Several individuals received employment details on a custom credit chip and were directed to arrive at a specified location, a trade-and-landing platform in a remote area on the hot desert planet Krünjiac Junction. While waiting for their work to begin, they shopped for wares, met the other members of the crew: Adira - an enigmatic woman, Max - an accented pilot with flair, Devon - a rogue-ish man with an eye for medicine, Braxton - a gunfighter ready for action, J - a sniper equipped for challenges, and Skellin - a short green creature with an ornate spear and wooden mask.
After the trade platform cleared, the surface of it served as a landing pad where the party was introduced to Helaena Rockford and her ship, The Hades. The Hades launched into orbit to top off fuel at the private landing orbital station, Dinor 2, and took on the unknown cargo the crew was charged to protect. The ship encountered a green-carapaced alien, N'Nebe, piloting a well-armed privateer cruiser, “The Big Stick”, and had to turn down her offer to be bait in a paying gig to attack a mining operation. The Hades continued on to the edge of the system for a spike-drilldown toward the Riza system. The Hades was enveloped in metadimensional energies and the crew plunged into their destinies.
The party spent some time learning the Hades' layout and capabilities as it jumped to the Riza system. During the multi-day travel, Max chatted up some of the crew midship to learn more about everyone. J hacked Max's datapad and triggered hard rock music on the ship's comms system, providing Halaena with both amusement and irritation. Devon outfitted the Hades with a better centralized triage/medical station by converting the rarely-used conference area. Braxton and Adira both learned the gunnery systems of the Hades while Skellin followed Bucket, the Hades' system control bot, to gain better understanding of outputs on various ship displays.
On arriving at Riza, the Hades pulled into the enclosed fuel depot, Boru 3. Once inside, the ship's crew deployed as protection. Devon, Braxton, Skellin accompanied Halaena outside the ship, along with Max's drone playing observer support. Adira manned the Hades' sandcaster while J took position on top of the ship. The station's tech staff was behaving oddly, as security services appeared to be offline, and a tech applied a lockdown clamp to the Hades' landing gear. J notified Halaena of one depot guard's intent to fire on the her and Devon as they squeezed info from a nervous fuel tech. Max flew a drone distraction above that guard while J lined up a shot that decidedly eliminated the threat.
In a shocking move, Adira fired the Hades' sandcaster flak weapon into stored flammable containers, which annihilated two of the depot's questionable guards and tore a gaping shrapnel hole beneath the depot control tower. Devon had secured one of the techs behind a wall for safety, then fired a clean shot across the bay that eliminated the head of depot security while Skellin ducked into the shadows to stalk another guard. Braxton and Halaena ducked behind the cover of a supply vehicle, preparing to take on whatever guards revealed themselves to be a threat. Adira fired the sandcaster again, this time directly into the glass of the depot control booth, resulting in the decimation of that room and the surrender of the remaining guards below. Braxton and Halaena rounded up the remaining guards and technicians. After Braxton intimidated a tech with threat of bodily harm, the tech revealed he had been given a cred chip to participate in apprehending a ship matching the Hades' and crew descriptions.
Max flew his drone up into the now-broken control booth to ascertain the situation through the “new door”, revealing a wrecked room, a dead guard, a severely wounded tech, and some other addled workers. Devon, Sekllin, and J ran up the ramp to the control booth. J, seeing the control room was annihilated, questioned a tech and began to hack the system to determine what could be done. Skellin took a look at the wounded tech, but the young man was unresponsive and bleeding badly. Skellin watched as Devon applied his healing trade, managing to regain consciousness in the man. The wound was clearly mortal, and as Devon raised a blade to end the man's suffering, the man choked out what sounded like “curse” or some form of it.
J managed to gain control of the depot's secure systems, remove the lockdown and restore refueling services. He dug into the system comms to discover that at least two of the staff had been paid off to hold a ship matching some general details of the Hades and her crew. Everyone regrouped at the Hades. Halaena sent everyone to the ship and rounded up the remaining depot techs and guards facedown on the ground. Once on the ship, shots from a laser pistol were heard up the ramp, one shot for each remaining depot staff.
After fueling was complete, J used his hacked access to allow the Hades to leave the station. Once clear of the station and on the way to the edge of the system for the final spike drill of the mission, Halaena had J analyze the cred chips found by Braxton and Devon, displaying a circular logo made of curved markings. An audio recording also revealed instructions to place a tracker on the ship as a precaution. Halaena cursed under her breath and commanded the crew to prepare for action and potential boarders; the Hades was being hunted.
After departing the orbital station Boru 3 and heading for the final jump to Canto, Halaena gathered the crew of the Hades and opened up with her thoughts on the discoveries from the now-damaged depot and the loose cred chips.
Halaena believed that the mortally-injured tech’s last repeated word to Devon and Skellin, “curse”, was an attempt to share his employer’s identity, the Precursor Syndicate. The logos and audio J hacked off the cred chips seemed to line up with the theory. She was certain the Syndicate had been sent after the cargo within the Hades' hold.
Based on the audio recording from one of the cred chips, Halaena sent the crew to search the ship for tracking devices. Not a single trace of a tracker was found, even with attempts to use the ship's sensors to detect an outbound signal.
Suddenly, the Hades' warning alarms triggered, and comms showed two ships were inbound. A fighter and a troop shuttle were closing quickly on the crew's position. Skellin did his best effort to coordinate a ship crew for the first time while J and Devon worked comms to boost the ship's combat edge. Halaena and Max maneuvered the ship into position for Braxton and Adira to take shots on target. Braxton sliced the nose cannon off the front of the rapidly-approaching fighter, using a skillful shot from the Hades' multifocal laser battery. Uninterested in a weaponless fight, the small combat ship sped off from the engagement. Adira thrashed the armor of the remaining shuttle with a burst of flak, allowing another laser shot from Braxton to rend a deep trench in the ship’s wing. Both Adira and Braxton peppered the ship's apparent weakness, as obvious amounts of fuel had begun dumping into space. After perforating it with additional flak and slicing a portion of the engine off, the shuttle lost all ability to maneuver in space and drifted slowly towards the distant weak gravity coming from the planet Herg.
Max flew the Hades towards the disabled vessel, intending to gain salvage. While Braxton and Adira covered the ship with their guns, J began a close-range hack to gain access to the ship's systems. Over the comms, a male pilot claimed that “The Precursor Syndicate will never surrender!”, yet a great deal of arguing could be heard in the background. After further comms discussion, laser shots and yelling could be heard. A minute later, a man appeared on comms, requesting rescue of the two remaining members of the shuttle's crew.
Max aligned the Hades while the man opened a data channel to pass ship detail for a boarding connection from the shuttle to the Hades. J used this connection to gain basic access to the ship, although not much could be gleaned. Some logs were acquired for later review. By the time the hatch was sealed between ships, only one of the opposing crew remained. The fate of the others unknown, the Hades transferred the lone survivor under cover of several crew members' guns. Adira discouraged action from him by keeping a blade near his throat. The man was bleeding from his side, covered in blood, and had clearly been in a fight, yet appeared to be unarmed. Devon took the man to the Hades' new makeshift infirmary to address the wounds.
As they began to converse with the man, a jolt rattled through the Hades, knocking most of the crew into bulkheads. Alarms klaxoned as systems began reporting damage to the engines. The man from the shuttle became incensed and began screaming “THEY'RE COMING FOR US!!! THEY'LL KILL US ALL!!! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!!!” Even though thrashing about, Devon was able to subdue him with a quick sedative so the crew could focus on this new situation.
Halaena determined the ship's spike drive had been severely damaged. Normal systems and atmospheric drives were still online, yet a landing would be required to ascertain the damage and repair it. J checked the data connection, but it appeared to be offline. Halaena entered the airlock and strangely had Max expose her to potentially open space to visually determine the state of the docking seal. The docking was broken. Max swung the Hades around to see the enemy shuttle drifting away at a new angle towards Herg.
Still unsure of if or how the Hades was being tracked, and unsure from where the damage originated, Halaena announced that she is taking the Hades to Herg. Flying beneath the clouds, she planned to drop the independent cargo lifter to the surface and land elsewhere with the ship. Doing so will result in protecting the cargo or the crew; a hope that both will not be lost in the process. The Hades began her crippled descent into the atmosphere of Herg in the Riza System, unsure if more assailants would come after her, her cargo, or her crew.
The Hades descended to Herg while J stripped a portion of the encrypted data from the payload copied from the Precursor shuttle. Some of the data required a deep decryption and was not able to be viewed. Max managed to internally resolve one of three issues caused by the explosion outside the ship, yet the rest required being on the ground to investigate.
Devon and Adira kept an eye on the guest, strapping him down to the infirmary's table with cargo belts as the ship prepared for its descent to Herg. Halaena asked Devon to wake the guest up to question him. Devon cautioned Halaena on the action but gave the man a stimulant. The guest awoke to find himself restrained, Halaena brooding over him, and Adira admiring her blades threateningly. Halaena began questioning him, but the man attempted to manipulate the minds of those present. He caused Adira to temporarily stop thinking about him, but Devon and Halaena were able to resist. The man began to work with Halaena's mind, drawing out memories of the Hades, then of her past, revealing Halaena's loss of a loved one. Halaena pistol-whipped the guest into unconsciousness to stop his advances. Devon applied another sedative to keep the man unconscious.
Once in atmosphere and under cover of clouds, Halaena dropped the cargo module a small distance away and landed the ship under the cover of a rocky opening somewhere in the wilds of Herg. Once on the ground, the crew began securing the area, fixing the engine systems, and searching for potential tracking devices on the ship. Skellin, inspired by the wooded area, went on the hunt, deftly killing a rocksprite with his spear so they could eat it later. Braxton remained on the guns to assure protection and monitor incoming signals. Devon left the guest in Adira's care and explored the fresh air outside the ship.
Halaena and Max began working on the damage to the spike drive while J scoured the outside surface of the ship for trackers. As he neared the back of the Hades, J spotted a clump of gelatinous adhesive material partially hidden under the black scarring from the explosion. Using a knife, he and Halaena slowly scraped it away to reveal a small conical device inside. J boarded the ship, cracked open the device to discover that it was indeed a tracking device. Its last tracking ping noted the Hades position in space after their encounter with enemy ships. In hopes of buying them time, J modified the device to signal incorrect location information, showing the Hades to be on her way towards the spike point as if continuing on to Canto.
Sensors detected an incoming ground vehicle at range, lighting up Braxton's gunnery display and the comms console with a limited view of an unarmed APC approaching. Max lifted his drone above the tree canopy to capture a closer view of an unmarked standard rugged transport. Halaena accompanied J to assist in his positioning on a high rock while Skellin stealthed into a position opposite J to surround the incoming open ground. Braxton trained the ship's multifocal laser on the APC's incoming path, and Devon assumed position near the base of the ship. Adira provided the already unconscious guest with another full dose of sedative and departed the ship.
The APC stopped short of the waiting Halaena, backed by the Hades' cannon and crew. Departing the rig were 5 individuals, 4 wearing red masks covering the lower part of their faces. Their leader, O'Mari shared that she was leader of the Rose Compass mercenaries, looking for a crashed science vessel as part of an open reclamation job. The Rose Compass had noted the injured Hades' descent and checked out the location. Halaena managed the situation somewhat peacefully, and the APC packed up and left to continue their hunt for the downed craft.
After assembling the crew, preparations were made to being the short trek to the Hades' cargo unit. Discussion was had on what to do with their dangerous guest. Halaena shared more detail about her loss pulled from her memory by the man's telepathic skills, opening up about the dangers of the Precursor Syndicate and how the Truesight Ascendancy had reached out to recruit her with evidence of the Syndicate's hand in the death of her loved one. While the crew discussed how to handle the guest, Braxton went aboard the Hades and dragged the unconscious man to the river and shot him, ending the discussion. Skellin laid an animal trap for their return, and the team departed by following a simple tracker Halaena carried for the cargo unit.
Arriving at a beach location via a covered high point, the crew found that the Rose Compass had already discovered the Hades' cargo unit, and was observed attempting to open it. During a discussion to prepare an ambush, Skellin snuck off down a ridge. He lured a mercenary away from his guard point down the beach, attacked him from a hidden position, critically disabling the man. Adira had followed closely behind and with her blades ended any chance of the man betraying their position. Adira took his comms device and prepared for more action.
The rest of the crew prepared to rain shots down on the unsuspecting mercenaries. Devon took to the side of the beach opposite Skellin, and allowed Halaena to use her recently-revealed telekenetic abilities to lower him down to a secure position behind a large rock. Halaena covered a merc there with her rifle while J and Braxton picked targets near the cargo lifter. On signal, Max flew his drone over the top of the mercenaries to serve as potential distraction and recon. J and Braxton simultaneously eliminated the Rose Compass leader, O'Mari, and one of the nearby mercs, both with brutally accurate single shots. Halaena missed her target guarding down the west side of the beach, her shot passing into the water beyond. Devon tore a shot around his rocky cover, critically wounding the last of the mercs that were near the cargo unit. Braxton and Adira fired additional shots into the beach, finishing off the last of the Rose Compass. The crew needed to decide how to proceed on their beach of freed cargo, dead mercs, and an APC. The tracking device was left misdirecting, their guest could no longer threaten them, and Bucket was left alone guarding the Hades. Everyone was aware how good a shot he is…not.
The crew of the Hades secured the beach location with Devon and Skelling standing watch. Halaena and Adira investigated the cargo unit while Max, J, and Braxton took the newly-acquired APC for a spin around a wide path near the beach, culminating in a sweet jump off a low enbankment, spraying the rest of the crew with sand.
The cargo unit was a fairly uniform beige color, designed in two parts; a container to hold cargo and a frame capable of lifting the unit to and from low-orbit freighters. Bulky modular nodes on the frame provided its lift capabilities, while the front section contained the majority of the engine and control components to make the device possible. J worked to infiltrate the protections of the cargo unit door, eventually unlocking it. Inside, the crew found two bundles of secured cargo. One bundle near the back of the storage area contained multiple cases of technical weapon and medical supplies, each case stamped with the symbol of the Truesight Ascendency. The bundle near the door of the storage unit was a single bulky unmarked case with reinforced shock absorbing material all around it.
J worked to unlock the unmarked case, only to find yet another case nested within. He and Devon both recognized this as a “detcase”, commonly used to secure highly sensitive information or valuables. Excessive tampering with such a case will cause an explostion intended to both kill the tamperer and elimininate the contents of the case. These cases are sometimes used as humor, sent to unwitting enemies as “gifts”.
The crew pulled most of the cargo cases from the storage and managed to carefully drive the APC into the cargo unit. They filled the back of the APC with the pulled cargo, and buttoned up the cargo unit for later pickup. J secured the case on his back for the return trip to the Hades, Halaena wanting to keep a close eye on whatever prize was the cause of their recent misadventures.
On arrival back at the Hades, Skellin's trap had killed another rocksprite. He field-dressed the animals and skillfully made a fire to cook up the animals. Max, Braxton, and Skellin sat and enjoyed the cooking fire while snacking on the cooked meat. Once the ship was prepped, the crew launched and travelled to the beach to recover the cargo lifter. Max's repairs were largely successful, allowing full use of the Hades in atmosphere, so the crew headed to the largest city on Herg, Tuset, for final touches and repairs.
Arriving at the sprawling city, they were granted access to enter a repair bay and completed restoration of the spike drive and a nice paint job refresh. For several hours, some of the crew guarded the ship against further tampering efforts while others meandered around the repair bay's convenience shops littered about the sides of the bay. Adira questioned some dock workers about potential carnival or circus entertainment activities and learned a bit about the structure of Tuset. Braxon enjoyed a custom-made beer while watching the bustling wildlife of the repair bay. Max assisted the dock workers with understanding the needs of the Hades, and Devon greatly updated the quality of the ship's food through snacks, spices, and most importantly: candy. Skellin, disliking the sheer amount of metal surrounding them and lack of trees, decided to stay on the ship for the most part, but braved a few moments outside to obtain preservative packs for storing his rocksprite meat. J carefully observed the dock workers to assure no trickery occurred like their ordeal at Boru 3. After repairs, the Hades exited the dock, but gained access to the Tuset job networks through official channels and J's connections to mercs in the area. Searching for the Rose Compass' mentioned crashed science ship job on the boards, very little detail was gained other than a general search region and asking for a return of any cargo or salvage for a 4000 credit reward.
The crew decided to allow time for the Syndicate to chase J's modified tracking signal and assume they'd gotten away, so they burned time searching for the crashed ship. After searching for a couple of hours, Halaena spotted a collection of foliage atop a rocky outcropping. Max maneuvered the ship to get a better look at the patch of plants to discover a grid-like structure beneath it, supporting the plants above and allowing air and light through with enough room for a human. The Hades set down several hundred meters away and Max flew his drone to the mouth of the cave. Through the drone's video feed, Max saw some figures moving behind some low cinder blocks or other cover, along with some man-made lights and structures in the background. There was also other light from above deeper into the cave. The light adjustment made it difficult to ascertain details.
Adira and Skellin snuck towards the mouth of the cave in hopes of gathering additional information. Skellin went in with Max's drone watching over him for support. From a lower vantage, Skellin saw the same sights as Max's drone, this time also spying around a near corner an APC that looked very much like the one they stored in the Hades' hold. This could be the home of the Rose Compass mercenaries.
May 1, 2021