Into the Void

IY 6027.052

The session begins exactly where session 59 left off. SAFCO is in the woods, having discovered a old walled complex and temple about 150km from Mylor City. Dr. Barislave Tamaro is with them, and he reports that tachyon emissions continue to increase as the get nearer the complex. Suddenly he zones out for about 12 seconds, the report that he has just experience one of the weird time effects that other party members have gone through.

SAFCO uses their communicators to scan for transmissions from the people Lucky saw through the drone camaras before its destruction. They manage to pick up some discussion … “Robot-1 reports that it just destroyed a drone out in the woods. I’m sending it and Robot-2 to handle things.”

SAFCO goes on the alert. Flint, the former Army Colonel, effectively takes command. They all find cover behind the many trees. Flint has Jinx get on his grav bike and go up into the canopy (with grenades) and await orders. After a surprise roll, Flint sees on of the red robots moving from tree to tree, using them for cover as well. Flint begins trying to flank the robot. Lucky and Caliban follow at a distance, while Barney, Barislav, and Roger go the other direction, alert for an additional robot.

Barney sees the other robot. Barislav is doing the best he can to maintain cover, but he’s not a combat guy. Both robots fire lasers. Barislav is hit and goes down! The other robot fires at Lucky, but misses thanks to Lucky’s cover. Caliban executes some acrobatic fight moves into cover that he saw in a video.

A battle ensues. Autopistols prove uses at medium range against the equivilent of combat armor, but Caliban and Roger use them anyway to distract and restrict the robot’s movement. Flint uses his submachine gun effectifly. Lucky’s new fine-quality auto rifle also proves effective as they score hits on the robots, which continue to fire lasers (missing, but coming close). Roger lobs a grenade, but it bounces of a tree limb and explode harmlessly away from his target robot. From high the the canopy, Jinx drops a grenade toward the other robot, but it also hits a limb and lands behind the robot. The construct turns to see what happened.

Roger checks on Barislav and sees that he in unconscious but stable. Barney gets on Lucky’s grav bike and zips toward the other robot. He lobs a grenade at it, blowing it up. Lucky and Flint have nearly disabled the other robot with their automatic weapons. The ocualar overlays they have installed on their main weapons are proving valuable. They blast the robot until it is a twitching metal heap.Both robots down, having only hit one person with laser fire. Amazing!

The group confers about what to do. Clearly whoever sent the robots wants them dead. Roger makes a Medic roll and revives Barislav. They suggest that he return to the ship, but he insists on staying. He is the one who hired them, after all. Barney concocts a plan. Given the clear paramilitary nature of the women in the compound and their bad attitude toward visitors, Roger (pilot), Caliban (coms), and Lucky (Gunner-3) will return to the ship and take it up high in the atmosphere. The rest of the group will go forward, and Flint will use his Forward Observer skill to call in laser strikes on the compound wall to force the compound occupants into submission.

The team starts this process…

End of session.
IY 6027.052
Elapsed time: 502 game days (1 year 142 days)

IY 6027.026

SAFCO begins the session still on Prometheus, their mission having been accomplished. Research regarding the sentience of the Pachyderms of Uetonah has been delivered to the Office of Sophont relations, action will likely be taken against Samson Mining. They now catch a ride via the passenger ship Moloko Velocet back to Listo, where they plan to rejoin Silvonius Janx aboard his ship, the Fortunate Son, and continue home to Mylor.

Upon reuniting with Sil, the old trader tells them that while they are a great crew, they also get him into some very dangerous situations. He thanks them for their help, but wishes to retain his current, boring crew. In return for them letting him out of their contract, he will pay high passage back to Mylor aboard a Jump-4 ship, which will get them home in a little over 2 weeks, rather than 5. SAFCO decides to take him up on that.

They make the jump to Overon and then to Mylor.

3 weeks have passed since they left Prometheus.

The team spends a few days R&R. Barney of course checks the engineering work on their ship, the Rambler-II, after the many weeks of maintenance it has required as well as new parts. It all looks good. Caliban thanks the dock workers he recruited to keep and eye on the ship.

As the team relaxes one evening at the Happy Gluck they are approached by a scientist named Barislav Tamorow. He is on Mylor with a scientific expedition, and wishes to contract their services. He explains that as his team’s ship was in the skies to the northwest of Mylor City his very sensitive science sensors detected anomalous radiation readings below, in the heavy forest. He wanted his team to investigate, but they declined, wishing to proceed on their current work. They went on without him. SAFCO is a bit surprised about what he says he’s found, but he reminds them that Mylor is largely unexplored beyond Mylor City and a few settlements. Tamorow is not sure what is there, but is kind of a scientific wildcatter, and sees gold in every hill. In this case, he suspects the anomaly may indicate a discovery worth money. After some bargaining, Caliban negotiates a contract in which SAFCO acts as his partner in this exploratory venture, in exchange for 25,000cr and 25% of any profits pertaining to discoveries made on this expedition.

Tamorow tells them the anomaly is about 150km from their current location, but it may not be possible to land a ship very close.

After some discussion, SAFCO decides to load Tamorow’s ATV aboard the Rambler-II and take the ship up for recon and scanning.

The team gets ready. Lucky picks up the new, finely-made auto rifle he had built. Flint procures a dozen smoke grenades and the chainsaw sword he had made.

In the morning the team and Dr. Tamorow take off for the anomaly zone.

As Roger flies the ship, Barney uses the ship’s sensors, while Flint and Lucky get in the turrets to get a look at the ground below. It takes the Rambler-II very little time to arrive at the Dr’s coordinates. Below they see a heavily forested area for kilometers. The Scout-class sensors, under Barney’s expert control, easily detect the radiation anomaly, but nothing can be seen through the trees. They locate a clearing large enough to land the Rambler-II about 5km from the center of the anomaly and land.

The team loads most of their typical gear aboard Tamrow’s ATV, which has lots of scientific gear aboard already. Fardt will stay with the ship. Flint, Lucky, and Caliban take grav bikes and fly alongside the massive ATV. They proceed slowly through the forest.

They detect radiation, but not at a dangerous level, says Tamorow. Barney asks what kind? “Various forms of radiation, but most interestingly some tachyon emissions.” Tamorow is excited.

They continue toward what they believe is the center of the weird activity. As they travel, suddenly Caliban notices that the other two grav bikes and the ATV have stopped, as has the whole world around him, frozen in place! He stops his movement. After 20 second everything returns to normal. He reports what he experienced. Lucky reports that to him it appeared Caliban simply “jumped forward” without crossing the space in-between!

They continue. Flint reports that for about 6 seconds he was seeing after-images of everyone around him – like ghosts.

Tamorow agrees with them. The tachyon emissions have increased. Barney gets his sensor records and forward them to Fardt, to run them through the ships computer for analysis.

Flint increases his altitude on his grav bike, and sees a structure off through the trees. Lucky prepares the drone for some scouting.

Fardt returns the data. Barney makes an engineering roll. To him, the graphs and data remind him of emissions created by a Jump field. Not the same, but similar. He reports his findings.

Lucky sends the drone off through the forest. Through the drone’s cameras he sees a compound comprised of a 3 meter tall stone wall and a large stone building inside. He observes about a dozen people inside the walls and outside. All women, dressed in camouflage gear, carrying weapons. They all have close-cropped hair. No markings on their clothing. He starts to bring the drone back and loses contact with it (fails an Electronics roll). Flint joins him to see what’s up. Lucky reestablishes contact. One of the drone’s rotors is out of commission and the drone is on the ground. The camera is pointed straight up. Lucky can move the camera around a bit. Looking across the ground he sees two red metal feet and legs walk up to the drone. He scans the camera upward, and sees the red face and head of a humanoid robot. A red metal hand reaches out toward the camera, and the screen goes black.

End of session.
IY 6027.052
Elapsed time: 502 game days (1 year 142 days)

IY 6027.008

Before leaving Listo the members of SAFCO take one last opportunity to buy a few things, like more slow drug, slow antidote, and truth drug. Lucky buys a skull and crossbones belt buckle with a secret compartment for doses of these drugs. Barney sends the authorities on Listo an anonymous message describing the surveillance cameras watching Jinx’s grandma’s house. He makes a computer roll on the tablet they took from the thug to “hack” the cameras via their control app, causing them to show a constant loop of “nothing going on” at the house.

The next morning the huge starliner Jumps. They spend a week in Jump Space. Barney recovers from his gunshot wound. Caliban uses the time to properly organize the package of information on the Pachyderms he plans to give to Office of Sophont Relations director Sir Walot DeMaris, and old colleague in the Imperial bureaucracy. Barney and Lucky cobble together a working laser drone from the parts they took from the goon on Listo. Flint treats Caliban to some tasty Garblag Haggis chips he makes in the ship’s kitchen.

The ship arrives in the Prometheus system, the subsector capital. Prometheus is a high tech-level world of massive cities and commerce. As they cruise to orbit, SAFCO is relaxing in the High Passage lounge and dining room. Lucky notices the Uetonah rebel they  encountered on Listo, Syla, dressed as a ship’s steward, heading toward the front of the passenger deck. This seems odd. He quickly alerts the rest of the team via their coms. They find her in the corridor, looking suspicious. They have a conversation…

Syla tells them she is giving them a tip because she owes them her life — get off the ship at first opportunity. She and her team have infiltrated the crew, and plan to hold the ship and its hundreds of passengers hostage unless the Imperial authorities investigate the plight of the Pachyderms on Uetonah. They are tired of waiting, and have broken off from the main rebel group to take this direct action.

SAFCO manages to convince her to talk. They go to a stateroom and explain that they are on the same mission, that they have all the necessary research, and Caliban knows the director of the OSR. They explain why her plan will never work.  Flint, who she knows from the battle on Uetonah the previous year, makes an Leadership roll and succeed in influencing her. She radios her team to “stand down.” They will wait to see if SAFCO is successful.

SAFCO takes the shuttle down to the capital city. Barney looks for outgoing ships for their trip back to Listo, or for a fast getaway should they need one. Caliban gets an appointment with Demaris. Flint goes with him. They have a long discussion. The give Demaris the package. After serious questioning by DeMaris, he agrees to look more closely at the info. He clears his schedule for the day.

The next day Caliban receives word that DeMaris will send an Imperial ship and crew to Uetonah to determine the truth. Using forensic accounting his staff quickly finds a mole within their ranks — a young officer who’s been preventing the information from Uetonah from reaching DeMaris. He had gambling debts, and Samson has been paying him.

The team spends another two days on Prometheus.

End of session
IY 6027.026
Elapsed time: 476 game days (1 year 119 days)

IY 6027.008

We begin where we left off. SAFCO is (mostly) in the underground hydro pump station where they have just shot one laser drone and apparently killed the person who was controlling them.

Barney, Jinx, and Fardt are still in the building where they dragged the 2 unconscious goons and their dead friend. Barney is wounded and avoiding action, but maintaining communication with the rest of the team.

Below in the pump station, Caliban has the one remaining laser drone in a sack he has thrown over it. It is moving erratically and is hard to control. Lucky and Roger are by the door to the control room. Flint see that a single data stick is in the “loot box” meant for the goons. He grabs it. Caliban is going to try to sling the drone into the tough plastic box, but it’s clear that is doing to be difficult. Roger runs over and jumps on the drone to try to control it!  It fires its laser but misses everyone. Together Roger and Caliban try to get it into the box but fail. Flint picks up the box and “pac mans” the drone into it, slams the lid shut and locks it. He slides it way across the room. While this has been happening Lucky has been trying to “pick” the electronic lock to the control room. He is close, but so far no success.  As he tries, the drone is still moving around in the box, which is jumping all over the place. The drone fires its laser, cutting the box open and freeing itself.  Roger draws his auto pistol and fires, hitting it for enough damage to put it down!

On the surface, Barney, Fardt, and Jinx make their way to the MagLev station. They are going to go back to the ship. As they wait in hiding, Barney sees an air raft heading their way. They take cover and watch. The raft lands near a “Utilities” building behind the small access building the other SAFCO members used to descend to the pump station. A large door opens and the air raft flies in. Barney notifies his colleagues.

Underground, Lucky bypasses the electronic lock and opens the door to the control room. SAFCO goes up. They find the dead man. On his body they find a laser carbine and a hand-computer. The computer is locked, and will require Barney’s computer skill to get in.

They hear machines start operating and realize that the industrial elevator down in the station has been activated. Likely the air raft Barney told them about.

Barney, Jinx, and Fardt board a Mag Lev transport and leave the station.

The team below decide to avoid another fight. On the way out the grab the remains of both laser drones. They get back to the Mag Lev station, catch the next transport, and leave.

Back onboard the star liner Barney gets proper medical attention from the ship’s doctor. Later, he and Caliban hack into the hand-computer. They find programs controlling surveillance cameras at Jinx’s grandmother’s house, a control app for the drones, and communications with someone simply called “H” about kidnapping Jinx. They find a 12 digit code that Flint uses to unlock the data stick at the onboard casino bank – 20,000cr.

The ship leaves for Prometheus tomorrow. Jinx expresses his wish to stay with the crew…

End of sesssion
IY 6027.008
Elapsed time: 476 game days (1 year 101 days)

IY 6027.008

Recap of previous session:

After arriving at Listo, visiting Jinx’s grandmother’s house and then spending the day in the Central Market, SAFCO spent some time relaxing in a bar, where they saw and spoke with some disillusioned rebels they fought with on Uetonah. The Rebels have quit, and are on their way to Prometheus, to work in a family business. Upon leaving the tavern to go hear some music, some ruffians pull Jinx on to a single-car Mag-Lev transport what is leaving. As it is leaving Roger leaps for it, managing to hang on to the outside as it gains speed, moving over open air on its track, heading for the inner surface of the asteroid. Barney follows on a quickly purchased grav bike, and with Roger he saves Jinx. The team reassembles at the next Mag-Lev stop, in the now slumbering industrial sector. They drag the 3 unconscious thugs, the unconscious Barney and the grav bike off the Mag-Lev before it leaves. Flint is formulating a plan…

With the team all still at the Mag-Lev stop Roger uses his Medic skill to attend to Barney, who regains consciousness in 10 minutes. The 3 tied-up enemies also wake up and begin grumbling. Barney’s first words are “Is the kid OK?”, to which Jinx replies that he is fine, and thanks Barney and Roger for their amazing heroics.

Flint wants to find out what these guys were up to. Why were they trying to abduct Jinx. He picks one of the thugs and holds them out over the Mag-Lev line – not a great place to be. The guy says “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. Just don’t throw me in front of the train.”

Flint pulls him back. Before the guy can talk a bright red laser beam burns a hole in his cranium from the upper right side of his head and exiting down through the left jaw. His brains superheat and vaporize, and his body drops to the floor of the station.

Making an INT roll, Lucky saw that the beam likely came from a 2-story manufacturing building across the street and a short distance away. He tells the team.

Roger, Fardt, Lucky, Barney, Caliban, and Jinx all run for cover (while using the Evade combat action).

Flint jumps on Barney’s grav bike. Barney yells “You break it, you pay for it!”. Flint takes off.

While all of this is happening there is another laser shot at one of the 2 remaining thugs, but incredibly it misses.

Flint takes the bike above the manufacturing building and sees a man with a laser carbine on the roof. Lucky, seeing that Flint is providing distraction, runs over to the building and flattens himself against the wall.

Flint blasts the assassin with submachine gun fire, hitting twice and knocking him out. The assassin simultaneously shoots the laser, but doesn’t have good shot at Flint, aiming instead at the grav bike! He hits. Using Omer Golan Joel’s “Quick and Dirty Vehicle Combat for Classic Traveller” we determine that there is minor damage to the bike’s antenna, but it is not badly damaged.

Flint lands and secures the roof. He takes the laser carbine and finds an employee badge in the assassin’s pocket. The badge has someone else’s picture on it.

Caliban moves over to the building next to Lucky. Flint flies the bike down and joins them. Roger joins them as well. Jinx, Fardt, and Barney carefully move over too. The group drags the 2 remaining thugs and their dead friend over as well. They enter the building using the key card, and find the rightful owner of the key card with a laser wound to the noggin. Dead.

Flint and Caliban play good cop/bad cop with the 2 live thugs. The goons, having seen their friend killed to shut him up, are in no mood to stick around and begin talking. They were simply hired to abduct the kid and deliver him to a hydraulics utility substation nearby. Their employer is anonymous.

The thugs tell them where the entry to the substation is. Jinx and Fardt will remain in the current building with the wounded Barney while the others investigate, knowing that they need to find out who is after Jinx and why. They don’t want to leave Listo with Jinx in trouble.

Caliban is the shortest of the group. They put a bag over his head, prisoner/hostage-style, and find the entry. It’s in a small building a couple of blocks way — a hatch in the floor leading to a ladder. They go down the ladder and find themselves in a concrete hallway with stairs. It is dimly lit with safety lights. They go down the stairs and find themselves in a large chamber carved out to the rock of the asteroid. While they are actually moving toward the surface of the asteroid, artificial gravity is still providing the same direction of pull.

The roof of the chamber is 40′ high. There’s a lot of big pump machinery in there and massive hyrdo pipes from floor to ceiling. It is dimly lit, and the group hears the constant drone of the pumps and pipes and machinery. Across the chamber, 30′ up, is an observation window. A bald-headed man can be seen in the window. He leans forward to a microphone and says “It took you a long time. Bring the boy over here in front of the door. Your payment is over here too.”

The group moves over there, where they find a door, a box with the thugs’ payment, and two 1′ diameter metal spheres floating 5′ off the floor. The spheres each have on red eye, and they are watching the PCs.

Flint moves over the the box with the loot. Roger takes the disguised Caliban over to the door with Lucky. Suddently Caliban begins running toward one of the drones, as if he is Jinx trying to escape his captors. He rips off the sack over his head, makes a good roll, and captures the floating drown inside the sack!

Roger pulls his auto pistol and fires at the other drone. He hits easily, and shoots it in the red laser eye, and the drone drops to the floor, dead.

Flint turns, pulls out the laser carbine they took from the assassin, and fires at the guy up in the window. Taking into account the effects of the glass, he hits, burning a hole in the guy’s shoulder and dropping him!

We end the session with Lucky still having an action to take and with Caliban holding a sack with an anti-grav drone floating inside it!

End of sesssion
IY 6027.008
Elapsed time: 476 game days (1 year 101 days)