Introduction

It’s Wednesday morning and I’m trying to write this as a distraction to stop frying my brain. The problem is I can’t actually remember much about what actually happened last night. I have so much going on in my head at the moment both in relation to the upcoming Bee Keeping Association Honey Show, the Game and its future, the imminent arrival of the puppy, and Falco being unwell. He had a really rough night and was off to the vets this morning as a result. I won’t know the diagnosis until I get home.

There is of course always the complication of you not doing things the way they happened in the show, and ignoring some hints no matter how strongly I put them. Wexlar still being alive gives me a particular headache.

Complications, Complications, and more Complications

We started with a clear demonstration that Matt had clearly failed to read both the last 2 session logs and had actually completely forgotten pretty much everything that had happened (and I thought I had memory problems).

After an extended discussion, it is eventually decided that Three, and Six will begin stripping the Volkov-Russi Troopers of their armour and weapons (which does sort of leave them in their underwear) whilst Four finishes sticking patches over Seven’s wounds to stop him bleeding. Five continues with her task of gaining access to the service ducting for the bridge whilst Two heads for the bridge to deal with Wexlar.

Two is somewhat surprised to find that Wexlar has not sealed the bridge (In reality he has been pacing backwards and forwards not really knowing what to do as he has no real idea of what’s been happening, and can’t conceive of a situation where he would lose control of the ship). As Two approaches the bridge she hears Wexlar talking to somebody on an open Comms channel.

Comm "This is the Demetriove. Wexlar what the hell is happening on that ship?"
Wexlar "I don't know"
Comm "Why aren't my men responding?"
Wexlar "I don't know, I think some of them might be down"
Comm "Is this some kind of double cross?"
Wexlar "No! No! Just having a little issue with the crew of the Razza that's all."
Comm "You were supposed to have them locked down"
Wexlar "I know! Don't worry I can handle it."

Two (arriving on the bridge) "You sure about that?"
Wexlar "No... Its impossible...I killed you"
Two "You screwed that up like everything else"
Comm "Wexlar.. What is going on? Who is that?"

Eventually Two manages to convey that “They are speaking to Portia-Lin captain of the Razza, and what the hell was the meaning of sending an unauthorised Team onto the Razza, who by the way are now incapacitated”.

There is a short delay before the FTL waring sounds indicating that the Demetriove has jumped to FTL abandoning both their shuttle and their men.

Wexlar’s reaction is “Shit” as Two turns her attention to him once more. Wexlar tries to convince Two she is going to fly him to the nearest Space Station and once he’s safely on board he will tell her where the Android’s control chip is. Two says no deal. After a reminder from the GM that they could just stun Wexlar unconscious and then search him, Two uses the ship comm to request Three come to the bridge. I think Five appeared at about this point from under the floor of the bridge but everybody (me included) forgot that Two had given her a Stunner – the one she took off Tash.

When Three arrives he very uncharacteristically tries to persuade Wexlar to give up the location before stunning him unconscious (Three was behaving somewhat uncharacteristically most of the evening trying to ‘talk’ to people rather than just shooting first and asking questions later). A search of Wexlar reveals he doesn’t have the chip on him. They correctly surmise that Wexlar didn’t have that many options as to where he could stash the chip, but the Razza is a big ship and there are still a lot of places where he could have stashed it.

There is then a debate of whether putting him in the airlock and turning the tables on him would work. Three (correctly) assumed it would work and he would cave, whilst Two wasn’t so sure. Once Wexlar comes around and finds himself in the airlock he again tries to get Two to let him out, citing that if she spaces him they will never find the chip. He also suggests she keep her dog on a leash. She begins a slow depressurisation of the airlock. After about 20 seconds Wexlar changes tack and seeks to confirm that Two will let him live if he gives up where the chip is. She assures Wexlar she will. At about 35 seconds Wexlar caves and gives up the location. Two sends Five to retrieve it. Three very strongly suggests that he can handle Wexlar but Two refuses to go anywhere instead letting Wexlar out of the airlock (well Three was going to let him out too, just not into the ship! – cue complication.)

Whilst Four and Three now move the remaining Volkov-Russi troopers towards stasis pods Six and Seven head for the Volkov-Russi shuttle. As they pass one of the troopers he lets out a completely degrading set of expletives and curse aimed at Seven (Zakharovivh as he names him) in Russian which Seven has no difficulty understanding. Seven tries to brush it off. The Trooper then says in Galactic “If I wasn’t restrained, I’d kill you right now.” Again Seven brushes it off. I had expected a greater reaction at this point from everyone but they more or less ignored it.

[so it’s a little after 1pm and I’ve just had a phone call from Liz. Falco is at the vets, they’re running bloods, but he has a 10cm mass in/round his intestines/spleen. Given he’s gone from fit and healthy to mostly not eating in a week it’s looking like he has what Morse died from, and we’re possibly looking at palliative care for a week maybe two weeks before we have to have him putdown or possibly having to have him put down tomorrow to avoid him suffering.]

[time moves on .. but I’ve sort of lost track of where I’d got to..but as I write things other elements come back although the order in which they are written is not necessarily as they appear in the rest of the log]

Six moves the Volkov-Russi shuttle to the rear hanger. [GM note: Whilst your specific shuttle skill relates to the Marauder, you can fly any shuttle but at a penalty, depending on how different the shuttle is compared to the Marauder, and the circumstances. For example given that the Volkov-Russi shuttle is not streamlined the penalty would be greater in Atmosphere than it is in space.] Six notes that the thrust of the shuttle engines is greater, making it faster in space, but its weapons loadout and shield generator is not on par with the Marauder. It is also much boxier and laid out differently. Whilst the Marauder has rear access/docking hatch and a smaller roof hatch in the rear cargo section, meaning that the whole passenger area can be pressurised separately from the cargo bay, the Volkov-Russi shuttle is much more akin to a cross between an APC and an aircraft. The forward section is limited to the pilot/copilot whilst the rear section capable of holding 12 troopers, 6 along each side, has a single side access/docking hatch which means the whole of the rear section is pressurised/depressurised as a whole. Once docked in the rear hanger Six and Seven strip the shuttle of spare weapons, armour, ammunition, and med kits.

Initially Two had put Wexlar in the isolation compartment in medical but given that the transit to Iriden-3 is 44ly he ends up in Cryo like the Volko-Russi Troopers.

They make an uneventful transit to the Iriden system emerging into the vicinity of Iriden-3. Using the codes provided by Delany Traufett they identify themselves to the orbiting station. They are requested to transfer their cargo to the research station on the planet. In return they request the station commander contact Traufett with a message requesting what they are to do with Wexlar and the Volkov-Russi troopers. He says he will pass on the request but states they may not get an immediate answer [GM Note: Traufett does get the message before the destruction of the planet and station – another complication not in the TV series]

Two, Four, and Six take the device down to the research facility, where it is installed into a shielded room, before being brought online to confirm it is working. The research station commander then hands Two a briefcase containing 820K in cash (GA Bank chits). They depart for the Razza.

Elsewhere on the Razza, where Three and Lisa are on the bridge [GM Note I forget what Three asked the Android] Lisa reports that she is getting unusual energy readings from the planet. When asked what she states that “The planet’s gravitation is fluctuating irratically, and that they really should leave immediately”

Three and I think Five were all for abandoning the Marauder at this point forgetting that the Razza’s maximum sub-light speed is actually considerably higher than that of the shuttle even if it takes longer to reach it – the shuttle has significantly greater acceleration and manoeuvrability but a significantly lower top speed overall. I think Five asked about jumping to FTL but Lisa state that “The gravitational fluctuations are making FTL computations impossible at the current time”. Lisa then does what Three should have done and ask the Marauder it’s position. It turns out its just about to dock. As soon as they’re docked Two instructs Lisa to get them the hell out of here and ignore the safety threshold for the engines. Lisa turns the Razza around and accelerates at 130% of maximum thrust managing to just stay ahead of the debris field as the planet explodes destroying the space station in the process.

Three’s hyper paranoia now kicks in and the wants to know if there are any ships in the system. He asks Lisa 3 times and each time she gives him the same answer “There are no Mikei ships in the system”. He then asks specifically if there are any ships at all even if they are not Mikei. She responds with “None that I can detect”. He then asks about satellites. She confirms there are a number in the system.

The Dice gods then thwart both Two (who had the highest chance) and Five from working out what the phenomenon they just witnessed was. Lisa speculates that it has all the appearances of a White Hole. Three says you mean like a “Black hole” Lisa says “No. The opposite. A White Hole cannot be entered from the outside but emits a vast amount of matter and energy”

I can't remember at which point Four comments that "White hole research was banned by the GA several years ago due to fears it would destabalize the balance between Mega Corporations"

Two asks “How many people were on the planet” Lisa says “Between the Research and orbital stations, approximately 20,000”.

Three suggests, and Two concurs that they need to get the “hell outa here”. Lisa says that the nearest star,Aproaldox, is 12ly away and it has an independent station with no GA presence (the dice were notionally kind on that one rolling high). Without the gravitational distortion she calculates a course, and they jump to FTL.

Arriving at the station they begin resupply whilst they discuss how to proceed.

[GM Note: supplies on arrival at the station are as follows:
Fuel: Main: 1,096,000 (of 1,376,000) Reserve: 224K (of 224K) Water
O2: 31,973 (of 32,000)
N2: 119,190 (of 120,000)
Water: 67,500 (of 120,000) (The main net consumer of water is the hydroponics system)
Food: I'm going to be generous and assume do don't run out of food until you get to the station. This is based on the assumption that you brought 30days worth when you last re-supplied (35 days ago) but that doesn't account for you having Wexlar and his crew on board for 24 hours either..

I need to know what you're spending on supplies and how much you are buying....]

There is a consensus that they need to get some answers from Mikei for which they want a face to face meeting.

Six, as he has done previously, makes use of his knowledge of how to obfuscate the sender and source to send an encrypted message to Traufett. Basically "We have information that would be highly beneficial to you. We need to meet."

As part of the discussions the decision is made to release the Volkov-Russi Troopers at the station when they leave.

After a few hours Lisa calls everyone to the conference room. She has been searching News and other reports relating to the destruction of Iriden-3. She plays the GNN report which appears to be the most relevant
"Galactic Authorities continue their investigation into what they classify as an Extinction Level event on a Hab 1 world under the directorship of the Mikei Combine. Satelite imagery captured the planets final moments. The incident which claimed the lives of all onsite personnel is believe to have been triggered by illeagal research into what has been termed a Doomsday Weapon linked to White Hole technology. Represenatives of the Mikei Combine have offered condolences to all those affect but have refused comment pending completion of the official enquiry"

Matt as Three misconstrues the report forcing me to repeat the first sentence “Galactic Authority Investigation”. The satellite video image of the exploding planet does not show any ship (or ships) either in or leaving the vicinity.

Further discussion is interrupted by an encrypted subspace call from Talbor Calcheck. There are various tone of “what does that Weasel want” before Three tells Lisa to accept the call.

Calcheck starts by outlining how really, really screwed they are this time.

Two (I think) says something about Wexlar

Calcheck responds by telling them to space him, just get rid of him (If you didn’t get the hint Calcheck knows Wexlar and knows he’s trouble)

Two (I think, might have been Three) then mentions the Volkov-Russi Troopers then have, and again Calcheck can’t believe their total stupidity in hanging onto them, and tells them to get rid of them.

I think there was some other discussion relating to Mikei where Calcheck tells them that there are some elements within Mikei that believe they set them up. When they reiterate that Mikei came to them he says something about “well you see what happens when you don’t go through proper channels” but nobody really picked up on this.

As the discussion continues Calcheck gets to the point, he has a job for them

Two wants to know who and wants a face-to-face meeting with Calcheck [GM hint: Never going to happen. He’s a Fixer, a middle man, he never meets anyone in person. It potentially helps him stay alive]

The who is easy, Ferris Corp. There is a certain amount of incredulity. He continues that Ferris Corp specifically reached out to him to reach out to them, and right now they need all the friends they can get.

Two says no and Three rants on about all the jobs he’s sent them on previously. Calcheck says it nothing like that it’s a rescue mission. Three changes tack at this point and wants to know more. Two still wants a face to face meeting.

Calcheck says about a month ago a Ferris scientist was kidnapped by a rival corp. Ferris want him back. He’s being held on a world outside GA space so it’s a simple snatch and grab rescue.

Two wants to know more about the rival corp. Calcheck says you know the rules you don’t need to know.

There is a certain degree of arguing with Calcheck, before he reiterates that they really need all the friends they can get at this point, and it’s a nice simple mission out of the way, so they can hide out until all the furore over to the Iriden incident passes over. They reluctantly agree to take the job. Calcheck says he will send them the co-ordinates and hangs up the connection.

There is then a move to release the Volkov-Russi troopers before they depart.

Following a discussion they wake the Trooper who had a go at Seven first, with Two and I think Three present to interrogate him. His reaction on waking is basically he wants to know what is going to happen to them. Two says they are to be released to the current station they are docked at. He looks a little surprised.

Two then asks about Seven. The Trooper is even more surprised that she doesn’t know who he is.

He says Zakharovivh is ex Volko-Russi “Black Ops” according to all the rumours. Something happened and he then blew up a logistics building in an attempt to kill his former commanding officer.

He failed but he did kill nearly 200 other people in the process including the Trooper's sister. The Trooper warns her that she can’t trust Zakharovivh and she should get rid of him. She insists he’s a valued member of her crew. He can’t believe her and warns her again he’s not to be trusted. When she asks why and he re-iterates Zakharovivh is a former Volkov-Russi Black ops agent. Again she dismisses his concerns. They then move to releasing the Troopers and depart for the co-ordinates supplied by Calcheck.

[GM Note: the date/time when you depart the station is 2672.214.8. Iriden-3 was destroyed on 2672.211]

[Note: Its Thursday Evening. Falco was at the Vets this afternoon for a CT scan to confirm the extent of the 'masses' in and around his intenstines and spleen. We've waiting on the full results, but as they had to drain fluid from his lungs in order to anestatise him for the CT scan, we pretty much know its likely to be the same or a very similar form of aggressive intenstinal cancer that Morse died of. Wether he makes it through the weekend is a matter of debate but the likely hood is that he won't make it through next week.]

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