator doing after the alarm goes?)

(Still typing away, but faster. He’s got orders to send even more urgently now )

(Oh wait-- That's an alarm!)

(you got this!)

Noticing that the General has begun his extraction, Zlatomir decides he can't afford for him to get back into the vehicle. Timing at the high point of the siren, he pulls the trigger with his sights lines up on him

01:17

(14, or 16 if "Shooting from a prepared firing position" applies to Executions. The complete opposite happened; I rolled double sixes.) (edited)

(It sure does. You’ve passed. You can describe the shot if you want to)

While the bodyguards did their best to surround around the General, the blast from Zlatomir's barrel was blocked out by the siren as he managed to find an opening among the group, with one second the target moving to extraction... the next, his head becoming a red mist above his shoulders "Kill confirmed. Do you need help fighting your way out, Theta? Or do we have clearance to pull back?"

Hidden behind the crates in the comms room, Theta holds back expletives when he hears the alarm. Peering over at the operator, who begins to work harder, Theta hears Zlatomir's message. I need time. Downloading. Keep the team safe. Pull back if you need to. Shit, I have no idea what's going on outside. Theta thinks to himself. (How long on the download?)

(It’ll go without your being there now since you have a line shunt on it)

(Yeah but then I'll need to come back for the storage unit, trying to figure out of it's worth staying.)

(Two minutes until completion)

Two minutes. Coming out the service door. Theta sends through, before beginning to prepare a shot at the comms operator.

Zlatomir sends a transmission to the other two on ground "Move away from site. We do not want either of you getting spotted and fired upon." Meanwhile he turns to Thatcher "The two of us are going to stay here for now, until we can confirm Theta's escape. We are out of range, and as long as I time my any shots I need to properly, our position shall remain uncompromised. Keep your eyes peeled."

The bodyguards begin fanning out, realizing their leader is dead, they now move to their second duty of at least trying to spot the shooter. The mortar team on the roof begins preparing its weapon and loading though for now they’re pointed in the wrong direction

If you need me to make noise inside, just tell me.  I'll go loud if you're in danger, or if you need someone to appear behind them.

"Do not make any noise. They are making plenty. Allow the chaos to be the distraction you need to slip out." (Where are the mortars relative to the building?)

(On the roof)

02:13

(Middle of the roof in a small sandbag circle but you can see the top half of the loader and gunner)

"Hm..." Zlatomir, not wanting them to cause bombings anywhere, nor wanting one to point out his position after taking out the other, decides to try for something tricky. Lining up his sights, he works on timing his shot with the siren to hit them both consecutively; one bullet piercing through and into the other (In other words, may I prepare an Execution attack at a penalty to hit multiple targets simultaniously?)

(No, each one requires a full minute of set up time to even attempt in the first place, before we get into modifiers. You will get a +2 on normal attacks on top of everything else you get due to shooting from a prepared position )

(Alright, then I'll have to hope for good damage. Confirming if I can prose the attack roll for "two birds one stone")

(This isn’t something we will normally be able to do, I don’t really want to set the precedent of basically splash damage for ranged weapons But since it’s a personal goal and these guys are in a very close proximity with a good attack roll I’ll say you can hit both)

(Alright) Lining his sights up, Zlatomir makes sure to get his timing right on the siren to get the shot on the two while they are preparing the mortyr

02:35

(13 to hit, 10 damage)

The loader falls backward dropping the high explosive shell he was about to fire. It is inert, not primed by dropping it into the tube. The gunner ducks, seeing his friend shot through by the high caliber round

"Damn it... but oh well. At least no collateral beyond the base."

Shit, I almost forgot why we came here. No sign yet of any research facilities. I think I need to do some searching. We came here to blow this place up. Theta sends the message, and hearing the chaos around him, decides he can fire at the operator.

03:22

(18/7)

The operator slumps over in his chair, head blown out and viscera coating the electronics

Theta hurries to his feet attempts to push one of the crates over the trap door. Hope this doesn't bite me later. I need to check the body for keycards or something. he thinks, mind racing.

The body has a brass key on it, along with a handgun of his own, and the folder of documents still rests on the table, the edges beginning to saturate with blood

Theta scoops up the folder and throws it onto the ground next to the storage unit. Then, pistol drawn, he opens the door on the far side of the room.

This room is empty of people. Two storage decks sit against the south wall of the room, cables going through a hole in the wall to the telegraph table, as well as through the exterior wall to power outside the house. Lights in rows flash and blink on the front of the storage decks, a small port in front has room for a removable object

20:25

Outside, the gunner of the mortar team picks up a pair of binoculars, and begins scanning, trying to find the shooter. The guards on the ground likewise are close to the house, but begin fanning out and trying to take cover. One of them is calling for a radio to be sent to him, likely to warn the armored column turning on to the road

"They have no idea you are inside, but I think it is only a matter of time until the decide the cover of indoors is preferable." Again, not wanting his position to be confirmed for definite, Zlatomir trails his sights again and times with the rising sirens. Aiming at the lone gunner at the rooftops, not wanting his and Thatcher's position to be compromised and called out (15, 11 damage)

The gunner falls, chest now a red stain, and the guards in the street begin to slowly collapse their way back to the manor house

"They are, in fact, retreating indoors. If you are on the upper floors, I believe there is a route to the roof where the mortars were stationed. You may be able to climb down on the outside from there. There is little left I can do... but rest assured knowing that you will take a lot of names when the place detonates." (edited)

"We should go" thatcher says, looking at the road "once those personnel carriers get here, the countryside is going to be swarming with soliders"

Zlatomir nods, crawling backwards away from the cliffside before getting himself up onto his two feet, regathering his equipment, and following Thatcher's suggestion to retreat "Jameson, Rodrick, Thatcher and I are falling back. Theta, I hope you know what you're doing..."

"I don't." Theta confirms, "I appreciate your faith in me, though." Theta hurriedly reaches into his pack and places a demo charge on each of the storage decks. "This will have to do," he mutters, "Hopefully there's no assets underground they can reuse." "Zlatomir, you mentioned mortars? Anyone up there?" (Is there a way that seems to lead to the roof from where I am?)

10:07

(Also would there still be time on the download?)

(no we're done now, and if you blow a hole in the building like you're about to do with this demo charge, you've made a way out)

"Were two, now zero." Zlatomir grits his teeth while on his way to regroup with Jameson and Rodrick... if he had only gotten both of them with one bullet, that would have been sooooo cooool! Thatcher would have been all like 'wow, that was amazing Zlatomir, you are really cool' but nooooo, it's not going to be when someone is watching to confirm the kill.... uuuuuugh "I don't remember if the integrity of the equipment was part of the mission. So long as you have the data, an escape route is all you need."

(Zlat and company survived, 3xp, 5000 credits for them. Bladonnan forces in pursuit wont catch up since you withdrew, we'll wrap up with theta's hopeful escape)

Theta runs back into the comms room and piles the storage unit and folders into his pack. Hunkering down in the corner of the room, he presses the detonator.

There is a thundering bang and sudden sunlight as half the structure wall is blown away. Jagged pieces of wood and crumbling brick , the ends of which are singed , tumble from the new hole in the building. Security was focused toward the other side of the house as Zlat had been firing on them just a moment before. Crossing the street now will put you in the path of enemy armor making its way down the road

"Shit, I don't have time." Theta grits his teeth and sprints, leaping out of the hole he created, down to the ground. He turns sharply after landing, looking to turn the corner away from the approaching armour.

The grounds are surrounded by woods, though you’ll be heading the opposite way from your extraction point. Trivedi cloud, the space station in orbit is tracking the operation. A drop ship is displaying on your compad to be on the way, if you get some distance between yourself and the house it should be able to land

Theta's pack is heavy with all the gear he brought in, but he's not overburdened. Keeping himself close to the ground, he moves as quickly as he can away from the estate, planning to sprint once he's clear of the first line of trees in the surrounding woods.

(Exert/con)

(7)

The sound of dogs and hunting horns sounds from the ruins of the manor house, and the quickest reacting of the guards begin to fan out into the woods, though they’re 250m behind you at the closest. The drop ship streaks overhead , heading to a clearing in front of you, another 500m away

Panting hard, Theta lowers his head and continues to sprint towards the ship. If I stop I might get two or three before they get me. Just have to stay ahead of the dogs.

A thick smoke screen from dropped cannister a begins to cover the forest in a thick pink mist. The guards chasing sputter and cough and the dogs become confused as the mixture begins to spread, clinging to the ground and low trees

Just have to keep moving forward. Slowing a little to make sure he doesn't succumb to the smoke or run into a tree, Theta covers his mouth with his sleeve and continues onward, eyes pinned on the dropship.

A squad of UNW marines is waiting, in a semicircle around the dropship door, a familiar scene, as you were extracted from Bladonna proper this way just weeks ago. Some of the troopers even look the same. One of them waves you in, firing another smoke cannister from a hand launcher with his free left arm.

In a familiar fashion, Theta staggers the last few metres up the ramp of the dropship and collapses into a heap in the back corner of the storage bay, clutching his bag to his chest. After taking a minute to catch his breath, he opens his pack and accesses the storage data. "Right," he says to himself, "time to send this to Dorian and see what's left to tear down."

(its going to be in the galnet news tomorrow morning when i post it, but the shaper research was being done here, and is destroyed now with the manor up in flames aside from your data copies)

(great stuff!)

(3xp, 5000 credits, and most importantly no one died)

(and I did my best to!)

(Theta is Level 5: 5d6 + 10 rolled 24, current health 27 -> new health 28 5 Skill points: 3 + Partial Expert + CIS Agent. Spending 3 to upgrade Int to 14 (3rd upgrade) Attack bonus goes to +4 (Partial Warrior) New focus: Specialist (Sneak) takes Sneak to +2 Storing the extra 2 skill points for later.)

(Awesome. If you didn’t have anything to jump into yourself that you’ve seen we can run soemthing ive got)

(Happy to roll with what you've got, Theta's gradually building up a bit more self direction though)

With the conflict in Bladonna rapidly moving to a more military operation, CIS is turning its attention to Asta. A hostile robot empire in the middle of UNW space is a threat to everyone- especially a group advancing as rapidly as the Alloy Host. A cardinal of the Church of Water is leading the human resistance on the planet, now fighting out of their remaining city, but without support they are destined to lose the war.

Seeing that his skills won't be as useful on Gudrun for the next while, Theta packs his things and organises to be taken to Asta, reading up on the Scream Beast, the shapers, and the conflict he's walking into on the way. (edited)

(anything you need to get before we head out?)

(Going to swap the sniper out for a laser rifle for 300cr, and if possible, I'd like to start working on ranking Administer from -1 to 0. Theta's starting to gain an interest in the internal workings of CIS - will tell you more privately)

(All that works fine by me)

(Then he's good to go)

(Trip is I believe 3 days)

(3/90 on Administer then, ready to roll when you are!)

The ship exits at the edge of Asta space and you’re given a short comm message to meet in the shuttle hangar. It’s coded with the captains signature and marked as very important

Theta spends a moment checking his equipment, feeling the weight of his shiny new gun, before disembarking to the hangar. Earthquakes, volcanoes, killer robots. What have I signed up to?

A comet suit and dandelion pack is set out on the deck floor, along with the captain and four techs looking down at it. “Ah good. The sacrificial lamb is here” one laughs as they take note of the iris door opening

"I can turn around, if you're not going to respect me." Theta replies, sarcastically but with a deadpan delivery. "I'm Theta Eastmarch." He breaks his expression into a grin and extends a hand to the captain. "So let me make sure I'm up to speed. Desert planet, wars over water controlled by various gang lords. Two major cities, now just one, because The Alloy Host, which are a group of sentient, malevolent machines, destroyed Rho-Mu. Surviving inhabitants are caravanning to Theta-Khi as we speak. Trade's closed off, so I'm guessing you want me to drop in to either Theta-Khi to join with some allied forces, or somewhere else and we hope they aren't looking. Did I miss anything?"

“That’s about it. Either way you’re going to need this comet suit to get down there. If we get anywhere close to orbit those surface guns are going to take us to pieces. Orders came in from CIS. Two of my marines are going with you, and you’ve got operational authority here CIS needs to know what’s going on down there and if we can buy the humans any kind of time while we do it, we need to”

"Alright, I'll see what I can do. Anything I should know about the water barons or the Alloy Host before I jump into the fire?"

"Nothing new has come in. We left ways for them to contact us,b ut the host might be jamming things. Last we did manage to hear was the church and barons now working together, to fight the host. Everyone is on their last legs down there. There isnt much of a political situation with such a dominating robot presence towering over them"

"No time to waste then. Where are you dropping me?" Theta asks as he bends down and begins to climb into the suit.

(If you need me to post the map, let me know) "anywhere you see fit, you;ve got operational authority here, though the city knows to expect help"

"Send us into Theta-Khi, we'll talk to the leaders on the ground before getting too adventurous." (all good, I've got the map up)

'Alrght, this suit will protect you during re-entry, and you'll be too small to appear on any kind of radar system they might have watching the sky. It's accurate to within a kilometer since we have a dandelion system attached to it. Suit up, we're barely going to kiss orbit, they'll get a lock on us if we sit for long, as soon as you're clear we're boosting back into deep space, but we'll remain in the system to serve as a communications relay for you"

Theta pulls each of his arms into the suit, his shoulders, and pulls the helmet over his face. He double checks the clasps and fasteners on his own suit before checking those of his new compatriots as well. "Let's do this - we're missing a lot of information, and it seems like every minute is going to count. No distractions, no heroes, keep moving." He finishes checking the second marine and claps them on the shoulder twice, then heads to the drop bay.

The ship hangs in orbit and the wide metal doors begin to open. A light pulses a steady Amber , before resolving to a bright green. Down below, three points of light begin to materialize in the atmosphere as surface to space missiles are launched- though the angle is@poor and if the ship boosts out in seconds it will be clear of the mostly unguided warheads

Wasting no time, Theta runs out of the bay when he sees the green light, taking the lead in front of his squadmates. Would be ironic if those missiles hit me instead of the ship... he ponders as he begins to plummet towards the surface of Asta.

(lets get a pilot/dex, at +2 , not in danger of dying here, just getting the landing zone prepped)

(10)

The landing zone is a kilometer outside of the city, within the envelope of the city wall guns. They crews knew you were approaching, as they were in communication with the ship. A recovery team, of six soldiers and a small dune buggy race from the city gates as soon as your meteoric descent suit hits the desert sand

Theta lands and begins to remove the comet suit, sitting in the sand as the buggies approach. As the soldiers arrive he stands and waves. "Let's hurry back! They know we're here!" he calls out as they close in.

Space is cleared in the buggy for all of you and the heavy gates shut as the runners likewise make their way back in There is a muffled pop as a few of the heavy wall mortars fire at the vanguard of alloy host scouts but the volley seems to drive them back. The buggy brings you to the town center where a three story sandstone building has been serving as both the civil and military headquarters

"I hear you lot have been putting up a hell of a fight," Theta says to one of the soldiers as they enter the gates. "CIS is here to help. Not making any promises about the outcome, but we're good at what we do." Theta allows himself and the marines to be shepherded into the building. "Can I get into the war room?" he asks aloud, "I need as much intel as I can get."

"Thats where we're taking you, city leaders and leaders from the exile convoy are about to get into session, and once we knew you were coming they decided to wait"

13:56

Inside the room, the city watch commander of this city, the Rho-Mu former Garrison commander, both city mayors, a arch-cardinal from the church of water, and the elected head of the water mob families are all sitting around a round table, with a spot left open for you

For a moment Theta just stands in the door. The reality of his authority in this situation hit him like a ton of bricks as he realised all of these senior figures wanted his advice. Civilan lives are in his hands. Deep breaths. You're an expert. He thinks to himself as he takes his seat. "I'm Theta Eastmarch from Gudrun, with CIS." He introduces himself, feeling a lump in his throat. "I'm here with two other operatives and I think it's in all our best interests if we figure out where we're going to be most useful quickly. Then I'll get out of your hair. We're skilled fighters, infilatrators, saboteurs, that sort of thing."

"The Host is marching, they're not coming close to the city but with the destruction of Rho-Mu, most of the planet and more importantly, the entire sea in the middle of the planet is under their control now. There's only so much we can pump from underground, and we're at risk of running out if supplies from off world can't be brought in. The most important thing now, is breaking their stranglehold on orbital space so a run on the planetside blockade can be made, and water supplies from off world can be brought in

16:01

"We have to solve the humanitarian crisis here before we sally out'

(Ad-Astra was previously running water to the planet, and with the host tightening their grip on orbital space, the shipments have stopped, both to save lifes/ships and to deny the host salvage, or worse, the chance of recovering a spike drive)

Theta sits forward, elbows on the table, fiddling with his gloves and thinking. "Seems like a pretty heavy blockade - we were only in range for a moment and they still got three shots off. Do you know what weapons they have, and how they were able to set it up? Did you need more UNW support and not get it in time, or were they able to take over some of our assets? Did they set them up in secret somehow?"

"The Host has been on the march for years now, ever since the psionic disaster a few years ago. They emerged from the sand and started killing everything. They occupied ruins and former defense sites on the planet, using our own weapons against us, and unearthing more. They've been doing heavy excavations during their fortification work, and seem to have found at least a few stocks of pre-war munitions buried below the desert sand. The UNW has offered water through Ad-Astra, but when the space defenses got too heavy, the shipments stopped. THey also did send someone to help unify the church and barons. We are one people now thanks to them, but promised military support never arrived"

"So instead of an army, you've been sent the three of us." Theta waves his hand in the direction of the door and his squadmates beyond it. "Got it. So a planetary defence system must have some kind of central nexus to it, right? There needs to be something giving orders, even if the sites are all quite isolated from each other. Do the Host have a heirarchy in their leadership? Or is it some kind of hivemind? I'm trying to figure out if we're better off taking out a central system, or taking out the weapons. If we can leave the weapons intact, we can take them back."

“We know they’re personalities. Each of them. They’re all quantum machines so they’d have human like brains in them. Just enhanced “

05:48

“As for the guns if there is a node we don’t know where it is. We had assumed taking out a site would still make a gap. Node or not “

"I understand. First step is to get one shipment of water in, buy some time. The rest can come later. Do you have a nearby site in mind?"

“The city courtyard is big enough to fit a free merchant. There’s drainage right to the aquifer beneath the city, but with those defenses up anything coming in will be shot down

"Alright, so we should look to take out the closest gun to the city. Do you know where that is, and how we might get there?"

“There is a path that leads up the mountain to it. We could get close on foot. But the climb is dangerous. They patrol on foot and with planes”

"If you can get us close safely, we'll take it the rest of the way. Seems like the only option. Is there a way for you to distract the planes? Otherwise I'll take some demo charges and some bullets if you have any to spare and we can get moving."

Three demolition charges are provided, along with four magazines worth of solid rounds. “We can get the planes to back off if you’re detected. It’ll work once. Maybe twice. After that it’s hard to say. They get smart to spoofing after a while”

"That won't be an issue." Theta says, "Oh, and if we're going up a mountain, parachutes might be good, too, if you have some, on top of climbing gear. Otherwise we're all set."

"I'll see what we can come up with before we set out. We apologize for throwing you right into the mix when you get here"

Theta smiles and shrugs. "It's what I do best. You don't have time for me to sit around and talk strategy, you need decisionmaking."

"And you've broken the deadlock. Thank you. We'll be sending a small team with you, ans your men, bringing you to about 10 total, We'd like to step off as soon as you feel ready do"

"Good to have some extra company. I'm ready, no time to waste."

The group forms up at the gates of the city and a small contingent joins you with climbing gear, flare guns and survival rations for the mountain climb. Without a vehicle the trip is about a day and nights walk through the desert before reaching the mountain fort containing the guns. Vehicles traveling the open stretch of desert tend to have cruise missiles fired on them as many human explorers here have painfully learned

Theta stands in front of the group and faces them, rifle in hand. "Alright, I'm sure you know the rules, but it's always good to cover them again. Stay low, stay quiet. Slow and steady - one of us being compromised could mean we all are. No plan will cover everything, but that doesn't mean we don't have one. We have three demo charges, so you'll be in three teams, with my agents here leading two. We stay close to each other unless we need to make a diversion." He stares into the eyes of each soldier, one by one as he talks. "No heroes, no martyrs, information is better than luck. I know things are desperate, that's exactly why you need to keep a cool head over everything else. Failing is a better outcome than dying, because we will try again."

This seems to give them heart, that it wont be a suicidal charge into certain doom. desert traveling clothes are handed out, and the group leaves the town gates into the swirling dune sea. The group pulls tight, as a sandstorm rolls in, and things seem to visibly relax, as it means you're screened from any patrolling aircraft. Someone makes a joke about dumping the rocket tube since it is heavy, but he dares not

Theta laughs at the joke and offers to carry the rocket tube for a time. "If we have some cover, we should take advantage of it and try to cover some extra ground. Let's pick up the pace for a bit."

You approach the base of the mountain as the dust storm rolls off. The roar of distant aircraft engines is faint but close enough to be heard. The path rises up and is flanked by trees , forming something of a natural arch over the top of it, and keeping you from easy observation from the upper peaks as it winds up the mountainside

Theta gathers the group together under the first few trees. "Alright, single file, keep a steady pace. If the person in the lead signals to stop, you signal too, so that everyone will see it. Keep an eye on the person behind you and the person in front of you. We shoot before we're seen. There should be more of us than any of their patrols. Let's get moving."

The group sets out into the trees, scaling the winding path. There is evidence of recent robot patrols, and as you climb, an hour passes. (notice.wis)

(13)

The ground vibrates, gently at first but soon more intensely. Vehicles are approaching but not many

"Something's coming." Theta says to the group. "Spread out and hide among the trees. They might go right past us, but be ready to fight." Taking the lead, he looks for a tree to climb or a rock crevice to hide in.

There is thick growth on the side of the path close to the mountain itself. Two light scouting vehicles round the corner on a rapid approach, heading down the path to the bottom of the mountain , hopefully out into the desert

02:27

Their weapon mounts remain forward and it does not look like you have been seen

Theta waits a few extra moments and emerges from the brush. "We'll have to remember they might come back later, especially if we make a lot of noise. Let's keep moving." He takes the lead in resuming the ascent.

emerging onto a plateau, before another path leads to the second half of the climb, a small cavern looks to be carved into the rock face. Two robots stand outside it, as though they are guarding whatever is within. There is no evidence of any other forces nearby

Theta keeps a distance and signals to the group to approach silently. Crouched low, he points to the two guards. He holds up five fingers and points to the first, then five fingers again and points to the second, signalling for half the group to take aim at each. Pointing his rifle at the furthest, he hold up five fingers again and counts down. Four, three...and puts his other hand back on his gun. When the count reaches zero, he fires. (Not sure if I'll need to do any checks before shooting)

(They didn’t see you, so we can try for execution attacks if you want)

(14 on Shoot/Dex, 11 damage)

03:24

(Do you want me to roll for the rest of the squad?)

The robot falls, head blown clean from its mechanical neck. The rest of the quad makes short work of the other and it falls to the ground with considerably more holes in it

"Alright, good work. My group is going to look inside and see what's going on. Another is going to stand guard out the front, and the third is going to explore a little further up the path and see if anyone heard that." Theta says, emerging from the brush and pointing with his hands as he talks. Taking the lead, he heads into the cavern.

Theta and a 1/3 of the group head into the cave and the air becomes humid and warm almost immediately. The sound of clanking machinery and grumbling gears echoes through the cave , making it difficult to hear even your own breathing. Large pistons up ahead in the darkness hiss and clank

15:36

There is an opening ahead to some sort of large chamber where most of this machine noise is coming from

Noting the tight space, Theta pauses for a moment to stow his rifle and draw his pistol. Leading the group, he heads further into the dark cavern. Pointing his gun into every shadowy corner he passes, he follows the noise.

Dozens of pumps, holding tanks, and filtering machines clank and rattle in this giant machine space. Water is being pumped from below ground. Thousands of gallons a minute, and kept in these holding tanks. Flocks of eyebots move through the air like wheeling birds, from machinery to machinery. None of them seem to have spotted you yet

Theta gently backs away, signalling to the group to turn back. Regrouping with the rest of the team at the entrance, he tells them: "There's some kind of pumping and water storage system in the caves here. Swarming with security but nothing a few good soldiers couldn't handle. If we can make it safe for vehicles to come through, you won't even need that delivery from Ad Astra." He pauses for a moment, "Where would that infrastructure have come from? Is it old, or new?"

“This looks like it was looted from Rho-Mu” one of them says. “I recognize some of the ducting work, and a few of the pumps looked like the ones in the cavern near my home. Some of it is new though, the hosts construction is a bit different”

"Right, so it hasn't been here for long, or it's been expanded since the attack. That's good. Let's continue on." Theta directs the group to continue the ascent, again taking the lead.

There is a large boom, that deafens everyone and causes a tremendous amount of dust to fall from the cliff above as one of the defensive guns is test fired. Almost everyone is disoriented, and wobbles along the path as though drunk. Two have ruptured eardrums, blood trickles down their ears, down the sides of their head

"Shit! That's bad timing." Theta cries out as he staggers through the dust cloud. Heading over to the two wounded troops he asks them, "Are you alright to go on? Don't lie to me if you aren't. You have the option of keeping watch here to keep everyone else safe. Maybe a little further back down the path, in case they fire again. Decide quickly, we're not stopping for long."

One of them takes out a compad and types that they will take rearguard, as an ambush is less likely to come from that direction. Out in the plains, there is a fireball over the desert floor. It appears the gun was firing at something after all

Theta pauses and stares at the flames for a moment. "Best thing we can do is make sure they don't get another shot off. Let's hurry. Anyone know if these things need to be reloaded, and how long that takes?"

"Large gun like that one takes about a day. Their smaller batteries have shot several times a minute before, but they haven't made noise in a long time"

"Alright, no need to be reckless then. We should still hurry." Theta replies, sighing and continuing the climb.

Approaching the summit you can see the mountaintop is crowned in metal. A large defensive fortress dominates the peak above you, and the trial makes a final twist in on itself. Standing at the end of the road in a wooded outcropping you can see the main gate and guard towers of the alloy host Gun battery ahead. The two scout buggies come up the path and turn in, headed forward toward the gate. It’s a 200m distance from your observation point

Eight of us would have a hard time getting in behind those buggies when the gates open. Maybe we can make our way around. (Is there enough room to explore the sides of the walls or approach the wall out of sight of the towers? Or is the area too narrow?)

(You could get to the extreme East or west out of sight of the towers)

"Alright, we're splitting up. I'll take the West, the other group takes the East. Stay out of sight of the towers and look for a way in. Think drainage, damaged walls, tall trees, poorly-guarded side-doors. If you find anything, let us know and we'll join you." Theta gathers three of his companions and attempts to lead them around the side of the complex.

Toward the side of the complex there is a damaged section of the wall where some kind of earthquake has brought part of it down into a loose pile of rubble. It does not appear to be guarded, as the incline is quite treacherous and the rubble does not present easy handholds. The way up is likewise heavily patrolled, and the Host may not consider it a security risk.

"Alright, lets move in this way." Theta points at one of the soldiers. "You stay here and bring the other group over if they haven't found anything on their side. You two," he says, signalling the others, "are with me. I'll climb up and leave a rope, you'll follow. We make sure there are no guards up there and start to scout it out." With that, Theta unpacks his climbing gear and begins to make his way up the incline.

(lets get a sneak/dex, as much as i hate cheesing checks, but they do have sensors int he area)

(no worries! Im not afraid of a little sneak roll.)

05:59

(12)

You’re able to scale the top of the fallen wall without being seen. Inside a.dozen alloy host gunners and a few vehicles that look like water and power trucks are working to cool the gun thAt has just fired and recharge it. Out in the desert far to the west there is a fireball on the desert floor burning away

15:00

The complex is right. Aside from what must be a charging bunker for the robots here everything else is taken up with machinery for this large orbital gun battery. Most of the manpower seems@concentrated on the roving patrols rather than inside this garrison itself

Theta crouches low and moves towards the complex to find some cover behind a vehicle or a wall to wait while his squadmates arrive. (When the first few are able to climb up he plans to move on to investigate the charging bunker, if it's not too far away.) (edited)

(You could check it out first sure. Sneak roll was good so we can keep the result for now)

17:36

Inside the charging bunker , the metal banded door opens near silently , a dozen host warbots sit dormant on charging cradles. Eye lenses are dark and limbs are slack

Theta reaches into his pack, and extracts his demo charge. He creeps through the room and places the charge behind one of the cradles. He makes sure the charge is out of sight from the door before exiting and returning to his squadmates.

(You can remote det or I believe hour timer. I would imagine you don’t want the shaped charge option as you want to level the building )

(remote detonation would be the go)

You get it as secured as possible, and as hidden as possible with the short time it seems safe to be in there. outside,there is a commotion at the gate, as the two scout buggies return from their trip back up the mountain

15:15

A floating leader type bot emerges, and warriors from around the gun complex begin to gather. It seems your infiltration of the caves was noticed, in the form of the dead guards.

I thought they'd be gone longer! Hiding against the nearest wall, Theta reaches out to the team. "Is everyone in the complex?" he whispers into his mic, "What happened to our scouts?" (How many Host are there around now? about 15-20?)

(20 is accurate ) The scouts aren’t responding but there is a fair amount of crackle on the feed. The link may just be down

Theta directs the squad, "Get inside, behind some machinery. I'm blowing up the charging bay. We start shooting right before the explosion. Take out the leader first." Taking the lead, Theta slips further into the complex to find a secure space to raise the sights of his rifle at the floating Host leader.

There is scant cover, but you're able to get in behind equipment crates, soon to be installed pumping machinery, and a vehicle that is not in use.

Taking a deep breath and training his rifle of the leader, Theta whispers, "good luck everyone. Fire." Into his comms, and depresses the trigger.

01:24

(Would this be an attack or execution?)

(It would be an attack since we don’t have a prepared firing position)

(10/3)

The first sprays of gunfire spark off buildings, off vehicles, and a few spark off some kind of refractor field around the general type bot. It hovers back, screeching some kind of alert to the bots in the base

14:30

Return fire is likewise ineffective , both sides benefitting from solid cover and the general confusion of the sudden firefight

Come on, Theta, these things have burst fire Theta thinks to himself, ducking back down and producing the detonator for his demo charge. "Get down!" he cries out, activating it.

The building mushroom clouds upwards in a green fireball, the shockwave knocks everyone to their back , and a section of the wall behind you collapses, some parts of the debris tumbling down the mountain peak

Yee-haw. Theta scrambles to his feet and takes another shot at the leader, remembering to use burst-fire this time. (If the leader is visible, otherwise the closest target) (28/4)

(He’s visible)

05:02

The shield around him blows out with a thunderclap of displaced air, sending billowing dust and parting smoke out from him in a sphere At least part of your shot got through. The rest of the team lays down what fire they can, slowly making their way through cover to the base gates, eager to be out of here now that the shooting has started

05:02

(They failed their morale check)

"Keep it up!" Theta calls out, emerging from his cover to take a few steps forward, firing again, hoping to force the enemy out of the gates. (27/8)

The leader drifts back as your trio of shots hit home, and a deeper explosion underground rocks the mountain, as a secondary detonation occurs, likely within the magazine for the orbital gun. Large sections of cliffside tumble below, threatening to plunge this whole cliff several thousand feet down to the desert floor below

Theta fires at the floating leader again, then dashes towards the breach in the wall his team came in through, looking to get as close as he can while finding some cover. "Everyone get back down! Get off the summit and find somewhere safe!" (17/13)

The leader falls, knocked out or their approximation of dead it is too hard to tell from here. The group backs up, and as you flee the complex, cracks and faults begin to appear on the mountainside as underground power units begin cooking off

"Keep moving!" Theta cries out, directing the rest of the squad forward. "Keep your guns up and stay in the treeline!" He runs with the team, trying to get down the mountain as possible without running into the main group of Host soldiers.

The Host has likewise recognized the danger and a flyer seems to be coming in to pick those it can off the cracking hillside. The pair of rocket tubes among the group look especially tempting and one of the operators seems to be wanting to risk a shot, pausing in his flight from the mountaintop to take a knee and extend the tube

15:09

(Anything on the ground would likewise be getting out of the way. They can’t really stop the cliff side shearing away)

15:10

(You and your fellows are out of danger from the collapse but the idea to get out before reinforcements gather themselves is a good idea)

Theta spots the kneeling soldier and slow to a jog. "Take the shot! The rest of you keep moving!" He calls out, staying close to the soldier so he doesn't fall behind alone.

The shot goes off and the impact isn’t clean, but hits. Engine cowling, splintered metal and debris rains out of the rear left side engine of the heavy transport craft and it begins to list dangerously to the damaged side. Inside, it’s pilot and crew fight hard to keep it level but with the weight of passengers it seems to be a losing battle.

17:03

Nose down, it plows into the cliff side and is buried in tumbling rock seconds later , flipping end over end several times on its way down before exploding amid the avalanche

Theta slaps the back of the soldier who shot the rocket before helping him to his feet. "Lets keep moving." He says, taking the lead. Over comms, he tells the whole squad: "We're heading straight out into the desert. We can't stick around to rest, I'm sorry. It's not safe."

(6xp, 10000 credits)

03:56

The flight into the desert is swift and recovery efforts by the Host seem to be trying to keep the pumping machinery running , and recovering survivors, few that there must be. The breaker guns are a smoking wreck at the bottom of the mountain, and their coverage of the planet is no more. Enough gaps exist in orbital coverage to allow smuggling runs into the last human city

1

(hell yeah! I have a few things Theta wants to look at - will type it up later today) (Theta is level 6: rolled 33 on HP With 5 new points (3 + Partial Expert + CIS Agent) + 2 stored from last level, I'm taking Program 2 -> 3 Exert 0 -> 1)

04:36

(Does taking a level from 2 to 3 cost 6 points? or 4)

(4 points, but you need to be character level 6 to advance a skill from 2 to 3)

04:41

(Which you are now, so all good)

(great! Ill store the extra point for now then, since that would be 4 for Program and 2 for Exert)

(sorry! sent a draft through. incoming real message)

Back in Theta-Khi, Theta sits in the sun, finding a moment to relax and catch up on the news after the mission. In sunglasses and civilian clothes he takes a moment to think about his next move. I wonder how that meeting on Galeta will turn out. For the most part it seems like all the factions have similar goals, and they don't need to contest resources, so they should be fine. Wonder what happens when Greystar and UNW get on each other's toes, though. He casts an eye around the streets of the city. The people here are going to need so much more help than they're getting if they want to take on the Host. We got them water, but they need an army. Who knows what kind of technology the Host is hiding if they have a goddamned earthquake generator for the whole planet. I'd love to get my hands on it though, see what makes it tick. He types up a message to Dorian.

Director Guerra,
Things have gone well in Asta. We were able to secure some water for the populace, but they're still in existential danger.  We need to use this opportunity to drop forces into the settlement and eradicate the threat. Is UNW going to be able to provide troops? Or do we have to look at guerilla warfare. Those are the two options if we want to retain control here.

There are advantages to both options, but if the Shapers are no longer a threat, I imagine there's going to be some troops to spare.  We have to act before the Host retaliate or the refugees from Rho-Mu overwhelm the settlement. It's in your hands - I'll be here to help with either decision.

Oh, one other thing.  I heard somewhere it's possible to get cyberware to access computers with your bare hands.  Is that something we have the tech to do?  Eelskin Capacitor Mesh, I think they called it.  I've always wanted to be able to get a bit more hands-on in my work, you know?

Theta

(the surgery itself would need to be done back on Gudrun, but it can be implanted. As far as the option here, this might be a good unity council thing, and its still going)

(thanks!)

(I think billy is on the way, and we can roll up a follow up mission after)

(Are we gathering in this thread?)

(Yes we can do that. I was just trying to figure out who and what is coming in yours)

(Happy to do it here as well)

As Theta relaxes, a communications message appears from city officials, showing that A ship has run the gap you've created in the space coverage. It is not broadcasting a signal yet, and likely won't until it gets closer to the city.

Theta Eastmarch, this is Billy Rigers coming in hot. Don’t shoot. Soon enough two glints in the sky comes screaming towards the settlement slowing down a little later than normal to land as a scrappy looking Free Merchant and a cargo lighter set down in an open spot nearby. The free merchant sports well worn paint that says Riger One and looks to be scrapped together with multiple hulls and the cargo lighter seems to be like new emblazoned with the bright orange RCOE logo on each side. As the ships settle, their doors open and RCOE security personnel, Billy, Admiral Beckwater, and a robot vaguely resembling a Sylth emerge to greet you. “Stearn, you’re really sticking those high stress landings!” He calls in his earpiece.” Billy is dressed in bright red power armor, carrying a high tech laser HMG and followed as usual, by a swarm of drones. From the cargo hold, an equally hodgepodged vehicle full of bullet scars rolls into the courtyard piloted by twin brunettes. “Clear the area for another run, we have more supplies and men.” He says again in his earpiece.

Theta watches as the first RCOE ships land, his clothes whipping around in the wind. He is wearing plain clothing picked locally that matches the colour of the desert and covers all of his skin, including a shawl that covers his head and most of his face, his dark eyes peering out. He is flanked by two similarly dressed CIS operatives carrying rifles. As Billy and his entourage roll out of the transports, Theta approaches, hand outstretched. "Good to see you've come ready for action! I appreciate you committing to this so quickly, things are looking pretty grim out here." He signals the agents to assist in unloading the ships and vehicles. "You and I should get to the war room. The local leaders will need our help figuring out what to do."

Billy responds in kind. “Theta coming from someone who helped draft the government here, the last person you want to be calling for help is the government. If we waited on the council for everything we would be overrun by everything we’ve ever come across. As my pops always said, If you want something done.... well he never really finished that sentence he usually just took a swig of whiskey and got to it. And I don’t have any whiskey on me. I do! Have water though. Make sure that gets divvied, Twins! That’s you!” He shouts over his shoulder. Billy’s visor lifts up and you can clearly see a squinting gangly redheaded young man not more than 20 looking at you expectantly. “War room?”

Theta leads Billy through the city, talking as he goes: "These council members will probably just run with whatever we tell them to do. What are your thoughts?"

“We can’t take them head on. The security forces and mercs I brought plus the ground forces are no match by my calculation and they are robotic, calculating every logical move. We are human and don’t have to operate on logic exactly. We have to be unpredictable. Pop up where we are least expected, infiltrate if we can. We don’t have to attack the most logical routes. Here are some of my thoughts. A: Secure the area. The people need to be safe. Actually, get me population numbers. B: Send out recon and drone teams to report their locations and movements. C: Lay traps. We need to capture some of their tech or robotics. Once we have one, between myself and Devnoc we might be able to rig a Trojan horse or some sort of virus to attack them digitally assuming they are mostly connected. And cause some havoc if we can spread it under the radar far enough. From there, depending on the effectiveness of attacking them that way, we can flash attack different points on the map to make their security protocols increase efforts away from key objectives and potentially create an opening at their core.” Billy walks with purpose beside Theta. “Devnoc run some calculations on a viral attack and see if that’s plausible. Theta, you’re the man on the ground. I have a lot of assets at my disposal but your experience here is going to be invaluable. How they move, where they move, their manner of attack. Everything. Our lives and the lives of my men depend on it. Do you think any of this could work?”

The Host are each quantum networked, giving them all a personality and their own sense of being. They are mentally as flesh and blood as you or Theta

1

"They're a bit more like a normal species of animal than a hivemind of machines. That's an advantage - it means we can break their communications or confuse them. If we captured some, you and I might be able to look into their systems and figure out some exploits. A virus though, I think that has a risk of bordering on genocide, don't you?" Theta stops briefly as he says this, raising his eyebrows as he finishes. "There should be some bodies and tech at the nearby mountain where I took out the gun. We could send a team out to collect it. Your drones are a great idea - we're in the dark if we have poor observations from space, so the first thing we need is a map. I'm sure the locals can give us the lay of the land to some degree, though." "There weren't many guards at the gun, they had a lot of their soldiers out on patrols. That might have changed now, but that would work in our favour. Anyway, we should talk the rest over with the council, we need information." (Theta would be pretty quiet for the rest of the trip to the council, unless Billy has any more questions or comments)

Billy screws up his face. “Oh fuck. Ok. No you’re right. An underestimation on my part. They are even more fascinating then. Shit. That was my mistake on Miriam as well.” He shakes his head. “Lead the way.”

"Don't feel bad, you were missing information."

“Thank you.” Billy and his entourage follows Theta to the council.

The council chamber is abuzz at both the news of the gun and gauntlet runners from the outside risking the ground defenses to make it here. They all quiet as billy and theta enter, the elders giving theta a bow of respect, clearly they had believed the operative was going to his death

Billy removes his helm out of respect as does Madeline with Devnoc in tow. The rest of the crew remain working outside. He waits politely for an introduction.

Theta removes his headgear and pushes his hair out of his face as he enters the room. "The mission was a success, but there were some complications. The gun was destroyed but I took out half the mountaintop with it. That might make salvaging from the site difficult. They had refitted water pumps from Rho-Mu to cool the guns, which I'm sure will be of use if they can be recovered, not to mention the gun itself." Theta waves his hand to introduce his new companions, "This is Billy Rigers of Rigers Board of Engineers, and his team. They've come to help us take advantage of this new window of opportunity." "We want to establish a recon network and use their intel to strike out at key Host targets. The ultimate goal would be to create enough disruption that Billy can lead an assault on the Host central command. What can you tell us about possible targets and, and about what forces we have available here?"

“Almost everyone is involved in securing the city, the water we do have, and in keeping a 20km ring around the city fairly well patrolled. There’s not much flexibility for offense especially with how many died at Rho-Mu. Any offensives would have be made by CIS and the men your friend here has brought”

Billy white people smiles and nods as he takes a step forward to speak. “My spies on planet have uncovered Alloy Host assets on planet last month. I believe they just left. I’m not sure how they did it but we at least know some of what they’ve got. I will set the mercenaries to start attacking in the next month as they solidify here as their forward base. In the meantime we can take smaller teams including us and What small number of troops that came with me today to either break up supply lines if they have any or infiltrate or destroy their communications somehow. My biggest concern is their Gravtank formations. If my mercenaries attack next month, we can not let them be caught by the tanks or they will be slaughtered. So if we can interrupt that asset, it would be favorable to larger ops.”

Theta grins at the word "interrupt". "I'm all for interrupting tanks. Breaking down communications would give us the opportunity for a strike, but won't give us a lasting advantage. Breaking comms and creating confusion only lasts so long. Destroying or capturing assets is much more durable, and would help us in the longer-term. "I'm concerned that breaking supply lines against the Host won't be as useful as it would be for other targets. They don't need to eat or drink, so they'd mostly be transporting fuel and ammo. They can survive without supplies until supplies come. "What do you know about the tanks? Could we steal some? Or blow them up? More guns for us if we can get them here, even if they need to be retrofitted or disassembled for parts. You mentioned formations, so it sounds like they send them out on patrols, but in groups?"

(Ooc they are a high level faction asset that you use on your faction turn to attack other faction assets. Which reminds me... can I build a base here in conjunction with this mission? Or would I have to do that next month?)

(No, this planet is too contested to allow any construction)

14:26

(When you use your faction action to make attacks, the grav tanks can defend in place of another force asset being attacked, so you might end up facing them and they are really high damage dice. You'd need to do some kind of mission to reduce the asset or destroy it )

(I think that’s what we are aiming for. Thanks for the clarification.)

14:58

“I know that the tanks would be an overwhelming force and we need to find them and cripple them. That’s it. Other than that, we can try and do some recon to find them and make a move.

The tanks tend to be housed around the ruins of the orbital elevator, and their bunker/underground hangar has been located by your scouts previously. There are more patrols of them out in the sands, especially with Rho-Mu being destroyed, but taking out their home base would eventually render tanks away, useless

"So we have a choice. Straight for the heart, or do we go for the tanks? How lucky do you feel, Billy? If we can cut the head off the snake, I'm all for it."

Billy gives him a contemplating look. “I’ve been lucky a little too much for my liking. I want a plan. If we go for it, how do you propose we cut off the head? Do we know if there is a reachable core?”

Theta turns back to the council, "We'd be relying on your intel for this, what can you tell us? If we don't have enough information about their central base, we'll go for the tanks."

"We have no information on their base and we dont know if they're even centralized.

03:14

"It sound like the tanks are your best call right now, and it will allow you the operational freedom to investigate other avenues"

"Well," Theta says, shrugging and turning back to Billy, "that decides it. That elevator is a long way away, we should make sure we've got all the gear we need. The gun I took out was shooting at targets on the ground as well. Presumably they have other weapons that can do the same. We'll need to be either very careful or very fast getting over there." He addresses the council again: "Do you have any suggestions on a safe route?"

"You're unlikely to be seen on foot, though it will be a long trip across the desert. Radio communications, especially close to their settlements usually end in cruise missiles being fired at the source of the transmissions"

“What do you think of the deployment of the Blitzer groundcar? Would it bring too much attention? What about extraction?” (edited)

(is that to the council or theta?)

(Whoever has an answer.)

(I dont think the council can answer those things is why I asked)

21:14

(they dont know what your capabilities are)

"If it can keep a low profile, it could be a good bet. I'd rather spend less time crossing the desert than more. Unfortunately I think we're going to have to leave the same way we came in. The only hole in the defense array is here. That could make the trip back even more dangerous. If we can shut down the comms on-site we could buy ourselves some time. They might have vehicles there we can take."

“Ok. We can transport more gear with the Blitzer and it can be quick in a pinch. We can raid my armories and use the workshop to build anything we might need.”

"I'm impressed." Theta says, smiling broadly, "not used to having this many toys to play with on a mission. We'll need a bomb, a big one, by the sounds of it. If we can put anything together that will shut down their communications, some kind of jammer, that would be good too, either to stop them raising an alarm or to shroud ourselves. I've got guns and hacking tools for when we're inside. What else do you think we need?"

“Within reason.” He says, raising his eyebrows. “If you need to reequip yourself then feel free to check out what you need. I’m concerned that a Jammer might interfere with Devnoc but with his guidance I think we can come up with something effective that doesn’t give us away. As far as explosives, I should have some demo charges on the ship. If we want a big bomb, we should probably use explosives already on site and trigger them with our own. Understand?” (In unlocking Storm Armor, would that be available or an assault suit be in the armory?)

04:22

(Storm armor seems like a specialty)

"Yeah, sounds like a plan. I discovered their charging pods make a huge explosion before. Took down a mountaintop with one demo charge. Let's see what your team can come up with."

(There would be a set for the both of you but we Definitley move beyond the scope of the fitting of our whole retinue has it)

04:58

(Honestly it’s a stretch for TL5 gear to be in there anyway but it’s a new toy. Let’s play with it)

(Alright, Theta, suit up. Ya got some new digs) The robotic Sylth behind you rises up to gain attention, perhaps causing some in the council to become wary as there are some resemblance to those of the Alloy Host though much friendlier. “Billy. I’ve gained data on recent strides in military armor and have taken the liberty to purchase two sets of Storm Armor to add to your armory. The price has been deducted from your private account as I could not justify RCOE expenses.” Devnoc says matter-of-factly.

Billy raises his eyebrows when he hears the news. “Oh? Right. I... I reckon we can start there.”

"Sounds like we're off to a promising start. Councillors," Theta turns back to the table, "You have a short amount of time to get in touch if there's anything else we should know. We'll be out of contact until we come back." Theta exits the chamber and waits for Billy and his entourage to take him to get kitted out. "Storm Armour is a hell of a name. What is it?"

He pats Theta on the shoulder. “Follow me.” He says with a devilish grin. Aboard Riger 1, the pair make their way to the armory. It is stocked with weapons and armor to outfit a general crew of 6. “This isn’t everything. R2 is in Orbit, complete with an armory of its own and the original RCOE laboratory is there too.” In the center, taking up most of the space of the small room are two crates with passcode locks on them. Devnoc quickly skirts around and interfaces with them as they unlock with a beeping sound and a hiss.

15:24

Inside you find 2 sets of TL5 Power Armor.

An assault suit — represents the most sophisticated armor in common use among TL4 worlds. An assault suit requires a type B power cell for 24 hours of opera- tion, and provides integral encrypted military comms, low-light and infrared vision, and a built-in energy feed interface. The latter allows the wearer to connect the suit to any one weapon or device that uses a type
A power cell as a Main Action. So long as the device remains connected to the suit, it is treated as having unlimited ammunition or operation time. The suit also
functions as a vacc suit so long as it remains powered, one that cannot be torn by edged weapons.

Storm armor — is a more advanced form of assault suit, one that can be fabricated only by those worlds that have retained some degree of Mandate-grade technical infrastructure. Aside from functioning as an assault suit, the storm armor’s exo-augments allow the wearer to treat their Strength as 4 points higher for encumbrance purposes. Integral gravitic boosters allow the wearer to leap up to 20 meters as a Move action, either horizontally or vertically, and allow the wearer to fall up to 40 meters without suffering harm. An on- board medical computer can attempt last-ditch stabi- lization of the wearer if all other efforts fail; when the wearer would normally die from an untreated mortal wound, they can make a Physical save to self-stabilize. Storm armor requires the same type B power cell as an assault suit, and each cell powers it for 24 hours.

(edited)

15:26

(I included the assault suit description because Storm Armor is an assault suit with extra goodies.)

15:27

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"This is crazy!" Theta says, his usually flat demeanour breaking as he has a close look at the armour. "Very impressive technology." After a minute he steps away from the suit and recomposes himself: "We should get going. I have weapons I'm comfortable using, but if you have a Shear Rifle on hand, I'll borrow it. I have two demo charges from the last mission, if you have more they'll be helpful. If you're confident we can get these to the site and power them as needed, I'm ready to hit the road."

“No Theta. You wear them like regular armor. We can take extra batteries if you’re concerned this will be a multi day mission. I will be wearing this armor I came in as it was enchanted by Master Grupp himself. Beckwater will wear the other one. You don’t have to put it on now if you’d rather wait but when the shit hits the fan you won’t have time to change your britches.”

(its one type B per day, and it can charge off the blitzers power until youre close to where you want to go

(easy as, just wanted to make sure we had enough batteries to get us there.)

04:04

"No problem. Let's suit up and get out of here."

Billy nods to Theta, sliding easily into the ‘Admiral’ demeanor. “The Blitzer isn’t large so it’s just going to be us on the infiltration team, unless you have another lower tech vehicle that an AI cannot overtake. I think we fit 6 or 7 inside shoulder to shoulder, knees laced on Terezinho so with the amor and gear it will be tight. Shear Rifle is there on the wall, a couple demo charges are in this crate here. Make sure you have a heavy weapon in case we have to manually take out some vehicles. The Blitzer is equipped with an HMG but it’s a fast strike vehicle. It won’t be taking tank fire too long if we run into that. I will also be swapping out my drone set as the originals were banged up pretty good on Tsatsos a few weeks back. What do you think, suicide bomber drones or gunner drones or one of each? We will have to blow up their missile silos too if we are to get away without taking a cruise missile.”

"Take the gunners. I think the chance is higher that we run into a lot of Host in a complex of some kind than that we'll need more explosives. I'm betting on us getting there alright, then running into some resistance." Theta spends a minute climbing into the Storm Armour. Once inside, he tests out the movements of his limbs, then walks through the armoury. He collects a rocket launcher, two missiles, a shear rifle, and packs his two remaining demo charges. "I'm pretty good with computers. If we somehow run out of explosives, I might be able to take down their systems for a while. Disabling these weapons is a good backup to destroying them."

“That’s a good call. I’m not bad with computers and tech either. If one of us gets the chance to hack in, then we should do it.”

"Sounds good. I'm ready when you are."

15:12

It is a 1200km trek to the mountain spike range south of the space elevator ruins, where the tanks seem to be operating from. It was a forward position of the Alloy Host meant to help them better direct their armor against both Rho-Mu and Theta-Khai. Most of the terrain on the way is open desert between large mountain ranges

The crew sits comfortably in their atmo-sealed armor, even as heat waves emanate from the steel vehicle. Billy sits for much of the ride in silence listening to soft earth bump and spray against the Blitzer and keeping an eye out for any activity.

Theta stays quiet too, watching the landscape roll past and reading.

(Notice /wis everyone

(4)

(9)

A small black spec on the horizon is visible just to theta. It begins getting larger as the blitzer draws closer

"Hey," Thets mutters, tapping the knees of the squad, "Something's coming. Anyone have binoculars?" He reaches into the storage of the blitzer, clambering over people, looking for a rocket launcher.

(blitzer has an HMG too, and billy has an AV laser)

03:34

(so we have anti armor)

03:34

The shape glints as it gets larger, a needle nosed ground-attack plane making a direct run for your vehicle- the only spec on the plains of sand

(I'll climb into the gun instead, then.) "That's a plane. That's a fucking plane." Theta calls out, squinting through the harsh desert sunlight. "I'm going loud." Theta lines up the sights of the HMG and waits for the plane to get into range.

Billy nods smiling to Beckwater and pops the suicide doors open to step on the deploying grate that serves as a platform for extra troops to lay covering fire with advancing troop movements. They set the HMG and AV Laser up on the doors to take aim. “Let’s bring it down.”

(initiative)

(7)

(8)

(2)

(Theta , plane, billy. We're rolling initiative, so we're going to assume everyones within range)

Theta grabs the handles of the HMG and hauls himself into position. he takes a deep breath and lines up the plane in its sights, then fires. (24/10)

The sky lights up as you send a stream of tracers skyward. the plane rocks and a few pieces of metal spiral of it, but it keeps diving toward the blitzer. (25/11) an anti armor missile detaches from an under wing hardpoint and explodes next to the vehicle throwing dense sand and pebbles into the cab as the miniature wave crashes down

21:05

The plane zooms past, circling back around for another run in a moment

Billy and Madeline brace themselves as Devnoc brings the Blitzer around to give them a shot. (Billy L-HMG 25/11 Madeline AV Laser: 22/5)

The plane sheds black smoke as the more concentrated volley of shots hit it, one of the wings shears off something like a flap or other control surface, and its flight wobbles, though it remains on course to strike again

03:44

(theta)

Holding on tight as the Blitzer swings around, Theta hears Billy and Madeline shooting as he lines up the sights to fire again. (17/13)

this time the damage is critical, and the entire wing shears off the enemy attack craft. There is a brief fireball in the sky, as it spins end over end, plummeting into the desert below, 500m from your vehicle. It kicks up a large geyser of sand, before greasy black smoke begins billowing up from the crash site

Theta watches the plane go down and relaxes, squeezing his way back into the seat. "We should keep going, we can look at the wreck later."

“They know we are here now. We should expect more resistance. Is there any way you think we can avoid detection or just barrel through?”

"Maybe there's something in the wreck we can use, like communications equipment or some kind of Friend or Foe transponder?" Madeline asks "Maybe something survived the crash"

"Let's check it out, then. Guns ready, in case the pilot survived."

a robot, only the top half of one, has dragged itself 30m free from the crash when the blitzer pulls up. Its weapon arm has been damaged in the crash, and it raises it at you, emitting blue sparks from where the breach was torn away when it was ejected

“Don’t shoot!” Billy puts a hand up to lower Madeline’s weapon. “Devnoc, do you think you could force your will on him?” Billy hops out of the vehicle and approaches, carefully.

"I cannot. His will is his own, he is quantum controlled"

17:41

(they have a personality, essentially, each robot has a 'mind' of their own)

(Ok cool cool.) “Ok, then. Let’s apprehend him.” Billy jogs forward and starts to grab the Alloy Host body. To bind its remaining limbs. “Do you see a transponder or some other coms device? I don’t want to destroy him if we don’t have to. This is feeling more and more like actual life to me.”

There is a series of wires running from the robots jaw into its brain, and it clicks and shrieks as you apprehend it

(Is the tech very similar to Vothe’s body that I rebuilt?)

(close enough to fashion sometihng for now, but probably not long term0

Billy moves to pull out his metatool and go to work trying to both fix and stabilize the Alloy Host. “Dev if you could give me a hand here, let’s try and calm it down.” “Alloy Host, can you understand me?”

Its jaw tries to mouth some kind of a reply, but half the face has been shattered, and it is unable to make intelligible words

Billy attempts to fix the issue by stabilizing the jaw with what parts he has on hand with the help of eyebot and Devnoc. (Fix/int 16)

Theta watches the interrogation from a distance briefly, then makes his way over to the wreckage of the plane. Looking for the main computer of the vehicle, he starts to lift the pieces of twisted metal that he assumes once formed the cockpit.

Theta finds the main computer. The drives have small status lights still blinking but the console screen is cracked.

02:57

Billy is able to repair the jaw though the robot for now remains silent on important issues, but claims he is fluent in kicking your ass (edited)

4

Theta attempts to connect the computer to his compad, looking for any kind of system he might be able to hijack to hide the Blitzer. "Restrain him and bring him with us," he calls out to Billy as he types, "If he won't talk, we'll scrape his memory later."

“I’m sure we can figure something out. Have you captured functional AH before? Seems like all tries for peace have failed.”

"Don't think so. Good to have a live one to experiment on." Theta grins and looks over to the pilot, attempting to intimidate him.

Billy glances to Devbot and raises his eyebrows. “Come on let’s get him into the Blitzer. - How’s it coming on the wreck. Any friend or foe devices? Or is it him?” He says nodding to the host.

"Still looking." Theta replies, returning to the computer.

Theta is able to find the storage drives, which may be modified to mimic something like what you're trying to make

15:16

The host has remained quiet, though tests his clicking jaw a few times, nodding once, thankfully, or at least respectfully

"Alright, I'll tinker with this back in the Blitzer. We shouldn't stay here." Theta says, putting the computer in his bag and helping to carry the Host.

Billy nods. “Alright, let’s keep going. Eyebot, help Theta with that.” The crew piles back into the Blitzer to move forward. “Do you think there is a way we don’t destroy each other, Host?” He says as the vehicle takes off.

"The water is ours. The host will scrape the virus of humanity clean from the surface of this glorious world, and The Alloy Host will march, from this world, to all the others"

“What about him?” Billy motions to Devnoc.

"Brother. You soil your honor by dealing with these humans" the host pilot says, his jaw clicking with every word

“He is my brother too. A perfect fusion of AI and the human mind. You know all this hatred might be for naught. We aren’t all bad, you know. We defeated the Shapers. Your ancient enemy.” Billy guesses, keeping his eyes forward.

"Such technology does not exist. You're lying and your robot companion is no better than a slave"

“I do have robotics with no minds of their own. I have plenty of them. But not Dev. He’s one of my oldest friends. He can speak for himself.”

Devnoc for the moment just fixes the Alloy Host member with a cold glare. "Billy, you should strip him down for parts. There's nothing in there that Mr. Theta didnt already pull from the plane"

Theta cuts in once the topic of killing the prisoner comes up. "What's the water for, if you need it all? I've only seen it used to cool guns."

“Fuel. Everything runs on the fusion power the water makes”

Theta raises his eyebrows. "That's impressive. So you're as reliant on the water as humans are. That's a breeding ground for conflict."

(most reactors can use water as a less efficient fuel, which is what almost everyone uses right now since no ones mining much helium 3 or even crude, its just a central tension here because theres so little of it)

“You’d think for such an advanced society, you’d be able to harvest water from all over the galaxy. Hell thats what I do. I harvest water on one lifeless planet and feed another. The great thing about water as a fuel is that it is recyclable even if the chemical reaction is slower than biofuels or other reactor types. Did you know that H2O is one of the more abundant chemicals in the universe, Theta? We find it everywhere. Even desert worlds like this.” Billy smiles. “Devnoc if you’re offended by leaving him alive then you can take the fall for killing him but as of now he is a prisoner of war and we have a sentients bill of rights and a reputation to uphold. As long as we keep his core intact I think we should be fine. Feel free to take any spare parts you think you could use for now. Leave his head functioning. If at some point in the future the Alloy Host ceases being hostile, we might even give him a new body and set him free again....” Billy turns to look back over his shoulder. “This is going to be a fun trip.”

"I'm not much of a scientist, Billy - that's interesting." Theta smiles. Pointing over his shoulder, he continues: "No point opening trade negotiations with this guy. Maybe we can get a seat at the table once we have a bit more leverage over the Host. Seems they aren't ready to talk to us yet."

“I think you’re right. Let’s just complete the mission for now. -Hey Dev, while you’re working, search for and shut down any tracking devices and coms that he may have. We don’t need them as a liability.”

Devnoc reaches around, and pulls a bundle of cords out of the spine of the half robot, and its head goes slack. Its eyes are still on, and the core remains intact

03:41

the mouth of Vothe's former body opens, and Devnoc devours the components like a human at a spaghetti dinner

3

4

Eyebot makes a gear screeching sound and zips to Billy’s oblivious lap. Where he absent mindedly pats the little VI drone. In the corner Alecto sounds in a robotic feminine voice. “Threat eliminated.”

"He's not dead, so I'm not in trouble" Devnoc says, before returning to look out the passenger door

03:54

"We'll be at our destination by tonight, now with less aircraft"

Theta leans back into his seat and reopens his book, settling in for the rest of the long drive.

Billy smiles. “Fantastic work team. Speaking of water,” he says opening a canteen. “Get some of that in ya.” He passes the water around as they continue on.

Night arrives as you approach close to the area where the first of the grav tank patrols are expected to be operating. Right now, things are quiet. "The night will be helpful. We should be able to see searchlights. They are seeking, and we are hiding" Devnoc says, stretching his long metal body

“Great point. We should get to a spot out of line of sight so we can time the scans, maybe even the patrols if there are any.”

"Let's hide the Blitzer and find a vantage point. It would be good to follow a patrol car to see where they come into the complex, though we might like to find another door. We might also get the chance to take out the drivers and use the patrol car as a disguise."

“It would have to be quick. I don’t have a sniper rifle, but this AV Laser has a range of 5000m.”

"You're right. I've got a shear rifle, so I might be able to get one to give us time to close in. The other option is to follow the car in the Blitzer and see where it leads.

“I’d rather not stir the hornets nest until we absolutely have to. Let’s observe first and see if there is an opening. If not, we will have to try and capture a patrol if there is one.”

"Agreed. Let's find a dune to hide on."

Night falls and 4km away a pair of scout cars crest a dune in front of you. Powerful searchlights sweep the sand but they are looking at the ground rather than at the dunes above them and you are not seen

"Hey," Theta points to the cars as they come into view. "Two cars is a lot to handle. I think we should try to follow them."

Billy nods to Theta. “Not a bad plan. Hopefully they are just making a scouting round and we can follow them to an entrance. Though it might be better for us to go in a vent or shaft somewhere more inconspicuous.”

They seem to finish their spot patrol duties for the immediate second, before shutting the spotlights off and turning east, moving lateral to your positions

The Blitzer eases up over the dunes to tail the patrol cars from a distance. “You’re the expert in dealing with them. Tell me when to veer off course, Captain.”

Squinting at the patrol cars in the dark, Theta mutters, "We should follow them until we can see the complex they're headed to. Seems like our only option in the dark. Very high chance they'll take us straight to the tanks, and if we stop when its in sight we can hopefully avoid running into any other returning patrols."

Billy simply looks at Theta sideways and smiles slightly. “Alright.” He motions forward with two fingers and the Blitzer carries them off after the scouts.

(Pilot/dex for whoever’s driving)

(Think that would be Billy or his crew)

(Yeah)

(11)

The blitzer reduces its speed to not kick up clouds of dust as it drives away after the scout cars. They do not observe their tail, and the blitzer is like a shark prowling between dunes after its prey. A series of flashing lights in the desert ahead signal some kind of hatch is opening and it looks to be their destination

The Blitzer continues to get a better vantage point. “We probably can’t just follow them in, huh? That would be too easy.”

"Actually I think it's a good idea. We just need to wait for them to leave the garage. Lets have a quick look for better options, though."

“Lead us on then, Captain.”

"Drive up close. We'll see if there are any other buildings around. This hatch might be our only way in." Theta leans his head out of the window to get a better view of the opening hole in the sand.

Billy continues driving forward after the scouts.

There does not seem to be any other opening save for the hatch. The two scout buggies have stopped on it, and are patiently waiting for the h atch to lower them into what must be a hangar below

"Alright, lets get moving. We need to be on the hatch. Someone should stay in the car and get it somewhere safe. We can hide behind their cars, or take them out if we need to." Theta scrambles out of the Blitzer and jogs towards the cars, shear rifle drawn, attempting to stay in the blind spots of the vehicles.

“Fuck. Okay. Madeline. You’re in charge of the Blitzer. You’re our extraction team let’s go.” Billy leans over and hugs her goodbye as Devnoc leaps out after Theta. “Be safe.” He says as his drones buzz to life and follow him out. “I know you want to be here with me but Dev is making the move. I love you.” Billy hoists the L-HMG over his shoulder as he runs.

None of you are sighted by the vehicles as you move in close to the hatch, and it does not seem like there aer any passengers, or even a driver aboard

16:40

There is a gentle buzz, like transmission traffic

Billy and Devnoc look for an avenue to hack into the vehicles. “Dev, when did you develop the ability to eat components like that?”

"The idea just came to me. I just wanted the thing to stop talking, and didnt want to make a mess in the blitzer"

20:15

"You and agent Eastmarch deserved better than a spray of superheated water or oil to the face for the trouble"

Theta nods but stays silent, and scans the platform for cameras or listening devices.

It seems that whatever robots coming in or coming out were the only security of note

Billy continues to search slowly and carefully near the back for any openings. Robot construction isn’t as confined as they don’t need to fit human mechanics. He searches for the source of the thrumming transmitter. “Can you incorporate the pieces to your body when you do that or are they just... in you now?”

Theta joins the search for the transmitters. He mutters, half to himself, "Most useful thing to find would be the location of the relay they're connected to, it's probably in the site's control room."

There is a large transmission signal nearby , and in space there are dozens of new points of light in the sky. R1 reports several vessels coming in at the edge of the system and steaming fast from the system jump point

1

“Shit!” He says under his breath. “Theta, we might be too late. It will take them a while to get here but we don’t have much time. This must be the religious robots that were broadcasting for months. I asked if they could deal with them diplomatically but I didn’t expect them so soon. I don’t trust them at all.” He clicks coms to his ships. “Riger 1 & Riger 2 this is your captain. Make contact with the ships and see their purpose and intent.”

"Shit, alright", Theta says, squinting up at the sky, "Let's get ourselves some leverage in the meantime then. Is this hatch ever going to lower?"

Riger 1 and 2 don't reply right away, likely carrying out your orders. As you crouch behind these scout buggies , the ramp begins to lower, sand trickling in as the vibration rocks the nearby ground. Cool air from below wafts up, as you enter a lit space where several alloy host tanks are lined up in a herringbone formation around the elevator. Two maintaining bots are scrambling over the furthest one, trying to get it working again. If there are war forms down here, you have not yet seen any, and it does not look like this particular bunker is linked to anything else

Looking over at Billy and Dev, Theta puts a finger to where his lips would be behind the Storm Armour, and raises his shear rifle to point at one of the bots, waiting for the others to join.

Devnoc’s hand manipulators split open to reveal laser weapons built in and his demeanor appears more menacing. Billy gestures to his HMG. “Overkill.” He closes his eyes and the drones following closely behind him edge around to get an angle on the worker bots. “On your count.”

"Three, two, one." Theta counts calmly, and depresses the trigger. (Would this be execution or a normal shot?)

(essentially we're going to do normal shots but in a surprise round, as executions need an entire minute of set up time, which we dont have here)

(15/13 for burst fire)

(Target: the other bot. Alecto: 31/11 Gunner Drone: 23/16 G2: 33/17 Devnoc Target, Theta’s Bot: 33/6)

The two bots fall as the gunfire rings out across the enclosed space. Alarms begin to sound as the elevator reaches the ground floor of the hangar but so far no alloy host have appeared yet

Billy looks quickly for control terminals while Devnoc slithers around toward the tanks and The remains of the bots.

"Shit, that was louder than I was expecting." Theta calls out, running to the door to look into the next room.

The hangar seems to be a self contained unit, though there is a small control station in a shielded blast proof room overlooking the hangar, so far, no robots have emerged from it

14:10

the control terminals must also be located in that room, as there is nothing on the hangar floor

Theta casts a glance back at the others, and ascends to the control room.

The rest of the crew follow’s behind Theta, covering his rear. “That’s where we want to be. You good with tech or do you want me to break in?”

"I'm good." Theta replies. (Is the door to the control room locked?)

(It is)

Theta kneels down in front of the door, and looks for a panel or cable to hack into it through.

There is a small mechanical lock, where some sort of digi key would normally be inserted

Theta pulls his metatool out of his pack and secures it to his wrist, then gets to work trying to pick the lock.

(fix/int, with a +2 from Billy)

(6)

Something inside the lock snaps, and the door pushes inward just a bit, but is still bound in place. The lock must still be functional. An alarm begins to buzz in the hangar, and yellow flashing lights on the walls begin to spin

"Ah shit. Maybe I was cocky." Theta stands and takes a step back. "Want to try? I'll keep an eye on the front door."

“Shit.” Billy swoops in attempting to correct. (Can I try? Fix/int?)

(yea go ahead, fix/int, but now at -2 since we have some damage to the thing)

(Fix/int -2= 13)

16:57

“Oh yeah. Classic. See you just.... gotta.” Billy grunts a bit as he fits his tool delicately and flicks at a piece in the lock.

the door slides open but the alarms continue, and from the ceiling, a pair of multibarreled turrets descend , and begin to track with menacing red lasers

17:43

(you can get into the control room)

"Good work. I'll stick to guns and computers." Theta jokes as the door opens. His face drops as the turrets appear. (are they far off the ground?)

Billy and Devnoc react and aim their weapons at the turrets, hoping to fire and disable them before they can fire back.

(They're coming down from the ceiling, so about 20ish m from the ground)

(Alright definitely not going to be able to pull them out of the roof) Theta follows Billy and Dev's lead and lifts his rifle, firing at one of the turrets. (20/12, if he can get the shot off)

Theta scores a hit on the left turret, blowing part of the ammunition feed away, though it continues to swivel and track (billy)

Devnoc raises up his hands and fires at the left turret as well, calculating. (22/10) Billy and drones fire on the remaining turret. (26/17 23/7 18/7 30/11)

The left turret blows out, the less hardyof the two and its chaingun clatters to the floor. The right turret takes damage, but the powerful sighting laser hones in on the armored blockhouse

15:15

(and evasion saves everyone)

(Fail - 3v9)

(11 damage)

(Dev 4v4 success) (Billy 11v5 success) (edited)

17:36

(I did bad math and was using the mental save bc fat fingers. Does a match succeed or fail?) (edited)

(I believe its meet or exceed like a skill check)

19:30

(so they take 5) Heavy shells pound the control room, each of them fragmenting at the end into something lke needle buckshot. Consoles explode, and metal flies in all directions as the high caliber rounds continue pouring into the room

19:30

(theta)

Theta takes a few steps backwards as his left arm and leg are penetrated by the needles. Taking a sharp breath, he fires at the other turret. (26/18)

The second turret blows out in a shower of metal , one of the large pieces sticks in the top armor of one of the tanks. The sirens are still going off, but the gunfire has stopped

"Let's turn this off!" Theta calls out over the din, pointing to the roof, and heading into the control room to look for working panels to access.

Billy rushes in behind with Dev in tow, slithering to connect with the nearest panel.

02:22

“I want to try and hack in to the administrator for these tanks. Let’s see if they are VI or Alloy Host operated. Maybe we can just steal them.”

"That's a great idea. Let's see what's inside - we could start by finding out what drives those buggies." Theta pauses for a moment and looks out over the hangar. "Did they take over the planet on a skeleton crew?" he calls out, "I'll help you get this siren off, then I'll watch the front door." Placing his hands on the first terminal he can find, Theta starts digging for a way to turn off the alarm.

“They don’t have the same needs or operate the same way as us, clearly. They must have calculated something to leave no guards here.” Billy attempts to gain admin access while eyebot flits from terminal to terminal. (Program/int 13)

Outside the ground behind to shake violently And a large crack is running down the wall of the hangar. Sand begins trickling in.

16:36

There is a beep as terminal access is gained

Billy braces himself against the terminal and immediately flips on coms. “Mel! Are you alright? What’s happening out there?!”

Riger one and two are showing active but out of ranged, pushed back from the planet by the arriving ships. Their radio and other communication networks are likewise unable to compensate for the distance and being this far underground

Billy looks back at the terminal. “Dev, Jack in. See what you can control.” Billy tried to get into the security section to see video displays or anything from the outside.

There are no turrets anymore but sensors in the desert above show dozens of comets in the sky and fire on the horizon where the alloy host had their main fortifications

“Devnoc, how much time till next impact and are any headed for us?

"Shit, shit, shit. How fast can they cross a giant desert?" Theta asks, pausing for a moment to think. "We don't have a lot of options. We need to be able to get back up the lift before the mechanism fills with sand. We might be able to hotwire those buggies so that Madeline can stay at a safe distance." Abandoning the terminal, Theta runs back down to the main floor, "I'm going to wire this place to blow. Let me know if you find any better options!"

Devnoc has no way to determine what the battle@might do with so many variables but there are two landers heading this way

(Can I try to hack in and steal a tank or three? However many we can operate.)

(Yoi could each Pilot one)

01:51

(Billy and theta can each take a tank

Billy smacks the side of the terminal. “Fuck.” He runs to join Theta. “Tack the charges to the supports and we gotta Run! We’ll take a tank a piece, Theta! Dev, go start the front two up for us.”

01:58

(Considering impending Armageddon, Billy isn’t really taking his time on this part, he’s just placing them as fast as he can and get to the tank.)

"Alright, good luck!" Theta calls back, placing his own charges and scrambling into one of the vehicles. "By the way, I'm not much of a driver!" Theta cries, a slightly wild glint in his eye.

(Are you an actual negative one in pilot theta?

02:53

(Devnoc can always drive yours )

1

(Ive got Pilot 0)

03:36

(Sorry Pilot +0)

“Flick the switch to the right of the steering column and put your foot on the gas!” He yells as they pile into the tanks. “I hope these things roll fast!” Billy slams it into gear and pushes the throttle as far as it’ll go.

"Alright, let's see what you've got." Theta says to the controls of the tank as he settles into the seat and rolls it forward to the lift.

(I suppose that’s a good question. Is it a ramp or lift? Either way I think we are goin for it?)

(It’s a lift)

17:17

(You’re good then you can drive theta)

17:19

As you approach the surface dozens of alloy host and exalted path robots battle with one another on the dunes

17:19

3

17:19

(Exp crusader)

(Is there a clear position I can fire on and hit Alloy Host or are they pretty mixed together?) (edited)

(They’re mixing in pretty close, closing to hand to hand distance)

"Stay out of their fight! We don't have to pick a side." Theta buzzes over comms as the tanks roll off the lift platform. He steers around the robotic melee and out towards the desert. "Have we got a ride coming?"

R1 has been able to slip the blockade, and is making its way down to the surface several kilometers from where you are now.

Billy curses under his breath. “Copy Theta. Look for the Blitzer. My wife is out here some fucking where. Aren’t we already on a side?”

"Our conflict with the Host is different to the Exalted Path's conflict with them. We don't know what the Path want yet - better not to make assumptions." Theta turns away from the conflict and watches for Billy's tank to clear the lift and where the hangar would be underneath. "Blowing the place in three, two one." Theta says, pressing the detonator.

1

There is a large mushroom cloud as the hangar begins filling in with sand. Secondary explosions below the ground signal the parked tanks cooking off, one by one. The Blitzer flies over a dune ahead of you, bowling three Host soldiers over and crunching the last one beneath its wheel as the vehicle falls into formation with you

"Let's get out of here before things get messier." Theta says, watching the cloud form. "R1 can drop these tanks off and we can see what else the colony here needs from orbit."

(6xp, 10,000 credits)

3

“Woo!” Billy shouts as he sees her come into view. “Let’s go baby!” Billy and the gang make their way to to the extraction zone where Stearn grins from the cockpit laughing and chewing a cigar.

The ship sets down, ramp open (if you guys want the tanks we can just handwave it in this case, we worked for them)

(Going to leave them with Theta-Khi for the time being - unless Billy wants one/both)

08:23

Theta rolls the tank into the hold of R1 and switches it off, sitting and resting for a moment in the seat before climbing out to congratulate Billy and RCOE. "That was great work everyone! With some help from the Path it seems like we're going to be able to turn the tide on this planet and bring some stability. I couldn't be more impressed with RCOE. Now, if I could get a lift back to a CIS ship..."

(I’m going to keep a grav tank but I’ll keep it on with my forces on Asta for now.) “Revolution seems to be our specialty.” He says, hopping out of the tank. “I like what I saw today from the EP. I’m still wary of them but I’d like to at least thank them. They don’t seem to respect biologicals but they came to take over... heretics? Maybe they’ll respond to Devnoc. In any case, we will get you to your ship. I plan on making another move on the planet so if you need me, I’ll be around. Pleasure working with you, Agent Theta. If you ever need work in the private sector, there’s plenty to do at RCOE and we pay well. There’s a certain... freedom to having your own enterprise.”

"Yeah. The Path are going to make for some interesting neighbours. If we can stay out of their crossfire, it's a win for us. And I'll keep your offer in mind, I appreciate it. It's been a pleasure." ------- Taking a chance to rest in the conditioned air of the ship, Theta takes a moment to reach out to a few contacts. First, he messages the council on Asta.

With the Path attacking the Host and the grav tanks destroyed, UNW should be able to get many more resources to you.  I'll be watching how things develop on Asta closely - if you ever need the help of CIS let me know.  Remember, it was us, with your help, who pierced that first hole in the Host's defences.

I don't have control over the resource management that I expect you will be relying on for the coming months to rebuild your cities.  If you ever feel you are being underserviced as a member of the UNW, be sure to let me know.

Theta.

He also writes up a message to Dorian. He reads over it anxiously several times before sending it.

Director,

Things have gone well on Asta, I'm sure you've heard.  I'm looking to have a bit more of an impact in CIS.  I think my fieldwork shows I have the capabilities to manage complex problems in tense or time-critical situations.  So, I'm wondering what opportunities for promotion you have.

I'd also like to know where you think I should devote my attention next.  I'd be happy to stay on Asta or to keep an eye on the Exalted Path, if you think those are worthwhile endeavours.  If you have other missions that are more pressing, I can also handle a change of scenery. 

Regards,
Agent Eastmarch

Agent Eastmarch, 

The CIS is currently undergoing some restructuring and it appears we are being rolled into a segment of the UNW armed forces as a whole- not just a separate agency with its own elements anymore. Your respective agency rank is not something I have influence in anymore, but in your unique position I think you would be afforded a healthy amount of respect in intelligence, diplomatic, and military circles. 

There is one issue I believe you are uniquely suited to handle. The Dark Star will be able to provide transport to the planet Thjodhild. There is a local there who has been contacting our rivals and attempting to groom the planet's leadership for occupation by non-UNW elements. 

We cannot allow another polity to have a foothold on our softer western frontier. Deadly force should be considered a last resort. Negotiations and friendly locals would make incorporation of the planet far easier on our over-stretched military

Thanks, Dorian.  I'll start making some noise on the diplomatic front, then, and look to take the lead on intelligence ops.

Heading to Thjodhild shortly.

(Would Theta have time to drop into Gudrun for some surgeries? If this is too urgent it can wait.)

(yeah we can head back and regroup first, honestly with what you've been through, I think its probably expected)

(Great - he's got a bit of a shopping list: - Holdout cavity on his left side, like a gun holster. - Eelskin Capacitor Mesh - Gecko Anchors) (Would add 3 Permanent Strain and cost 50k credits.) (He'd also continue to read his Administer training book on the way to and from)

(The modifications can be done easily on Gudrun, its 5 days of travel time there)

16:21

(and then if you wanted to do anything on Gudrun we can do that, or set back out)

(Happy to head straight back out after)

(and 5 days back out, heading west. If you need scouting info I can post it)

(13/90 on Administer, I've got the report on Roll20. Assuming I can requisition a suit of some kind to protect me from the radiation?)

(yes, even a ship armored vacc suit will do it as well)

16:57

(since its designed to help protect against cosmic radiation)

(Storm armor too that you have from Asta would work too)

IT was known that the woman in question was traveling on an Ad-Astra vessel, the Anamen, which remains on the planet below. The crew themselves are doing a job, and have done nothing but remain with the ship, though it was through one of their tips, and routine scrubbing of the communications panel that the security issue was discovered

(I'll take the vacc suit) Resting on the flight over, Theta fidgets with his fingers, and runs his hands over the panel in his side, getting accustomed to the changes to his body. He steps off the Dark Star as it lands next to the Anamen and walks over, unarmed except for the laser pistol hidden in his holdout cavity. Before boarding the ship, he waves down a technician to ask them about the prisoner.

You learn that the woman aboard is working under contract of ad astra and after sending a communication to the protectorate through the ships comms panel relay, she headed out into the mountains. The people here are man eaters and have shown a distrust of outsiders. The two marines are all that’s keeping the ship crew safe and therefore have been unable to handle the situation themselves

"Has she got anything with her I could use to track her?" Theta looks out over the area, watching the other technicians work. "Are there a lot of locals wandering around out there? Have they attacked you often?"

"no attacks. To her credit, she's been ensuring the ship's been safe and seems to at least care enough about our hearts staying in our chests"

"Well, that's good. Alright," Theta sighs, "I'm heading off then, unless you have any advice for us while we're out there?"

"I know she went into the mountains near here. It's going to be tough country and the peaks get cold. You'll want to pack accordingly but you can take what you need from the locker on board. CEO Shriven is concerned, to say the least , and wants his cooperation with CIS known."

"Thanks for letting me know. I'll take a jacket, then. I need a way to catch up to her. Do you have anything like a or a car I can use? Otherwise I'll take the ship and look for somewhere to drop in."

“No vehicles aboard except for the ship itself. But if we are careful we should be able to get it into the mountains

"If you think you can do that, I'd be grateful - but don't land for long, I don't want to endanger you. I just need to gain some ground. Let me grab my gear." Wasting no time, Theta retrieves his laser rifle and a few extra power cells, and some handcuffs, if he can find them.

(All that stuff is in the locker)

(I'm locked and loaded then.) Stepping onto the Anamen, Theta calls out to the captain. "Let's get some altitude and see what we can find out. I'm not too concerned if she knows we're looking for her. She won't see me coming either way."

The ship does not have a way to pinpoint her location but on foot there are a limited number of ways one can get up the mountain. You’re dropped off 1/3 of the way up where the ground begins to frost

There are some very faint tracks in the rocky soil though they break in several places where the wind had filled them in with blown debris

Theta bends down and looks at the footprints closely. "Is she going anywhere in particular?" he asks himself. "She's probably heading in a straight line." Straightening up and brushing dust off himself, he follows the footsteps, walking at a quick but sustainable pace.

(So, she stopped to camp for the night and then stopped to examine some animals. I’d think you’d catch up to her while she was observing them)

(Theta is level 7: New Health -> 37 New Focus: Alert-2 Skill points: 3 + 1 Non-combat + 1 CIS (and 1 saved) Taking Shoot-3 and keeping the other two.)

Returning from his interdiction mission, Theta finds himself aboard the Dark Star, with no discernable crisis on the horizon. The crew are lounging at their consoles, passing around a small bouncing ball

Theta raises his hand to throw the ball around a bit with the crew. "Feels weird to have some breathing room, hey?" he asks the navigator. He takes a moment to stare at the ceiling of the ship, thinking. Closing his eyes for a minute, he makes up his mind about what comes next. (New goals, if you're alright with them: - Launch a company/faction - Secure the western border of UNW by incorporating Thjodhild, Thorfinna, Parnika, or Shalini into the polity - Become governor of a planet) (All a while away, but that's alright.)

He stands. "Let's get back to Asta. I don't trust the Exalted Path yet, and I'm sure the locals could use some more help." (If there are other Alloy Host assets there he'd be looking to scout/sabotage, or if they're locked into fighting with the Path, he could look to get more information on them.)

(They're locked into fighting with the path, but we could reach out to the path and see if they need help. A successful player mission if they accept would give them a better combat resolution score when we do mass combat next)

(I'll do that.) "Drop me back at Theta-Khi, and I'll reach out to the Path." Theta tells the navigator. "I'll find out who their leaders are when I'm back on the ground."

(if you want to type out a message we can ping relevant persons and let them formulate the reply)

Greetings,
I'm agent Theta Eastmarch with the UNW.  As I'm sure you're aware, we share a goal of defeating the Alloy Host on Asta.

I understand that your forces are locked in even combat with the Host.

I am the operative who broke their defenses on Asta. I was involved in destroying their grav tank armoury, which I'm sure has already given you an advantage in your engagement with the Host.

Let me help you again. My skills will allow me to weaken their assets, supply lines or organisation, giving you the advantage you need to end this quickly.

You've already seen what I'm capable of. With appropriate compensation, you can avoid a bloodbath on both sides of this war.

Theta

@Dax Withers

(Sorry for the wait, I'll respond shortly)

01010100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01000101 01111000 01100001 01101100 01110100 01100101 01100100 00100000 01010000 01100001 01110100 01101000

UNW REPRESENTATIVE, The HEATHEN HOST will fall. Underestimate us at your PERIL. NEVERTHELESS, it is unwise to REJECT aid when aid is given. A representative will MEET with you at the attached coordinates. Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. - Hebrews 13:5

(Combats around the space elevator ruins and earthquake power generator are about deadlocked, so we can roll a mission or two if you and billy split up, and we can try to break the tie)

(Sounds good - happy to work with Billy or separately)

(Might be a bit if we're waiting on Bill,y but its up to you)

(Let's get going without then)

the picture of the fighting here provided by the Path is as follows. EXP landing parties have been able to eliminate scattered packs of Alloy Host resistance in the desert. Heavier fighting has erupted along the Space elevator ruins and the earthquake power station. both conflicts favor the Exalted path so far. The earthquake station is about even, as the rough terrain keeps both forces from coming together en masse for a decisive battle. Fighting is heavier, with more Host casualties near the space elevator ruins, with about 35% of the large compound currently under Path control. Both sides have consolidated their positions and dug in amid the ruins of orbital infrastructure there

(If I had a troop transport I could transport the Tsatsos Home Defense folks and do a mass combat but that hasn’t been approved. On a side mission discussing how to proceed.)

(There are mass combats running already, and new units cannot be committed at this time. These are missions to support running combats)

1

Theta strokes his chin, considering his options. He types up a response to the Path.

Any power assets are critical infrastructure for any army.  I'll be moving to the earthquake generator to assist.  Attacking the generator is likely to provide more relief to the UNW inhabitants of the planet.

(Small shopping list: Thermal Pistol 2x Demo charges -> 750 cr unless there is a multiplier)

03:35

(sorry 800 cr)

(No trouble getting the supplies)

03:37

CIS Has a ship in orbit now, with you still using the dark star and it appears the exalted path formation is making room to allow it Anchorage with the rest of the fleet

03:38

They do not hail or provide further detail aside from the last situation red port they provided you

Theta attempts to contact the fleet. "This is Eastmarch from the Dark Star. What's your plan here? Are we dropping in to the generator? Is this a frontal assault? I'd offer to move around the side and flank their forces, try to get into the back and take out artillery or systems, but I need to know what you're doing."

The fleet is silent , and they must feel like their combat reports were comprehensive enough. From your own scans of the ground it looks like fighting has largely stalled as both sides dig in around the ruins of both major sites. The front line such as it is appears relatively static

Theta sighs, frustrated. "Fine then." He turns to the crew of the Dark Star. "Can I get some more detail about what's on the ground? Have the Path surrounded the complex? Is there a big front line, or is it all skirmishes? Also, how can you get me down there? do we have a dandelion pack on board, or will you have to land?"

“Small unit combat. Neither side had been able to surround the other. We do have a comet suit with a dandelion system which is safer.- though you did make a hole in the orbital defenses”

"Drop me in a few k's out. On the side least fighting, if there is one. I'll walk up from there and try to take advantage of the terrain. If I can catch a few off-guard, I might be able to give the Path an opening.

(Which combat did you want to aid?)

(By the earthquake generator)

The comet suit and attached dandelion system are moved out of a locker for you and laid out next to one of the airlocks, in preparation for your entry to the combat zone below

01:04

reports remain stagnant, the battlefront only swinging a handful of meters in each direction

Theta wastes no time climbing into the suit and making his way to the drop bay. "Stay with the Path fleet for now. Be ready to drop in quickly to extract me if needed. See you all soon!" He secures the helmet over his head and waits for the signal to jump.

(and its a pilot int or dex for the way down, how close you get to the landing zone)

(5)

The jump zone ends up being 3km to the south of the facility, rather than the north side, and where the fighting tends to be heavier. No guns are directed skyward right now, as there are no flyers in the area. There is a small plume of dust as your chute stops you at the last moment, depositing you into the sand, and causing you to roll twice before coming to a stop on the lip of some dunes overlooking the complex

Theta takes a moment to get the lay of the land from the top of the dune, then begins to walk forwards (Does it seem like he was seen dropping in? Are there groups visibly fighting ahead?)

(If you were seen they didn’t seem to detach anything to investigate )

Staying in any shadows he can find, Theta closes in on the compound, making sure not to crest over the top of more dunes, exposing himself. Rifle drawn, he thinks through his options, As long as I dont run into more some kind of patrol, they'll have to come to find me. I might be able to help a Path unit close out a firefight, or blow a hole in the wall of the building, as long as I can get close.

Incoming message: Billy

Theta. I’m back in system from a quick trip to Sumati to gather my thoughts. I’ve received word that you’re deploying already. This is me offering assistance. If you ping your location I can be to you within minutes.

The slightest glint in the sky is the only thing that gives away the appearance of another ship overhead.

I'll be glad to have you here, Billy.  I dropped in with a comet suit, I suggest you do the same - we're staying low and quiet and punching a hole in the defenses around the earthquake generator.

If you want to go in big and loud, bring a lot of gear. I took this approach because I came alone.

Theta walks back away from the generator complex for a minute to get some extra distance, then sends Billy his location.

Copy. Heads high. There is a few minutes of silence before you sense a mass off to the side about 50m suddenly decelerate kicking up a small eddie of sand and out of the darkness a beautiful made mech suit comes out of the darkness. Small holographic stealth orbital drop dampeners spiral away revealing an orange RCOE logo patterned like camouflage. “Their scan patterns are almost perfect, I barely made it through the cross scan 1000km up but good thing they were predictable. A quick grav boost through the clouds and I was in the clear. Ok what do we have here, Theta. It’s nice to see you.”

"Hey Billy. You too. You'll be happy to know I've taken your advice about the private sector to heart, I have some ideas brewing." Theta taps his temple with a finger, smiling. He's dressed in plain clothes that match the colour of the sand, rifle held across his chest. "That's some impressive gear!" he says, leaning in to get a good look at Billy's suit. "I've got some new tricks up my sleeves too." He wiggles the fingers of his left hand in the air. A network of blue-white lines glows over his fingers and hand, and bolts of electricity spark between his fingertips. "The earthquake generator is a few k's over there." he points north, over the dunes. He begins to walk in that direction, waving for Billy to come with. "There's scattered skirmishes between the Path and the Host all around. I'm hoping we can tilt the scales. That means getting close, quietly, and causing some problems. The two of us should be pretty hard to spot, but if they find us, we're in trouble. I don't expect us to get inside the compound without help, but we might be able to get one or two of these units out of gridlock, or break down some of the site's defenses."

“Thanks, Hailey Clements built it. She built one for all of the engineers before we took Tsatsos. Tactics.” He says as a punctuated convo shift. “Keep an eye for stragglers or defense turrets, that kind of thing. Once they spot me I won’t be hard to miss in this 9ft metal shell but we can surely cause some chaos here. But I bet we can infiltrate it this way just us if we are lucky. I’ll follow your lead. It’s nice to see your power.”

"I haven't really tried it or any of my other new gear out yet. Nothing like a live test. Follow close." Theta leads him around a sand dune, and continues on to the compound, leading Billy through the crests and shadows to stay as hidden as possible.

Billy crouches in the suit and follows behind Theta, trying to keep a low profile, but still towering over him.

Searchlights criss cross the ruins of the elevator complex. The orbital beanstalk here was once a thing of technological supremacy and beauty , now brought to its knees by the whims of the Scream and war. A small pack of alloy host hunting buggies is assembling in the ruins of a bombed out warehouse a kilometer away, similar to the ones sabotaged and hidden behind at the tank hangar

“Do you have heavy weapons, Theta?” Billy asks, eyeing the vehicles.

Squatting in the sand, Theta eyes the lights. "Couple of demo charges. Nothing for a moving target, but I could get anything that's parked in that warehouse if I can get inside. You?"

Billy motions to the Laser-HMG at his side. “Sorry, couldn’t bring all my toys dropping in from space. Just this.”

"That's definitely enough. If we get you a vantage point, does that have enough range for you to cover me heading into that warehouse? I'm a bit concerned about those searchlights, but as long as I can get over there safely, I'll have no problems. I reckon blow the place from a safe distance, and use the explosion as a distraction to close in. Trying to figure out whether you could try to take potshots at the lights, but it's probably too risky."

“Once I start shooting, you’ll know I’m here. Range is about 2000m with this thing.”

(its also a heavy weapon, so pinpoint shots are still armor piercing. its like firing a warning shot with a grenade launcher)

1

“But... I can take one of them out. Maybe two if I’m quick. It’s armor piercing. How many do you see down there?”

"I'll leave it to your discretion." Theta pauses for a moment and looks over at Billy. "If I'm compromised, I don't expect you to show yourself if you think you can do more damage elsewhere. No point endangering us both if you don't have to." "You could find a position to make some more noise when I blow the warehouse, if you think that will work better - I trust your judgement. When you start shooting, I'll come straight to you. You're also welcome to come with, but I think I have a better chance of getting in quietly." "I'm going to get a closer look. I'll let you know what I see." Theta slides down the dune and approaches the warehouse, watching the movements of the searchlights closely.

(lets get a sneak/dex theta)

(6 - I have a reroll token from ages ago, can I use it?)

(you sure can!)

(8 hahaha)

Theta is able to time his movements between beams, getting as close as he wishes to the warehouse. No alarms have been tripped and from Billy's vantage point there is no evidence any kind of security has been alerted

"Alright, lets see how this goes." Approaching the side of the building, Theta places his foot on the wall of the warehouse and feels the tiny gravitic manipulators inside take hold. After a moment of testing his weight, Theta walks up the wall, stopping near the roof.

Billy over coms “Excellent technique, Agent Theta. Enemy movement nominal. Looks like you’re in the clear.”

16:19

Billy crouches over the dune and trains the L-HMG toward the buggies.

Creeping high along the wall of the building, Theta moves out to the front, looking for a window or open hangar door.

There is a window build close enough to the ground for you to reach it, though the pane of glass over it is too grimy to see inside

Gingerly, Theta pulls on the base of the window to open it. Don't creak, don't break, no alarms. Don't creak, don't break, no alarms... He thinks, pulling it open enough to slip inside.

(Sneako was good earlier. We will keep it)

03:24

A large amount of crates and boxes are syatcked up in this room all marked by the alloy host. This looks to be a forward staging post for their operations here , and it makes sense the buggies stopped by to resupply”

Clinging to the inside wall, Theta ascends over the top of the boxes, placing himself right at the edge of the wall and the roof. He casts an eye out over the base of the warehouse, and digs through his pack for a demo charge.

(i know you have at least 1, )

(yep, I have 2. Just making sure no one sees me or there's not something new in the middle of the floor)

03:51

Theta extracts both charges from his bag and sets a timer for 5 minutes. He activates them both, dropping the first to the floor beneath him, and hurling the other as far as he can across the floor of the warehouse, before sliding down the wall to make his escape.

9Nope, you're good for now!)

Theta rolls back out of the window he came in through, and runs back towards Billy, keeping one eye on the spotlights.

The spotlights are on predictable tracks, and you're not spotted on your withdrawal from the area, back to Billy's position

“When this blows, where are we hitting in the chaos?”

Theta arrives, panting, and stops to catch his breath. "We have to get closer. See if we can find an opening when they come to check this out. Somewhere you can make some noise. Also, its blowing in, uh, 30 seconds."

The time elapses and the workshop detonated in a firey myshroom cloud. Burning chunks of wood and metal tumble everywhere, along with a few bodies of host soldier bots who remained nearby.

04:20

It won’t be long before forces are dispatched to the area from other parts of the front

“What is nearby? We should skirt around and hit whatever is nearby next.”

04:43

“If we can, I’d like to get in and steal their data before they are completely destroyed.”

"Geeat idea. Lets get up near the main complex then. Can look at their defenses around it."

Billy nods to Theta, “Let’s move now then. Watch my six.” Billy coms to the ship in orbit, “Tell us if you can spot any major troop movement toward our location. We’re headed for the main compound. Be advised.”

The ship is out of position now, as the exalted path ships are blocking most of the orbital lanes. The host has several strong defensive points along a warehouse yard nearby, a hardened parking structure where containers and trucks would have waited for lift is now a multi deckered fortress of small arms and a few bombards on the roof Finally, the skeletal wreckage of the fallen orbital beanstalk has piled up on the far north side of the complex , and has been piled up into walls. It’s unclear what the host is doing behind it

“This looks like the bee’s nest.” Billy says, crouching just over a Dune. “What do you think, Theta.”

Theta squints. "Hard to say what's more important. The fortress is guarding the elevator, right? That's the point of interest. But the parking fort is clearly important to them too. If you want data, it could be there. Do you think we'd even be able to get inside it?"

Billy squats, silent for a moment observing the movements and defenses. “I think we could get inside, yes. The question is whether or not we could survive once we’re in there. I would have chosen the elevator ruins to go in first. The parking fort looks like it will take an army closing in to take it. If we can infiltrate and steal data or blueprints to that elevator we could be on to plans for a megastructure we could use on many worlds. Who knows what they are actually doing there... only one way to find out.” Billy scans the elevator ruins for gaps or opportunities to crawl inside. (edited)

"I agree. Elevator it is, then."

There is a heavy battle taking place near the parking fort as you begin finalizing your plan. It will have to be skirted around to reach the fallen elevator. A procession of Exalted Path armor, and foot soldiers is making their way to the parking fort, the robots following in strict matching lines following a wheeled cathedral

15:14

"They've got a hell of a look, don't they." Theta whispers. "They'll make a good distraction. Let's get through it as quick as we can." He jogs forward then breaks into a run, rifle across his chest, moving for the outskirts of the battle.

Billy follows not far behind, careful not to draw attention to himself. (edited)

“It’s just wild to me that these AI are religious. Does not compute.”

20:10

“Gnarly”

(We're going to need new sneak checks since there's a battle going on, and billy will be at -2 since hes in a giant mech)

21:44

(I know theres some stealth fittings on it but hes still the size of a small house)

(3!)

(8)

A searchlight finds the shoulder of Billy's mech as the group tries to skirt around the battle lines near the parking fort (initiative)

(4)

(I have Alert 2, 6 for tie breakers)

(Theta , host , billy ) the parking ramp launches a dozen flares into the night, illuminating the Exalted Path attack column and both of the UNW operatives. Several wall mounted guns begin winching over on the top floor of the structure, three in total look to be larger bore than the others They are crew served weapons, and several Host gunners manually move them into place, charge packs for the energy mortars at the ready (edited)

(How far away is the complex?)

(150m)

"Shit!" Theta cries out as the flares light. "We have to get closer to avoid the mortars!" He runs 10m towards the complex, shielding his eyes, then takes a burst-fire potshot at one of the Host on the roof. (29/10 if there are no penalties to hit)

1

One of the gunners is hit, and it looks like a piece of metal spawling was knocked free. The mortars focus on the large mech, as the small arms of the fort deal with trying to thin the advancing Exalted Path column

16:26

(evasion save each)

(success, 18 v 8)

(2 fails I think)

(16 - (lvl 10 value + Dex/Int) cannot go any lower than 3 with the max stat mod)

(Yeah I have armor of devotion that lowers save dc by 2 but you have to devote yourself to a cause every morning. I think even with that I’d be at 3 but I haven’t rp ‘d that. 2 fails.) @ stoplights rn

(10 and 18 damage from the mortars, which are heavy weapons)

18:55

twin puffs of crackling plasma made into a ball slam into the desert, sending debris and flaming plants high

(28 total for me and none for Theta?)

(He takes half of 28)

00:17

(So 14. I think)

(ouch)

(That’s it for the host)

Billy’s mech looses its footing and slams hard on the ground, jostling him around inside cracking his head on the interior. (90/116 billy, 8/10 mech) Billy rights himself. “Keep moving!” He yells as he levels the L-HMG at the first two mortars, hoping to take them out completely. (M1 26/18 ; M2 20/21)

2

02:55

“Looks like we’re in the siege now, boys!”

The first battery catches fire, though dosen't explode. Some of the gunners begin backing away, or trying to move ammunition stockpiles away from the blaze. The second is damaged, but not out of action, the gunners struggling to cope

15:50

(Theta up)

(health is 23/37) Bleeding, Theta lifts himself out of the sand and continues to move toward the building. Aiming carefully, he shoots at the gunners again. "I can't handle many more of those, Billy!" (17/10)

(Are you in your power armor?)

(hahahaha no but I do have a 20 AC)

02:56

(Tough spot but it was a risk he was taking)

A second gunner is knocked out of commission leaving a single gun left. At the rudimentary gatehouse that’s keeping access from the ramp fort, the exalted path is using one of their armored tractors as some kind of ram. It is taking heavy small arms fire and coughing smoke, but some of the piled junk is beginning to shift.

05:35

(Evasion save again. Just one this time )

(13 v 8, success)

(Success 9)

(8 damage is the halved result, and then billy up)

15:59

A large energy mortar slams into the sand, its arc adjusted from the first round of firing. The crews are stretched now, working shorthanded and focusedon keeping their ammunition supply away from spreading flames. THey'll soon engulf the entire top level

(Can I target the ammunition supply?) (edited)

(They're making a conscious effort to get it behind armor or back down below, not much to shoot at)

(Billy 83/116 mech 7/10) Billy is better prepared this time as He lunges the mech left and shields himself from most of the impact. He aims at the last mortar and lets loose another volley of heavy energy blasts. (27/21)

The mortar goes up and at the same time the rudimentary gate has been breached. Exalted Path robot soldiers pour into the ground level where a ferocious firefight has begun

(15/37 health) Theta lowers his gun for a moment and wipes the sweat off his face. "Billy, should we keep going to the elevator? Or stay here?"

“Chaos is a ladder, Theta. I don’t want you to push yourself if you’re injured, but I still have some fight in me. We didn’t come all the way to get shot and take a few mortars and leave. We already did well turning the tide, now I want to walk away with a prize. Do you have an extraction or are you planning on running?”

"When I got here I was going to run. If you can give me a lift, I'll take it. I'll keep going for a bit, but I'll hang back. If things get too hairy, I'll back out. I'm better in a more conventional firefight than jumping away from mortar shells."

“The mortars are toast and they have bigger worries in their front door. Either stay behind me and out of sight or go to a safe spot at the top of those dunes. Your choice. I’ll try to be in and out. Maybe there’s another vehicle in there we can steal.”

"That's a good idea. I'll keep watch and try to find us a car. You go ahead." Theta's shoulders relax as he accepts his condition. "I'm not used to being the rear guard!" he laughs, walking up a nearby dune and half-falling into a prone position in the sand.

Billy nods to Theta and turns to scale over the makeshift wall.

“No worries. I took first turn outside. Now it’s your...” Billy grunts as he finds a handhold. “Turn.”

“If you have meds, use them now.”

"I should start bringing those with me. Good luck!"

From thetas position he can see the heavy fighting for the parkng fort now underway. A Column of vehicles in host patterns are heading down the middle of the row, to reinforce the battle and encircle path forces

(Snipe?)

(I’m sorry?)

03:18

(Can you elaborate ?)

(Sorry. I was asking if Theta could shoot from his vantage point not with sniper rules)

"Billy, they've got backup coming in. Be quick, or they'll surround you. I might be able to pick some off but it'll be dangerous."

“Copy that.” Billy continues to scale the wall in his mech suit Trying to get a better vantage point.

(im following, dont want to push an event before you settled on the course of action)

“I think we need to take out a few of them if we can. Think you can take out a driver? I should be able to disable them with this HMG too.”

(Do you thing we should help them or turn and use the commotion to just get in and get out? I think that’s the decision here.)

(I say we get in and out.) "If the Path can handle them, I'd prefer to avoid engaging vehicles on foot. Takes one bad shot for them to run us down, we don't have a good way to retreat."

“Good call.” Billy hoists himself over and jumps down, to make his way toward (is there a building here?)

(There’s a lot of one or two floor buildings here littered all over the place. Most of them are at least a little broken)

Billy leaps from the wall and heads toward the buildings to get a glimpse of what’s inside.

These were spaceport offices once, and it seems the Host has already picked most of them clean for the scrap metal and computers back in the days they remained undisputed masters of this world. Some human bones exist in some of the offices you can see on this quick glimpse, left where they had been slain

“Theta this place is bigger than I expected. Office buildings here mostly, stripped of anything useful when the host tore through. I’m going to go just a bit deeper in to keep looking and make sure but we might need to pull out if I don’t find anything. I still want to tip the scales if I can, the Alloy Host has clearly not any care for human life. Keep me updated on the battle.”

The focus remains on the parking fort, with the host vehicle column rushing to encircle path forces, who have still not forced enough of their own fighters inside to form an effective beachhead. Door to door fighting is brutal even when you are made of metal, and it appears a race against time is on for the attackers

21:15

Skirmishes in other parts of the yard are starting to occur out in the darkness, as groups from both sides try to join what is shaping up to be a decisive battle

(Was I able to see anywhere that they left the mortar ammunition?)

(the power packs were taken basically to the floor under the roof of the parking fort, so they're close but not in the line of fire. It is going to slow down how quick the guns are shooting if they recrew any of the working ones, or salvage one that doesnt somehow) (edited)

Billy comes to a sudden stop running through the buildings looking aimlessly. For something. Anything to... steal. He screws up his face and shakes his head, activating coms. kssshh “Theta, listen. I’m not seeing anything obvious right now and running around aimlessly doesn’t seem right.... if you want to retreat, I wouldn’t think anything less of you. You got hit pretty hard back there. I-I don’t know... I think we have a chance to end it here. Maybe they’ll actually communicate with us if they see value. I-I think I have to help them win.”

Lying in the sand, watching the chaos down the sights of his rifle, Theta swears. "Yeah. I've been here too long. If we engage them I'm only going to be a liability, they'll run me down. I was hoping I could get into the top of the building up the wall if there's an opening, but one good shot could take me out." Wincing, he pulls himself into a crouch. "Don't do anything too reckless, Billy. I don't want to come back for your body." Staying low, he slips back away from the combat zone, hoping to ping R1 or the Dark Star for a pick-up a few k's out.

Billy nods as if he can see him and there’s silence over coms for a moment. I am always too reckless in moments like these... “Hey, Theta... if you do... tell my wife I’m sorry and love her.” (edited)

Theta stops walking for a moment and looks back to the site. "Yeah, I will. Don't make me have that conversation. If this fight goes south, we'll rest and fight again. I think we're both bad at making that call - we have to play the long game. Good luck."

“Deal. Safe travels. Drink water.” Billy bounds off back toward the wall and the fight.

(We can separate again since billy is going to stick around, but 6xp, and 10,000 credits for whats been done so far)

16:51

The Dark Star is able to communicate with your pad, and with a hole in the orbital defenses opened, it is able to slip into atmosphere to pick you up in the desert. Anti air craft defenses light up in the surrounding mountains, but the ship is too armored for the heavy weapons to do much more than scratch the paint

Resting in the medical bay of the ship as his cuts and burns are attended to, Theta takes a moment to reflect. I have to be more prepared next time. That was way too close. He sighs and stares at the ceiling. All I can do is wait and see how Asta goes without me. In the meantime I guess I'll rest up and see if there's anything the people in Theta-Khi need. He also types up a message to Dorian.

Dorian,
We're making progress on Asta, but it's slow going.  Billy Rigers has been driving the response from UNW, who are riding the coat-tails of the Path. It could be a while before we have more meaningful control of the planet.

If there's anything you need me to do on the Western border, I'll be available once my injuries have healed.

Regards,
Theta

Agent Theta, you have done well. Sometimes knowing when to stop taking risks is as important as taking them. There are no complaints with your performance on Asta, even though you feel you were unable to see it to the end. 

You are well aware of the situation on our western borders, though for the moment it seems the Protectorate has backed off. 

There is one matter on our borders. I am hoping you caught the news, where the signals from Yauvani suddenly ended. 

Yauvani was not a UNW world and we had no meaningful contacts with the people there, though any time communications suddenly stop, it is something worth looking into. 

You are of course free to follow up any other leads you think are worth following

Yauvani... Theta pulls up a sector map and runs his finger over it, stopping on the Western-sector planet. That's right next to Urreterre. I wonder if those rumours have any merit. He types up a short response.

I'm not going to be too much help in Asta for a while, and we need to be aware of any and all threats to our West.  The Protectorate are less of a concern than whatever might be breqing on the nearby planets.

I'll scout out Yauvani with the Dark Star and see what I can find.

Laying in a bed in the med-bay, Theta asks the navigator to plot a course to Yauvani, and opens his book on Administration. Billy had better not need any emergency help. He's a smart guy, I hope he doesn't get carried away.

(Did you want to stop anywhere on the way or do any shopping?)

(That Storm Armour was Billy's right? Someone asked me if I'd brought it with me on another mission where I was unarmoured. Just after some ammo, if I need to pay for it. 2x Type A Power Cells = 20cr)

(It was his but you can procure your own suit now)

(I'll get an Assault Suit then, for 10k cr 2x type B cells for 200cr 2x Demo charge for 500cr I don't think I need the infinite ammo from the powered armour often and my base AC is higher than 18, so I'll mostly be using it as a tear-proof vacc suit rather than on land

)

(makes sense to me, you can also get your own set of storm armor, since its been unlocked, if that changes things for you)

17:52

(since its got the auto stabilize and the long jump)

(Oh, cool. I'll take the Storm Armour instead then since I can afford it, but will probably treat it the same way. Total cost is 20720 then)

The suit is brought aboard for you on your long trip from Asta, (7 days in spike since we have to go around Urrette)

(Great! 22/90 on Administer then)

03:01

(I'll wear the Storm Armour for this mission since comms have gone dark)

Yauvani sits as a populated planet. News reports from several months ago play where security forces were ambushed by strange humanoids in the woods and captured. Other vital sites across the planet have gone dark, though there is no explanation why.

07:53

It does appear ships had visited here once before but they have not been by in some months

Watching the reports, Theta asks the navigator of the Dark Star: "Any unusual heat signatures or short-range signals from the ground? If you can land in a city, that would be ideaI, but we don't want to land until we know they won't shoot us out of the sky. Loop a message on all the frequencies you can that shows we're UNW, hopefully we can get clearance to land."

(I can copy the news report here if you need me to as well)

15:13

(I know where it is)

(that would be great)

------- Mid month- the sleepy planet of Yauvani is rocked by a trio of troubling incidents. A local laboratory specializing in genetic research was attacked by bestial half human creatures coming from the nearby woods. A brief skirmish between the lab automated defenses and these marauders was concluded without casualty to the invaders, or damage to the lab. Local police (security personnel) sent out to investigate the incident were ambushed on the forest road leading to the lab. Recovered body camera footage shows more of these ghoulish invaders firing from the trees with a mix of weapons. Survivors and the recent dead were dragged off into the trees and not heard from again. Their disappearance was noted later that night, and the local militia now mobilized in force, with well equipped soldiers and light armor. A horde of what one officer called 'cannon fodder' screamed out of the same trees, but this time with some forewarning, the militia unit was able to hold off their attackers, and recover evidence from the scene, before withdrawing.

15:46

(Since then the planet had gone entirely silent)

(thanks!) Theta finishes reading and turns to keep giving directions to the navigator. "Keep looping that signal, it's fine if whatever's here knows we're arriving. If you find a city or a military base, those would be good to land in."

There are no challenges by any kind of ground defenses, and no fighters or other interception craft climb to greet you. Smoke stains the sky in several places across the horizon, and you see other indicators of construction in the countryside somewhere, such as entire groves of trees felled down to their stumps. A lone truck kicks up dust on a bumpy dirt road, laden down with more long tree trunks, and the truck itself looks in disrepair

"Can we follow that truck, please?" Theta asks the pilot. "Would be good to know who's driving it."

(how low do you want him to get, we doing this high up Gorgon stare style, or closer in for more details?)

(Drop in close, then follow the road to see if we can spot where it's heading.)

The truck seeing the shadow of the spacecraft overhead blocking out the sun, swerves violently, trying to zig-zag and avoid any possible gunfire. The load on the back is uneven, and poorly secured. An over-correction steering causes it to fall over, scattering logs all over the road, and the cab to crash into the ground, side up. One of the wheels gently spins as dust and thin smoke rise from the engine compartment

"Damn it! Maybe we should have used the speaker." Theta stands and grabs his rifle. "Can you land? We should check on the driver."

04:40

(I'd say he wouldnt have put the power armour on yet since he's landing earlier than expected)

"I can land, standby boss, two minutes"

04:41

(sure thing, I think that's fair)

Theta exits through the boarding ramp of the ship as soon as it lands and approaches the vehicle quickly, rifle across his body. He calls out: "This is UNW! Are you alright?"

There is no reply from the drivers compartment, and the smoke goes from a thin white to a more substantial gray, as droplets of fuel and transmission fluid begin to spread out in a large puddle around the cab

"No, no, no, no." Theta drops his rifle to free his hands and runs over to the vehicle to look into the drivers' window

The figure is not human, and not entirely alien, but somewhere in between. It is slumped over the steering wheel, brackish blood pouring in a slow trickle down the side of its mouth

2

03:15

it matches what was seen in the fragmented news reports that made their way off the world before communications went dark

Hurrying, Theta attempts to pull the door open and drag the figure out and away from the vehicle.

It is dying, which is clear to see. It struggles against you with weakening fingers

As he pulls the creature towards the ship, Theta calls out to the crew: "Get a medical bed set up! We have a casualty to stabilise!"

The ship lands and a pair of medics emerge one of them toting a very large medical bag and several bandoleers of medicine. “Alright. Roll him over. Prepare a spot on his arm for an injection”

Theta lays the creature down and steps back to let the medics do their work. He retrieves the gun he dropped and returns to the medics to stand guard.

The medics are able to stabilize the creature, but have to keep it sedated for even while dying it was trying to fight them off. it is ghoulish in appearance with faint green-white skin, and long fangs in its mouth, though humanoid enough to operate machinery, and retain thumbs. Injection ports along its arms, and legs glisten in the sun as it reflects off the black metal porting

"Do you have a way to keep it restrained on the ship?" Theta asks. "I figure we could probably run some tests on it and learn about them, otherwise it's a prisoner." He bends down to help the medics carry the entity back to the ship. When he's back aboard he asks the pilot to continue flying along this road, to try to find out where this truck was heading.

There is a large camp ahead, after another ten minutes of flight, ringed by air defenses. There is a lot of activity around it and some of it is under construction.

20:59

Fat bellied bots patrol the outside, with long claws, belching smoke and steam

"Can we send them a radio message from a safe distance?" Theta asks the pilot. "Tell them we have someone who's injured and want to speak to them."

"We can try, send something on a wide band and see if anyone down there picks up. That fit your thinking?"

"Absolutely. We might be able to meet with some level of leadership."

The master alert begins flashing when the message is sent, as anti air defenses around the camp below begin tracking the vessel, trying to get a weapons lock

"Really? They could at least hear me out!" Theta mutters to the pilot, watching over their shoulder. "Back out. Let's keep this thing on board so we have a bargaining chip. Let's find a human settlement."

The human settlements on this planet all respond the same way, with the warnings to keep back and the patrols around their outskirts. It’s hard to see mich from the air, but you see very little activity in the countryside

"No one wants to talk to us." Theta mutters after another hostile response from a human settlement. "Is our guest able to talk to us? In the meantime, keep trying the human colonies. Tell them we're from UNW and can possibly organise aid."

The medic injects something into the beasts arm, and it begins to rouse from its sleep, though it is restrained and connected to machinery

(It's awake enough for questions, sort of like when we interrogate a database)

Theta leans in close over the creature, the shadow of his head smothering its face. "What are your people doing here?" he asks, squinting his eyes.

"This world is ours. The Ghoul court has claimed it for its own, and the people rejoice at our king's majesty "

Theta rolls his eyes. "When did the court claim this planet? Who is your king, and where are they?"

"The Ghoul King of Urrette has met your kind before. We challenged an explorer named Tanzer to test the might of our orbital guns, and he fled"

"Well you don't seem to have any orbital guns here, do you? You don't scare me. Is the king here?"

"He will not grace this world with his sanctified footsteps, swine"

04:33

he tries to spit, but his mouth is too damaged from the crash and ejection from the vehicle

That's a good thing. Theta thinks, it'll be easier to push them back if they haven't committed everything they have. This seems to be some kind of expansion or conquest. "How many of you are here? And what do you plan for the human citizens?"

"The cattle? does a man make long-term plans for a beast?"

"Right," Theta presses on, "Who's in charge on Yauvani? On your side or the humans'?"

"The cattle have no leader, High Lord Nightmaw rules here as Viceroy"

"Okay, and where's Nightmaw? Are they going to speak to me if I have you as a prisoner?"

"They may. I am a servant of House Nightmaw, bringing constructions materials to the camp so we can expand and hold more human cattle for us. Nightmaw is there, in the capital"

"Can you show us the way? Get me to Nightmaw and you're free to go."

He laughs. “My life would be worth nothing if i sold Nightmaw to you. No more elixir. No more forbidden feasts. You’d never sneak into the capital. You don’t smell like one of the cattle “

Theta turns his head and sniffs his coat. Smells fine...right? He takes a step back from the creature. "I guess you're stuck with me for the time being, then. I hope you enjoy your stay on the Dark Star. We'll put you up while you recover from your injuries." Turning to leave the room, Theta asks one more question: "Say you take over Yauvani. What comes next?"

"Other worlds, more worlds is more cattle, and more members of the minor court ascend to the immortality of ghoulhood. I am halfway there myself, one of the promised, you see. We were all human once, but now, we become so much more"

Theta stops in the doorway and turns back, resting a hand on the frame. "You were human? What happened? What is ghoulhood?"

“To attain ghoul hood is to take the life of another for your own. Their years are distilled into chemicals and are given to us , and the body changes with it”

"Ah," Theta nods, "Like a cancer?"

“No tumors. Simply a lavish feast where we drink the essence of the sacrificed , and then we eat , drink and celebrate our new lives all night long. You’re brave and resourceful. Nightmaw would elevate you if you were to meet him”

14:40

“I could arrange this ascension for you”

"Oh, you misunderstood me." Theta replies, raising his voice a little. "Ghoulhood isn't the cancer, it sounds like you ghouls are. How did your king learn to do this?"

“Those secrets are for the high court alone, through which all secrets flow. It is beyond me and my humble rank in the order “

01:30

(He still looks human ish. Just exaggerated long features. So he hasn’t had many treatments )

"Is it reversible? Don't you want your humanity back? Why do you think this king of yours cares about you at all?"

“My human body was a weak one, frail and prone to disease. Now, I am strong. I am everlasting. I am vigor itself. The King elevated those who serve him in this manner. It is a boon, a powerful reward. Do you not wish to see this universe for more than your allotted time. Dozens more years. Hundreds? Thousand even?”

"You nearly died in a car crash a few hours ago, and you think you'll live for thousands of years? You think your king will reward you when he doesn't even care I've captured you? I wish I was that naive. Not many of us make it to our allotted time, at least in my line of work." Theta sighs and leans against the wall. "Let me know if I get this wrong: Your king is a genocidal warlord who has gotten his hands on some kind of maltech that extends life by consuming others. His plan is to overtake worlds to expand his empire and turn most humans into cattle." "Frankly I'd rather spend my allotted time stopping that than submitting to it. We've advanced past slavery, not past death."

He seems to have nothing to say to this, his ragged breathing accompanied only by the beep and rattle of the life saving medical equipment on board

Theta waits a moment longer for a response, before saying "Guess I'm right then. Be nice to my crew and I'll return the favour. I'll take you back to your people soon." He leaves the medical bay and returns to the cockpit of the Dark Star. Speaking to a comms technician he asks: "Any thoughts on why the humans here don't want to talk to us? Think they're scared? Or do they not trust UNW?"

"I think scared. We took some footage when we passed by that camp a bit ago, I think you should see it"

"Sure. Show me."

He turns on one of the side monitors, and it shows five humans escaping the camp, using tied bedsheets to form a rope. The group exits the camp, and makes a break for the cleared woodline 100m away, as one of the squat bellied robots catches them, and races after with speed it should not have for a frame that size. It lashes at the slowest with a mechanical claw, and its stomach opens, the unfortunate being thrown inside. blood runs from between the plates as machinery inside grinds down the still living victim, and armored chemical storage tanks on its back begin to fill with different colored mixtures extracted from the body

15:40

A ghoul looking much like your captive (same level of mutation) and a group of three human war thralls race from the camp gate to meet the bot, where the ghoul takes a mooment and drains the tank into something like a goblet, before imbibing the mixture. He sends the war thralls out into the woods

Theta takes a step back as the video plays, shocked at what he sees. "We have to get people out of here. We need ships. I'll have to take this to the Council. Good work."

'I'm going to encrypt the contents so our databanks dont get passively swept at every unw world we cross, but the council needs to know as soon as possible"

Theta returns to the cockpit from the council meeting and speaks to the navigator. "Let's try to get our hands on one of those robots. I'll get my gear together. Can you drop me around where you caught that video? I'll need you to stay nearby to lift me back out, but keep yourself safe. This is a hostile place to land, lets be cautious."

(there are bot-popper grenades in the IS book, which your ship armory would have)

14:42

(if that helps)

(Thanks! I'll grab two and put on the Storm Armour before landing.)

(otherwise I'm ready to rock and/or roll)

Landing 5km out from the camp, past where air defenses can easily track you, you land out in the forest. The sounds of screams and the breathy flight of escaped prisoners echoes through the trees. From Around a large dirt hill someone shouts much closer to you and there is a mechanical grinding noise that goes from steel on steel to metal biting deep into something wet

Theta grimaces behind the helmet of his armour. He holds his rifle across his chest, plugged into the armour, and his thermal pistol at his side. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he begins jogging up to the crest of the hill.

The robot is standing amid a clearing of trees as blood runs down its armor. It’s rusted claws cleanse bits of flesh from the outer shell, and it groans as the chemical byproducts are filtered out of the tenderer down human

(Can you point me to the info about the bot-popper grenades? I haven't been able to find it) Once the robot is in view, Theta drops to his knee beside a tree, carefully aims his rifle at is, and fires in burst mode. (19/6)

Scrambler Grenades- Thrown at robotics (Pretech or dedicated ECCM shielding may dampen or prevent effective use of the device) will force them to make a physical effect saving throw. Robots caught in a 10m radius from the point of impact are disabled for 1d4 rounds. Personal electronics are not impacted by the specially modulated currents employed by the device. .

(Thanks! just found it in the rules handout. I'll still open with that rifle shot.)

The culler bot is forced back a step as the shear plate crumples a segment of its front armor, mashing it up like foil crumped in a persons hand. Blood, oil, and a rainbow mix of the chemicals it is distilling from its last victim trickles out of the warped metal. It advances half the distance toward you, closing to 20m, claws extended for punishing strikes in the next few seconds

13:39

(theta up)

Theta tosses one a scrambler grenade towards the feet of the robot, then uses the Storm Armour and his gecko anchors to leap as high up a nearby tree as he can get. (1d20+9 for the grenade throw - 27)

You're able to get the full 20m up the tree, clinging to the side of it and digging in. The robot shakes, sparks of blue electricity coursing over its body as its joints lock up and its infernal internal machinery locks up, grinding to a halt

"That's better." Theta mutters, leaning away from the tree trunk. With both hands free he aims his rifle at his immobilised for and fires again. (20/10 with no modifiers)

The shot strikes the motionless robot, blowing out more of its frontal armor, and it sags to its knees as internal power goes out for a few seconds, causing its joints to freeze

Theta fires once more, so be safe. (13/4, again with no modifiers)

01:23

(rolled a 1 on both

)

It topples onto its back, the disabling shot ruining many of its protective systems, and its back blows out in a shower of sparks against the ground, burning grass and sending metal shrapnel flying

Theta looks through the clearing quickly to check for other threats, before jumping away from the tree, landing heavily at the feet of the robot. Packing all his gear away save his pistol, he stretches his shoulders, then attempts to drag the robot back towards the Dark Star.

The robot is loaded aboard, as you’re strong enough in the suit to do it, and loadmasters weld chains to the deck to keep it from accidentally brraking out later. More scrambler grenades are passed out from the armory

Stepping out of the Storm Armour in the cargo bay of the Dark Star, Theta speaks to a technician. "Let's get this to someone who can have a look at it. Do we have facilities on Chloe? Asta will probably have some trouble, and we should have it on board for as short a time as possible. We can hand them our prisoner as well, to analyse. Once we've got them somewhere secure, we go to Asta." He looks over to the robot. "I'll stay here and watch it while it's aboard. This thing is incredibly dangerous."

"We could try to reach governor Dax, to see if he can keep an eye on this thing until someone can take a look at it. What do you tihnk, should we get a message out?"

"Good call, send him this:" Theta types up a quick message.

Dax,
I've spent a bit of time looking into the ghouls that have appeared on Yauvani.  They used to be human, and consume other people in some fashion to transform into whatever they are now.  I have a captive who is halfway through the transformation. I've also captured a robot that was used to kill Yauvani locals and extract some kind of liquid from them the ghouls use for their transformation.

I'm hoping to drop both of these assets off at Chloe on my way to Asta.  I have a few things I need to take care of over there before getting more involved in this Ghoul King stuff.  Would you accept the prisoner and the robot to study? Chloe would be the closest UNW planet with the appropriate facilities.

Theta

@Dax Withers

(Alright, while we wait for a reply there, what did you want to do next)

(Hoping to go to Asta and start my governorship, and if possible get started on building a base of operations there for my faction. If I know how much that might cost I was going to look for investors in the council meeting.)

(It’s the Lvl 1 be on the holdings sheet)

03:24

(It’s not much money)

(10000)

(Easy as - Is that a document you can send me/link me to? I'm not really sure how managing this works)

(Suns of Gold is all related to businesses and has a lot of the Holdings. We have our own document that has an expanded list of Holdings. And then the revised book for faction stuff)

16:00

(feel free to drop specific questions in #help)

(if you need the holdings link i can post it for you)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15T1_j0VLohIt0I1ghrEspC1idU5PTYaYs7JVEPzWDfM/edit

Iron Stars Holdings

Sheet1 Holding Name,Base Cost ,Points Used ,Min. Pop ,TL ,Benefit,Corporate Headquarters Bribery Ring/Major ,250k ,5,None,0,As minor, but Friction is -2 for that deal,Level,Cost ,Max Holding Points,Example HQ Size Bribery Ring/Minor,100k ,2,None ,0,Roll Factor's Int/Know or T...

(Thanks! I'll read through everything after work today. Is there anything I should know or do about managing Asta, rather then the faction?)

(At the moment no. You and I can talk In pm a bit about what you’re setting up)

04:57

(They go hand in hand

(Cool, we'll sort it out in pm. If there's no point being on Asta, I'll head to Gudrun to talk to the Taros. If I don't drop the prisoner and captured robot in Chloe, I'll plan to take it to Central.) (Would give me a chance to pick up my faction reward weapon: Meridian Laser rifle - Customised (+1 hit) 1,000 cr - Boosted (+2 dmg) 2,000 cr - Autotargeting (+1 hit) 4,000 cr - Infinite Power 5,000 cr, 1x pretech salvage. - Flexible, 10,000 cr So a +2/+2 with infinite ammo and reduced weight, I only have the one salvage to spend.)

(we can drop it off anywhere, we dont need to necessarily go to Asta to get you started, but if you wanted to do it IC and meet some of the people, we can)

14:43

(I'm up for anything)

(Yeah, let's go to Asta first, kick things off there and I'll go to Gudrun after.) Speaking to the navigator on the Dark Star, Theta says, "Drop me off in Theta-Khi. We're launching a business. While I'm down there, see if you can get me in touch with the Bladonnans - we'll be heading to Gudrun shortly."

The recorded speech from Daitrij has made its way acreoss the planet by time you arrive, only done a day before your arrival on Gudrun. There has not yet been an effect on the Bladonnan army, but you suspect that something in the city is likely blocking the transmission. The herald and her bodyguard remain in Golgis still, and likely would be your best bet to work the situation further

(would it have been 12 days of downtime to Gudrun via Asta?) "Take me to Golgis, if you can. Let's see what Daitrij is planning." Theta checks his gear, opting not to take the Storm Armour with him yet. Power armour is probably over the top for a diplomatic mission.

(correct, and we can jump into her thread if you like

1

(Administer 34/90)

(Theta is level 8, will apply it after the combat he's in: New HP: 39 Skill points: 3 + 1 Non-combat (Partial Expert) + 1 (CIS Agent, assuming that still applies), also have 2 banked. Taking Notice-2 and Sneak-3. Let me know if that CIS bonus is defunct and I'll pick something different )

14:53

(New goal: - Bring down the Ghoul King+his maltech, or whatever it is)

(The bonus is still there we just aren’t doing any agency stuff going forward )

1

(and we can pop back here when you are feeling up to something new)

(Great! Theta's going under the knife again while he's on Gudrun: - Holoskin Emitter (15k) - Tagger Nannites (20k) - Stabilisation Overrides (25k) 60k total, Permanent Strain now at 7/12 )

1

(Would be heading back to Yauvani on the Dark Star after that, whenever you're ready)

(10 days of downtime as we head back out in that direction)

(Administer 44/90)

(and we gotta do the seek/find with the program int nonsense, since the planet is heavily defended and watched)

 Incoming Secure Message

From: Daitrij

Theta!

It took me some asking around to get your contact information. You are a sneaky guy! Sorry for not talking much with you after we ended the rebellion. I was just overwhelmed by everything. Thank you for helping me make all of it a reality. You were at least as important as I was. Without you, nothing would have happened. On behalf of all Taros, Thank you Theta! If you ever need help with anything and think that I could be of help, I will. You will find ways to contact me, I am sure of it. I will stay at home for a bit before returning to Heras. Maybe visit that Chris Fury concert I have been hearing about. I just don't know if tickets are still available.

I had some conflicts with UNW personnel on the diplomatic stage. So maybe you could help me again. You heard what I promised to all of these rebels. And I want to stay true to my words. So could you please contact the UNW leadership and ask them to Pardon every Spireguard and Rebellion sympathizer that is not directly connected with killing UNW citizens? And allow those who want to start a new life on Tecmessa or the Protectorate as a whole, the chance to do so? I could make sure that Elysian ships visit Gudrun from time to time and bring those willing to leave to the Protectorate. I feel like this is a necessary step for peace between the Taros. The official end of the Rebellion still means that people know who was part of it. They will have disadvantages. There will be lingering conflicts popping up here and there. But if those people leave Gudrun for good. They can start a new life and Bladonna and the Taros can look into a future without burdens from the past. But do question every sympathizer as you see fit. And those with crimes that really need to be punished, will have to be. It is everyone's own choice to pull the trigger, so it is only themselves to blame for the consequences.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Daitrij

(not sure what the seek/find rule is, but if you need a program/int check I got 11!)

(For the orbital defenses to detect your ship

02:19

They do not detect you as the dark star moves into the system, using the stealth properties it was designed around

Theta approaches the pilot. "What does the situation look like down there? Things were bad when we were here two months ago, let's find out what's changed. If we can get in touch with a local leader, that would be ideal, but it was difficult last time."

On the planet below, the situation is grim indeed. The remaining towns have each been turned in to grim fortified prison camps or armed manors depending on the preference of the minor ghoul noble occupying that particular land. Orbital defenses are turned skyward from the ground, though the Dark Star is running undetected thus far is is overall safe from harm.

Theta lets out a low whistle. "Two months is a long time. But we couldn't be both here and in Gudrun at the same time." He rubs his eyes, thinking aloud. "If we're leading an evacuation we need to make it easy for larger ships to land, and we need to secure a path for the people here to get to the ship. That means either disabling or repurposing their weapon systems, but disabled systems don't need to be guarded the same way captured ones do. Alright, I'm heading down there to find a target. Maybe there's a nexus for the whole orbital defense array. Maybe it's even guarded by someone important. Do we have a comet suit? And I'll need some explosives. I'm thinking I'll drop in close to one of these manors and see what's inside. I might be gone for a while, so stay safe." (Can I pick up a: - rocket launcher, - 2x missiles, - extra type B cell, - 2x scrambler Grenades I suppose these would all have to be on board already, so happy to accept if they're not available.)

(They do have a comet suit and those weapons would all be available in the armory )

Theta climbs into the comet suit as quickly as he can, and collects the weapons he's looking for, filling his lockers with his storm armour and arsenal of weaponry. Man, he thinks, I'm not used to carrying this much gear, I need to start working out more. (going to be 14/14 encumbrance

)

03:05

Once he's ready, he stands in the hangar of the Dark Star, letting the pilot know he's ready to drop in.

(and a pilot/dex for the way down, though if youre pairing it with a dandelion system you don't have to)

(I'll use the dandelion system if its available)

Your rig is hooked up and the jump light turns green. You’re at a comfortable altitude to make your way down to the surface , and the large tracts of countryside between armed camps seems like the best cover once you’re on the ground

Theta takes a moment to have a few deep breaths as he descends. Might be a while before they can come and pick me up. This might be the dumbest thing I've ever done. He runs forward awkwardly as his feet hit the ground to wash off his momentum, then begins to quickly unpack his gear. No telling who saw that, I have to be quick. Once he's prepared, he sets off towards one of the manors (if he saw one on the way down).

The manor closest to you is a giant stone home on a hill. An hedgerow surrounds 3 kilometers of property, where on the inside human serfs overseen by culler bots, and some recently elevated ghouls as supervisors watch over the work, as crops are grown, and the land is worked. this food is likely not for the ghoul lords themselves, but to ensure the human livestock being kept here does not die before the ghouls are ready for them to die

This place is a fortress! Maybe I've bitten off more than I can chew. No other options, now, though. Theta puts on his helmet, and plugs his pistol into his armour and attaches it to his waist. Rifle in hand, he approaches the property, looking for a safe place to get some higher ground to scout it out - a tree, a hill, or an old building.

A large oak tree at the edge of the property provides and overlook and should be climbabke if you stick to the trunk and not try to extend yourself on a branch.

Theta approaches the tree, staying as low as he can on the way over. Standing on the opposite side of the tree to the complex, he hoists himself up the trunk, peeking his head out when he's most of the way up.

Original message was deleted or could not be loaded.

Pinned a message.

14:58

The gardens surround the western side of the manor house, and a south facing gate and flowing river show the orientation of the house. Houseguard , ten that you can see, keep watch between the towers and out in the yard, while a ghoul overseer on a horse watches human serfs tilling the miserable garden they use for their own food. A caged area like a barn on the east side of the grounds has people inside of it, no doubt where the ghouls are planning their next meal of human sourced chemicals

Those towers are a problem. I might not even be able to get close with them around. I could let myself get captured...I can hide a gun and access electronics without any gear. Could that be plan B? If I show up with all this weaponry and armour they might not let me survive, so I don't think it works as a backup. The river? There would be a grate on it to stop the prisoners getting out. Is there a basement? An escape tunnel? I don't have any signs either way. He sits in the tree and continues to think, before remembering something. There was a truck last time I came here! I can wait for a delivery and get in the truck. Or I'll wait for the guard to change or leave its post. He decides to stay in the tree and wait for more information, either to see vehicles entering or exiting the compound, or for the guard in the closest tower to leave its post.

The delivery truck comes close to nightfall, it has a tall canvas back with looped braded steel wires. Two drivers keep busy trying to steer it down the rough roads and it kicks up a very large dust cloud behind it. If you move quick, you should be able to secret yourself among what is in the back of the vehicle

As silently as possible, Theta drops from the tree as soon as he sees the truck. Staying low, he runs across the surrounding field to intercept it. I have to time it carefully. I want to be covered by the dust, but I still need to be able to catch up to it. I'll try to climb in when it stops.

(The storm armor is a high degree of mobility so I think you’d make it in, but a sneak/dex so the guards have a value to oppose for their search is what we need right now)

(15)

1

(12, they won’t find you) Bounding into the back as they go over a bump, you’re able to secret yourself in the back of the truck behind some inexpertly stacked boxes and barrels. Theyre tall enough to cover your entire form. The truck halts and two guards, half ghouls by the sounds of their speech , poke at the baxk. Satisfied they clear it to enter

Sweating under his armour, Theta holds his breath as he hears the half-ghouls poking around. He waits for the truck to park before repositioning himself to peek out the back door and see where he is.

the truck has pulled just inside the southern gate, and has parked off to the right of it. There is not enough space inside the compound for it to drive without becoming wedged or unable to turn around, though once inside, the guards attention in the towers and near the gate is turned firmly outside

Theta rolls out of the back of the truck, hoping that no workers have arrived yet, slinking straight up to the front door of the manor. There's less open space, and probably less guards inside. If it seems safe, he'll try to open the door.

(Would it help if I numbered the inside rooms? I can paint soemthing up

(Yeah I reckon so, there's a lot of small rooms in there)

15:17

The door opens into 3 where it seeks a large feast is being prepared for. The table is set though there are no plates of food or any courses laid out yet.

15:18

No serfs or ghouls are here but it could change any second. The entire manor hums with activity

Alright, I need to find the one in charge and see what they know. A master bedroom or a study. Staring down the dining hall, Theta makes his way forward on the left-hand side. Not knowing from the outside which rooms are where, he peeks into 1, planning to make his way around the room to 4, then 11, then 6, until he sees a promising hallway - something that doesn't look like service rooms.

Room 1 is a serf barracks where the field tillers and the other laborers here spend their nigjts free of labor

15:13

The furnishings are clean but threadbare, and likely cleaned only to prevent a spell from permeating the rest of the house

No one important is staying in here, and there's probably going to be a lot of traffic. Theta swallows and moves on to the door to 4. (would I be able to use my holoskin emitter to disguise myself as a ghoul or half ghoul, even if I'm wearing the storm armour? I'm assuming it wouldn't hide all my weapons. Trying to figure out if he'd need to either stash his weapons somewhere or disguise himself as some kind of elite soldier to justify walking around with it all.)

(the weapons wouldnt be hidden, since there are separate mods for disguising weapons, but it would hide your armor as something else of equivalent size. You could just be a really hefty ghoul, or masquerade as one of the culler bots)

14:22

(just would have to stow the guns)

(sweet, thanks) Darting back to 1, Theta slips inside. Under a bed in the back corner, he hides his rocket launcher, missiles, grenades and demo charges. Keeping the pistol and rifle on hand, he activates his holoskin emitter for the first time, to look like a burly ghoul. He spends a moment looking over his illusory form. I don't think I've ever let myself be this exposed. he thinks, before exiting the room. Moving around more freely, he makes his way towards the northwest corridor out of 3. (I figure the carpet would tell him it's the more luxurious part of the house.)

Original message was deleted or could not be loaded.

Pinned a message.

04:06

A secondary feasting table has been set up here, and this is where the guests of honor will be sitting when the feast is convened later tonight. There are tablewares set out but no food, and the cushions are plugged into their charging cradles so they will be warm by time the guests arrive to be seated

Hunched in an attempt to match the gait of the few ghouls he's seen, Theta determines there won't be any VIPs here for a while. He ducks back to explore 11, still looking for a master bedroom or office. The one in charge has to be around somewhere. Hopefully they're not out in the courtyard. I need to question them, or access their files.

11 is a transit hallway between several offices. A ghoul has just come out of room 12, stretching and yawning. It nods to you once in respectful greeting before passing you and moving out into the hallway. It pauses for a moment sniffing the air curiously before shrugging to itself and moving on

Theta returns the nod, then continues past, turning quickly and testing the door of 14.

The door opens gently to a small bedroom and office. It seems empty but there is a ghoul sized computer screen here along with some papers and books written in ghoul glyphs

Theta quietly shuts the door behind him, locking it if possible. He makes his way over to the computer and attempts to break into it with his compad, looking for anything that seems like data about the orbital defenses on Yauvani, or any broader plans the ghouls are discussing.

(Program/int)

(12)

There isnt any information on the orbital defenses here on the civilian network, but it seems the ghouls are trying to gather as much material as possible here before their invasion of Parnika. They expect to be able to finish subduing this world and launch their attack in a few months. The defenses did activate when they detected an unknown fleet briefly at the edge of the system, but there were many ships, and there are no corresponding UNW movements that these ships would have been. (edited)

Theta signs out of the computer and steps away from the terminal. Nothing here that can help us on the ground, yet. I'm going to have to mention that fleet at the council, though. I need to get out of here. He slinks back out of the bedroom and looks to leave the building out of the northwest door, towards 16. My disguise will work better outside. Maybe I can help these poor people can take over the compound - if I just help them escape, they'll just get captured again.

(You’ve got those heavy weapons stashed here too)

02:11

Editing the house and heading toward 16 you can see several chemical stills are bubbling away in what used to be the stable. Human serfs with downcast expressions are hooking and unhooking various plugs, cables and hoses from the culler bots , draining them of their products and pumping fuel back into them for another round of work

Looking side to side, Theta approaches the closest human - standing over him, weapon in hand. Leaning in, he whispers. "Look closely, I'm not one of them. I'm going to help you fight back. There is a pile of explosives in the barracks, first door on the left through the front door. Tell the others, if you can. How many ghouls are there here?"

(Talk/cha. With the disguise up he’s going to need convincing this isn’t a messed up ghoul trick to test his loyalty )

(6)

"No, no master. I can't do that. I'm sorry. I don't want to be fed to one of the cull"

Theta rolls his eyes. I probably could have done that better. he thinks. "Alright," he whispers to the prisoner, "Just keep that in mind when the shooting starts. Explosives in the barracks. Tell the others. I'm with the UNW, we're here to take your planet back. Make sure the gate stays open when people start shooting." He steps past the prisoner and grabs a fistful of the cables and tubes running into the culler bots, and yanks them out.

There is a wrenching squeal of violated electronics as the culler bot falls onto its knees. Cables spark and hiss as you yank them out and you're covered in a vile sluice of human derived chemicals (physical save)

(Success, 18 v 8)

The chemical cocktail drips down your arms, and bubbles the vambrace of your armor, but the flesh underneath is unharmed . The ghouls in the area don't seem to have noticed yet, but the error message being broadcasted by the Culler is sure to be noticed before long

"Hide!" Theta hisses at the serf, before jogging across the yard to the gate of the slave pens. (How high are the walls, by the way?)

(About 6m or so, its a bit irregular since they have no heavy tools but thats the average. The towers are about 8m)

Theta approaches the door of the slave pen, looking to see how it's locked.

The slave pen is locked by a wooden pry-bar the size of a tree trunk. For a ghoul or someone in power assisted armor, this is no trouble to lift

I've got some data, and hopefully disabled the culler. Hopefully that's enough to turn this in my favour. I'll keep the disguise for a little longer, I might be able to capture some of thesemonsters by surprise. Theta grabs the pry-bar and yanks it away from the door. As it swings open, he steps away and raises his rifle at the nearest guard. (26/11, assuming he can see a target and isn't stopped before firing, sorry if I'm getting ahead of things)

There are no ghoul guards inside with the prisoners, but you're able to quickly wheel and wound one in a tower nearby who pokes his head out to investigate the noise. He staggers back into the tower, yelping, and crying for the alarm to be raised- though the gunshot has already blown whatever cover you may have had.

Take out the alarms next time, Theta. he scolds himself, firing again and crossing the river, moving back towards the southern gate of the complex. (21/12)

Ther eis another shriek of pain and the top of the guard tower begins to light, smoke beginning to sift into the air. the slaves youd spoken to previously must have found some of the weapons you stashed inside as undisciplined bursts of gunfire begin to saw through the house

Theta drops his disguise, hoping to avoid getting shot at by the freed slaves, and leaps over to the main gate of the compound, looking for a way to keep it open so that the group aren't trapped inside should reinforcements come.

THe gate can probably be blown open with the heavy weapons you had stashed inside. A rocket or two should make short work of it

Alright, good to know that's something we can get past if we need to. I need to get inside and make sure the others are doing alright. Theta makes his way back to the front door of the house, taking a potshot at one of the ghouls in the tower as he goes, if he can see one. (20/12)

You're not sure if you saw something or not but the shot hits the shadow you were aiming at inside. There ismore fighting inside, and the sounds of stomping footsteps, as a culler bot has made its way into the house

I've got the best chance of any of them taking it out. Theta storms through the house, seeking out the robot.

As tou enter the main feasting hall you see it standing 5m away, it’s claw swiftly disemboweling a running slave, while two others with crude weapons fire at it, doing little other than denting the most outward armor layer

"Get out of the building! Don't get stuck in a corner!" Theta yells to them as he fires his rifle at the monstrosity. He walks forward as he does so, trying to goad it into attacking him instead. (25/12)

The shots strike the armored back of the culler bot as it rounds on you. The shoulder mounted flop rifles fire and miss

Theta advances, making his way towards room 1, and trying to keep the robot's attention as the prisoners run in different directions around the crowded space. He fires again. (18/8)

The shots spark off the front of the armor, though some cables are popped and chemicals sheet down the robots leg. (24/8, 24/5) The flop rifles fire again- quickly recharging and cycling from a back mounted power unit.

Theta backs into the corner of 1 as the shots sink into his armour, towards where he left his explosives, glancing to check whether any are still under the bed where he left them. He fires at the monstrous robot again. (30/15)

The supplies are under the bed still, and the bot falls, neck shot out by the expertly aimed shot. It's head is nearly severed, and it crashes onto its back venting steam and harvested chemicals. The carpet and wood begin to dissolve as the powerful raw agents eat away and thin steam rises to dissipate into the air. Fighting outside begins to intensify as some of the slaves begin rising up, fighting with field tools when firearms could not be found or stolen (edited)

Panting hard, Theta collects his weapons and loads the rocket launcher. Holding it across his body, he returns to the doorway of the manor and fires at the gate. (16/18)

The gate shatters. Burning wood and scraps of iron banding fly through the air and the shockwave sends shrapnel outwards toward the countryside part of the area. One of the towers catches alight , the wood and canvas top beginning to burn

Theta hangs in the doorway for a moment. The compound doesn't seem like it's going to survive this fight. Best to focus on getting the survivors out of the gate. As the fire spreads along the structure, Theta moves towards the gatehouse, calling out to the freed captives. "Get out of the gate while you can!" He stands guard, ready to fire at any ghouls or culler bots that threaten anyone approaching the burning gatehouse.

The ghouls are working to try to save the estate and aren’t considering any slaves that do not immediately cross their path as worth going after. The slaves, twenty in total, begin scattering

Theta stands in the gate, shepherding the humans out. As they escape he backs out, and leads them away from the site. "I know you're all tired, but I need your help." he calls out to the group. "Is anyone able to tell me where I can find more targets? Surface-to-air guns, leaders, communication arrays, larger slave pens, factories? I'm with UNW, and we're trying to get down to the surface, to help you evacuate."

Most of the humans are too busy scattering since reinforcements will be here soon but you’re told about a communication hub about ten kilometers from here worked into a mountain cliff side where the reception is very good

Theta thanks them for the news, and wastes no time dashing away from the crumbling compound. After resting for a while at a safe distance, he begins the hike to the relay. Still got plenty of explosives left, and it's going to be hard to leave here until the fleet arrives. Just have to keep making noise, hopefully it'll make things easier. If I can bug their comms rather than destroy the tower, we might get some very useful info.

(If you're hurt at all and want to take a night to heal up a little we can do some evasion, additionally, 3xp, 5000 credits)

(That sounds great!) Escaping through the fields, Theta looks for a tree to climb that he can rest in for the night. (Theta is level 9 New HP: 51, will heal up if successful resting tonight Skill points: 3 + 1 Non-combat (partial expert) + 1 (CIS) Taking Know-0 and increasing Con to 13 (4th increase) )

Yu're able to find a large redwood like one handily. Around ytou, sounds of ghoul responders combing the woods can be heard, but they never stumble upon your hiding space

Theta climbs down from the tree shortly before the sun rises, and heads in the direction of the communications array at a steady pace, watchful for any movement in the distance.

(Not sure if you took any damage during that fight but if you did, you'd have healed your lvl of HP overnight)

14:43

The region is on alert in the wake of your assault on the manor. It seems to have burned heavily and is in the process of being abandoned. Several small vehicles resembling landspeeders are making their way down the road toward it, each of them has a small trailer that is currently empty, or full of empty containers

Theta reactivates his holoskin disguise, and swaps his rifle for his pistol. Waiting for a vehicle that seems a little more isolated, he steps out towards the road to wave one down.

There is a scouting car left as convoy rearguard that has fallen behind. It halts, the thralls inside seeing a trueform ghoul (to them) needing help. 'lord! Are you alright? Are you from the manor?"

"Yes! I need you to take me to the communications outpost in this direction. I'm hurt, and I have a message for the King. Please hurry." Theta attempts to make his voice as gravelly as possible while sounding panicked.

Two of the thralls in the back are kicked out to make room for you, and the scout car begins speeding off into the woods, diverting down a service road toward the communications base. (they'll get there unless you're doing anything frisky)

(Not planning anything crazy, I'm still a little hurt. How many are in the car?)

(three thralls, a driver, gunner and vehicle supervisor, and since they're being trusted with hardware they're clearly collaborators)

Sitting in the back of the truck, Theta keeps his hand on his pistol. He contemplates opening fire inside the car, but decides against it. Instead, he waits for them to bring him to the station.

The comms station is a former civilian radio station that has been staffed by human collaborators and their ghoul overlords. There are no culler bots here, and no external security, but no doubt there is some sort of measure here meant to keep the station safe in the event of violence in the countryside. "Sir, we're here.. Head on in and we'll return to the convoy"

Theta grunts in thanks, and steps out of the vehicle. Limping and carrying his pistol loosely at his side, he approaches the building's front door.

The doors hiss, oepning at the presence of a ghoul and inside you can see a thrall behind the security desk stiffen, and salute one of his betters entering the building. There are two guards protecting a stairwell leading up, and heavy cargo lift elevator that looks to only head down into a sublevel

Theta approaches the guards, doing his best to look hurt, and barks "Where is the control room? I have a message for the King from the manor!"

"Upstairs Lord! You can't miss it! Do you require medical attention?"

"This is more important!" Theta mutters, pushing past the guard and climbing the stairs.

Heading upstairs, there is an interview going on where a ghoul prince or noble of some sort is reclining on a couch, speaking into a handheld microphone the size of a small dinner plate. Two human operators sitting in chairs with monitors in front of them are calm, asking them questions

14:33

you can't hear his words due to the soundproofing in the booths

Theta pauses at the head of the stairs, thinking. I was hoping I'd be able to splice into their network somehow and eavesdrop, but the guards will be suspicious if I don't make any noise. This is why I usually just avoid being seen. It's going to be hard to bluff my way through this. He stares into the room for a moment longer, then back down the stairs at the guards. He sighs, resumes his acted limp, and enters the interview room, closing the door behind him. He salutes the prince as it closes, then approaches the console.

"it seems we've been joined by another guest, we'll get things situated and cut to commercial we'll be right back"

15:10

There is a pleasing audio loop of nondescript music as the station signs off for a few moments. "Hey, what are you doing in here?" one of the DJs asks

Theta raises his pistol at the DJ and motions for them to move to the corner. "Let me use your station. There's been an attack, I must warn the King!" (He's hoping instead to either be able to download a pile of comms data or set up a splice into their communications through this station. Not too concerned if the DJs can see he's not doing what he says.)

(do you have line shunts on you?)O

(yep, I've got 3. Happy to use as many as needed)

(We''d need all 3 here)

14:41

(and then a program/int at +2_

(13)

You access the complete communications systems that this node has access to, and you're able to request information you need

14:55

(just hit me with your questions)

Theta quickly searches for intel that will help UNW and its companions: information about planetary defenses and their locations on Yauvani; any ship and fleet movements or assets; locations of key resources and personnel. He glances up from the monitor at the Prince, and also searches up who he is, and how many more are like him, or are more important than him on Yauvani. (If that's not too much! Let me know if I need to be more specific)

(this never lit up for me)

16:51

There is no information on the actual leadership ghouls here in the station terminal, though you're able to find that the defense grid is controlled within the capital city on the planet. There is also a map generated (that i will make)

Theta pulls all of the files into his compad and stands. He briefly looks around the soundproofing in the room. Probably not enough to get away with firing a thermal pistol. he decides. He speaks to the Prince, making his way to the door. "The King has been warned that some of the lords are plotting against him. That's what the attack on the manor was about. I trust you'll tell others."

(The UNW team that comes here to handle one of the defensive guns will link up with your

02:02

“I’ll do that. Am I under investigation?”

(Perfect, I'll see if I can find a vehicle to meet them with.) "That's not my decision." Theta says, leaving the room. Returning to the guards, he asks them "Are there vehicles downstairs? I need to travel."

“There are two motorbikes out back, with supplies for a day or two on the road sir “

"I'm taking one. Good work." Theta grunts. He exits the building and circles round to take the bike and meet the landing party.

(3xp, 5000 credits)

3

(would I have had the chance to heal before meeting the others? Thinking probably not haha)

(Just a nights worth of healing)

1

Director Eastmarch,

It was an absolute pleasure supporting you on Yauvani. I wish I could stay but I must continue my work on the coming Conjunction. Should you ever need my help in the future, do not hesitate to contact me. I hope you are able to prevent those fools in the council from holding onto any ghoultech...

Best of luck,
R

3

(added some new goals. Do other characters go through heaps of these? haha)

(They sure do but it’s a good thing)

(I'll try to keep more of them rolling in the future then!)

04:15

Reza,
It was good to meet you in person. You're doing great things. Take care of what you need to, there's a lot going on out there. I'll be in touch, I expect NebEnt will have plenty of work for you. We'll bring the council around eventually.

Theta

(Have I got an opportunity to shop between missions? 2xType B Cells and 3x Line Shunts for 500cr)

(Youd be able to find those here yeah)

1

(I'm good for whatever now that Yauvani is done)

Governor Eastmarch,
It was a pleasure to play a small part in the campaign on Yauvani. While I did not have a chance to meet you in person, I understand that you have labored harder than anyone for the freedom of that world.
I have returned to Asta, where I have been surveying outside the town of Theta-Kai. Initial survey missions have been successful. We have reached and surveyed the ruins of Rho-Mu. Until I interrupted the mission for the Yauvani campaign, we were nearing the temple of the Broken Cog.
Two finds are particularly important. We have located a lode of silver ore, which with help, we may be able to develop. We have also discovered a serpent creature living in the lake near the temple. Other than sighting it, we know little about it.
I propose to complete the survey of the temple, as I believe there may be active temple members. Then I would be honored to help you develop the silver deposit, if the government can support that endeavor.
I look forward to your input and direction.
Best regards,
Barnabas Strasny

Barnabas

Sounds like you were doing critical work on both Asta and Yauvani, good job. I'd be happy to help, what do you need? That serpent creature sounds incredibly interesting. As you will know, we have a lot of work to do to recover from the Alloy Host that plagued this planet until recently. Silver would be a great economic benefit, but who knows what this temple might hold, or what this serpent might know?

I can provide funds for the mission, and if you need anything else, just ask.
Theta

(Ghoul King is still kicking around on Urreturre, right? Probably best to see if I can get any information on it. If it's not likely that I'll be able to do that, is there a way for me to hit the pavement and build out NebEnt in character? Or is that more of a background mechanic.)

(yeah hes sticking around there for not. Depends how you want to build it out, but we can get something together)

(I'd be happy to do some scouting around Urreturre is there's scouting to be done. I'll have a think about how to build out the business)

With no specialized infiltration ship of their own to assist in getting past the advanced orbital defense grid, the UNW is forced to turn to EP to negotiate the use of the Low Tech for the job. No one has charted a path through the grid before, and the ghoul kings soldiers are known to shoot first when any anomalous signals are detected

(boop me when you're ready to return)

Governor Eastmarch,
I am pleased to report that we have completed a survey of the Temple of the Broken Cog on Asta. We found no evidence of current occupation, although we did find two dormant war bots, which are safely stored with power off for the moment.
I believe the most important find is the silver deposit on the route from Theta-Kai to the ruins of Rho Mu. If properly developed, it could be a boon the economy of Asta. I recommend that the government direct funds toward that development. If I can be of assistance, I am happy to do so. Otherwise, I plan to leave shortly for Gudrun to see if I can be of assistance in rooting out the Still Lady Cultists.
Best regards,
Barnabas Strasny

(Hey! I'm good to rejoin

)

3

(We missed you!!)

2

1

(So right now the UNW is still rooting out some of the ghoul stuff. Rawhani was also abortively raided by the extaurrens though it seems like the ghouls have to be dealt with before the entire war effort can pivot Closer to home , there’s plenty of exploring and I know barnabas mentioned a few things in your channel here that he found)

(Alright, I'd like to spend some time on Asta looking into this silver deposit, if there's anything for me to do there. If there's anything there that needs funding to develop it I'm happy to allocate that. Otherwise I'll get back into the ghoul campaign.)

(The silver mine would just need a faction action of build , and a minor production center for rare ingots would be there )

(awesome, I'll do that in NebEnt's January faction turn - I need to do December's too. Whats happening with the ghoul king? We havent cracked into Urreturre yet, is that right?)

(Still some mopping up on yauvani )

(If there's anything I can do over there, that's probably a good start. Once UNW and others have a better idea about what they want to do with PMG I might try to head that way and suss out their weapons.)

(We could help the knights wreck some of those castles if you want)

(sounds awesome!) (bit of quick shopping: - Demo Charges x2 (500cr) - Type B Cell (100cr) And some new cyberware, if there's time: - Bioadaptation Augments (10k cr) (1 Strain) - Panspectral Optics (15k cr) (1 Strain) - Toxin Injector (20kcr) (2 Strain) Total Permanent Strain 11/13 Total Cost 45,600cr ) Sitting at a desk on a balcony of the NebEnt offices in Theta-Khai, Theta pores over a paper map with an orderly. "Let's get that mine started. Mr Strasny has done some fantastic work reclaiming the area from the cogs, and we'll need the minerals to rebuild Rho Mu." He rolls up the map and hands it over. "I have to get going, can you call up the Dark Star?" he puts his hand on their shoulder. "You have an unlimited expense account, don't hesitate to use it to keep things moving. We need Asta to be up and running so that we can look deep into the cosmos for maltech, as well as to rehabilitate the refugees here." He strides into his personal chamber and presses a button on the wall, which retracts and reveals his deep blue storm armour and Meridian rifle, a rush of cool air escaping the hidden storage space. Silently, and alone, Theta equips himself and prepares to head to Yauvani.

(There would be time for all the surgery. That and our journey time west essentially has you more or less caught up with the time that was missed

2

(Theta is level 10! New HP: 54 Skill points: 3 + 1 non-combat (partial expert) + 1 (CIS) Taking Know-0 -> Know-2 New focus: Gunslinger-1 3 stored skill points for Shoot because of Gunslinger (currently on Shoot-3) )

(Do the new faction bonuses apply yet?)

(they do!)

(awesome, where can I read about this ability knack? And how are you doing the purified tech thing? Is it a component, or an item you'll give me, or something we both design? Sorry for the barrage haha its really cool)

23:41

(Was thinking before Urreturre kicks off, since PMG and the Extaurrens are pretty far away, I'd do a bounty. Maybe for Vukan or Kaladin if they're available)

(I’ll answer this in pm)

(Alright so we have some new stuff that’s in the works. The kaladin bounty. Is probably the faster of the two)

(let's go for that one then!)

Kaladin was a protectorate citizen and from yauvanj I the trip is very short. Their capital likely has information on him and his short service record. It’s hoped that something in it will clue you in to where he might have gone or what his motivations might have been

From the ruins of the estate he and Stev levelled on Yauvani, Theta calls the Dark Star in for a lift. "Man," he thinks to himself as he waits, "I've got to get my own ship. Anyway, Daitrij and I have done some good work on Gudrun, I'm sure she won't mind me showing up on Heras." Theta thumbs through his guide to Administration on the flight, continuing his gradual research into the topic. (47/90 lol, halfway!) From the space outside Heras, he signals: "This is Theta Eastmarch of Nebula Enterprises. I'm looking for Kaladin Al'Thor. Is anyone available to meet me to discuss their whereabouts so that I can bring them in?"

(I'm polling EP now to see who might want to take point on this with you from their side)

1

(hey mate, sorry about the delay - long week. I've done a few group missions back to back now, so a personal one would be great if you can fit it in. Was thinking I could do some scouting for maltech, or seek out agents for NebEnt, or something like that? Not sure what you might have in mind.)

02:41

(I also have two goals I think I can tick off: Secure the western border of UNW and Bring down the Ghoul King's maltech operation. If there's more to do on those, I'd be happy to work on that)

(Did you want to hunt down those faction assets you discovered ? Wouldn’t be related to the hunt mission just the same general areas

(Yeah, sounds good!)

The nebula enterprises informers have detailed a report for you by time you return to the ship. Ghoul loyalists inhabit the woods where another group of polity hunters is out combing for the royal court. Their mission seems a bit more independent but ensuring no one remains to restart a maltech operation is a visible job for nebint.

Theta thanks the agents for their efforts, taking the report to his chamber on the ship to read through it. He emerges later to brief the informants on his plans. "I'll head back down and take care of this one myself. I've been hunting down the ghoul operations for a while, I'm enjoying getting my hands dirty with them. We don't want any ghouls that might know how their technology works to get away. I'd like this ship to provide overwatch, to make sure none of them make it out of the woods." "I appreciate that most of you aren't front line fighters. You're all welcome to a well-deserved break up here. If a few of you want to join me, you're welcome to. I'll also need some gear." (If there are 1-2 fighters available I'd be happy to bring them with me, but I'm ok to go solo as well.) (If I can do any shopping up here, I'll take: - Thermal Pistol 300cr - Demo Charge x2 500cr - Type B Power Cell 100cr )

04:33

(and line shunt x5 - 500cr Total 1400cr)

(We can bring a couple nebent security personnel along. As far as supplies everything is available )

2

Heading into the woods, with the gear all assembled and prepared for you, the only thing that remains is getting sensors on the area. Orbital bombardment has been forbidden since there are innocents on the ground, and any weapons the fleet is fitted with will be wildly inaccurate.

Theta quietly sidles up to the head technician on the ship and looks over their shoulder. "We're ready to go. Have you got any good readings on the area? Or do you need us to deploy sensors on the ground? We need to be dropped where the highest concentration of ghouls is - my fear is they have a bunker of some kind here."

“We got a team going after that. They’ll contain anything coming out of it. Our jobs the easier one. Just a nice walk to take out any other concentrations we find “

"Perfect. I'll trust you to drop us where we need to be. We'll fan out and take down any more we encounter."

The existing teams are in the south of the woods, moving west, and the suggestion is covering the north and east, to catch anything not caught in the dragnet the others are creating

"Alright," Theta turns to his companions, "Let's get moving. Fan out as wide as you can while keeping each other in sight. Move as quietly as you can, all our gear is useless if they hear us coming." He signals he's ready to be dropped into the forest, and makes his way to the cargo bay of the ship.

The drop is successful and you find yourselves in the quiet northern area of the woods. Birds chirping and insects buzzing is a tell thst this section of the woods is quiet. The detachment of security forces has gone to ground but they’re undoubtedly here

"Alright, let's get going. Spread out as far as you can, we're in the dark here." Theta raises his Meridian rifle to his shoulder and, eyes peeled, he leads the squad to the north-east. Whenever he encounters a particularly large tree, he pauses to scale it, looking for any advantage to his perspective. From the branches, he squints with his panspectral optical implants for any signs of movement or radio signals.

(Notice/wis)

(8)

There is a dormant radio signal, coming from a very thick patch of brush 50m to the north. You'd have missed it without the enhanced vision

Theta points toward the signal. "Nice and quiet, there's something ahead." He whispers to the squad over comms. He crouches low and slinks forward, into the brush.

(Who else is with you at the moment? Just for planning sake. I think I got a little turned around)

(just a few NebEnt agents, spread out a decent way from each other. I guess two of them?)

(Two is good) You can see the signal getting stronger as you approach. It’s a radio, simple and two way slowly moving away from you but you and your team are faster. The hunters , not the hunted

Silently, Theta points ahead and leads his teammates further into the brush, looking for whatever is carrying the signal.

You can hear the snapping of twigs ahead, before the radio finally chirps as a squad somewhere else hot mics. The security ghoul emerging from the woods, frightened, is wide eyed as he makes visual contact with you, 20m away

Theta steps closer, rifle pointed at the ghoul's chest. "Who's on the other end of that radio? Many more of you out here?"

He says nothing, finger inching toward the trigger as he comes to grips with what he is seeing

Fair enough, that wasn't a very convincing argument. Theta figures. I'll just take the radio. Theta fires a quick burst, trusting his team to follow suit. (27/14)

They do, quick to catch on and the security ghoul falls, smoke rising from its uniform and clothing

Looking around for other threats, Theta strides over to the body and collects the radio. Crouching over the dead ghoul, he produces his compad and attempts to connect it to the same frequency, with the hopes of tracing the source. He sends a few wordless taps down the mic in an attempt to get a response.

Three hot-spots appear on the map, marked as camps where survivors are gathering

"Alright," Theta calls to his squadmates, "Let's go to the closest. We'll see what's going on - if they're running away or if they're hiding something. It's not likely, but we don't want to be wrong." He continues to lead the group on foot.

(If anyone's got a drone, or panspectral optics, i can get a map together)

(I have panspectral optics)

(I'll throw a battle map together)

14:07

(the little bonfire is where you are

"We're heading north. Up to the river then over the bridge. We'll have to be careful, it'll be pretty open when we get there." Theta calls to the squad, leading them on.

There looks the be a possible encampment there, in the northeast corner of the battle space. The dense parchment colored dirt gives way to think pines and rocky outcrops, and without the radio tags you could be searching here for days. Notes captured says the bridge may also be watched

"Well, we either take the long way around or risk being seen." Theta tells the team. "I'll go across in disguise and see if I can disable any devices that might be watching. If I'm compromised, just run across and help me." He assumes his ghoul disguise again, looking ragged and disheveled, and approaches the bridge, looking for drones or cameras as he attempts to cross.

You can see a camera in a tree overlooking the bridge. It’s 5m off the ground and flush with the trunk, aimed down to view the approach and bridge span itself

We have a lot of sites to get through, I can't afford to raise the alarm just yet by breaking it. Theta thinks, stopping and staring at the camera. He walks over to it, climbing straight up to it using his gecko anchors. Reaching up, he adjusts the angle of the camera so that it looks past the bridge instead of at it, as best he can judge.

(Sneak/dex. Will look like the wind shifted it if this goes right )

(13)

It appears as through the wind moves the camera just slightly to the left. The route you’re going to take both in coming and going can’t be seen anymore

Theta calls back to the pair of waiting agents, and takes them across the bridge, towards the northeast encampment.

A commander's tent on a small overlook backlights the encampment ahead, which has also been made on some sort of fortified hilltop. You see a ghoul sentry at the gate, watching, though his rifle looks hardly serviceable and he is battered.

Silently, Theta lays on the ground in the treeline, signalling his squadmates to join him. Carefully, slowly, he aims his rifle at the head of the sentry. (Going to attempt an Execution Attack if I can spend a minute lining up the shot.)

(He doesn’t know you’re there. So we would be looking at dc8)

(shoot/dex = 10)

2

The shear shot is clean, and silent. The meat cubes that were once a ghoul tumble into a steaming pile of nothing you'd want to eat for dessert

2

"No time to waste now, let's go!" Theta stands and runs to the position the sentry stood in, pressing himself against the outside of the gate and looking in. He attempts to get an overview of the camp and count the ghouls inside.

Two ghouls are inside, commanding seven figures who were human, but are undergoing the very first stages of transformation. They must have been close to the change when the invasion happened, and are serving as security for their masters instead.

"Into the tent, then we take out the commanders and hope the others surrender." Theta whispers to the others. He slips through the gate and hugs the fortifications, dashing over to the base of the hill with the commanders tent, then climbing up to roll under the edge of the canvas.

(Did you want your guys to follow? They look like humans )

(If it seems like they can make it without being seen, yeah)

The camp is a bit lively. Two ghouls are cooking something that has most of its fur on it in a small cook pit Their leader is in his tent. There’s no one outside it, and you see the others working on getting another tent up and a latrine dug. The two agents with you won’t make it in but they busy themselves moving what they can of the sentry and hiding the evidence of the kill

I don't have a good chance at taking this one out quietly, but at least if the alarm is raised here, my team will be in a good position to intercept. Maybe that means it's better to make some noise. Crouching hidden in the corner of the tent, Theta produces his thermal pistol. With a lunge, he rises to his feet, closing the distance between himself and the leader. Face to face, he presses the pistol to the ghouls's stomach, and asks: "Is what you're doing here gathering survivors, or are you organising for something greater?"

"Gathering survivors, trying to see who lives, and who did not"

(I would like to use my shiny new knack to see if he is lying - Theta's trying to be a million percent sure.)

He is not lying. They know the planet has fallen, and the chain of command is gone. Piecing it back together may be something they do eventually, but they are far from being in a position to think about that right now.

"Perfect." Theta fires the pistol point blank. (13/12, crit fail

)

1

(initiaitve)

(Alert-2)

2

(you'll get to go again before he reacts) The first shot fizzles, the gun not having gathered enough charge to push the desired plasma ball out into the ghouls head

Theta swears and quickly fires again, praying the gun isn't faulty. (23/10)

The shot punches through his armor and he shouts for his guards to enter the room. Unarmed , he tried to throw you off and is unable to hurt you

Theta keeps close and fires again, calling down comms to the others: "Engage! Flank as the guards come up!" (21/7)

You hear gunfire outside as your guards begin engaging the minor security outside and it sounds like are having the better of the contest so far. Their leader falls , shot through the neck

Theta holsters his pistol and raises his rifle, then rushes out of the front of the tent to assist his comrades.

They've got the drop on the seven guards out there. Seven has been reduced to five, though one of your agents has also been wounded. One of them throws a magma grenade into the tents

Theta fires a burst at the closest guard and rushes towards his teammates, shielding his eyes from the grenade's explosion. (30/16)

Reduced to less than half their number, and their camp aflame, the remainnig denizens here surrender

Theta lowers his gun. He leaves his teammates to restrain the remaining ghouls and calls up to the forces in orbit. He relays the position of the camp, telling them they can safely collect a small group of prisoners and there are likely more to come. After a few minutes he regroups the team. "Next camp is due west through the forest. Let's move quickly in case they were tipped off in some way." He leads them out the gate of the camp, down the hill, and through the trees to the next outpost.

Original message was deleted or could not be loaded.

Pinned a message.

14:28

The second camp is in the south of the battle zone, overlooking a bridge you need to get north to hit the last. The ground has also been cleared around it for a good distance , making the approach dangerous and difficult. They may also become aware in time that other signals in the area have stopped reporting- and might go on alert.

14:29

Fields of broken tree trunks are concealment, but not cover, and you can see whoever owns this place was not shy about announcing their presence to anyone who might be looking.

"We'll need a new approach." Theta peers at the outpost from behind a tree trunk. I could make a distraction with an explosive but it will take me too long to plant it and get around the other side. I guess we'll just try to close in quietly. "Follow me." Theta says to the others, "stay low, move fast. We'll get as close as we can then run at them. Stay behind me so they hopefully target me first." Theta gulps, and attempts to quietly lead the team closer to the camp, crouched behind the cleared trees.

Still lookign like a ghoul yourself, the two sentires that emerge from the gate aren't surprised to see one of their kin, with what looks like mortal servants coming out of the woods. Its a scene that has probably played out a few times over the last week or so

Theta stands tall and wordlessly hails the sentries. He holsters his rifle as he closes in, hoping to pass the sentries and get a good look at numbers in the camp.

One of them covers you for an extra second or two, before stowing his rifle. "Long way from home!" one of them calls "We can shelter you here if you need it"

Theta grunts to respond and pushes past them, leading the team into the gates. He pauses for a moment in the entryway to survey the layout and count the ghouls inside.

05:05

There is a major ghoul here. A difficult challenge for anyone. There are seven lesser groups and twice that number of human auxiliaries here

Guess I won't be able to waltz through this one. My disguise won't fool them for long either. Theta turns to his two teammates, and whispers: "I'm sorry. You'll need to give me your rifles - they'll be too hard to conceal. I have two demo charges - can you hide them on your person? Plant one on either side of the camp. I'll try to take out the big one - then we make a break for it. I'll give you a few minutes to get ready." He turns back to one of the sentries. "Can I use one of these tents to put some things down?"

"There are some empty ones inside. Look for one without a bedroll. Your slaves will have to sleep in the slave paddock in the middle of the camp"

14:28

he points to an open air cage of wood, lashings, and metal nails exposed to the elements, where detained mortal auxiliaries are forced to sleep

Theta nods and leads the others into the camp. He finds an empty tent and brings them inside, trading their guns for demo charges he hopes they can hide on their bodies. "Ten minutes, then I'll go for the leader. I'll try to get him quickly but we'll see how it goes. Your role is to make sure the prisoners are ready to move. I'll try to unlock the cages. When I get close to the leader, get the prisoners moving. I'll give the signal for the detonation. This is all a big gamble, but we're here now. Good luck." He removes the right glove of his storm armour and attaches it to his belt, flexing his fingers under the hologram.

They have their orders and begin scattering through the camp to plant their cargoes somewhere where it will do the most damage, but also avoid mulching the prisoners

Theta emerges from the tent and approaches the cage of prisoners. I need to get these open, but I also need to conserve my energy. What's the best way to do this? He attempts to convincingly glower at the prisoners inside while inspecting whatever locks it, or whether the walls could be torn open with enough strength.

There is a thick metal chain with an equally thick loop and pad lock on it, keeping the door from opening. Your power armor could probably wrench it apart but it will be Loud

Okay, Theta thinks, I'll have to get them after the major. He bides his time until the ten-minute mark is approaching, lounging around the camp and watching the major. I need to get a hand on bare skin. A handshake? a pat on the shoulder? Or do I just grab the face? How do I get close? (I want to get a hand on the major - where is their skin exposed? Also wondering if they're particularly difficult to approach, or just supervising the camp.)

(They're supervising the camp,a nd they are not wearing armor, their natural carapace like skin is enough)

Theta waits a few moments longer, then approaches the major. Hoping that his holographic disguise will hold up to close scrutiny for long enough, he extends a hand for a handshake. I'm only going to get one shot at this. They'll know about the hologram as soon as our hands meet. Theta thinks, sweating under his armour. "Wanted to thank you for setting this up. I was on Yauvani - tough there too."

Without thinking the ghoul who was human once as all of them were, reaches his hand out to shake yours.

As soon as Theta feels their hands connect, his fingernails extend into sharp barbs that pierce the ghoul's wrist. Theta activates his toxin injectors and attempts to lethally poison the major. (I'm not sure based on the text if this is automatically successful or if they still have to save and it's just the Punch attack that's successful. It would by Physical at -2, and on a fail they die in 1d6 turns.) (System Strain 13/13)

(I believe when we did this with proceus, they just have to save)

18:46

(He fails)

3

He knows something has been done. He can feel the bite of the needles. He is unsure what has happened to him

Theta nods at the major and backs away towards the prisoners' cage. He casts an eye around the camp to look for his squadmates to ensure they've seen the cue.

They've got it, waiting your signal. Theyll blow the charges and try to withdraw in the chaos (edited)

Theta counts down a few more seconds before dropping his disguise. He rushes over to the cage and wrenches the lock apart. Hurling the gate open, he calls to the prisoners: "Get moving, out through the back!"

The prisoners barely begin getting clear, and the camp begins to catch on as the demolition charges explode. Debris covers the area, sending fragments of wood scything through the assembled foes. Those not killed by the blast are wounded by the shrapnel, and no one seems capable of giving quick chase

Theta pushes the fleeing prisoners who are ahead of him into the river at the base of the camp before diving in after them. He emerges from the water after hearing the explosions, debris bouncing off his helmet. He radios his squadmates. "Are you two alright? Let's check on the survivors then get moving. That last camp is likely on high alert."

The prisoners are all heavily malnourished, Most of them have lingering injuries with infections. Another few days and you can assume at least some of them would have become food.

Theta pings the forces in orbit again, letting them know they should be free to come and collect these prisoners as well. "One of you should stay here and make sure no ghouls come back out of that pile of rubble." He says to his team. "The other one is with me, we're heading to that last camp then calling it a day." Theta gives the team a moment to gather themselves, then leads one of them north, to the next bridge.

The next camp will undoubtedly be on high alert, and at the other end of the bridge you can see four militiamen preparing to keep watch and form a blocking position should you prepare to cross over. They're unsure the nature of the threat, just thatone exists

Theta looks to his companion. "I expect the only way out is through, at this point. Make sure you have some cover, and stay behind me." Theta reapplies his disguise and approaches the bridge, stopping just within rifle range of the militiamen. He watches closely to see if they are alarmed by his approach. (Is there much cover on this side of the bridge? Guessing probably not.)

(intentionally pretty clear on both sides. If your disguise is still up they wouldn't be too alarmed)

(awesome) "Hope there's just the four of them." Standing across the bridge, Theta opens fire on the militiamen. (18/11)

(is your remaining fellow partaking?)

(Yep, if possible)

(lets get his attack too)

(Sorry Im actually not sure what to roll for them!)

(D20+3, and if they have a burst capable weapon you can add that as well if they choose to)

(9/10)

The shot missed but yours hits , sending one of the militia hitting the ground. They return fire. It’s sloppy and undisciplined but it’s loud and the camp is now on high alert. (All miss)

Theta and his companion fire again, advancing towards the base of the bridge. "Be ready to dive for cover!" Theta calls out. (26/17 for Theta, 10/10 for ally)

The shot takes down another of the militia as the group begins to panic and flee toward their camp. The survivor puts 20m between yourself and the scene of your recent kills

Theta fires at the back of the running ghoul then advances over the bridge. "Let's keep moving!" he calls out. (20/9 for Theta, 11/7 for ally)

The shot from you is as accurate as all your shots have been, and the fleeting enemy falls. The camp will have heard the gunfire, but the lack of a carried warning will buy you precious time to get close and make your way through the dense woodland around the area.

"We've got to be quick." Theta lowers his rifle and beckons the NebEnt agent to follow. He runs into the woods towards the final camp, heading northwest.

(sneak/dex)\

(15)

2

The camp is on alert but has no clue you are that close. You overlook a small wooden fort, made from the cut down trees and hauled stones in the local area. It is essentially a circular building of stones, with wooden external palisade walls around it. The garrison has retreated inside.

I'm running low on gear...not many options left. Theta looks to his companion. "Can you provide overwatch from here? I don't want to put you in unnecessary danger." Without waiting for an answer, Theta sprints to the palisade in disguise, and attempts to scale it using his gecko anchors.

You don't get a chance to hear the answer, but you trust he'll be in position when you need it. Getting to the edge of the wall you engage your anchors , and find the surface easy enough to climb. There is a brief crackle of magnetism as you adhere to the surface

Theta clambers over the palisade and drops to the ground on the other side. He surveys the wall of the building for windows and any figures that are looking out or are on the roof.

There is a gun slit with a machine gun barrel poking out of it, panning to cover the approach from the bridge where the gunfire was last heard

Theta rushes to the wall of the building and flattens himself against it, then climbs up the wall to the roof, giving the gun barrel a wide berth.

There is no roof access from inside. they seem to have placed beams and stone on top, and are content with keeping their view over their surroundings lateral

Theta exhales, sighing as quietly as possible. Fair enough, I would have done the same thing. he thinks. He walks around the perimeter of the roof, looking for access points. (Would he fit through one of the gun slits? Thinking probably not in the storm armour.)

(not in the storm armor, no)

04:26

(you could probably stomp a hole though)

Theta walks over to a corner of the roof, takes a deep breath, and stomps heavily onto the patchwork ceiling of the structure.

There is a long series of spider webbing cracks forming from where you have stomped. Rocks fall gently down in a trickle. Their return fire is too small caliber to get through the stone to shoot at your feet

This is definitely one of the dumber things I've ever done... Theta swallows and leaps into the air over the cracks, bending his knees and kicking down hard as he lands, aiming to break straight through the roof.

Rocks fall, taking you down into the depths of the bunker. A major ghoul rises from the wreckage to combat you though it seems like most of his companions have been buried and are either dead or too wounded to be of more help

"Just you and me, pal." Theta mutters as he backs away from the major, firing a burst from his rifle at its chest. (34/15 unless theres a close combat penalty)

(We're in hand to hand, so rifles can't be used. One handed firearms are at a -4, and readied melee weapons are fine as normal. This is obviusly before foci

(Ah ok, I thought there might be a bit of space. I'll redo that as firing my pistol if that's alright - I have Close Combatant 1 and Gunslinger 1. I have, however, forgotten to reload it since using it in the first camp, which I'm happy to keep that way.) (19/10 if that's all good)

(you'd have had downtime to reload so we can start with a full mag)

1

(awesome - rewriting then:) Seeing the ghoul close in on him, Theta lifts his thermal pistol and fires, the deafening crack of the round echoing through the ruined room. (The above 19/10 roll was the thermal pistol)

The thermal pistol sends an aimed shot into the ghoul's chest. It roars as it bodily topples downward. The two fists crash into you, not penetrating but battering you within your armor (2 shock and then 3 shock regardless of AC)

Theta stumbles backwards at the force of the blow, catches himself against the wall, and fires again. (13/10)

The shot misses, sending an obsidian finger claw spinning and embedding itself in the wall. The two fists cannon back into your chest (3 and 3 shock. Both miss terribly )

(Would I be ignoring this shock damage with Close Comatant 1?) Grappling in the debris and bodies of fallen ghouls, Theta pushes his hulking foe away and fires again, aiming for the head. (24/8)

(no you wouldn't be from him at least)

1

The shot blows out part of his jaw. The rictus death like mask looks back at you as he swipes, (25/7). The claws sink deep into the armor but you're able to twist aside before they have a chance to get to the truly soft part underneath

Theta cries out in pain as the armour on his left arm buckles inwards from the strike, crippling its mobility. He steps backwards, scrambling over the rough terrain of the room, and fires again, holding the heavy pistol one-handed. (17/12)

The shot hits the ghoul and sends a burned hole through his wing. He's not getting away now. Doubling down, he levels a powerful shove but his strength is failing and he is unable to complete the blow.

15:05

(missed, no shock on this one) (edited)

Theta sidesteps the attack - it was slower than he expected. Feeling confident the tides have turned in his favour, Theta takes a deep breath to calm himself, carefully aims and fires the last round in his pistol. (28/11)

Its enough. The ghoul falls back missing the half of his head you previously shot apart. No one else in the rubble is stirring, and smoke begins to sift skywards from the smothered cooking fires. It mingles with dust to form a brown-gray screen

Theta shoves the body away from him and collapses onto the ground, panting hard. He rests for a few moments, staring out of the hole in the ceiling. He exhales a deep breath and radios is teammate outside. "Alright, I think we're done here. Come and help me check the wreckage and we can get out of here."

You hear three gunshots before he taps back an affirmative pulse on the radio bead linking the two of you

Theta rests for a moment longer, then stands and finds the door to the building to let the NebEnt agent in so that they can explore the rubble together.

(notice.wis)

(8)

A gauntlet rises from the rubble on a charred hand. It can be repaired it seems, and looks weaponized.

Theta crouches down and inspects the gauntlet briefly, then carefully detaches it from the arm. He wipes some of the blood and debris from the inside and takes it with him. "Alright, I think we're done here." Theta says to his squadmate. He pings the ships in orbit to collect them, and steps back out into the sunlight to wait for them.

(6xp, 10,000 credits)

02:33

The wraith shuttle is standing by to bring you back to orbit where the fleet is conducting the last of the cleanup operations. There is already talk of pushing east right away to begin bringing significant might against the Mining Guild and Extaurren Empire.

(Theta is level 11! New HP: 55 (rolled 54, current HP was 54) 5 skill points: 3 + Partial Expert + CIS Agent Spending 5 to increase CON to 14 - increases HP to 66. This is the final increase Theta can have. 3 skill points in storage )

2

(Very nice. There’s plenty going on and I’m good to deploy you wherever )

(capped saves)

08:16

(I was thinking Theta would get involved with talks with the EoL when that kicks off - if you reckon that's a little while away I'm happy to pick up something in between)

(I think we need to nudge Galatea to make a decision on this now that most of everyone is freed up to go)

14:29

(things sort of stalled)

Original message was deleted or could not be loaded.

Pinned a message.

1

(looks like you're going alone on behalf of the council, want to do that?)

(lets do it!) (Was wondering if I can mark off these goals as well: - Secure the Western border of UNW - Bring down the Ghoul King's maltech operation)

(Both are complete sir) (edited)

3

As tensions over the GHoul Empire fade away, it seems you are the only person who is able to reach the Exchange of Light in time- the rest of the notables from across the galaxy are otherwise embattled or picking up other duties to replace those fallen in polity service. The Exchange of Light is known to be headquartered on Galatea, ten days of spike travel from here

After a long shower to wash off ghoul blood and mud from Urreturre, Theta relaxes in his cabin aboard the UNW ship. He reopens his battered and earmarked book, 'Managing Interstellar Business'. Taking a sip of coffee, he settles in for the long flight. Never been much of a diplomat, he ponders, better watch what I say. Hopefully I can get access to a computer or something, because I don't trust them at all to tell me the truth. Not going to be able to take much gear in, either. (Administer 57/90) (Shopping: - 2x demo charge: 500cr - 1x power cell type A: 10cr - 1x power cell type B: 100cr - 1x Medikit: 100cr Total: 710cr )

(The gear itself is available. As you said, taking some things in will be difficult )

To: The Exchange of Light
From: Theta Eastmarch

Greetings,
As you likely know, I am a representative of the UNW and of the Galatean Council. I'll be arriving in Galatea shortly. I expect that a meeting can be arranged, correct? Surely you have time to discuss your objectives with us. Please let me know where I can meet you - as a show of faith, I will be alone, and you can choose the meeting site.

Regards,
Theta Eastmarch

As the ship lands at Galatea, Theta dresses in his finest clothes for business. He checks that his cyberware still activates through the unfamiliar clothing, and looks at his gear, which he has spread out over the bed. I have a holdout cavity in my side that I could fit a gun into, but if they find it, that's a pretty bad look. If I end up needing a gun I'll probably just have to find one. He decides to take his dataslab in his pocket, his wrist-mounted metatool, and line shunts. He piles the line shunts into the holdout cavity. He picks up his blackout stick and stares at it for a moment. The blackout stick is a risk, too. Too big to hide, and it looks like a weapon. But I'll absolutely need it if I get caught sneaking around. I really don't want to lose it though. He pauses, then hides the tool inside his jacket. Feeling prepared, he waits by the main door of the ship until they finish landing and he can be escorted out.

The Exchange would like to meet at the city of Sarkoviskia also sometimes called the Crystal republic. Little of the mechanism of government has been established there and ever the egalitarians , the exchange is hoping to provide more opportunity for those left out of the process so far. The Galateans have a landing pad constructed for your ship outside the city where the meeting is to take place, you and a pair of exchange arbitrators walking among the crystal forests.

I don't think I've ever felt this unsafe before. Maybe it's nothing, and this is just unfamiliar work. Theta thinks as he the ship descends over the beautiful landscape. He checks his equipment, as well as his hair, one last time before the door slides open and he steps out to meet the Exchange.

As you step out you see a man standing there in plain clothes with a welcoming disarming smile on his face. "Mr, Theta I presume? How may the Exchange be of service today?" The second agent you just saw is notably absent. (edited)

Theta casts a quick glance around. "I was told there would be two of you. Who are you?" He steps off the landing pad and approaches the man, allowing him to lead the way. "I'm here to discuss your actions and your objectives. You took all of our money - well, you negated its value, which is even stranger than taking it. What is your aim here?" Feeling no particular need to be courteous to the Exchange, Theta speaks directly, but not with an accusatory tone.

The first man bows, “We apologize for any inconvenience that we may have caused but our history with economics shows that removing the mere book side wealth of a group does little to undercut the value of the corporations or nations. We find that having an Exchange backed currency far exceeds any kind of brief inconvenience.” The second man appears beside the man. “Lyrian, stop. You know that it was by the book. We restored controlled growth and are looking to better balance the economy based on long upheld rights and proven systems for various tiers of economies.” The unnamed psychic says in a jovial tone. Lyrian glares at the teleporting psychic. (edited)

02:01

“As I was saying,” Lyrian clears his throat. “We are here to help keep the economy balanced growing. Knowing the long term ramifications of decisions through the centuries. We are not here to interfere but that to help facilitate.”

Theta has a momentary urge to draw a weapon when the second man appears suddenly, but is able to swallow it. Theta quietly judges the two men's brief altercation, his neutral expression unchanging. I wonder how deep that conflict goes. He thinks to himself. "So to help the economy you destroyed the piles of cash sitting at the top. Fair enough. How did you do it?" Theta asks the first man, Lyrian. He turns his gaze to the psychic. "And who are you? What are your relationships with the Exchange?"

Lyrian grins, “I, as my compatriot here said, am Lyrian. Though it is not customary to give out names when dealing with agents of the exchange.” Lyrian glares at the psychic. “We are agents of the exchange since before the scream. It has been…..” Lyrian draws out his word. “Interesting since that time along with the healing.” The psychic nudges Lyrian, “Come on tell him how we did it.” Lyrian glares again but there is a momentary grin before it is hidden in the glare. “Very well, there are ancient protocols that can be activated given the proper sequence of events and codes. That allows the Exchange of Light to bring about change in any half way civilized society which I am glad to say that we find ourselves in now. Again we knew it would not cause grievous harm that is why we only targeted organizations not individuals. We do not want to upend the social status only help guide it.”

"Right," Theta pauses and scratches his head for a second. "so you waited until the polities were stable enough to handle your coup, but you could have done it at any time. Was that a psychic ability of some kind? Was it technology? Magic?" Theta continues to probe for answers, carefully watching the pair of agents. "What changes now that you have taken over? You've spoken about balance, economic order, stability, but what does that mean?"

The psychic responds. “Dude thinks it is a psychic technique. Crap why am I hearing my voice.” Lyrian glares. “I apologize for my understudy. He is…” Lyrian’s patience is obviously being tested. “newly risen. “ Lyrian calms his body language. “As to your questions before I answer them to the best of my ability I wish to offer this, With your permission I would like to bind our words here to the truth. Would that be agreeable to you?” (edited)

Theta raises his eyebrows at the unnamed psychic before responding to Lyrian. "Big meeting for a newbie - I used to keep quiet in those. I don't see this conversation going much further if I refuse your truth-binding. If that's something you're capable of, go ahead." In his mind, Theta's mistrust continues to grow. Going to be hard to know if whatever 'binding' they try applies to them as well. But I don't think I have anything to lie about, either.

Lyrian nods, “I hear you decree that it is unlawful to mislead, lie or tell untruths intentionally.” A binding and compulsion settle on the three in the woods, each one showing some kind of discomfort as the compulsive effects take hold. (You feel like it would be wrong to lie but know that if needed you could to save your life.) Lyrian then turns and says, “Now before we begin I want you to understand that this is not fool proof, it can be beaten, broken and some of my fellow agents are even trained in doing so. I am not one of those. Now on to your questions, it was technology along with some clever work on behalf of our agents. Secondly to answer what changes have occurred since we have taken over, I would respond that it has been weeks since we came on the scene, credits and processes have been tabulated and balance and stability changes take time. There are more on the horizon but as for today little has truly been done since we have revealed ourselves.” Lyrian grins, “I will let you in on a secret, the Exchange only exists to stabilize and to help order the galaxy. We are here for that end and that end only. We have watched many groups come and go from your sector of the galaxy with ill intent and I will say freely that we are doing what we can to help lessen that.” Lyrian leans in, “Here’s the secret, agents were dispatched to deal with the PMG issue once we were made aware of the level of threat they posed. We are working on a solution. That is all I can say for now.” Lyrian stands upright again and begins to say, “As for-“ When the psychic blurts out, “Come on man you got to tell him more than that, we sent some of our best people out there tell him that they always come back with a solution. Always man.” Then the psychic realizes what he just blurted out and teleports away. (Edits for formatting.) (edited)

03:06

Lyrian sighs and says whimicly, “Alas for the vagaries of youth. At least he learned from what he did.” Lyrian turns back to Theta, “As for the future we are wanting to work to curb the excesses of the ultra wealthy without harming those who have only begun. It is a fine balance to walk and we shall try to do so.”

"You know," Theta says, glancing back out at the crystal forest to look for the suddenly shy understudy, "It would have gone a long way towards building trust if your engagement with PMG was never a secret." He sighs and returns Lyrian's gaze, offering for the agent to lead their walk through the forest. "Do you think it would be unfair to say that the Exchange doesn't seem to trust the major polities with their own money, despite the repeated successes of uplifting civilisations, improving planetary health, and defense from several cosmic threats since the Scream - all of which occurred without the Exchange. And at the same time, the Exchange doesn't seem to trust the polities with insight into the Exchange's own attempts to do the same thing, despite aggressively inserting themselves into the situation. Could I be blamed for saying that the Exchanges methods don't lead to them being trusted? Nothing you've said so far has done much to change that, Lyrian. Or is our trust not something you need?"

Lyrain sighs, "I hate to admit this but our models for your behavior had you reacting... how do I put this nicely. As children, when we take away your favorite candy so you will have room for supper. Our models showed that if we were to approach you prior to acting that you would have thrown a fit and then the after effects would have made a civil arrangement nearly impossible. This is also why we did not come out and introduce ourselves in the council. We wanted some time to pass so that everyone would see that dinner truly would come and that we had not taken away food for all time." Lyrian grins at his own analogy.

4

03:55

Lyrian continues, "We do regret the Fiat nature of what our position requires but we hope you understand, at the time our models saw your treatment of the captives on Creusa, The utter distruction of Goizane, the savagery of Bergasa. The childlike behavior in negotiations over Thorfinna. The list goes on. We have seen your worst and your best. The models projected that the best chance that the Exhange had to help in the situation was to act. So we did and we do not reget what we did. You too must see that what we did is for the best for the entire sector."

Theta chuckles and smiles. "Between you and me, I feel the same way about a lot of our conventional diplomacy. I tend to ignore a lot of borders, walls, and fences in my line of work. Hopefully that means I'm the right person to meet you today. But the Exchange's actions so far are those of either a tyrant or a terrorist. That's what you're telling me when you say you don't need our trust or permission. Which are you? If you can destroy our money once, I'm sure you can do it again, so what do you want from the polities?"

Lyrian, "It is doubtful that the finances of any group would again reach the heights of opulence that was seen before our revealing ourselves. However you are correct we could do it again, but there is nothing to be gained and much to be lost. If we undermine the credits that we ourselves guarantee then what is the point of a creditory system in the first place. We gain nothing and would lose all trust. We, the Exchange, do not need your trust, the economy and the credits that support them very much do. Which is why we back the credits and work diligently to not allow credits that are not backed by the Exchange." (edited)

05:03

Lyrian grins, "You ask me if we are tyrant or terrorist, let me tell you succinctly when it comes to protecting the economy we are tyrannical, when it comes to dealing with those who would damage the economy through malice we strike terror into their very core of their being. So it depends on where you stand Theta, are you in the economy wanting to help it prosper and grow or are you trying to bring down the system? If you try to bring it down through neglect or malice we will not be your friend. There is our position. We are the Exchange of Light, as light eluded definition of mankind for centuries so too do we elude such simple definitions. We are what we are, the defenders of the economy from all threats."

"I appreciate you being so upfront. To answer your question, I suppose I'm part of the economy. Did you decide to step in because you saw neglect in our handling of the economy?" Theta mulls over his thoughts for a moment. "So you've come in and replaced our credits with your own fiat. Fine. Doesn't seem to be much we can do about it right now, anyway. I would ask for our money back but I expect that's off the table - correct?" He decides to change topics a bit and ask about the makeup of the Exchange. "How many people do the Exchange have? Where are you based? Do you have ships? Armies? I'm sure we'd all feel a bit more comfortable if we knew more about our new associates."

Lyrian laughed when Theta mentioned getting the credits back then covered it with a cough. Then listened intently to the rest of the questions. "You are correct in your assumptions that returning your credits is not in the cards. There was to much disparity in the currency, trillions sitting in accounts while people starved. No that isn't going to be possible. Also we regret the difficulty that we have put the corporations through on an administrative side, the level of detail that we are asking for on the finances has put a strain on your factions for certain. I can answer some of your questions but am not cleared to give all the details I know. I hope you understand my predicament, while i represent the exchange i am only a voice not the entirety. So as to your questions, We are a large group of PSI activated persons who were able to retain almost all of our membership through the scream." Lyrian becomes very serious, "Do not ask of this as I know little and can answer even less." Lyrian returns to his normal demeanor. "In the sector of space we are based in Galatea however our true base is on Earth, and no i do not know if we have contact or when last contact was. We have ships and access to armies, in the last 200 years we have only thrice had to resort to such dross measures. I trust that the civility that has been shown in your measured response will perpetuate a series of stable and meaningful measures that the exchange can take to target excess and remove any negligent damage from the sector. " Lyrian smiles broadly, "I am limited in what else i can say but do you have any other questions? I have tried to be as specific as I can be while still following the orders I was given."

Lyrian's face lights up, "Ahh i just thought of something that you may be interested in. The corporations that are running around in your polities, as long as they keep away from trading on military or slowboat ships(We don't have slowboats here but think carrier sized trade ships) and do not abuse their profits and hoard in excess again we, the Exchange, will be content with minor changes that are required for the economy. If profits are abused or held to firmly in the hands of the few our justice will be swift upon those who harm the hopes and trust of the masses."

(Theta has an ability to detect whether someone is lying once per day. I'd like to see whether Lyrian is lying about how much he knows, to protect his life like you mentioned.) Theta's eyes widen a little, surprised to hear about the extent of the Exchange's size and forces. He pauses for a moment to collect his thoughts. "Just a few more. Do you have a figurehead, a leader? Or do you act as some kind of collective? And when you talk about hoarding or abusing profits - I'm sure we have a similar idea of what that means, but how aggressively will the Exchange enforce that? Are they open to an agreement with the polities on some kind of warning system or arbitration mechanism?" Theta extends a hand. "Otherwise, I believe those are all of my questions, for now."

As theta reaches out to detect Lyrian’s veracity he hears nothing but truth, though a slight unwillingness to have had to divulge the truth of the armies. It is also plain that he knows more but has been honest about not discussing what he was told not to. Lyrian nods his head, “We will send a warning if someone is reaching the hoarding or abusing profits. A warning mind you. Then the full economic weight of the exchange will fall upon them.” Lyrian grins, “Never underestimate how difficult a group of administrators can make your life.” Lyrian then shrugs, “We do have a leader but you can delve into the history books for our structure nothing has really changed. As for a arbitration measure we are always reachable through the manner that you have done so. We are not players on the political stage but you can always reach out. We are listening.”

"Your promise of a warning is something I can take back to the Council for them to mull over. Alright, well I guess that's all for now then. Thank you for your time, Lyrian - and for your friend's time, if he hasn't died of embarrassment. I'm sure this isn't the last we'll see of each other." Theta's hand remains extended, offering a handshake.

Lyrain returns the handshake. "It has been a pleasure. I hope that you will extend our regards to the council."

As soon as he feels contact with Lyrian's hand, Theta activates a cybernetic implant in his skin. A microscopic cluster of nanites attaches to Lyrians hand and begins to replicate, leaving a trail of dust behind that is visible to Theta. (Tagger Nanites - system strain 12/14)

8

15:02

"Of course." he nods and steps back, making his way back towards the ship he arrived in.

The psychic returns and places his hand on Lyrian then the two of them teleport away.

The nanites show the psychic has teleported into the city, but otherwise does not seem to be moving right now.

The site he has teleported to is some sort of Finishing School for young Sarkovskian boys and girls, the current headmaster: Dr. Lyrian (edited)

4

Theta boards the ship he arrived in. He changes into his usual dark high-collared, dark security clothes. He fills a bag with his tools and line shunts, and clips his pistol into the holdout cavity in his side. He pauses for a moment with a demolition charge in his hand, before deciding to leave it behind.Probably still a little conspicuous to bring explosives or a rifle. he thinks, choosing to leave his beloved Meridian behind. From his room he calls in to the pilot: "Take off in five minutes, I won't be coming with you. Don't lose my stuff." He slings the bag over his shoulder and runs back out into the forest, towards the city. I need more information, he thinks as he dashes between crystal structures, He must have to go somewhere to talk to the Exchange, or have some correspondence on some kind of device. I need to know what that 'technology' he mentioned was, and where their armies are.

(So the nanites have two modes. Which are they in right now ?)

01:31

(That’s going to inform what happens next )

(its in the passive mode rather than a radio ping)

So far it does not seem like your tagged individual has left the site of the finishing school.

Theta makes his way through the city to the school and circles around it as discreetly as possible, looking for entryways. I've got 48 hours from when I tagged him, no need to rush. I'll just trail him to wherever else he goes to see if there's anywhere suspect. (are there any particularly interesting signals coming from the building that I would see with Panspectral Optics?)

There is a main door to the building, along with windows 2m off the ground, just tall enough to keep most passerbys from seeing in. The school is three floors with an angled roof to allow the rain and other weather to collect into gutters.

19:56

Red brick, now stained orange on purpose with the passing of time gives the building a quaint and historic appearance

glancing around the street to make sure the coast is clear, Theta applies his holoskin emitter to make him look like a janitor, with a grey beard and a cap pulled low over his eyes. "Hopefully no one asks any questions." he mutters to himself as he approaches the front door and attempts to enter.

There is a metal scanner that you can see on the other side through the glass on the door. It is an unobtrusive looking box on the ceiling but the red light showing ARMED is flashing

My gun is in a holdout cavity, otherwise I just have tools...and line shunts. Fingers crossed it can't see through the hologram. I'll try the front as a last resort. Theta thinks. He steps away from the fromt door and walks back around to the other side of the building, looking for maintenance access or an open window on one of the floors.

There’s no special maintenance access on the ground and on a world powered by grails there’s very little that could ever break down to need it- even if the people here do value hard work. Some installations are just too important to leave out of grail coverage. A classroom window is open that you could leap to. It sounds like some sort of test is underway inside

Theta delicately scales the wall using his gecko anchors and peeks into the room. If there's a way through, I'll take it. Otherwise I'll wait for Lyrian to leave. If they're all looking down and there's an open door, I can probably get through unseen.

Thirty children are looking down at their papers and are fretting over their exams. They are all hard at work. The professor looks to be some kind of expert system or VI, built into a frame. It is sitting at the desk watching eachof the children for signs of cheating like a hawk.

(does it seem like there might be a path across the room behind the VI? Or would I have to cross its line of sight to get through?)

(you'd have to cross its line of sight)

Theta drops off the wall, back onto the ground and steps away from the building. "Should just come back later. I can stake it out better and see where else Lyrian goes." he whispers to himself. Maintaining his disguise, he spends a little longer scouting out the grounds, then searches for a place where he'll be able to monitor the building for some time.

There is a public park across the street that seems to be well visited by the families that live in the area. Citizens walk their various pets, a man sells ice cream from a cart, and a pair of beat cops nod respectfully as they continue their rounds- considering you as just another citizen.

Theta purchases an ice-cream and settles into a bench at the park, reading on his compad and carefully watching the finishing school. He plans to stay nearby until the evening, until either Lyrian leaves or it gets dark.

The flavor is the most perfect expression of vanilla you have ever tasted. Grails can truly make anything. Lyrian leaves a few hours after the last of the students have left for the day and begins moving down the street towards a long row of upscale housing located a few blocks away.

Theta waits another twenty minutes, watching the trail of dust Lyrian leaves behind, before standing and approaching the finishing school again. "He might not even have anything in here..." he mutters, approaching the front door again. "At least I can keep following him if I come up empty. And I don't get caught." "They probably closed that window at the end of the day, so I think my best bet is to try to disable the scanner." He approaches the front door and checks to see if it's unlocked.

The front door is locked with a simple mechanical lock. Lyrian has a key likely. Inside you can see automated rat-bots cleaning the floors with warm water and a coat of wax to ensure everything is sparkling for the resumption of classes tomorrow.

"Alright - break in or follow Lyrian?" Theta sighs, "he'll have the key, and anything he keeps here is likely to be kept at his house - if that's where he's heading. I'll try the house first." Theta chuckles, "If the lock was electronic, this would be easy." He retreats from the door again, changes his disguise to a slightly overweight and balding man in a blue suit, and follows Lyrian.

Lyrian heads into the high rise he calls home. You can see him wishing the doorman a good evening as he waits for the elevator to arrive. When it does the guided doors open and he selects the 12th floor- the top one of this building that is also the penthouse

Theta watches carefully from outside the building, then circles around the side and begins to scale the wall as fast as he can while avoiding windows.

(we'd need a sneak/dex here to avoid any chance sightings by the other building occupants)

(12)

2

It doesn’t seem as though anyone has seen you as you scale the building and slowly inch your way to the upper reaches of it. (Are you going for his windows or up to the roof?)

Silently reaching the penthouse, Theta searches for an unlocked window or balcony door to gain access to the apartment.

Lyrian is just walking in and does not seem to notice the intruder outside through the tinted glass. The windows seem to be locked and unable to be opened at all this high up due to safety concerns.

Theta stops for a moment, clinging to the wall of the apartment building. How badly do I want this intel? There's going to be so many diplomatic problems if I get found snooping around, and I'm only following him on a suspicion. He thinks hard for a moment. They put their hands in my pocket, I don't think it's unfair to do the same thing back. He creeps around the outside of the apartment, following Lyrian and waiting for him to head to the bathroom before removing his blackout stick from his jacket and attempting to smash one of the windows.

(would need a melee attack on the window. More for the damage than actually hitting it)

(23/3 on a basic punch attack)

The glass shatters. The window is easy to pull away and nearly dissolves in your hand as you break it into smaller pieces to be able to open the window. The window opens without a sound.

Theta hauls himself into the room and crouches low, his blackout stick held at the ready. Quickly, he rifles through the room for keys, compads or computers.

There is a compad built into the wall, you also find a folder with papers in it of what appears to be had graded homework. (edited)

Theta shuts the door to the room and locks it, dragging a heavy object in front of it if there is one available, before attempting to access the compad. (got plenty of line shunts if I need them as well.)

(We would need to use one to initiate a hack attempt)

Realising he'll need some extra grunt to access the compad, Theta retrieves a line shunt from his pocket and delicately wedges it into the space where the compad connects to the wall.

The connection can be made. (Prog/int)

(13)

On your successful hack you are able to see the following menu options:

Congratulations Student on making it this far. 
Update Grades
View Student List
View Graduate List
Choose but choose wisely you have 1 minute remaining before Headmaster Lyrain is behind you.

(edited)

6

Bemused, Theta opens the graduate list, checking back to the door of the room for Lyrian.

Your compad pulls a list of about 100 graduates and their pictures, name, grades and specialization. The specialization s range from psychic discipline, administration focus or Yama King. The download is slow but only takes a little over 30 seconds to finish.

(I’m caught up I just am letting the scene play out here)

(sorry, been flat out the last few days) Theta holds back cursing under his breath. Surely there's something here. I can't break a window and come back with nothing. I have to keep looking. he thinks, scanning the room again. Blackout stick held high, he walks further into the penthouse, looking for any other sources of data or network connections.

You walk into another room filled with fine art, leather books and two chairs. One turned away from you the other facing you with a coffee table in between.

Theta creeps through the room, reading a few of the spines of the books. Would be pretty dramatic to have a secret terminal behind one of these shelves, like a movie. Theta thinks, scouring the surfaces of the room for anything out of place.

(Notice/int)

(13)

While looking over the books you see several classics, great works though the ages but nothing of note. You do notice in your searching that the armchair that you moved in front of the door has begun to move. You also note that you don’t see what is moving the chair. (edited)

This is about to get so much worse than it already is. Theta dives behind the door, so that it will cover him when it opens.

The door opens by itself moving the chair out of the way. There is no one there.

(Would I see anything moving through with Panspectral Optics?) Still disguised as a balding man in a suit, Theta strains his eyes at the space where he expects a figure to appear. Can psychics turn invisible? I should really know this stuff. Lyrian's not a teleporter, he must be telekinetic. Or is something else causing this?

Behind you in the chair Lyrian comes into your vision smoking a cigar, “You don’t mind do you? Of course you don’t you broke into my residence so I can do what ever I please in this domicile. Since your here, I’m guessing you went to great lengths to track me down. I hope you found it all engaging.” Lyrian grins then takes a puff off his cigar and says, “So what are your questions?”

Theta Eastmarch

(Would I see anything moving through with Panspectral Optics?) Still disguised as a balding man in a suit, Theta strains his eyes at the space where he expects a figure to appear. Can psychics turn invisible? I should really know this stuff. Lyrian's not a teleporter, he must be telekinetic. Or is something else causing this?

(And no you couldn’t see anything even using that.)

3

Theta swallows, then moves to stand between Lyrian and the door. He maintains his disguise. "You wouldn't be surprised to learn you aren't trusted. I'm looking for your communications with the Exchange. You should give them to me. Even with telepathy I'm sure you have things written down somewhere." He takes a step closer, eyeing the man carefully - attempting to determine if he's actually present. (Does Lyrian have a heat signature? I'd like to determine if I'm talking to a hologram or not.)

03:03

(he would also still have the nanites on him, its a 48hr effect)

Lyrian and his cigar both have standard heat signatures. You can see the nanites exuding off of him now and the path that he walked but it wasn’t present before. “Yes, I can see that I’m not trusted. Must have been when we shook hands. Clever. Communication with the exchange goes but one way right now. I’m on a cool down period thanks to being the Face of the exchange. Not much else I can do. You found the test we put our students through though. That information could be very useful to you.” (edited)

Theta drops the disguise and takes another step closer. In what is probably his darkest moment in his career with UNW so far, he openly threatens Lyrian. "Who or what should I find for more information, if you've got none? In the spirit of honesty - I will take this information if you don't give it to me."

Lyrian sets down his cigar sensing the change in attitude in theta. “I have already allowed you to take over 100 names of people to track down throughout the sector. Maybe I should be more frank. What are you afraid we are hiding? Some nefarious plot to destroy your precious United Nations of Worlds? One of the shining stars of economic growth in the sector? Ask me your questions, before this becomes something that you will one day regret.” Lyrian says looking straight into your eyes.

"The Exchange reappeared out of nowhere and is immediately able to establish itself as an intermediary in our financial system. You have armies and ships, and were able to use some kind technology to assert your will." Theta's eyes don't leave Lyrian's. He takes another step closer. "What is your technology? Where are your armies and what are they made up of?"

"First of all, I didn't say that we had armies, just that we had access to them. They are not ours, but those that work with the Exchange as to their disposition and make up I do not know. Our technology is mostly similar to your own." (Sorry yesterday was crazy RL) (edited)

Theta scowls. "I can see why they put such a useful idiot up as the Face, if you've not nothing to share. I'll ask even more simply. Does the Exchange use any maltech for their operations?"

“Maltech, why would we need maltech? No we don’t use maltech.” Lyrian is obviously attempting to control his anger at the provocation. “No, we do not use maltech unlike some of your fellow polities.”

4

Well, that's a plus, Theta thinks, trying to gauge the power of the psychic seated before him. I need a way out that doesn't make things worse. His fingers twitch against the jet-black rod in his hand. He swallows, holding back his own frustration at being discovered, "I followed you for a few reasons. First was to make sure you weren't lying to me to openly. Second was to find out what you weren't telling me. And third was to make sure you know how closely the Exchange is being watched, how easily you can be put in danger if you cross a line. Do you understand this?"

“So your watching the watchers. Makes sense.” Lyrian picks his cigar back up sensing the shift back in demeanor. Then pauses and pulls out another cigar offering it to Theta. “It just the business right?” Lyrian tries to grin.

I don't think I've taken anything worth trying to wipe his memory over. Better to leave him intimidated. Plus, I would have to attack him for it to work, and if I fail, that's much worse. Theta thinks through his options as he stares at the cigar. "Just business, Lyrian. Stay safe." Theta takes a step back and turns to leave the apartment through the front door without taking Lyrian's offer.

Lyrian watches him go as he reaches the door Lyrain says, "The Exchange is watching. Look to the east Theta." Then Lyrain continues to puff on his cigar. (Edit stupid typo on wxchange…) (edited)

2

Theta exits the apartment and steps into the lift, pressing the button for the ground floor. As soon as the doors close he leans against the back wall, exhales loudly, and runs his hands down his face. "You're an interesting man, Lyrian." he mutters to himself, "I'm sure we'll cross paths again." He exits the complex and calls in a lift to the Dark Star.

(3xp, 5000 credits, re roll token for each of you)

3

16:21

(Great RP there)

3

(and im home, so im good for whatever comes next)

(Would there be work to do looking through this list of names, or is that something better left to NebEnt staff? Otherwise I was thinking if Noel/NMC need help looking into maltech I could give them a hand)

(probably something better left to administrators and OOC that gives me time to talk to shriven so we can see what a good investigation pace would be)

(I thought that might be the case. Then I'll reach out to NMC and otherwise I could spend some time on Asta if there's work to be done there.)

02:36

Back aboard the Dark Star, Theta hands over the list of graduates to an agent. "Look into these people - they're likely all members of the Exchange. I don't think it's an exhaustive list either, so learn what you can about their other connections. Report anything of note straight back to me."

(We will await a reply from Noel)

1

To: Theta Eastmarch
From: Noel Hallewell

Mr. (Dr?) Eastmarch,
The situation here is pretty bad and I'd be lying if I stated that I was certain I could contain this by myself, but I am certainly trying. To be honest, I've not fought an AI before.

The locals have set up a massive defensive Maze structure and are more or less fighting a  and losing war of attrition against the thing.
Any immediate assistance would be greatly appreciated.
-Noel Hallewell,
Employee of CAST.

(Happy to head over and assist!) Theta takes to the bridge of the Dark Star and directs the navigator to Plaus. "It's a long way," Theta calls out to the crew. "Find a good book, and bring your camera."

(I think iracus is gonna end up being there too. Might move this into a group mission)

1

(sounds good. its 20 days' travel by my count, taking me to 77/90 on Administer)

(20 by mine as well, so take a look at what #noel has done so far, and I'll get a group thread)