Game Master: Andrew
Game Edition: Traveller (Mongoose Publishing)
Players: Jeff, Dave, Elijah
Ages: 21Dys, 30Yrs, 40Yrs
Quote of the evening:
"Why don't we call it the Hornby..."
Last game we left our intrepid adventurers as they made their first jump to hyper space. They travelled to the adjacent Kelnas Solar System, leaving the Trans-Galactic highway for the Outer Rim Shipping Lanes.
James Hornby (Elijah), Dry (Dave), and their robot Caesar (Jeff) had been in hyperspace for an entire week. James had spent the week binge drinking. Which was no trouble, as he had brought aboard twelve two-fours for the trip, and had been steadily consuming one a day for the seven days. Dry had tried to keep up with James' appetite, but it left him with a three day hang over that he was only just recovering from.
With the long voyage ending soon, James and Dry were looking forward to stretching their legs, and replenishing their food supplies. They had eaten all but 4 of their rations, and they only had 5 cases of beer left. To top it off, Mr. Peaches, the giant six-legged lizard they had locked in Stateroom 3, had gone through most of the "food" they had brought along for it, and Ruffles, Dry's pet corgi, had consumed all of his dog food.
Sector 0809 would be a welcome pit stop along their journey to sector 0101, and the promised reward of 1,000,000cr. from Interstellar Exports upon delivery of a mysterious brief case.
Caesar had been on the bridge for most of the trip, but to save his battery he had been turned off. With James a good few beers deep and Dry asleep for the night, James decided to turn Caesar on, and have a good rant to him about the evils of Gary Oak, and how he would get him back some day.
Caesar was not even slightly listening to what James was rambling on about, and was far more interested in calculating the decimal places of pi then another rant. He had made to several thousand decimal places, when the the greyish blur of Hyperspace slowly melted back into a starry sky. They had arrived.
James summoned Dry to the bridge on the ship's comm, and had him scan the area. The system came up as the Kelnas System, containing 6 planets. A more detailed scan revealed, an erratic energy signature around Kelnas VI, that the mass of Kelnas V was shrinking, and that Kelnas II contained a large settlement.
James had been out this way before and recognised Kelnas II as the headquarters of the Outer Rim Mining Corporation. They would would definitely be able to find fuel and supplies there.
Dry on the other hand was a little wary. He pointed out that given their track record, if something went wrong they would have to get out off the system fast, and that the more people there were, the more chances of something going wrong. He proposed they investigate the energy signature around Kelnas VI first, and then proceed to the settlement. It could be worth their time.
James agreed, and told Dry to set a course.
"On screen." James said as Dry flicked a few switches.
"Welcome! Welcome! If you are buying or selling, Pix-Tix-A-Plak is the name and junk is my game!" A friendly look Regrunian says with a pleasant demeanour about him.
"I promise you'll find something of interest, care to browse my wares?" Pix-Tix-A-Plak asked.
Dry finished his scan and detected a station in orbit with the debris field: the source of the transmission, and told James. Thinking it over, James responded to the comm message that he would be interested, and short catalogue of Pix-Tix-A-Plak's prominent ware came over the screen.
"Let me know if you see anything you are interested in." And with that Pix-Tix-A-Plak closed the Channel.
From the console in the arm of his chair, James read the list Pix-Tix-A-Plak had sent to Dry and Caesar:
James and Dry began talking it over, when Caesar interrupted. As wonderful as his 25,000cr. body was... It didn't have any hands and that was severely limiting. Dry agreed, and suggested they try to find a robotic dog body or something more dexterous for his intelligence to occupy. James thought that sounded like a good idea, and Caesar jumped at the chance to be a robotic dog.
With all in agreement James radioed Pix-Tix-A-Plak, who instructed them to await the arrival of his shuttle.
As the shuttle sped towards the station, Caesar took a minute to scan their pilot. It was Service Robot Charlie, but heavily modified. Caesar detected enhanced armour, improved strength and speed, and weapons signatures. It was the kind of body he wanted.
He and James began quietly plotting back and forth between them. They planned to steal one of the robots on the way back, feeling that was the safest option. They assumed that Pix-Tix-A-Plak had guards on board his station, and so taking the android when they were safely on their own ship seemed the best plan. With the scheme set, the two waited out the rest of the trip in relative silence.
With a jerk and loud thunk that vibrated through the hull, the shuttle docked at Pix-Tix-A-Plak's station. The mechanisms on the airlock, began to move, and the hatch opened. The android turned from his place at the controls, and gestured towards the door.
"Please exit the shuttle." it said.
James was a little wary, and hesitated a moment before proceeding.
"What if I don't?" He asked.
The Android remained silent, clearly not programmed to answer such a question. Shrugging it off James and Caesar left the shuttle and stepped onto the station. Pix-Tix-A-Plak stood waiting for them, his purple tentacles stretching and fidgeting around him
"Welcome to my station gentlemen!" Pix-Tix-A-Plak said extending all the tentacles on his right side towards James.
Unsure of what to do, James returned the salutation and shook one of the tentacles. Whether that was proper or not, Pix-Tix-A-Plak did not seem to mind, and continued his business.
"I overheard on the Shuttle's Comm that you would be interested in acquiring one of my service droids." Pix-Tix-A-Plak said.
James turned white, and Caesar sat there silently; Pix-Tix-A-Plak had heard their whole plan!
James stammered for a minute trying to explain, but Pix-Tix-A-Plak laughed it off and began his sales pitch.
"I personally modified each of my droids, using old Service Droid Charlie chassis I upgraded their armour, strength and speed, and added a little extra." He hit a button on his jacket. "Droid 02 come to me."
A metallic pounding, like metal foot steps echoed down the hall. A few seconds later, one of Pix-Tix-A-Plak's droids stood before him.
"Activate combat mode." He said.
Quickly the Droid's hands flipped around revealing 2 Gauss Rifles, and the chest plating opened up, to show a plasma rifle.
"The Gauss Rifles have 50 rounds each, the magazines are held in the arm. The Plasma Rifle on the other hand I haven't quite worked out. It will fire... but the shot uses the rest of the Droid's battery charge."
"Still," James Commented. "It is an impressive design."
"And a reasonable price to." Pix-Tix-A-Plak interjected. "But please come into my office and we can discuss business."
Pix-Tix-A-Plak took them down the corridor and into an room with a round table and four chairs. Monitors showing the different parts of the station covered the walls, and all matter of junk, garbage, and debris littered every surface.
After about 20 minutes negotiating and some consultations with Dry over the comm, James agreed to buy the Heavy Projection Flamer, Three Battery Packs, and one of Pix-Tix-A-Plak's Droids.
Pix-Tix-A-Plak tried to convince them to retrieve a turret missile launcher from a scout ship he was in possession of, but there was a catch. The scout ship was infested with Tallarian Hook Spiders. If James and his comrades where willing to clear the ship he would sell it to them for a bargain. Though tempted, James was unwilling to risk an infestation on his own ship and turned him down. Pix-Tix-A-Plak tried a few more times to convince James to help him with the hook spiders, but James' resilience made him back down eventually.
In the end, Pix-Tix-A-Plak greed to sell James one of his Droids for 750,000cr., and some battery packs and a heavy projection flamer with 1 round left for an additional 2000cr. James also negotiated the use of Pix-Tix-A-Plax's wireless transmitter and station's computer, so that they could transfer Caesar's intelligence to their new Droid.
In the computer room, the transfer was easily done, and soon, Caesar's program was in control of the recently acquired Droid 02. He flexed his new body and explored his systems. Switching from Guns to hands and back again. The new body was faster and had the advantage of having manipulatory limbs, it however lacked the sensors and the ability to log onto other computer systems like his old drone body had. This new body also did not have a physical port or a wireless transmitter: His consciousness was stuck in there until he could get one installed.
Pix-Tix-A-Plak had his Droids bring Caesar's old body back to the shuttle. James and Caesar felt that it would be useful to have it once Caesar could switch back.
Thanking Pix-Tix-A-Plak James and Caesar left the station, but not before getting his comm frequency. If they ever had anything to sell, he was their man.
However, by the time James and Caesar arrived the mood had turned a little more.... personal?
As Dry slid into the corridor by the airlock wearing only his drawers, James immediately turned the music off using a control on his wrist... Much to Dry's disappointment.
"Dry, get dressed. Then set a course to Kelnas II." James told him.
Dry got dressed and then returned to awe at Caesar's new body before sitting down at the controls. He had just down a sensor sweep when he detected an unidentified craft approaching them. The ship had modified engines, and though it was only a scout ship, it was almost twice their speed!
Before James could give his next order, the comm signal started flashing.
"On Screen." James said.
The screen stayed black but voice crackled over the speaker. "Captain James Hornby. Surrender your vessel and prepare to be boarded."
James demanded that they identify themselves, but was met with only silence. Caesar recommended letting them board, and then fighting them on the ship, but James wasn't too sure.
Before any decision could be reached, another voice came over the comm. It was Pix-Tix-A-Plak!
"Space Station to unidentified vessel. Stand down and leave this system."
"Stay out of this junk dealer." The mysterious voice returned. "Or we will come after you next."
"No one threatens me or my customers." Pix-Tix-A-Plak said.
Dry's sensors lit up as a volley of six missiles flared from the station, and rocketed towards the unidentified scout ship. Seconds later a series of explosion registered, but Dry had lost the attacking vessel's position. Believing that it had survived the attack he began to scan the area in greater detail, recalibrating the sensors to compensate for the explosion.
Pix-Tix-A-Plak's voice then came over the comm. "Damn that ship's fast! I got 'em with one of my rockets, but that is all I got. I am still picking 'em up on my sensors, you'll have to deal with 'em or they will certainly kill us both!"
James had a moment of panic, where he realised that his ship had no weapons to defend itself, and then Dry had an idea.
He turned to the captain and said. "Activate the Jump Drive."
James looked shocked for a minute. "But it can take up to an hour to plot a course and we are so close to the sun!"
Dry agreed, but said "screw the course! Anywhere would be better than here in a minute."
They would wait until their attacker got within a few hundred meters, and hope they got pulled into the gravity well created by the jump. It risked their destruction, but if it worked, it would destroy their pursuer and get them to safety.
James agreed to the plan ordered they hold position until the vessel was within 600m. On James' signal, Dry punched the FTL drive, as Caesar dumped the power from engineering.
An un-plotted jump is automatically a mis-ump, and has a chance to send the ship parsecs away on a random heading. James, Dry and Caesar had no way of knowing where they were going until their week in hyperspace was completed. A week for which they had very little food, and even less beer.
Not wanting to spray the creature with rounds, Dry turned Caesar back on. Caesar had been turning himself off for the duration of jumps to save his limited battery power for when it was needed. Dry asked Caesar to kill Mr. Peaches using as few rounds as possible. Being programmed to do what James and Dry said back when they first turn him on, Caesar agreed and proceeded to Stateroom 3.
He killed the lizard quickly, and then dragged its carcass to the kitchen. With skill and dexterity Caesar then skinned the creature and cut it up into portions of meat which he stored in the freezer. He then cooked two portions for both Caesar and Dry, and returned to his state of hibernation.
With strange meat in their bellies, and alive for the time being, James and Dry waited to come out of hyperspace.
When the greyish wash of FTL final left the ship, Dry leapt to his console to determine their position. They were in Sector 0307... 5 parsecs away from their previous location and floating in empty space, there was not a system in sight.
They were close to the Outer Rim Shipping Lanes, but after their last jump, they only had 6 tons of fuel left. Not enough to make another jump to hyperspace, and only enough power for 2 weeks operation. Without anything else to do, James activated his Distress Call on all frequencies. It was a waiting game.
4 Days Later they received a response from a ship claiming to be a mining ship. They would jump to their location and render aid as soon as possible. It seemed like a dream come true.
The Ship had no insignia and was bristling with 4 weapons turrets. James shifted uncomfortably in his captains chair, as the comm light flashed on and off. They were being hailed.
James called Dry to the bridge, and before answering the comm reactivated Caesar. The same scruffy looking man who had responded to their distress call 10 days ago appeared on the view screen, and offered assistance.
He agreed to help them, but wanted to send an engineering team over to ensure there wouldn't be any compatibility issues. James thought it was a strange request, but wasn't exactly in a position to argue. So he agreed, and the escort vessel sent over a launch.
James prepared Dry, and Caesar to meet the escort's launch at the air lock. He even fetched his broad sword and plasma rifle to seem intimidating. A few minutes later, four men armed with Snub Pistols greeted them at their air-lock. James let them inside keeping an eye on each of them.
The crew from the "mining ship" seemed friendly enough, and quickly struck up a rapport with Dry as they began to talk about music and their ships. Put at ease for the time being, James took one of the "miners"to the engine room for the inspection. Caesar stayed with Dry, unmoving, ready for anything.
Dry was talking about some of his favourite music (an ancient earth band called ABBA), when one of the men asked if Dry could play some over the ship's comm. Of course Dry was eager.
He put the song over the comm, and the Escort's crewmen were impressed. One of them commented that the ship had a great comm system, and was curious to see how loud it would go. Again, Dry eagerly turned the volume up, notch by notch, until it was blasting through the ship. It was then that the "mining crew" revealed their true colours.
Using the blaring music as cover, one of the three raiders in the back moved to his pistol. Thankfully Caesar had been watching them the whole time. Before the pirate could reach for his gun, Caesar took him down with a blast from his gauss rifles.
The fire fight raged in the corridor, as the raiders returned opened up with their snub pistols. Dogding each shot, Dry fired back with his gauss rifle, pushing the raiders back to their ship, dragging their injured crewman with them. Caesar held the line with a hail of gun fire, but took several hits which damaged his chest plate and rendering his left arm inoperable.
Quickly Dry sealed the airlock giving them a moments peace.
Down the hall, James had not heard the eruptions of gunfire over the driving rhythms of ABBA, but the man he accompanied took it as his cue. When they got into the engine room the pirate pulled out his snub pistol and shot James in the chest. The bullet ripped through his collar bone, and out through his back, rendering his left arm almost useless. He slumped to one knee and cried out in pain.
His assailant fired another shot, but James rolled and brought his plasma rifle to bear. He knew that missing with such a powerful weapon would likely mean the destruction of his ship, but he had no choice. Fighting for consciousness, he aimed through the fog of pain and pulled the trigger.
With a burst of energy, the pirate was charred black with a roar of energy that engulfed his body. He crumpled to the ground; alive, but barely.
Slowly, James lifted himself from the ground and drew his broad sword. He dragged it across the floor towards were the blackened body remained. It breathed slowly, with painful sounding wheeze. Using the remainder of his strength, James lifted his sword high, and brought the blade down on the pirate's neck.
With his foe slain, James took a few minutes to recover, and then slowly dragged himself down the corridor towards Dry and Caesar. The two helped him onto the bridge and into the captains chair, just as the comm light started to flash again.
It seemed the pirates wanted to talk.
"Ok, Ok." The pirate captain said "You are tougher than you look."
James sat up in his chair.
"Now look," the captain continued. "We both know what I want. Now hand it over and I will be on my way."
Dry muted the channel, and Caesar speculated that they might be after his AI programming. James on the other hand suspected that it had something to do with the package they had received from Interstellar Exports.
James signalled for dry to unmute.
"We will give you the package," James said. "In exchanged for enough fuel to jump to the next system."
The pirate laughed. "You got balls of brass son! I accept."
"There is a further condition." James explained. "You refuel our ship first, and then you and one of your men come aboard for the exchange."
The captain looked angry, snarling a little bit. "Agreed." he said and ended the transmission.
With that, the Pirate ship loomed into position, and a mechanical thud, and sound of pumps reverberated through the ship. Checking ship's systems, Dry confirmed that the ship was being refuelled.
After a couple minutes. The Comm light flashed once again. It was the pirate captain.
"Your ship now has 10 tons of fuel. It should be enough to get you to the next system." He said. "I am coming over now. And don't try anything, or I will blast your pathetic ship to atoms."
He then cut the channel, and James and Dry scrambled to get ready. Deciding they would try to trick the pirates, Dry brought Caesar's old Survey Drone body out on the trolley to the airlock, while Caesar helped James stand.
Leaning on his broad sword, and with Caesar supporting him, James made his way to wards the air lock. He was very injured, but needed to put on a strong face for the pirate captain. Any sign of weakness could be their last.
The pirate shuttle docked and the captain and his crewman boarded. James tried to pass off the modified Survey Drone as the "item" but the pirates did not believe them. The pirate crewman then pulled out a scanner and began waving it around the ship.
"It looks like it is up in the cargo bay, captain." He said.
The grizzled captain snarled at James. "Go and get it." He said.
James sent Caesar to go and fetch the item, who rushed down the hall. Upon reaching the cargo bay Caesar considered grabbing the correct case, but decided to try and fool the pirates once more, by switching it for the empty case that held the 500,000cr. card.
On his way back, Caesar ran through calculation after calculation. There was no way he could incapacitate the invaders without starting a fire fight, which his the three laws (that only applied to James and Dry) would not allow him to do. There was too high a chance of one of them dying as a result of his actions.
Caesar rounded the corner brief case in hand, just as Dry had had enough. Feeling the itch in his trigger finger, he squeezed spraying the pirate captain and his crewman with projectiles.
The Pirates returned fire with their snub pistols, damaging Caesar as he came around the corner, dropped the case and switched his functional arm into a Gauss Rifle.
James dropped to a knee and rolled to avoid any stray gunfire. The pain was excruciating, but it probably saved his life.
As the smoke cleared the Pirate and his Crewman lay dead. Caesar had taken more damage in the fire fight, but Dry had come away unscathed. James on the other hand was reeling from the gunshot wound he received in his first battle, and needed medical attention desperately.
James Suggested they jump to hyperspace and get the hell out of there. But Dry pointed out that with their food supplies, and the number of bandages remaining, James would be lucky if he lasted the week. They had only one choice. They had to board the pirate ship and capture it. Or die trying.
Knowing they had no other choice at this point, James, Dry and Caesar Entered the pirate's shuttle. James and Dry each took a Space Suit from inside shuttle, and put them on; using the sun shield on the face plate to conceal their identity. It would at least give them a a slight element of surprise.
Dry took the controls of the shuttle, separated from the Exodus and piloted it towards the pirate escort. It was a tense, but short ride, and Dry docked the Launch under the Escort with a thud. The hetched seal opened and the three climbed into a lift took them to the ships cargo bay, where two pirates stood waiting.
"What's with the space suit captain?" One of the pirates said.
With out saying a word, James, Dry, and Caesar lifted their weapons, and fired at the pirates in a hail of projectiles. Not a single shot landed on target.
Realising they had been double-crossed, the pirates drew their pistols and fired back. The shots missed Dry and Caesar, but James was struck in the head and fell dead.
Enraged at the death of his captain, Dry rained down a hail of fire at the two pirates, while Caesar finished them off. As soon as the fight was over, an alarm began to ring throughout the ship.
Before Dry and Caesar could find a way out, a door slid open, and a grenade skipped into the room. Dry and Caesar dove for cover on opposite sides of the room, and the grenade only blasted through the James' corpse.
A vicious gun ensued across the cargo room, and into the pirate ship's hall. The pirates fired round after round at Dry and Caesar, but missed each time taking light wounds themselves in the process.
In the end, the injured and exhausted pirates threw down their arms and surrendered. Dry took their weapons and demanded to know who else was on board. At gun point, the two pirates lead James to stateroom 3. Inside, the pirate wounded in their first encounter lay unconscious.
Dry demanded that the two bring him with them, but his captors hesitated. One of the pirates pleaded for mercy. He spoke with a thick French accent and begged Dry to let the injured man stay there, claiming his was unconscious and would likely die if they moved him. Showing some mercy, Dry agreed but locked the door to Stateroom 3 just in case.
He then took the two pirates to the storage locker by the bridge and locked them inside. The ship now belong to Dry, but it had come at a great cost: his captain, James Hornby's life.
After a brief ceremony, Dry blew James' body and the rest of the dead pirates out the airlock on both the pirate ship and on board the S.S. Exodus. He then spent the rest of the day shuttling most of the Exodus's cargo to his new ship that was in desperate need of a name.
After tossing around a few ideas with Caesar, Dry figured out what to name his ship and our quote of the evening.
"Why don't we call it the Hornby..." Dry said to Caesar.
It was a touching gesture in honour of his recently deceased friend, and with that Dry became the captain of the S.S. Hornby.
Knowing that James' old ship the Exodus was still worth a lot of money, Dry flew Caesar over in the shuttle and gave him command of the vessel. He was to follow Dry to sector 0308, where they would refuel, and try to sell it.
Caesar was very intrigued by the offer. He was in command of his own ship. The possibilities seemed endless.
Half an hour later, Dry signalled that he was ready to jump, and Caesar followed his lead. This last thing either of them saw before entering hyperspace, was the crackling static caused by a mis-jump surrounding both ships.
Possibly thrown to opposite ends of the sector, Dry and Caesar would have almost no way of finding one another. They still had to spend a week or more in Hyperspace, and then had more then 100 different sectors to start searching for each other. It was indeed the proverbial needle in a hay stack.
And that was where we left off for the night.
Dry of course still has the mysterious case from Interstellar Exports. The case that the pirates wanted, and seemed to be able to track. However, with the prize being a measly 1,000,000cr., and with the opportunity to sell the Exodus, it seemed like chump change, and not worth the trouble.
Despite their lofty goals of selling James Hornby's old ship, the Exodus like the Hornby had mis-jumped, and could be any where in this Galactic Sub-Sector. It would be a while yet before pay day.
Luckily with his new ship and Jump-4 engines, Dry might stand a chance of finding the Exodus. But, can he find it before someone else lays a claim?
Written by: Andrew Gregory
Game Edition: Traveller (Mongoose Publishing)
Players: Jeff, Dave, Elijah
Ages: 21Dys, 30Yrs, 40Yrs
Quote of the evening:
"Why don't we call it the Hornby..."
Introduction
Left to Right: James, Caesar, Dry |
James Hornby (Elijah), Dry (Dave), and their robot Caesar (Jeff) had been in hyperspace for an entire week. James had spent the week binge drinking. Which was no trouble, as he had brought aboard twelve two-fours for the trip, and had been steadily consuming one a day for the seven days. Dry had tried to keep up with James' appetite, but it left him with a three day hang over that he was only just recovering from.
With the long voyage ending soon, James and Dry were looking forward to stretching their legs, and replenishing their food supplies. They had eaten all but 4 of their rations, and they only had 5 cases of beer left. To top it off, Mr. Peaches, the giant six-legged lizard they had locked in Stateroom 3, had gone through most of the "food" they had brought along for it, and Ruffles, Dry's pet corgi, had consumed all of his dog food.
How can you see no to a face like that? |
Scene 1 Sector 0809.
James was sitting on the bridge, bottle in hand. It comforted him to be in the captain's chair and he took a swing from his bottle, while he looked out into the greyish light of hyperspace. The dull grey shown through the windows of the S.S. Exodus. It was maddeningly boring. However, though it had been a weeks worth of waiting, he couldn't help but feel elated; he was travelling the stars again! But soon that pleasure was soured by the memory of his nemesis Gary Oak, and how he had stranded him out in space for two years.GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYY! |
They had also been using him as a table. |
James summoned Dry to the bridge on the ship's comm, and had him scan the area. The system came up as the Kelnas System, containing 6 planets. A more detailed scan revealed, an erratic energy signature around Kelnas VI, that the mass of Kelnas V was shrinking, and that Kelnas II contained a large settlement.
James had been out this way before and recognised Kelnas II as the headquarters of the Outer Rim Mining Corporation. They would would definitely be able to find fuel and supplies there.
Dry on the other hand was a little wary. He pointed out that given their track record, if something went wrong they would have to get out off the system fast, and that the more people there were, the more chances of something going wrong. He proposed they investigate the energy signature around Kelnas VI first, and then proceed to the settlement. It could be worth their time.
James agreed, and told Dry to set a course.
Scene 2 The Junk Yard.
Dry pulled into a far orbit around the sixth planet. A red gas giant. As he piloted the ship around the orbit, following the energy signal, a huge debris field came into view. Dry started to mkae some preliminary scans when the comm light started flashing. They were receiving a video message from within the junk field."On screen." James said as Dry flicked a few switches.
"Welcome! Welcome! If you are buying or selling, Pix-Tix-A-Plak is the name and junk is my game!" A friendly look Regrunian says with a pleasant demeanour about him.
It would have been said with a smile if he had a mouth |
Dry finished his scan and detected a station in orbit with the debris field: the source of the transmission, and told James. Thinking it over, James responded to the comm message that he would be interested, and short catalogue of Pix-Tix-A-Plak's prominent ware came over the screen.
"Let me know if you see anything you are interested in." And with that Pix-Tix-A-Plak closed the Channel.
From the console in the arm of his chair, James read the list Pix-Tix-A-Plak had sent to Dry and Caesar:
Interesting... interesting... |
Seeing a lot of catche-22's... |
Really? Anything else? |
With all in agreement James radioed Pix-Tix-A-Plak, who instructed them to await the arrival of his shuttle.
Scene 3 Pix-Tix-A-Plak's Station.
The shuttle arrived and docked with the Exodus. It was piloted by an android of an impressive design that caught the notice of of both James and Caesar. The android invited them both on board, while Dry stayed behind to watch over the ship.The Android looked like this... The robot, not Will Smith. |
He and James began quietly plotting back and forth between them. They planned to steal one of the robots on the way back, feeling that was the safest option. They assumed that Pix-Tix-A-Plak had guards on board his station, and so taking the android when they were safely on their own ship seemed the best plan. With the scheme set, the two waited out the rest of the trip in relative silence.
Ever closer the space station loomed. |
"Please exit the shuttle." it said.
James was a little wary, and hesitated a moment before proceeding.
"What if I don't?" He asked.
The Android remained silent, clearly not programmed to answer such a question. Shrugging it off James and Caesar left the shuttle and stepped onto the station. Pix-Tix-A-Plak stood waiting for them, his purple tentacles stretching and fidgeting around him
"Welcome to my station gentlemen!" Pix-Tix-A-Plak said extending all the tentacles on his right side towards James.
Unsure of what to do, James returned the salutation and shook one of the tentacles. Whether that was proper or not, Pix-Tix-A-Plak did not seem to mind, and continued his business.
"I overheard on the Shuttle's Comm that you would be interested in acquiring one of my service droids." Pix-Tix-A-Plak said.
James turned white, and Caesar sat there silently; Pix-Tix-A-Plak had heard their whole plan!
Awkward! |
"I personally modified each of my droids, using old Service Droid Charlie chassis I upgraded their armour, strength and speed, and added a little extra." He hit a button on his jacket. "Droid 02 come to me."
A metallic pounding, like metal foot steps echoed down the hall. A few seconds later, one of Pix-Tix-A-Plak's droids stood before him.
"Activate combat mode." He said.
Quickly the Droid's hands flipped around revealing 2 Gauss Rifles, and the chest plating opened up, to show a plasma rifle.
"The Gauss Rifles have 50 rounds each, the magazines are held in the arm. The Plasma Rifle on the other hand I haven't quite worked out. It will fire... but the shot uses the rest of the Droid's battery charge."
"Still," James Commented. "It is an impressive design."
"And a reasonable price to." Pix-Tix-A-Plak interjected. "But please come into my office and we can discuss business."
Pix-Tix-A-Plak took them down the corridor and into an room with a round table and four chairs. Monitors showing the different parts of the station covered the walls, and all matter of junk, garbage, and debris littered every surface.
After about 20 minutes negotiating and some consultations with Dry over the comm, James agreed to buy the Heavy Projection Flamer, Three Battery Packs, and one of Pix-Tix-A-Plak's Droids.
Pix-Tix-A-Plak tried to convince them to retrieve a turret missile launcher from a scout ship he was in possession of, but there was a catch. The scout ship was infested with Tallarian Hook Spiders. If James and his comrades where willing to clear the ship he would sell it to them for a bargain. Though tempted, James was unwilling to risk an infestation on his own ship and turned him down. Pix-Tix-A-Plak tried a few more times to convince James to help him with the hook spiders, but James' resilience made him back down eventually.
In the end, Pix-Tix-A-Plak greed to sell James one of his Droids for 750,000cr., and some battery packs and a heavy projection flamer with 1 round left for an additional 2000cr. James also negotiated the use of Pix-Tix-A-Plax's wireless transmitter and station's computer, so that they could transfer Caesar's intelligence to their new Droid.
What the Flamer looked like. |
At least it was a nice body. |
Thanking Pix-Tix-A-Plak James and Caesar left the station, but not before getting his comm frequency. If they ever had anything to sell, he was their man.
Scene 4 A Desperate Manoeuvre.
While James and Caesar were shopping, Dry had been blaring his music across the ship's comm and dancing around in his underwear. It started out as an exploration of Ancient Earth Rock...However, by the time James and Caesar arrived the mood had turned a little more.... personal?
As Dry slid into the corridor by the airlock wearing only his drawers, James immediately turned the music off using a control on his wrist... Much to Dry's disappointment.
"Dry, get dressed. Then set a course to Kelnas II." James told him.
Dry got dressed and then returned to awe at Caesar's new body before sitting down at the controls. He had just down a sensor sweep when he detected an unidentified craft approaching them. The ship had modified engines, and though it was only a scout ship, it was almost twice their speed!
Before James could give his next order, the comm signal started flashing.
"On Screen." James said.
The screen stayed black but voice crackled over the speaker. "Captain James Hornby. Surrender your vessel and prepare to be boarded."
James demanded that they identify themselves, but was met with only silence. Caesar recommended letting them board, and then fighting them on the ship, but James wasn't too sure.
Before any decision could be reached, another voice came over the comm. It was Pix-Tix-A-Plak!
"Space Station to unidentified vessel. Stand down and leave this system."
"Stay out of this junk dealer." The mysterious voice returned. "Or we will come after you next."
"No one threatens me or my customers." Pix-Tix-A-Plak said.
Dry's sensors lit up as a volley of six missiles flared from the station, and rocketed towards the unidentified scout ship. Seconds later a series of explosion registered, but Dry had lost the attacking vessel's position. Believing that it had survived the attack he began to scan the area in greater detail, recalibrating the sensors to compensate for the explosion.
Pix-Tix-A-Plak's voice then came over the comm. "Damn that ship's fast! I got 'em with one of my rockets, but that is all I got. I am still picking 'em up on my sensors, you'll have to deal with 'em or they will certainly kill us both!"
I really meant for them to buy that missile launcher. |
He turned to the captain and said. "Activate the Jump Drive."
James looked shocked for a minute. "But it can take up to an hour to plot a course and we are so close to the sun!"
Dry agreed, but said "screw the course! Anywhere would be better than here in a minute."
They would wait until their attacker got within a few hundred meters, and hope they got pulled into the gravity well created by the jump. It risked their destruction, but if it worked, it would destroy their pursuer and get them to safety.
James agreed to the plan ordered they hold position until the vessel was within 600m. On James' signal, Dry punched the FTL drive, as Caesar dumped the power from engineering.
She's caught in the gravity well captain! |
Scene 5 Dead in Space.
The week in hyperspace passed slowly. The food supplies ran out after three days, and after starving for a fourth a desperate decision was made. They would have to eat one of Dry's pets. Dry refused to part with his Corgi, Ruffles, but said if anyone could kill it, then Mr. Peaches was fair game.Not wanting to spray the creature with rounds, Dry turned Caesar back on. Caesar had been turning himself off for the duration of jumps to save his limited battery power for when it was needed. Dry asked Caesar to kill Mr. Peaches using as few rounds as possible. Being programmed to do what James and Dry said back when they first turn him on, Caesar agreed and proceeded to Stateroom 3.
He killed the lizard quickly, and then dragged its carcass to the kitchen. With skill and dexterity Caesar then skinned the creature and cut it up into portions of meat which he stored in the freezer. He then cooked two portions for both Caesar and Dry, and returned to his state of hibernation.
You can use canned slug... |
When the greyish wash of FTL final left the ship, Dry leapt to his console to determine their position. They were in Sector 0307... 5 parsecs away from their previous location and floating in empty space, there was not a system in sight.
They were close to the Outer Rim Shipping Lanes, but after their last jump, they only had 6 tons of fuel left. Not enough to make another jump to hyperspace, and only enough power for 2 weeks operation. Without anything else to do, James activated his Distress Call on all frequencies. It was a waiting game.
4 Days Later they received a response from a ship claiming to be a mining ship. They would jump to their location and render aid as soon as possible. It seemed like a dream come true.
Scene 6 Space Pirates.
It took eight days for the "miners" to arrive, and when they did, it was not in a mining ship as they claimed, but A Gazelle Class Escort.Nice Ship! |
James called Dry to the bridge, and before answering the comm reactivated Caesar. The same scruffy looking man who had responded to their distress call 10 days ago appeared on the view screen, and offered assistance.
He agreed to help them, but wanted to send an engineering team over to ensure there wouldn't be any compatibility issues. James thought it was a strange request, but wasn't exactly in a position to argue. So he agreed, and the escort vessel sent over a launch.
James prepared Dry, and Caesar to meet the escort's launch at the air lock. He even fetched his broad sword and plasma rifle to seem intimidating. A few minutes later, four men armed with Snub Pistols greeted them at their air-lock. James let them inside keeping an eye on each of them.
The crew from the "mining ship" seemed friendly enough, and quickly struck up a rapport with Dry as they began to talk about music and their ships. Put at ease for the time being, James took one of the "miners"to the engine room for the inspection. Caesar stayed with Dry, unmoving, ready for anything.
Everyone knew something was not quite right. |
He put the song over the comm, and the Escort's crewmen were impressed. One of them commented that the ship had a great comm system, and was curious to see how loud it would go. Again, Dry eagerly turned the volume up, notch by notch, until it was blasting through the ship. It was then that the "mining crew" revealed their true colours.
Using the blaring music as cover, one of the three raiders in the back moved to his pistol. Thankfully Caesar had been watching them the whole time. Before the pirate could reach for his gun, Caesar took him down with a blast from his gauss rifles.
Yeah... Everyone knew they were pirates. |
Quickly Dry sealed the airlock giving them a moments peace.
Down the hall, James had not heard the eruptions of gunfire over the driving rhythms of ABBA, but the man he accompanied took it as his cue. When they got into the engine room the pirate pulled out his snub pistol and shot James in the chest. The bullet ripped through his collar bone, and out through his back, rendering his left arm almost useless. He slumped to one knee and cried out in pain.
Mano e Mano. |
Totally what it felt like. |
Slowly, James lifted himself from the ground and drew his broad sword. He dragged it across the floor towards were the blackened body remained. It breathed slowly, with painful sounding wheeze. Using the remainder of his strength, James lifted his sword high, and brought the blade down on the pirate's neck.
With his foe slain, James took a few minutes to recover, and then slowly dragged himself down the corridor towards Dry and Caesar. The two helped him onto the bridge and into the captains chair, just as the comm light started to flash again.
It seemed the pirates wanted to talk.
Scene 7 Negotiations.
That old grizzled face appeared on their screen.He also had terrible taste in fashion. |
James sat up in his chair.
"Now look," the captain continued. "We both know what I want. Now hand it over and I will be on my way."
Dry muted the channel, and Caesar speculated that they might be after his AI programming. James on the other hand suspected that it had something to do with the package they had received from Interstellar Exports.
Those Bastards. |
"We will give you the package," James said. "In exchanged for enough fuel to jump to the next system."
The pirate laughed. "You got balls of brass son! I accept."
"There is a further condition." James explained. "You refuel our ship first, and then you and one of your men come aboard for the exchange."
The captain looked angry, snarling a little bit. "Agreed." he said and ended the transmission.
With that, the Pirate ship loomed into position, and a mechanical thud, and sound of pumps reverberated through the ship. Checking ship's systems, Dry confirmed that the ship was being refuelled.
2000 years in the future and they use the same gauge. |
"Your ship now has 10 tons of fuel. It should be enough to get you to the next system." He said. "I am coming over now. And don't try anything, or I will blast your pathetic ship to atoms."
He then cut the channel, and James and Dry scrambled to get ready. Deciding they would try to trick the pirates, Dry brought Caesar's old Survey Drone body out on the trolley to the airlock, while Caesar helped James stand.
Leaning on his broad sword, and with Caesar supporting him, James made his way to wards the air lock. He was very injured, but needed to put on a strong face for the pirate captain. Any sign of weakness could be their last.
Show me your war face! |
"It looks like it is up in the cargo bay, captain." He said.
The grizzled captain snarled at James. "Go and get it." He said.
James sent Caesar to go and fetch the item, who rushed down the hall. Upon reaching the cargo bay Caesar considered grabbing the correct case, but decided to try and fool the pirates once more, by switching it for the empty case that held the 500,000cr. card.
On his way back, Caesar ran through calculation after calculation. There was no way he could incapacitate the invaders without starting a fire fight, which his the three laws (that only applied to James and Dry) would not allow him to do. There was too high a chance of one of them dying as a result of his actions.
Replace Human/ Human Beings with James and Dry. |
It was pay back time. |
James dropped to a knee and rolled to avoid any stray gunfire. The pain was excruciating, but it probably saved his life.
As the smoke cleared the Pirate and his Crewman lay dead. Caesar had taken more damage in the fire fight, but Dry had come away unscathed. James on the other hand was reeling from the gunshot wound he received in his first battle, and needed medical attention desperately.
Scene 8 Boarding Actions.
Dry rushed on board the pirate shuttle and found a medic with Future Brand Bandages. The porous and pliable material sealed over James' wound, and dosed his blood stream with a steady supply of antibiotics, pain-killers and coagulants to aid in healing. It was a temporary measure, and he would likely need professional medical attention, but the Future Brand Bandages meant he could stand on his own.James Suggested they jump to hyperspace and get the hell out of there. But Dry pointed out that with their food supplies, and the number of bandages remaining, James would be lucky if he lasted the week. They had only one choice. They had to board the pirate ship and capture it. Or die trying.
Or Die Trying. |
Dry took the controls of the shuttle, separated from the Exodus and piloted it towards the pirate escort. It was a tense, but short ride, and Dry docked the Launch under the Escort with a thud. The hetched seal opened and the three climbed into a lift took them to the ships cargo bay, where two pirates stood waiting.
"What's with the space suit captain?" One of the pirates said.
With out saying a word, James, Dry, and Caesar lifted their weapons, and fired at the pirates in a hail of projectiles. Not a single shot landed on target.
James really needed those shots to land on target. |
There is a bottle of Noidulan Ale waiting for him in after life. |
Before Dry and Caesar could find a way out, a door slid open, and a grenade skipped into the room. Dry and Caesar dove for cover on opposite sides of the room, and the grenade only blasted through the James' corpse.
Gross. |
In the end, the injured and exhausted pirates threw down their arms and surrendered. Dry took their weapons and demanded to know who else was on board. At gun point, the two pirates lead James to stateroom 3. Inside, the pirate wounded in their first encounter lay unconscious.
Dry demanded that the two bring him with them, but his captors hesitated. One of the pirates pleaded for mercy. He spoke with a thick French accent and begged Dry to let the injured man stay there, claiming his was unconscious and would likely die if they moved him. Showing some mercy, Dry agreed but locked the door to Stateroom 3 just in case.
He then took the two pirates to the storage locker by the bridge and locked them inside. The ship now belong to Dry, but it had come at a great cost: his captain, James Hornby's life.
Scene 9 A New Beginning.
James Hornby was dead. His old ship had enough fuel for a jump, and Dry had commandeered a Gazelle Escort.After a brief ceremony, Dry blew James' body and the rest of the dead pirates out the airlock on both the pirate ship and on board the S.S. Exodus. He then spent the rest of the day shuttling most of the Exodus's cargo to his new ship that was in desperate need of a name.
And christening ceremony. |
"Why don't we call it the Hornby..." Dry said to Caesar.
It was a touching gesture in honour of his recently deceased friend, and with that Dry became the captain of the S.S. Hornby.
Knowing that James' old ship the Exodus was still worth a lot of money, Dry flew Caesar over in the shuttle and gave him command of the vessel. He was to follow Dry to sector 0308, where they would refuel, and try to sell it.
Caesar was very intrigued by the offer. He was in command of his own ship. The possibilities seemed endless.
Scene 10 Lost in Space.
Dry, on board the S.S. Hornby, found the helm and began to calculate his next jump. While Caesar did the same on board the S.S. Exodus.Half an hour later, Dry signalled that he was ready to jump, and Caesar followed his lead. This last thing either of them saw before entering hyperspace, was the crackling static caused by a mis-jump surrounding both ships.
They were lost in space. |
And that was where we left off for the night.
Conclusion
What a game! Jeff's character Caesar got a new body, Dave's character Dry stormed a pirate ship without taking a single point of damage, and Elijah's character James Hornby maintained an old JADE tradition by dying.Dry of course still has the mysterious case from Interstellar Exports. The case that the pirates wanted, and seemed to be able to track. However, with the prize being a measly 1,000,000cr., and with the opportunity to sell the Exodus, it seemed like chump change, and not worth the trouble.
Despite their lofty goals of selling James Hornby's old ship, the Exodus like the Hornby had mis-jumped, and could be any where in this Galactic Sub-Sector. It would be a while yet before pay day.
Luckily with his new ship and Jump-4 engines, Dry might stand a chance of finding the Exodus. But, can he find it before someone else lays a claim?
Written by: Andrew Gregory
Interstellar Exports Game 3
Reviewed by JADE Gaming
on
3/13/2015 10:58:00 am
Rating:
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