Phoenix investigation
The players are all hired at Omitkiv station to investigate a mysterious ship that is believed to be a master ship. They travel on the Skolto, a ship owned by a Fang-el named Kirdaan who is financing the operation. Investigation of the ship finds it is not a master ship but from a race that has not yet discovered how to create Starsails. The mision is declared a bust since all the technology is obsolete by interstellar standards. Selling technology to new species is a profitable venture yet it can be dangerous, especially as there is evidence of a dangerous lifeform that were incubated within and killed the crew of the alien starship. An argument between those that want to get rich selling technology to a new species and those that want to play it safe erupts into a full scale mutiny. The mutineers led by Niatpac win and investigation of the alien world proceeds. The planet is very quiet on approach, no major orbitals found and the planet does not respond to standard communications. They decide to land in a secluded area and travel to a nearby city to avoid scaring the locals. On the way there they accidently "mash some poor fellers dog". Despite the PC's best efforts they are unable to save it and it dies. Sorrow turns to terror however as the "dog" was apparently the host to one of the lifeforms that took out the starship found earlier as a "wildcat" bursts out of it's chest and immediately starts eating the body of it's host. The sight is so disturbing that from this time forward, Gelf and N'seng are mentally scarred. Space conan heroically attacks the monster and is shocked when his sword bounces off it's natural armor. It then almost casually eviscerates and poisons him in return. Realizing the danger they're in they jump back into the GTV (a jeep like vehicle) and drive off as fast as they can away from there. Gelf manages to learn enough emergency first aid to counteract the poison infecting Space Conan. They eventually come up on what appears to be a local farm house. After some confusion and scaring of the natives, contact is made with some official government representatives. They spend about a month there learning their ways and discover that the "phoenix" (as their race gets called) are not victims of an infection from the wildcats but that it is a normal part of their biological process. They sell starsail technology to them in exchange for all technology they discover in perpetuity. They also take a pair of phoenix dogs with them to breed as pets. They then return back to Omitkiv.
Destruction of Omitkiv
After the long journey back to Omitkiv it is important for all of them to lay low while Niatpac works things out so that the authorities don't find out about the mutiny. About a week after they arrive the station is attacked by a large Skernaa force. The players all manage to escape back to the Skolto along with a number of other desperate refugees trying to escape the destruction. They flee towards Sekvanta which is a habitable planet used primarily for agriculture and is a large source of food in this area. Along the way they encounter the remains of the Oereppis, a freighter that was partially damaged during the escape from Omitkiv causing the ship to lose life support in the middle of deep space. Nothing of exceptional value is found on the ship except for the ship itself which is still mostly functional except for the life support and could be easily repaired. Due to the lack of resources on the Skolto it is decided to leave the ship and come back for it later. They eventually reach Sekvanta however the Skolto life support system has been pushed to the edge. The ship is crowded with refugees and the recycling system can not keep up. Sekvanta is crowded with ships and refugees from not only Omitkiv but also Mitkiv minor and Mitkiv major which were also attacked and destroyed by the Skernaa. Unable to offload the refugees to the planet due to the long line and having lifesupport take so long the players start looking for other ships willing to take refugees to another system. They eventually find a ship from an unknown race (later found to call themselves the Serk, pronounced like zerk) that agrees to take the "50 life units" for $25,000. The passengers of course are penniless and the players are short on cash. N'seng manages to collect the money from someone he knew that owed him a favor however. They then agree to make the trade, some of the refugees want to stay and since they won't be enough to overload the life support they are allowed to remain. After the other refugees board the Serk ship the players find that their account was credited $25,000 instead of being charged. When the players attempt to question the Serk they are told "no refunds". The fate of the refugees is unknown. They get parts and return back to the wreckage of the Oereppis which they successfully repair. Niatpac decides he'd rather keep the Oereppis instead of the Skolto because the Oereppis' registration is on board the ship which he can use while the Skolto is a stolen ship due to the mutiny. With the destruction of Omitkiv and all the refugees it hasn't been a problem so far but he decides he's rather play it safe. He offers to let the players come with him or keep the Skolto as their own ship. Players choose to keep the Skolto.
Ferry Service
The players return back to Sekvanta and decide to make money by hiring out as a passenger ship to less crowded regions of space. The demand for passenger service is high and not all of the passengers are destitute. They accept payment from a number of different people including "space fonz", some farmers, and some traders. They do however refuse service to a group of nuns who are unable to pay. They travel first to a relatively nearby "mineral" world colonized by some Mineron. They spend a day there and everyone gets off to stretch their legs. The next day when ready to leave, space fonz doesn't get back on board who was one of those expected to continue on to Market station (the next destination). Rather then leave him the players investigate and find out that because of something that happened the previous night he was being highly encouraged by a local mineron girls father to remain here and marry his daughter. The players decide to leave space fonz to his fate and leave. They travel on to Market which has no habitable planets but a large station which is one of the biggest trading centers in the area. The remaining passengers all depart as they intended. Players buy food supples for selling back at Mineral which they found currently has a high demand. Along the way they pass through a large amouont of tachyon fluctuations going the opposite direction from Mineral to Market. Players arrive at Mineral to find it destroyed by Skernaa invasion, they manage to salvage a better gun for the Skolto. They return back to Market to find that it to has been destroyed by the Skernaa. Destruction of Market wasn't complete and while the orbitals and station were destroyed there were some survivors in some of the wrecks. They find a Serk ship in the area "rescuing" survivors. Around this time the phoenix dogs lay some eggs and results in a litter of 6 phoenix dog puppies giving them 8 total. Gelf devises an automated food dispenser for the phoenix dogs so that he never has to worry about them accidentally starving to death.
Ammonoria
Players travel to Outpost, this is a minor system where there is not normally much of interest but in the threat of what is apparently a major Skernaa invasion, Outpost is now the focus to defend the inner systems, especially the Sztaki homeworld, and also to retaliate against the Skernaa. While here the players finally manage to install the upgrade cannon they salvaged on Mineral. During this time Fex finally manages to calculate the location of Ammonoria, his homeworld, which he has been searching for since before he even encountered the others in the party. The players decide to travel to Ammonoria since according to Fex his world has not yet discovered interstellar travel. The players arrive at Ammonoria to discover the world is in chaos. There is evidence of nuclear weapons being used on major cities recently. An especially large crater exists where the research center Fex and his father Xef were investigating the sword was. They recieve orders to land at a specific airbase and they refuse at first because the orders do not come from someone Fex knows and he knowing nothing about the war is uncertain what the sides are. Primitive airplanes start buzzing the Skolto however Skolto easily evades them. They eventually discover an air bomber flying towards them equipped with a nuclear bomb. The bomber is even slower then the fighters and not a threat but the players decide that the Ammonorians are scared and desperate enough about the Skolto that they should follow the instructions given by the airbase. After landing "the general" advises the players on the situation. Fex's sword which has quantech abilities inherent in it has since the beginning of his worlds history been a "holy" artifact due to it's odd properties. It was experiments in the nature of the sword that resulted in Fex accidently being transported to Omitkiv from Ammonoria without the use of a starship. The disappearance of the sword resulted in a holy war on the planet that eventually coalesced between the northern and southern continents. The northerners were more devout and feel that the loss of the sword is a sign that Ammonoria has strayed from the teachings of the gods. The southerners felt it was a scientific accident but nothing more. The technology level of Ammonoria is about the equivalent of earth during WW2 except they have quantumancy due to their long association with the sword before it vanished. Xef was kidnapped sometime back by the northerners due to his expertise in quantech and quantumancy and the southerners have not been able to rescue him despite knowing where he is. The players agree to use their ship and technology to help rescue Xef. They infiltrate the compound where Xef is being held and manage to eliminate a large number of the guards due to their inexperience with standard interstellar technology. An accident with Fex's sword accidently warps Space Fonz to them who joins their group and tries to help them. They eventually find Xef in a cell being held hostage by his guard. Xef is mortally wounded in the shootout and has the players take him to the laboratory. They find a capsule here which he tells them to put him in as he dies. The device resurrects his body and brings him back to life. The players take the "resurrection machine" back onto the ship and fly back to the military base.
Betrayal
The players return successfully and they start providing some technology to the Ammonorians. Gelf builds an Xbox 360 along with a cracked version of halo and sells it to them as a "military training simulator". As time goes by though they start noticing things are a little out of place from time to time on their ship. The general pressures the players to help him finish the war by arming the Skolto with nukes and using them along with the Skolto's own weaponry to destroy key targets in the north. The players eventually agree and the north is quickly blasted to a point where they are no longer a threat. They return as heroes for ending the war and continue to provide techonology to allow Ammonoria to recover. They start working on a computer system and specifically a fingerprint database. Sometime later Xef vanishes from the secret bunker he had been hiding in. The fingerprint database is completed and once done the general arrests all the players. He forces Gelf to help him reverse engineer various technology pieces the players chose not to share, especially the total conversion engine and the weapons. After some time the players here about plans by the general to dissect one of the "aliens found on the ship". The players realize they are talking about the phoenix dogs and immediately barricade themselves as best they can. After a few hours of screaming, guns blasting, bombs going off and all around chaos the players finally let themselves out and discover everyone on the military base gone, either eaten or escaped. They find one surviving phoenix dog in it's cocoon state which they take with them. They also find Fex's parents alive and well due to them being safely locked in the prison. The players reclaim most of their stuff, including Fex's sword, they take Fex's parents to a safe location and then leave Ammonoria.
Threat of the Skernaa
The players travel back to Outpost. On the way they find evidence of a Skernaa fleet traveling to Omitkiv. Arriving at Outpost they here rumors of a Skernaa "super weapon". They find that latest intelligence has the Skernaa basing everything out of Omitkiv. They find bounties for those willing to travel to Omitkiv and bring back information. They accept a scouting mission and travel to Omitkiv. They manage to lure the enemy away and manage to bring back detailed scans of the suspected super weapon back to Outpost. It appears to be an intact and fully functional master ship.
Criminal Intentions
The players spend enough time in Outpost that questions about their ship registration comes up. The players decide to hire someone to forge these documents. They go to a meeting with someone rumored to provide illegal services. It was a trap and Gelf gets kidnapped. While this is happening Space Conan decides to earn some extra money by hiring out as a prison guard. N'seng is drunk on root beer again and completely unable to assist. Fex is on the Skolto when he notices a Serk ship in the area. Space Conan notices that one of the "dangerous criminals" he has been hired to guard is Gelf. Fex, who has been paying close attention to the Serk ship, notices a freighter ship starting to fly towards the Serk ship. Fex attempts to warn the freighter not to do business with them and is told to mind his own business. He tries to contact the Serk ship and is told if he wants to trade they will be happy to do business with him later but are in the middle of transaction right now. He tries to contact the authorities who advise him both ships are legally able to conduct business here and he would need proof of wrongdoing before they can interfere. Fex fires a warning shot across the bow of the Serk ship. The shot vanishes right in front of the ship providing evidence that the Serk ship has energy shielding which no known race has ever developed and considered impossible by many. Detecting weapons fire in a restricted area the space police start heading to the area to sort things out and orders all ships surrender. Space Conan frees Gelf and the other prisoners and they try to take control of the ship. They manage to disable the ship and keep it from going anywhere. The Serk ship flies off at incredible speed out of the solar system. One of the police vessels tries to chase it down. The other boards both the Skolto and the freighter and arrests everyone onboard. The prisoners are released by the cops upon realizing the situation but Fex and Space Conan are taken to court. Fex is on trial for firing his ships weapons without provocation in a restricted area and for not having the proper registration for the Skolto. Fex manages to convince the judge that the warning shot was justified because of the kidnapping of his friends and his belief that the Serk are a slaver race. He manages to convince the judge that the lack of registration for the Skolto was a mistake caused by the confusion inherent in the evacuation of Omitkiv. He is released and advised to get his ship registered immediately. Space Conan is arrested for his involvement in working for the slavers. He finds the female judge to be irresistable and tries to proposition her. The judge is not amused and sentences him to a rehab center in the nearby Research system.
The Skernaa Strike Back
The players start doing some trading planning on returning back to Market which is in the process of being rebuilt. They arrive at market but it is attacked by the Skernaa shortly thereafter. They see the Skernaa super weapon in action as it fires powerful blasts faster then the speed of light. This allows the Skernaa to sit on the edge of the system, out of range of conventional weaponry, and obliterate almost everything. Fortunately the C+ cannon as it's called apparently is still limited to the speed of light for target acquisition so is most useful against targets that can't change position. It is also a rare and unique ship as nothing like it has ever been seen before. The players retreat along with most of the other ships in the area. The players fly back to Outpost and then continue on towards Research. The Skernaa fleet hardly wasted any time destroying Market before continuing on. The players arrive at Research and continue straight on towards the Sztaki homeworld. Upon arrival they find that after attacking Market again the Skernaa had bypassed Outpost and hit Research. When Outpost realized it was cut off, it abandoned everything and went around to Sztaki to protect it since as a homeworld it was the most vital target. Scouting missions to Research found that the Skernaa appear to be preparing themselves to stay for some time. Many more refugees escaped from Research then most other invasions due to the Skernaa being more interested in taking prisoners then they had previously, especially on the planet itself. All ships capable of fighting assigned to be part of retaliatory attack on the Skernaa. High bounties offered. Players are assigned to be part of the decoy team. Decoy team are a number of small ship that will fly in to one of the orbitals or moons in the outer system away from the main fleet. They will attack in the hopes that at least part of the main fleet will be distracted to allow the main force to arrive and attack the C+ cannon and destroy it. Top priority is given to destroying the C+ cannon since it is what has allowed the Skernaa to win so many battles. Players are assigned an orbital station in the outer system not near any planets or moons. They attack the orbital doing minor damage to it when a Skernaa assault ship launches from the orbital. They fly away from the station trying to avoid the assault ship which doesn't attack but does attempt to grapple them. They do major damage to the ship but in the end are captured by the assault ship.
A Desperate Plan
As a Skernaa assault force attempts to force their way onto the ship the players realize they are unequipped to repel boarders. Using N'seng spy cams they see 4 heavily armed Skernaa marines force their way into the airlock. They open the main cargo bay doors to blow them out into space but the marines are wearing battle armor which protects them fromspace and they just use their jets to eventually make their way back in. Gelf then reconfigures the power system to send an overload of power through the cargo bay power system and arc electricity throughout the cargo bay. The plan is successfull and the marines are eliminated but at a cost. Everything in the cargo bay is destroyed, many of the ship components are damaged and the airlock is permanently fused making it impossible to use, the main cargo bay doors are jammed open and will not close anymore, the ship will not survive another attempt at this. They also notice a 2nd group of Skernaa coming towards the Skolto though they do not appear to be as heavily armed. There are also only 2 of them. Without an airlock the players all hide within various airtight rooms and simply vent air from the hallway outside the cargo bay into space to gain access to the cargo bay. This taxes their supply of oxygen however and can only be done safely a few times. Fex goes into the cargo bay and stuns one of the Skernaa as he examines the remains of the original group. The other he wrestles with and manages to get off his helmet causing him to asphyxiate. He brings back the two working suits for others to use. They don't fit well but are functional. Gelf puts on one of the new suits while Fex goes out to investigate the Skernaa ship, Fex is seen leaving the Skolto but he vanishes along with his sword shortely thereafter. Gelf sneaks onto the outside of the assault ship and starts hacking the computer system through the sensor input. He discovers the existence of a number of prisoners onboard this ship and opens all the doors in the prison section. Space Conan had been captured by the Skernaa during the invasion of Research and luckily happened to be onboard the assault ship. After being released by Gelf he makes his way to an airlock where he finds a comm unit and learns that Gelf is outside working with the computer system to release the grappels holding the Skolto to the assault ship so they can escape. Space Conan puts on a space suit in an airlock while Gelf manages to hold the door shut despite the attempts of the Skernaa to regain control manually. Once Space Conan has his suit on Gelf opens all the doors on the ship he can including the airlock blowing Space Conan, the Skernaa, and all the other prisoners out of the ship. Gelf soon realizes that while most of the Skernaa are now dead, the main control systems are still inhabited and their security is tighter then the other systems. He releases the grappels and abandons the assault ship not wanting to risk further confrontation and starts heading back to the Skolto. Space Conan meanwhile has made his way back to the Skolto and doesn't recognize it at first due to all the damage. He then starts opening doors looking for survivors forgetting that with the main cargo bay doors jammed open permanently that there is no air on the ship except behind the airtight doors and as he opens the doors he accidently spaces N'seng, Dachar and the last remaining phoenix dog. Fortunately the wildcat within the phoenix dog also asphyxiates before it can destroy the entire ship. Gelf makes it back to the ship, repressurizes what he can of the ship and leaves the assault ship to head back to Sztaki.
End of the Skolto
The players slowly limp back to Sztaki. On the way they use the resurrection machine to bring back N'seng and Dachar. Only by the excellent engineering skills of Gelf do they survive. However once they arrive back there is sad news. The C+ cannon survived the attack by the main force and the players can not afford to repair the Skolto. They do odd jobs around the system for a month or so trying to earn money but they realize it will take too long, especially since the life support has completely failed on the Skolto in the mean time and they can no longer live on it. The players choose to sell the Skolto for scrap and hire themselves on with another crew.
Rogues and the Rogue
The ship they are on with are an exploratory ship who's captain is obsessed by the "sword of crom" and has a lead on where it's located. He's found a "rogue" planet floating through deep space without a star with evidence of a past civilization on it. On the journey to Rogue they make friends with an existing member of the crew, a mineron named Gurden. Many parties are sent down all over the world. The players encounter a flying robot that fires nets off from a distance entangling them. They eventually manage to get past it with help from the ship and evidence of the sword of crom is found. The ship quantumancers report that at some point in the past the sword teleported to another star system. The ship leaves for this system where a habitable planet is found, not knowing any other name for it the crew starts calling it "cromworld". Because none of the players are pilots or otherwise involved with command center of this ship they become aware of the fact that the ship is involved in a battle on approach to this world but are not directly involved. As an engineer Gelf does notice that while the weapons were heavily used during the battle the engines weren't used at all and the ship was never hit indicating they didn't need to dodge or evade anything. After this battle they are sent down as part of the research team to look for the sword of crom. They land on the world and start investigating. They find that about 2 years ago this spot was at the center of a nuclear explosion from a rather primitive nuke. They find many humanoid dead bodies in the area and strangely enough they find that many have died recently as if they came into this area and stayed to die of the radiation. They find a native in the area however it is horribly disfigured from the sores caused by the radiation. The native is captured and taken to the ship for interrogation. From this a 2nd expedition leaves for a different section of the planet. The players are not needed for this expedition as none of them are quantumancers and remain on board the ship. The 2nd expedition is apparently successfull as the ship leaves shortly after it returns. Talk among the crew finds that their heading towards Omitkiv, which is where the Skernaa have been basing their attacks out since the beginning. Upon arrival at Omitkiv, the captain calls the players to a meeting. He reports that the information the quantumancers recieved from the previous world indicates the sword teleported to the place Omitkiv station used to be before it was destroyed. Viewing the system from a distance the Explorer has found that since then the Skernaa have started construction of a large structure in space. It seems obvious to him that the sword of crom is why the Skernaa attacked Omitkiv and most likely have it on the C+ cannon which is their current flagship. He then tells them that a Skernaa scoutship was recently captured by them and that he wants them to use it to infiltrate the C+ cannon, find the sword of crom, and possibly sabotage the C+ cannon since the Sztaki have put out a large bounty on it. The players tell the captain that they agree but secretly decide that the mission is way too dangerous. Gelf builds a secret compartment near the engineering system to hide in and stocks it with supplies. The players convince Space Conan to cut off his arm, pilot the Skernaa scoutship on his own and if something happens they will use the resurrection machine to bring him back with his arm. Space Conan eagerly does so and without any piloting skills and extreme loss of blood, attempts to launch the scoutship and pilot the tachyon streams used by the starsail to where the Skernaa fleet resides. He manages to make it out the cargo bay but almost immediately flies straight into a nearby asteroid and is killed. The captain assumes everyone is dead, declares the mission a bust since without the scoutship they have no way of infiltrating the Skernaa and return back to Sztaki. Space Conan is secretly revived on the trip back using the resurrection machine.
Phoenix Return
The players manage to avoid detection all the way back to the Sztaki homeworld and sneak off with the resurrection machine and their personal possesions. They encounter Niatpac again who is still commanding the Oereppis and hires them on. He is making delivery runs to Research which was abandoned by the Skernaa sometime back and currently in the process of being rebuilt as well as some of the patrol ships guarding the region. While en route to one of the patrol ships they encounter a Sztaki scout ship being attacked by a Skernaa scout ship. They rescue the Sztaki ship which reports that the Skernaa are constructing what appears to be a large space dock in the Omitkiv system. The scoutship sends copies of it's report to the Oereppis and says to pass the information along as this is vital. Reviewing the information Gelf confirms it does appear to be a space dock for constructing starships however it's shape is incompatible with current Skernaa ship designs. Dachar mentions it bears some similarities to the ruins of what are suspected to be master space docks. The Oereppis continues on it's delivery route. Players remember about their agreement with the Phoenix and recommend Niatpac to visit to collect on it. Niatpac agrees to do so after finishing their current run. They complete their delivery and travel to Phoenix, they get stuck for some time due to tachyon weather but manage to get through. They also have to go the long way around since phoenix is out beyond Omitkiv. Phoenix has progressed and is starting to become an interstellar society. They have some orbitals now which welcomes them back. They find that most of the technology the phoenix have obtained since recieving the starsail is obsolete by the players standards, however they do get a system to improve the efficiency of their weapons. They also find that at first the phoenix sent expeditions towards Omitkiv where the players advised them they were from but were destroyed by the Skernaa. Since then the phoenix have traveled in other directions and have made contact with other species the players have not yet discovered. Phoenix is slowly turning into a hub of commerce in it's area. The players give what information they can on the Skernaa to the phoenix and Gelf helps them redesign their fighters so they can protect themselves from attacks as they are currently unequipped to fend off the Skernaa alone and have survived mostly because the Skernaa are not aware of them. Niatpac does some trading on his own to purchase things he thinks will be useful back at Sztaki. The remaining players explore the "night life" of one of the Phoenix cities, the other players convice Space Conan to steal a small pouch hanging from the waist of a local Phoenix. Although there is a moment where the think they've been caught the theft is successfull. They return to the ship and investigate their find. It turns out to be some form of local dried vegetation which none of them recognize. Gelf says it looks like oregano and makes some spaghetti and uses it as a sauce. It makes the humans in the crew who eat it feel very "fine" but has an adverse reaction on Gelf and the Fang-el mambers of the crew. Gurden doesn't eat it because he knows his biology is different enough it probably wouldn't agree with him anyways. The players spend $5000 to purchase 20 phoenix dogs along with cages and food for them hoping to sell them as bio-weapons to the Fang-el. Niatpac is not planning on going to Fang-el but upon hearing the plan estimates the dogs are worth $100,000,000 and agrees to take them there and pay all of the travel expenses for a 75% cut. The players agree to the terms.
Possible War Crimes
The players stop by Sztaki on their way to Fang-el due to weather conditions and to stock up on food. They have about a week in the system for the weather to clear. Most remain on the ship but Xelf, N'seng and Gurden decide to show the phoenix dogs to a local biological weapons facility to get some price estimates. They decide that a "live" demonstration will be most effective and go to the bar to pick a fight. N'seng finds a human and makes rude remarks about his mother. His intention is for him to attempt to challenge his "dog". Things get out of control and the phoenix dog gets stabbed with a knife. The players run out the bar, Xelf and Gurden continue running away while N'seng stops to see what happens. The person that they tried to pick a fight also runs out threatening to call security. N'seng throws up a spycam to record the events figuring while not the best way it will provide a very good demonstration of what the wildcats can do. The phoenix dog was apparently not mortally wounded and some of the scientists start treating it's wounds. N'seng starts quoting "old yeller" saying he can't bear to see his dog in pain. He then pulls out his gun and takes a moment to aim at the phoenix dog. The crowd in the bar runs to the side on seeing the gun thinking N'seng is aiming at someone in the bar. He gets a perfect headshot on the phoenix dog. He immediately starts running away without waiting to see what happens. He hears screaming as he runs after Xelf and Gurden. They start running towards the research center of the station. They notice other patrons in the bar running out of the bar, completely terrified, but upon seeing the players run the other direction from both them and the bar. A security detachment is coming towards them from the direction of the security center. Xelf continues running towards the research center while N'seng and Gurden hesitate and are taken into custody. Xelf accidently trips a short while later and is captured as well. All players are handcuffed and taken towards the security center. The walk takes some time but the players are eager to be locked up hoping to remain safe from the wildcat. Shortly before arriving at the security center gravity shifts violently for about a second pulling everyone, including the guards, towards a wall. Most of the group gets a bruise or two but nothing serious. The station general alarm begins to sound. An announcement over the intercom requests all station personnel to report to the command center, priority "0h5n4p". On hearing this the guards swear to themselves and take off at a dead run in the direction of the command center leaving the players to themselves.
Definite War Crimes
The players continue to make their way to the security center. On the way they pass an observation lounge and notice a large number of people looking out one of the windows there. They hear people wonder if it's part of skernaa attack or if it's from a new unknown species infiltrating us. The players don't notice anything and continue on their way. As they continue they see many civilians going towards where the ferry docks talking about wanting to get off the station and catching a FTL ship somewhere. The players continue towards the security center. They arrive and find the door lock. N'seng manages to free Xelf who pulls out a "pick-a-lock" device which he uses to free N'seng. N'seng then frees Gurden. Working together Xelf and N'seng unlock the door to the security center to find it completely deserted. They manage to break their way into the computer system. They find that all radios are currently down, both station and their personal radios and are cut off from outside the station. They access a camera in the command center and watch for awhile a meeting discussing the current emergency. They find out there is a lot of confusion about what is going on between reports of a hostile alien infestation in the bar along with the "anomoly" outside. They check the waiting area for the ferry and find that there is a huge line for the ferry and the people are almost on the verge of a riot there wanting to get off the station. N'seng checks his spycam on his wrist computer and finds that the wildcat did burst out of phoenix dog and start slaughtering people in the bar. The last the spycam saw was it running out the bar. Sometime after the phoenix dog ran out they see the "gravity shift" affected everything in the bar. They also notice right before it there was a flash of light coming from the windows right outside the bar and after the shift the room was slightly brighter then it was before. They checked the station logs and saw that the station recorded the players involvement including bringing the dog with them, picking the fight, intentionally shooting the phoenix dog, and some of them running away before taking out the phoenix dog. They try deleting these records however the logs are meant to be viewed not deleted and the system refuses. It also reports possible misuse of logs and that copies are being put on a non-networked backup pending investigation. They track the phoenix dog in the logs and find that after it left the bar it wandered the corridors for some time until the guards managed to gun it down. They see it was a rough fight and some of the guards were killed in the fight. The players decide to try and leave the station before someone in authority reviews the bar logs. They pass the observation lounge again and this time as they look out the window Xelf remembers that the Sztaki solar system is not a binary star system, and there are currently two suns right outside the window. They go back to the security center and find that the ferry waiting area is still somewhat panicked. They check external sensors and find that many of them are completely scrambled after "the shift" happened. They can't even tell what solar system they're in. They do find out that the tachyon streams are in complete chaos and any attempt to use a starsail would rip a ship apart. For comparison this storm is like trying to sail a wind-powered sailing ship inside a tornado, when the tornado is the size of a hurricane. Fortunately tachyons don't affect normal matter so besides preventing all starsail travel for some time there is no other affect. Xelf also estimates it will blow itself out in a week or so. They go to the command center and manage talk their way in due to Xelf being known as being a good engineer on theoretical systems. They come up with an idea that since almost all frequencies except the visual spectrum appear scambled or jammed to get in touch with the rest of the system using encoded laser pulses. They manage to get in touch with some of the other orbitals that were nearby including one that is a large optical telescope. The telescope reports that somehow the entire Research star system has been dumped into the middle of the Sztaki star system. All planets, orbitals, and ships from both system are here together. The new binary star system is *highly* unstable and they estimate the stars will collide in about a month. They also report that the Skernaa fleet, including the C+ cannon, was transported here as well and the inner system closer to Sztaki is in the middle of a major battle. Both fleets appear somewhat disabled as many ships appear to be adrift or not working at full power. They also report there are 3 new ships in the Skernaa fleet that appear very similar to the C+ cannon. Two of the new ships and the C+ cannon appear disabled and are being towed but the third new ship is fully functional and appears to be equipped with the same weapon the C+ cannon uses. The Skernaa fleet is fighting a retreating action using sublight drives being chased by the Allied forces. The telescope reports the fleet is moving in this general direction and will probably be here in a day or so. The players are stuck here. The ferry starts moving people around the orbitals and moons around this gas giant planet they're near but can't get to the inner system due to the fighting. When the fleet gets closer a cruiser from the Allied fleet breaks off and goes straight to the planet where the PC's are. Radios are working by this point and asks for volunteers to help with the fighting. The players get confirmation that the 3 new ships are copies of the C+ cannon however they managed to destroy one of the copies on the way here. Many of the Skernaa ships are disabled including the original C+ cannon which the Skernaa appear to be very protective of and is a high priority. The players volunteer to help fight the skernaa. They get assigned to an elite infiltration team. The plan is for the fleet to focus their attacks on the C+ cannon that is still capable of firing to draw the Skernaa forces away from the original. An assault ship will then attempt to carry the players onto the original C+ cannon who will get what information they can from it, then destroy it. It is believed that the original C+ cannon is the source of the transporting of the entire Research start system because it is a master ship and the "super storm" raging throughout the system appears to be focused on this ship. Information is useful but destruction is top priority because the Allies have no hope to fight against the Skernaa so long as they have the power to throw entire star systems around as weapons.
Assault on the C+ Cannon
The players board the C+ cannon through an airlock. They are unsuccessfull at hacking through the control system so they blow open the airlock instead. The C+ cannon is full of strange statues, crystals along the walls, glowing pools of light. They start at a junction of 3 hallsways, one going towards the bow, one towards the stern, the last to port. Down the bow hallway they quickly find a group of guards and after a fierce battle they kill them. Beyond the guards the players find a small room with what appeared to be a button in it and another door beyond. The second door won't open. Suspecting a trap they convince Space Conan to go into the room and push the button. The door closes on Space Conan and he says the room filled with light but nothing else happened. They then split up to explore the other two corridors. Down the stern hallway they find a some storage rooms and eventually come upon a room that is highly cluttered and full of dust unlike all the others. In this room they find a hovering robot similar to the one found on the "rogue" planet. They leave it alone. The other group meanwhile finds a Skernaa quantumancer. The quantumancer eventually manages to his skills to escape down another hallway. The players chase after him until they reach the end of the hallway. Through the door they see a large room with a giant crystal in it along with a number of guards. The players close the door and regroup in another room. Gelf attempts to hack the ship however the ship is so alien it's hard for him to even find an access point. When he does he finds the system almost impossible to overcome due to how advanced the ship is compared to what he is used to. An alarm starts sounding throughout the ship and a group of guards start heading towards the players from where the quantumancer ran too. N'seng comes up with a brilliant idea and convinces the other players to retreat to the room with the robot. However when everyone showed up in the room with the robot everyone finds that N'seng had split off with the rest of the group and gone a different direction and wasn't with everyone else anymore. The Skernaa guards can be heard on the other side of the door but they don't enter the room. The robot notices the players and goes towards the group apparently checking them out. While the players discuss amongst themselves as to whether the robot is hostile or not it fires a beam that incinerates one of the support NPC's that came with them. They start cursing at N'seng even though he's not here for putting them in this situation and then bailing on them. The robot then starts moving towards the rest of the party. The players shove another one of the support NPC's with them in front and order him to stand fast. He grumbles a bit about the obvious cowardice of everyone else and the fact he's the lowest rank here but he does his duty and stands firm. Gelf meanwhile starts scanning the robot for any way to communicate with it. He finds that the robot is in constant communication with the ship. Although he can't decode the signals specifically he manages to determine they are command signals from the ship. Gelf pulls a jammer device and turns it on. The robot immediately powers down and drops to the ground. The players take some time to decide what to do, while Gelf tinkers with the robot. While this is going on they see a Skernaa soldier pushed into the room with them, look around, and then run out.They have one of the last two support NPC's take a quick peek out the door. He gets gunned down by the Skernaa the moment the door opens. During his tinkering Gelf tries shutting down the jammer, the robot immediately blasts their last support NPC. Gelf wastes no time in turning on the jammer. They then take the robot to the door and while hiding around the side of the door open it and throw the robot out turning off he jammer. They hear many yells, screams, cursing and various weapons going off. It doesn't take long before things quiet down. The players are uncertain what to do without having any support NPC's anymore when the door opens and they see the robot floating there. Gelf turns on the jammer and disables the robot again. They then travel together into the room with the large crystal. In this room they eventually find Fex hiding. He tells them he had been kept a prisoner on this ship for some time, tortured for information and was forced to use his swords in a special machine that enhanced it's powers. He's in bad physical shape. The players are uncertain on how to procede until Fex notices and mentions to Gelf that he's still carrying around the explosive charge he was given to destroy the ship with. They set it close to the large crystal and escape back to their assault ship. They escape successfully and Fex is immediately taken to sickbay where he falls asleep still holding the sword. Gelf notices something odd and takes some energy readings. He notices energy patters coming from Fex's sword similar to what was detected by the sensors on the space station right before the 2nd star appeared. Gelf suspects that Fex is how the Skernaa moved an entire solar system around.
Evacuation of Research
The
players relax a little while the assault ship flies away from the
battle. Meanwhile Nephats, a Droid quantumancer who was recently drafted
because of the recent emergency is assigned to check out Fex due to his
suspected involvement with the C+ cannon by the military officials. He
discovers immense quantech power emanating from Fex's sword and he
tentatively attempts to take the sword but Fex doesn't relinquish. Fex's
seems somewhat delirious and not very communicative. Nephats decides to
not make any mention of the sword in his report. He meets Gelf and
N'Seng when they come to visit Fex. A day later they are assigned rescue
on the planet Research. Research is more unstable then Sztaki is and
has a week or so at the most before it gets torn apart and becomes
uninhabitable. Due to lack of space on the various military ships they
are ordered to go to one of the key quantumancy research centers on
research (which happens to be located in a polar region) and rescue only
the researchers on their list. Even if the researchers are not there
they are told not to attempt to rescue any other survivors as space on
the ship is being assigned by priority and any open spaces will be given
to other scientists and leaders. The outpost seems to be abandoned on
approach but the hanger doors are open. They land inside and notice the
place is pretty well trashed. They manage to get the doors to the main
complex open and when going through the threshold N'seng gets caught in a
trap which explodes. He gets stunned and hurt but Nefats uses
quantumancy to heal him. Just past the doorway they have a choice
between left and right and they go down the right hallway. They continue
forward but more carefully being on the alert for more traps. They
explore an old storage room with nothing important in it. They reach
another junction, continue towards the right but notice a mysterious
device on the wall. They throw a few random items past it and find that
anything that crosses it's gazed spins off as if hit by something.
Believing it to be another trap they have N'seng whip it with his whip.
The device sparks and sputters a little bit and further tests with
throwing things does nothing. This hallway has 3 doors, one has signs
indicating it goes outside, one appears to be an elevator while the
other is a regular door. Checking the regular door they find a bucket
poised over the door. They knock it done, jump over the *stuff* and find
a barracks but nothing important in here. They check out the elevator
afterwards. Although the power is out it appears the elevator has
emergency power going. Gelf wanted to just try the elevator but N'seng
decided to open the trap door first and check for traps. Climbing up he
found that the elevators counterweight was designed to snap off and
cause the elevator when it reached the top of the second floor. N'seng
and Gelf climbed up while Nephats guarded the bottom. At the top the
players found that they were in the air traffic control tower for this
research station. Almost everything in here was apparently deliberately
destroyed. Gelf managed to get some map information from the system
enough to know in general where things were located even if he didn't
know the exact layout of the place. They found an emergency crawlhatch
and used that to get out of the control tower. They went back to the 2nd
junction and were about to go the other way when one of them heard some
faint whispering coming from the direction of the first junction. They
carefully went back to the first junction and looked down the other
direction and noticed a strange mark on the floor that wasn't there
before. N'seng carefully climbed along the ceiling towards it and
determined that it appeared to be some sort of acid trap that had gone
off. None of the players remembered seeing this before. It appeared that
the trap had gone off recently. The players carefully went past it and
came to a locked door. N'seng used his spy-cam to look under the door
and found that this appeared to be the main power generator room. The
door has an electronic lock and the power was out but N'seng recognized
this lock as one that automatically unlocked when the power went out and
would have to be locked manually afterwards in order to be locked. This
means someone intentionally locked this door after the power went out.
The players unlocked the door and quickly determined the power generator
was essentially unrepairable. During the search N'seng got shot by
another trap that fired a bullet at him, fortunately his body armor
protected him. Determined to figure out what is so important about this
room that it was trapped he continued searching and barely dodged
another trap that sent an arc of electricity towards him. There were no
further traps in this room and nothing of value was found even after
spending some time in here. While N'seng was doing this, Nefats and Gelf
were unlocking another door just down the hallway. N'seng left the
power room to go towards them when he heard another faint noise coming
from back towards the first junction again. Realizing that while they
left their ship locked it was unprotected they immediately went back to
the hangar bay and found the door to their ship open. They went aboard
and discovered survivors. They reported they had tunneled through a wall
in the complex into an ice cave when the Skernaa invasion happened.
They were the friends and family of the researchers who gave themselves
up since the Skernaa only wanted the researchers and didn't search the
complex to closely once they had them. When the Skernaa left they found
that the research center was heavily trapped by the Skernaa and the
survivors locked the doors to the rooms they hadn't cleared yet. They
hid when they heard the ship land fearing it was more Skernaa. They
determined to try and take the ship not realizing the rescuers weren't
Skernaa. Gelf immediately told them they were looking for the
researchers on the list and if they weren't the researchers then they
should try and pretend to be. The survivors were confused not realizing
the danger the planet was in, they hadn't even known the star system had
moved, but when the PC's told them everything honestly they insisted on
coming with them and getting off planet. The players didn't notice but
on hearing this the survivors secretly grabbed some tools to arm
themselves with to try to take the ship. The players decided to ignore
their orders and take the survivors to the assault ship. During the
return the assault ship had them report in and the players told the
officer the truth about rescuing the survivors. On landing they were
greeted by a large squad of marines to take everyone prisoner. Nefats
decided to fight and attempted to hit the officer in charge of the
marines with a touch of lightning as a sneak but he completely
miscalculated and ended up stunning himself. Everyone was taken to the
brig, in seperate holding cells. As hero's who helped defeat the C+
cannon they were given special consideration during the tribunal,
especially with the fact they are difficult orders but they were
reminded that the Sztaki military is focusing on preventing extinction
of the Sztaki race which with the loss of the homeworld is a definite
possibility. Not everyone can be saved and it is the military's goal to
save as much as can be starting with those likely to improve chances of
survival. The players are taken off extraction duties and assigned to
general crewman duties on the ship for the time being.