Who let the dog out?

The story continues...

The party are at an old decrepit space station investigating a distress beacon. This episode takes place in the Borite system.

On the space station the away team opens the door leading to the heat signature that was detected when they first scanned the station. As the light from their torches plays over the room they notice a figure crouched in a far corner. It appears to be wearing a battered vacc suit and holding a large piece of hull plate as a shield. Upon noticing you enter a male vargr looks up, and in weary and confused tones asks "who are you?"..

After advising the figure that they are here to save him, Lady Nitrane asks him a number of questions. Why is he here? How long as he been here? What is his name? At first the figure only says that they must all leave before the Chamax gets them, but on a command from Silent Unter, who is used not only to giving orders but having them obeyed, the figure responds to questioning.

The castaway is called Krrsh, the former captain of an 'honest merchant' vessel, cruelly abandoned here by his crew. He has been here for 5 and a half days, and is tired, hungry and unarmed. More questions, relayed over comms from the ship, are answered honestly as far as the party can tell. Krrsh does not deny that he was involved with the attacks on Torpol and Clarke and that he was left here to die by a mutinous crew who disagreed with an order to attack a merchant in the Torpol system. An attack that went badly wrong.

Krrsh stresses again the need to leave before the Chamax gets them. Prompted by this. Senior Pilot Sparrow on the ship initiates a search of library data for information on the Chamax that might be useful. There is not a lot of information:

Chamax are hostile xenomorphs from a world deep in the Foreven sector. They resemble a tarantula the size of a large dog, and possess the ability to secrete a powerful molecular acid from they jaws. On their native world they are an unstoppable marauding horde that sweep across the planet, devouring everything in their path.

Advised of the dangers that Chamax may present, the away team start heading back to the ship. Lady Nitrane and others search for signs of the Chamax, but in the vacuum, and in suits, hearing anything is almost impossible and the torches do not provide enough light to see large areas clearly.

At this moment the comms are once again blocked by a hissing, cracking noise.

Back on the ship the sensors show more heat signals - at least four - converging on the away team. Frustrated by their inability to communicate, the Captain prepares a maintenance drone in order to remotely disable the distress beacon just in case that has something to do with the comms issues. Senior Pilot Sparrow searches for information on biologicals that can interrupt comms channels in case there is information that can be used.

Oblivious to the danger, the away team carefully make their way back to their entry point.

Re-calibrating, the Captain abandons the idea of disabling the dish as it will take too long. Sparrow finds nothing that can be used about comms-blocking biologicals and together they come up with a plan to shed light on the situation - literally. They decide to re-position the ship relative to the station and turn on the cargo bay lights so they point to the entrance into the station. As this is where the away team are heading for, it may be useful for them to have more light in order to see the Chamax more clearly (assuming that is what the heat signals are).

On the station all hell breaks loose.

The Chamax attack the party from all angles and with total unpredictability. Many attacks glance off armor, but from time to time the Chamax bites penetrate. These cause little physical damage but the acid that is injected is a big problem,

As the party fight back it is clear that Lady Nitrane is very skilled and dangerous with her arc-sword. Time after time she slashes at the Chamax causing terrible wounds. Silent Unter and his marines fight back valiantly as well, but the damaging Chamac take their toll.

The ship aligned and lit up, the Captain tethers himself and launches out to connect with the station. Upon arrival he sees the first of the away team - Ben Parr - exit the station. The Captain prepares himself in case a Chamax follows, which one does. A slash of his monofilament sword and the Captain drops one.

Inside, Ramsay Grog is overcome by the acid damage from multiple attacks and Golim Gryer finds himself subject to a great many attacks also. Krrsh and Silent Unter are wounded, but the dervish Lady Nitrane finds herself unharmed.

Battle continues and in a lull the Captain enters the station to assist, Just as this happens Lady Nitrane finishes off the last of the Chamax and the party are free to make their way back to the ship. Deceased are Ramsay Grog and Golim Gryer, with Ben Parr very badly wounded and in need of expert medical help.

As the bodies are placed in low berth, and a specimen of the Chamax also put into a  cryoberth, the crew ask questions of Krrsh.

Krrsh is very grateful to the party for his rescue, and latches onto the Captain as the 'pack leader'.He confesses to everything over a bowl of food. His account is rambling and slightly confused, the result of his long period alone on the station, but covers the following major points:

• He was the captain of Misery’s Company, and part of the retinue of a human pirate called Ferrik Redthane. The party recognise Ferrik from the description given by the person revived on Clarke - a strutting man in an Imperial Navy uniform.
• Krrsh was a recent recruit to Ferrik's organisation and was given no time to recruit his own crew, instead given people misfits and those not wanted by the other captains.
• His crew abandoned him at the station. They turned on him after he ordered an attack on a freighter that turned out to have more guns than expected. One of his crew was killed in the attack. Being left on the station is a death penalty as pirates in the sector know of the Chamax that inhabit it, and awake when they sense sentient beings.
• He was part of the raiding party that hit Clarke. Ferrik's orders to attack the warehouse to steal ancient computer parts was unusual to say the least.
• Ferrik Redthane was formerly part of the pirate gang commanded by Admiral Darokyn, one of the pirate lords of Theev. Krrsh does not know what happened, but Ferrik and Darokyn quarrelled, and Ferrik now has a price on his head.
• As a result, Ferrik needs the protection of one of the other pirate gangs. He launched the raids on Torpol and Clarke to show how dangerous and competent he is.
• As Ferrik dare not set foot on Theev, he's probably sent his trusted lieutenant Miria Silverhand to negotiate with the other gangs on his behalf. Krrsh and Miria hate each other, and Krrsh does not know which gangs she will approach or where she is on Theev.
• He knows the secret routes to Theev, and will gladly hand them over. Not only does he know a safe landing code, he also knows the location of a refuelling station in an empty region of space which means the characters can use the jump-2 to get to Theev.

Asked about the Chamax and the station Krrsh is able to pass on the following knowledge that seems to be well known to pirates in the sector;

• The old Sindalian station was used by pirates as a refuge and refuelling station for many years, until His Grace showed up. His Grace was a pirate who claimed to be the illegitimate son of the Duke of Tobia, and amused his crewmates with his lordly airs and graces. In keeping with his noble heritage, he was a collector of art and curiosities from across Known Space. One of his most prized acquisitions was a sculpture that he believed to be a petrified Hiver specimen (and when he found out that Hivers look nothing like folded-up tarantulas, he began to claim it came from a semi-mythical ‘Hiver Queen’). In fact, the sculpture came from Foreven Sector.
• Every traveller knows what happens when you bring a mysterious alien artefact onto an isolated space station, especially if the merchant you bought it from swears that it is completely dormant and harmless.
• His ‘sculpture’ awoke, drawn by the heat of human bodies and the psionic trace of their emotions. It unfolded, insectoid limbs stretching out obscenely like chitinous origami. Deposits of petrified acid flaked off, revealing razor-sharp mandibles. The gravid Chamax fulfiled its biological urge and produced offspring in the dark reaches of the station. As they young feasted on the body of their parent they too became aware of the other inhabitants of the station. They hunted.
• The first victim was His Grace. They stalked the rest of the crew through the space station, killing them one by one until the last survivors escaped. Deprived of fresh prey the Chamax brood slumbered.
• Since then, the space station has been almost completely abandoned except for a few pirate crews who use it as a means of ceremonial execution. If the crew decide that one of their number has failed or betrayed them, they bring the unfortunate victim to the Borite system and abandon him on board the nameless station.
• It happen immediately, or it may take several hours, but the presence of heat and life awakens the Chamax..

It is not clear if he party have killed all the Chamax, or if others slumber, still to awaken.

To be continued...

Softly, softly, catchee doggy

This episode starts on Torpol, and then moves to the Borite system.

Our intrepid adventurers, upon discovering that one of the ships they are chasing jumped to Borite, decide to follow suit. Borite is jump-2 from Torpol, so the Phoenix will arrive with no fuel for a quick jump. Noticing that the Borite system has only a class E starport, a decision is needed on where to get fuel.

Weighing up the options, Captain Slaid chooses to jump to the 100 diameter point of the planet Borite to source fuel from either the starport (a slim chance), or from landing elsewhere on the planet and getting fuel from a body of water (frowned upon), rather than heading for the gas giant.

Arriving in-system is uneventful, with no other ship transponders detected. A deep sensors scan, to hopefully discover signs of the pursued Type-S Scout and its captain Krrrsh, detects instead a very very faint distress call coming from the vicinity of the systems gas giant. This raises some interesting possibilities. Is it a legitimate distress call or is it a trap?

The crew discuss matters and soon the captain decides to head to the gas giant, just over two days away. The journey is uneventful. Two ships, a large freighter and a small trader, are separately detected arriving at the planet, but ahead all that can be sensed is the faint distress beacon. More questions arise. How long has the beacon been active? Why is nobody else responding to it? And why are all new ships arriving at the planet rather than the gas giant?

Caution is very much the order of the day. As the ship approaches the beacon each type of sensor that comes into range is brought to bear. The visual sensors detect a dispersed structure space station, but thermal sensors do not pick up anything. The station appears abandoned.

On a hunch, Senior Pilot Sparrow searches the library data on board the Phoenix for information on the Borite system, and discovers that two thousand years ago the Sindal Empire had a station in orbit to protect ships refuelling at the gas giant. This one looks like it might be old enough to be that very same station.

Edging closer more sensor types are brought to bear. It seems that the beacon is from a vacc suit, but the signal is amplified beyond what a suit could produce. Perhaps whoever set it off has connected it to a more powerful system?

Closer still. 

Finally the densitometer can be used, which shows the internal structure of the station. The most interesting discovery is that there is a portion of the station that still has structural integrity with air and power detected. At this range thermal sensors are also more useful, and they show a single man-sized heatsource (#1), but oddly it's not within the pressurised areas of the station.

The source of the distress beacon is detected as being a small dish on the side of the station (#2) which is some distance from the detected person. The station also appears to have been repaired from time to time - people must spend some time here. In fact it looks like a ship was repaired here recently, based on some small scraps of hull metal and rivets that are detected.

Going in

Close up the station reveals itself to be pockmarked with holes. Centuries of micro-meterorites, and larger, have taken their toll. Some holes are bigger than others, and one large one quite near the detected heat-source is selected as the entry point. The away team suit up, strap on their thrusters, arm themselves, and attach various tools and accessories to their suits. The ship is positioned at an appropriate location for ease of access, and the away team departs.

Carefully crossing to the station and entering takes a little while. Once inside the only way to see is using the light from helmet mounted lights. There is no gravity. Those back on the ship track progress by using the sensors and open comms channels. In future perhaps the suits can be augmented with cameras and other devices.

The first room is lit only by the light of the stars shining through the impact holes in the walls. Small items - metal flakes and scrap - float and jostle in the null gravity, perhaps dislodged by the movements of the station, or perhaps someone has been this way recently? The team makes their way through the door leading further into the station, which is open just enough to let suited people through one at a time.

The next room is darker and quieter, although on one wall, in the torchlight, is seen a large image, preserved by the vacuum, of some long-dead Sindalian Emperor. He is wearing the traditional crown jewels of the Sindalian Empire – the lanthanum-alloy crown, the Thalassan Pearl, the diamond-encrusted rings of Kether and the fabled Eagle of Sol. Is this what the King of Drinax wants to become?

There are two ways out of this room. To the left is a sealed door which has a small red light on a panel to one side. This way leads to the pressurised portion of the station. The other way leads to the heat source and is dark and closed. Someone will have to force an opening.

At this moment all comms are affected by a strange organic static. Communications between the away team, and even between away team members, is blocked. It is not clear what is causing this effect, but the away team continue on using hand signals.

Ship: Confusion on the ship is replaced by concern as a small, faint heat signal is detected near the away team. The Captain and Senior Pilot consider what to do.

Away Team: The team forces the door into the next room open. Lady Nitrane is on alert, and constantly scans for danger. Silent Unter leads the team into the room. One of the away team feel their leg being pulled on, but when they look down, there's nothing there. All the team are now in the room and actively looking around. Lady Nitrane, who is somewhat afraid of spiders, thinks she sees a huge spider shape scuttling around but loses sight of it.

Ship: The heat signal is now seen to be in the room with the away team, but the team do not seem to be reacting to it. The Captain decides to engage sensor jamming in the hope that it will affect the small heat source in some way. It is not immediately apparent if it is successful, but monitoring of the sensors continues.

Away Team: Someone has something spat at them. It doesn't affect their suit but it's clear there's something in here. All away team members are on the lookout. Lady Nitrane thinks again that she has seen something but it is fleeting. Suddenly the comms are active again. The team reports into the ship.

Ship: Advising the away team of the faint sensor signal the Captain turns off jamming when the signal disappears. Everything is quiet again.

The away team opens the door to the next room which is bathed in starlight from impact holes. One more door, behind which is the being responsible for the beacon. The party open the door.

To be continued...

Trouble on Torpol

This episode takes place in the Torpol system.

Arriving in the Torpol system, the Phoenix approaches the HighPort. Over comms the Captain announces to the flight controllers their intention to bring to justice those who recently attacked the system. On hearing this the authorities direct the crew to land at the LowPort which is located at the south polar ice cap. There they will meet with a planetary representative to discuss what happened.

While a blizzard rages all around Senior Pilot Sparrow lands the Harrier neatly, and the landing bay dome closes. Still icy cold, the customs formalities are taken care of, after which the unloading of cargo and passengers takes place.

Checking the starport trading systems, a good price is obtained for the Graphite and the Machine Parts, which more than covers the berthing, maintenance, fuel and life support costs. But not that much more. Some accounting record-keeping difficulties are encountered, but Captain Slaid is getting the hand of it now he thinks.

When ready, the senior crew make their way into the starport proper. It is a clean, almost sterile place. The public sections are white plastic and emphasise the planets carefully maintained reputation as a watery paradise that's both a safe place to refuel and a wild party planet, with holograms of tropical beaches and sun-kissed seascapes blocking the view of the howling polar blizzards outside.

The crew are escorted into the grey, functional corridors of the private starport to meet the Starport Administrator, Provost Martial Haddo Farx.

Provost Farx

Farx is a Provost - an order of administrators and facilitators who engineer society on Torpol. He wears bright orange robes and has a tiny golden fez with a scale model of the starport on top of it. He is young, cheerful, and ready with a drink. He does not seem at all inebriated.

Farx explains what happened while video of the attack is shown.

"Torpol’s lack of stable land means that many of its industrial facilities are in orbit. The target of the pirate attack was one of these orbital factories, an automated chemical refinery. The factory’s onboard cameras transmitted images of the attack just before they were destroyed."

The images show two ships approaching from the orbital refuelling dock. A barrage of accurate laser fire severs the refinery’s cargo module, and one of the ships swoops in to capture it. The other vessel moves to provide cover, then departs. One of the ships was a Far Trader, the other was a 400-ton Vulture-class salvage hauler.

"Both ships refuelled at the orbital dock. They conducted their business electronically, and gave false names, claiming to Argo 1 and Argo 2. The ships just bought fuel and departed; none of their crews left the ships."

Farx provides the raw footage to Captain Slaid and asks if there's anything else he can provide. After some consideration the recordings of direct comms to and from the Argo 1 and Argo 2 are requested, and are shortly thereafter provided, along with recordings of general comms chatter in the vicinity of the docking ports.

Analysing the data.

Captain Slayed takes charge of the video imaging. He takes care to check everything and spends a few hours poring over the footage from every angle. The armaments and tactics of the ships are examined and it seems that no more can be ascertained. However on a whim he checks the footage using different wavelengths of light and it becomes apparent that the salvage hauler has recently been painted. Analysis shows a logo underneath the paint. It bears the starburts-and-starship of the Imperial Navy!

At the same time, Senior Marine Silent Unter analyses the Comms data. Aside from requests to refuel made directly through the docking connectors, a single encrypted radio transmission is uncovered from Argo-1 (the Far Trader) to a ship docked at the downport. The recipient of the message is a refitted scout called Misery's Company. Checking the records for landings it appears that this scout arrived one day before the two Argo's. The captain, a Vargr called Krrrsh, sold computer scrap metal to another trader called Holmer. It certainly appears as if this is the scrap stolen from Clarke. The ship then refuelled and departed.

Library Data: Admiral Darokyn
Infamous pirate captain; formerly an Imperial officer, he was found to involved in a smuggling ring. He fled the naval base at Tobia with several other members of this ring, and set himself up as a pirate. The Imperium has not, to date, placed a bounty on his head; the Duke of Tobia said that the matter was one to be resolved by the Imperial Navy and they would punish their own traitors.

By now Captain Slaid has started looking into records of Vultuire Class haulers and discovers one, the Imperial Navy ship Mercifuge, which was part of a flotilla that fled the Imperium under the command of renegade "Admiral" Darokyn some thirty years ago. The mercifuge is listed as stolen. According to rumours Darokyn is based on the world of Theev.

Back on the trail of the scout ship Silent Unter uncovers that after departing it was apparently involved in an incident near the jump limit with an old and battered trader called the Sarcomond. No other details are available. What happened is known only to the crew of the Sarcomond and their captain, Danel Vlaw.

Captain Vlaw

Lady Nitrane tracks Danel Vlaw down in, where else, the starport bar. A hard-nosed, independent trader who has had his own share of shady dealings and opportunistic piracy, he is initially reluctant to talk. Approaching him with a drink seems to break the ice, and after explaining that she is after the ships that attacked the orbital facilities (and Clarke) Vlaw opens up and loses some of his distrust.

He tells the tale with a gravelly voice and wide gestures. As the Sarcomond approached Torpol, a scoutship approached on a suspiciously tight course. When she came within range, she flipped over, matched velocity with the Sarcomond, and demanded that the Far Trader hand over her cargo.

Vlaw smiles at this point.

“My ship, she has surprises. Two pop-up turrets, you see. Bad news for pirates. I burn the pirate amidships, here and here...

He pokes Lady Nitrane in the stomach and chest, for emphasis.

“...and she is very, very scared. Over the radio, I hear them calling for the jump. Their captain is Vargr, I think. He orders them to jump for Borite.”

Preparations

After recounting the story to the Captain it becomes apparent that the next destination should be Borite. But should the ship fly empty or should cargo be purchased?

After a while it is decided that no passengers will be taken, but that some specialist medical supplies might be a handy high-value cargo to have. The price on Torpol is very enticing and the Captain makes the purchase.

To be continued...