Galactic Adventures (SciFi/Char/Mechanics/Captains/IC)

[Zjaum]

The Moon Hovorkam

"All right, then. I'm certain the that this should be good enough," announced T'kra. Her subordinates had already been loaded the pile of salvage onto the ship. Nothing was quite yet secured; with each individual piece, that would have taken a day unto itself. T'kra had taken it upon herself, meanwhile, to dust off the solar panels on the rover. There was, unfortunately, no water around to wash it off, but the rags and bits of paper she acquired from the camp suited her needs just fine. Likely the battery had been starved of energy, so it would probably work fine enough. It wasn't even that old, from the looks of it. She perused the seating. Yeah, Roai is going to hate the seating inside. It makes the Pinnance look like a mansion. Are the seats adjustable? No, not by the looks of it. But Roai's the driver. She always has been, and probably always will be.
Keyu protested when the team was summoned. "Can I at least lie down on the top while we're driving?"
"You'll stall the battery. Plus, we'll be going too fast. Get inside, it should be fun."
The rover was meant to sit five: two in front, three in back. Keyu and Roai were squished in the front, while T'kra took the middle seat in the back. It was the proper captain's position: with her crew at the task at hand both in sight. Roai didn't quite feel the same way. "My elbows are lower than my knees!" yelped Roai.
"This civilization had better be worth it," stated Keyu.
"I fully anticipate that. I saw what I believe to be electric currents. And the buildings were most beautiful."
Keyu had to press the engine button, since Roai couldn't reach it. Roai fidgeted with the controls. That meant move forwards. That meant move backwards. This level turned the wheels. This one slowed the car to a stop. Those were pretty much all the tools she needed. She may have bumped the land rover into a couple things, but the rover carried them along at quite a reasonable speed. They'd need it for any trinkets they could find, as well as for the extra speed. As they began their descent into the ancient dwelling area, Roai was dazzled at the large rock formations. Keyu was less amused, and instead acted as Roai's eyes on the road, steering the vehicle as necessary.
The stopped the car in what looked like a relatively large opening between buildings, what would naturally seem like a clearing but in context looked like a square. They exited the vehicle after several long minutes of prying and straining, and they began to gaze in admiration at the wondrous sights around them. T'kra announced her intentions after finding a particular building. "All right. Let's get the wires out of the rover battery. We're going to try lighting up some of this wiring."
"Wait, what? That's nowhere near enough energy," stated Keyu.
"It might be enough energy to kickstart a process. Besides, it'll probably work but faintly."
"Shouldn't we wait until nightfall?" asked Roai.
"If you want to wait for several daily cycles on end, sure. This moon seems to be tidal-locked. We're not getting nighttime for a good long while."
Roai took out the wires, while T'kra tried to look for the best penetration points. Keyu decided to sunbathe, if only for a brief moment.

Action: Try and start the wires and/or similar electric process in the ancient civilization area.

[Ralnis]

Kyr Mirhorn Van

Damn it! Kyr had already had heard the shot and the flash of light from the corner of her eye. They were spotted by reinforcements that came from the corners. This was a basic ambush but such a thing could be broken through. She turned around and confirmed that the Elieerens only had SMGs and light armor.

It was time for plan B. Kyr and her clan pointed their weapons at the guards. If they couldn't do this with some stealth than they will fight their way to the prize.

Action: Fire on the guards and fight through any opposition to the storehouse.

[The Empire of Tau]

Merchant Man, Sam
Untitled Tile

Sam wore a black suit with a tie of the same color, a few credits cost. Samuel has to start networking fast and with important people. It is a matter of who you know and how they trust you. Know the right people and certain opportunities will show. It all takes some time and good social-talk. Two things that Sam has. The crew was left behind to manage the loading of foodstuffs into the ship. Sam was walking besides a certain Salunri, he wanted something from Sam, and maybe Sam had something for the business man too. Whatever it is, Sam is open ears. Credits are not a concern for Sam. What concerns him for the healthy state of Ylem and its people. A game of state-building, if you will. Sam has been thinking about taking a loan out from someone. If it comes to it, one of the larger banks out there, but that’s risky. Big-time banks like Aiwa Bank would be too risky to take on, if debts are not paid in time. Sam rather not have bounty hunters on his head so soon. Anyhow, let’s see what this Salunri has to offer.

[Elerian]

Old Man, Rakodan

Shit, he thought, as he paused like a deer caught in the headlights. A creeping fear overtaking his rational mind, the part that told him to run. But then, his training took over. He’d dealt with his fair share of dangerous situations during his time in the Imperial Navy. But this isn't to say that he wasn’t still afraid. If the being wanted to, it could likely tear him asunder, but he was hoping it wouldn’t come to that.

Now, finding himself now at the mercy of a being older than anyone he had ever met, he did what he could to make the best of his situation.

Although he could speak many languages, he doubted he’d be able to converse with this being. He produced his universal translator to try and calm the situation, as he held his hands up in a non threatening way. The being would have to speak before the translator could pick up the dialect, so he hoped that the being wasn’t in a murderous mood so that he could get the translator to work its magic. He’d set the translator to transmit his voice in Rakodan, in the hopes that the being could speak his captor’s language.

“Hello, don’t do anything rash. You may be confused, but I mean you no harm.”

He watched the being then, looking to see what its next move might be.

Action: Try to Calm the Being

[The National Dominion of Hungary]

Mei Nakama

Zipping across the dunes fast and low, the Reclaimer's sensors picked up the signature of abandoned homesteads and mines from where no energy readings came. As they neared the main settlement more and more of these ruined homes and signs of sentient endeavor passed beneath them slowly but steadily crumbling into the sands. They then came by a small village of the number of buildings clustered together, hovering above the site for a few minutes Mei and her crew noted tell-tale signs of battle-damage, the black soot and the ripped up homes, debris strewn across the streets as the dusty desert wind drearily moaned through abandoned streets. Mei said a short prayer, even thought these Hemoh had not seen the light, they had come here in the hopes of building a better life for themselves far away from their home stars in the Hemoh Purity. The small settlement was surrounded by a simple wall, mostly to protect from powerful sandstorm winds and was full of pre-fabricated, rectangular buildings easily assembled and quick to transport on a ship, staples of Outer-Rim "architecture". Mei ordered the pilot to breach the atmosphere at flank speed ahead and her ship shot up through the clouds before once more finding itself in the black void of space, the planet slowly rotating below them. Greeted by distant stars the ship sped toward the drifting hulk they had passed along the way. She had noted to herself to return after their planetside mission had been completed and now, she would indeed return. Slowly, Mei's ship cruised around the hulk getting proper sensor reading, some compartments were still heated and pressurized but there were holes, eerily similar to those left by the breaching charges used by boarding skiffs. The bridge had been blown open, as Mei order their cameras to zoom in she and her companions could see the bodies of the colony ship's bridge crew, many still strapped into their seats, frozen over by a thin layer of ice. As her ship slowly settled alongside the drifting hulk the cultists extended their docking tunnel and made sure the seal was tight before slowly making their way through the void, in a docking tunnel, without a space-suit, little separated you from death. But suited and unsuited alike they all made it and after a relatively long while they managed to open the airlock of the dead ship. They found themselves in a dark maintenance bay, two old but usable space suits hung in a storage compartment, easy pickings in the flickering light. They would need to move carefully, as the ship had been damaged by what looked like holes blown into it by breaching charges and some compartments would have been depressurized, left open to the gaping maw of the void. As Mei led one of the groups ahead, she noted that a panel on the wall was still functional, perhaps she could get a status report from there? As yet there was little but dark hallways, scattered items, empty rooms and icy windows gaping into the darkness.

Skill-check: 55 - Small Success

---

T'kra Tyawerai

They stepped out of the vehicle and into the hot sun, their feet touched the sand and they could finally stretch out again after the cramped ride in the rover. The dark, uniform columns rose from the sand, six of them evenly spaced away from each other. Perhaps there was an ancient concourse beneath their feet where ancient feet had once walked? T'kra looked at the structures, was it Builder architecture? It almost looked like it from what she had seen on the occasional vid-documentary. Had they just stumbled across an ancient Builder colony? Was this tidally-locked, sweltering desert once one of the millions of terraformed Gaia-worlds that made up their vast, galaxy-spanning Empire billions of years ago? If so then they could make a fortune with this place, especially if it had been buried beneath the sands for millennia upon millennia keeping it's treasures safe from the greedy hands of looters. It took them hours and hours of studying the structures to finally find something that resembled a control panel and a small opening that could perhaps have been a... maintenance hatch at some point? Carrying the battery along with them the Werai women spent an equally long time at the hatch, they worked until sunset and just as T'kra was about to call it off due to frustration, ancient machinery whirred to life somewhere in this vast, dead complex and the hatch slowly slid open, at least partially, barely allowing them to squeeze through one at a time. Roai took out a small flashlight and shone it inside, it looked like a small compartment with another door and another hatch but there was a number of dead consoles on the inside. Much better chances of trying to jolt a flickering heartbeat through whatever this structure was. At T'kra´s command the Werai propped up the hatch and they climbed in, working diligently as the light faded, hooking the cabling up to exposed machinery in the hope that a stray current much revive ancient cogs and wheels. Indeed it would, a triumphal shout of joy and exaltation rose as the Werai saw the panels in the small compartment light up with a green glow for a few seconds, strange glyphs they did not understand appeared on the holoscreens before they shut down just as fast. Roai threw a litany of curses at the panels but before she finished a terrible rumbling shook the ground and made them lose their balance and tumble down into a heap, as T'kra quickly got back up on her feet, she could see the sand around them shaking from the tremors and there, in the distance, a fissure was opening in the ground! Expanding like a dark maw to the ear-splitting noise of ancient machinery whirring to life after perhaps billions of years. Sand tumbled into the abyss and then it struck her, the rover! It was on the other side of this gaping maw. T'kra´s two companions rose and looked to their captain with barely contained panic. T'kra ordered them to run, they had to get to higher ground and for what only felt like a few seconds, the ran as fast as their legs could carry them up a sandy slope. There they turned around and looked, the maw was... a gate? They had accidentally opened... something and now, the rover they had found got caught on something, falling down and smashing into the floor of whatever they had opened with a loud crash which echoed across the night as the whirring of ancient machinery stopped and silence fell on the desert night.

Skill-check: 21 - Failure.

---

Kyr Mirhorn Van

The fusillade filled the hallway with bullets and bolt of murderous energy, the Dunkidor dove for cover behind exposed pillars that held up the glass windows that separated offices and conference rooms. Shields flared as projectiles impacted them and were swatted away by the energy barriers made to save life and limb. With a loud roar Kyr ordered her mercenaries to open fire upon the two guards who had surprised them and soon thereafter a terrible hail of gunfire was unleashed in the direction of the guards as the ducks let their weapons sing. The glass walls fractured into a thousands pieces, dust and decorative stone plating shattered and flew from support columns as the guards´ shield generators lit up in flashes of bright light as the force of overwhelming Dunkidor firepower hurtled at them. Realizing their surprise attack had not panicked these avian intruders and that they would not surrender the Ellireans dove for cover as the barrage continued to assail them, blasting the corridor and surrounding offices apart. Cover, well, there was little hard cover and the guards realized that as the made a quick run for the stairs to evade the fusillade. One made it, diving down the heavy ferrocrete staircase as flechettes and las-blasts raked the wall. Her companion was not as lucky, too slow, her life was cut short by a precise burst from Kyr's DMR, the first shot collapsing the shield and the second two ripping into the Ellirean's throat, sending a geyser of dark crimson blood across the floor as her body went limp and collapsed mid-run. The young recruits let our a loud cheer, hurling insults after the guard who got away before a loud bark from Kyr calling for order rang out across the tattered hallway. She slapped the shoulder of one of the exhilarated youths, giving the clan a quick word of praise for their quick reaction but now it was time to move, move fast. The made their way through the hallways quickly, checking the corners and covering each other, as they moved from cover to cover, taking up advantageous fire-positions. Alarms blared and the elegant building was lit up by flashing red and orange emergency lights. The guards were no doubt trying to reinforce the three left guarding the storeroom. Kyr knew that they had to move fast and told her ducks to double-time it. As they neared the storage room the huddled up alongside one of the walls, sending a scout forward who soon sent a recording back to Kyr's hand-terminal. Six hostiles, three armored and each armed with an SMG, two unarmored but possibly shielded and armed with Z222 AR's barking at them was an Ellirean with light armor and a pistol, but also what looked like the handle of a powerblade hanging from her belt. The orders stand, attack! With overwhelming force. The Dunkidor mercenaries moved quickly huddling along the wall, separating into two fireteams they would cover each-other as they advanced toward cover and pin them down with their opening volley. Two ducks rounded the corner and opened fire with their Plasma Carbine, after him two more round the corner with their Z222 AR's and Kyr with her Accatran Mark 7, putting an accurate burst square in the chest of one of the unarmored guards, a bright flash of light saved the Ellirean's life, they were all shielded. Damn. The rest of her crew moved in as the Ellirean scrambled to get behind cover, their leader fired a few accurate shots toward the ducks but their shields deflected the plasma blasts. One of the unarmored guards was too slow and a flechette fired by the Dunkidor tore her calve open as she collapsed and was pulled in behind cover by her comrades, the commander taking the rear, absorbing the duck fire with her shields before ducking in behind a heavy planter. The enemy was shaken and forced down behind cover, Kyr had Clan Van in position, now she had to decide, do they try to press their advantage? Or would a longer firefight be the best course of action?

Skill-check: 90 - Great Success!

---

Samuel Bridge Iron

Suited up and ready to go, Samuel walked confidently up to the address that he had been provided. The music could be heard on the street, hell, it could be felt in the floor, a rhythmic thump of the heavy bass. A long line of prospective patrons, mostly Salunri but Sam also saw the occasional Humans, Gharryn and Farrasqui lining up before a stylish Salunri woman who checked whatever names they gave on a small holopad, behind her stood a large Tarmassian bouncer, the well-cut suit did little to hide the reptilians´s bulging muscles. The local representative whom he'd concluded the deal led him to the front of the crowd and simply held out his hand-terminal to the woman. She nodded and flashed a welcoming smile, addressing the man with deference using his official title of Rector and welcoming both him and Samuel with a flourishing gesture. The large Tarmassian bowed respectfully as they walked by. The music was louder inside, a handful of people sat on chairs along a bar and some spoke of an wide open area, probably a dance-floor that would fill up later in the evening. Most people sat at the other end of the establishment however, well dressed with colorful drinks and artistically presented dishes of food on their tables. A good place to speak of important business, the Salunri who led Sam here said, hard to eavesdrop he added jokingly. He then led Sam to a table where two people were already sitting, one was a terribly obese man Salunri man in a suit that would probably look more like a tent when not worn and a woman of the same species clad in a well-cut business suit and with two large, gaudy bracelets adorning her wrists. They introduced themselves as Mobgako Rimmig and Yodsata Muvithu, official state representatives of Point Bravery in international affairs. Indeed, Sam had noticed the pins on their suits, just like the one the man he had met with was wearing. Strange, for most of this planet's warring city-states "international relations" meant hammering out treaties and impromptu alliances with the city-state on the next island, alliances that inevitably fell apart after the mutual threat had been averted. The fact that he was here could mean something big. And indeed it did, at least by the standards of Zophon. They explained that while most of Zophon's cities looked inward, Point Bravery flirted with the idea of looking more outward, into the galaxy, into different star-clusters even. And they hoped Ylem could be a strong partner in the future. Offering food and minerals but in exchange, they hoped that Ylem would send instructors from it's battle-hardened militias to help train Point Bravery's citizen-soldiers and corporate representatives in the city with close ties to Point Bravery's authorities had been rather vocal about finding new sources of good quality mercenaries to defend their local operations as they were pressured by rival corporations who had hired well armed Ulthar pirates to destroy underwater mines and tidal-generators. They wanted Samuel to transport Yodsata Muvithu to Ylem so and to put in a good word for her with his employers in Ylem's government. An interesting offer, one that could be used to cultivate favors in two administrations.

---

Leon Tchaikovsky

Leon got a grip on his racing heart, after all, he was a solider, and officer who once served with great distinction in the armed forces of a star-nation that once could project power across most of the known Galaxy. Indeed, more than that. He had been an admiral who ground the cities of rebelling slaves and opportunistic alien invaders to dust beneath his booted feet. Once upon a time, in a different life he might have stood upon the bridge of a great battleship and watched as cleansing fire burned a world into submission to terrify a rebelling star-cluster into obedience. The alien was, large yes. It was powerfully built indeed but he had faced worse, he had faced entire fleets led by a great dreadnought, firepower on an apocalyptic scale and lived to tell the tale while his enemies did not. This alien did frighten Leon, but many terrible situations had taught him how to control his fear. His pulse steadied and he raised his hands, hoping the alien would see this as a non-threatening gesture. Hope was all he could do with no knowledge of it's culture and customs, gestures perceived one way by the beings of the modern-day galaxy might be seen in a much different light to someone from... who knew how many millennia he had been stuck in that tank. He allowed the translator to analyse the grunts and bellows uttered by the alien as it sharply waved at him, probably trying to signal the human to go away. It's eyes still trying to adjust, who knew what terrible scenario the beings´ mind was concocting? Best be careful indeed. Away... away! The translator's metallic voicebox uttered before taking Leon's words and translating them into a... low-pitched growlish hiss? At this the alien looked at Leon wide-eyed, and then immediately regretting it covered it's eyes with a large hand with which it seemed able to crush a skull if it really put it's mind to it. The alien took a few steps back, looking at Leon from half-closed eyes, studying the human. The being uttered a series of rhythmic, bark-like growls. Ak'ghal Usar name. Leon's translator replied. Ukrupp place. What place it? Cycles of sleep long? Last lost lord? Dust. It would take some time for Leon's translator to better decode the being's language in order to produce better translations. But this was enough for now it seemed, enough to make this alien talk instead of fight, at least for now and to Leon that was a victory, he had the immense power of the Paracasual at hand, but those powers were fickle, they gave and they took away. Now he needed to keep this alien talking, keep it from turning violent, after all who would benefit from violence here? The being was confused, it wanted answers and maybe giving it satisfactory answers would keep it talking instead of swinging those huge fists. Last lost lord? Dust? What did it want from him?

Skill-check: 79 - Large Success.

---

[Ralnis]

Kyr Mirhorn Van

It always seemed easy to use her gun as "plan b". Plan b was good as it was what she specialized in as soldier but she knew better than just run into things guns blazing. Still she expected a firefight and the gods were with the Clan still. They fought their way through the two blue-skin women and took out one of them. Kyr was happy that the recruits didn't break under the surprise attack from the guards and it seemed the guards already knew that they weren't the normal thieves that they maybe expecting.

Already through the firefight with the two and the bigger one with the six Kyr could tell the difference of skill between her clan and the security. Perhaps it was how the Clan actually trained themselves or how a Dunkidor in space is usually instilled the warrior purpose in Port Noctis, at least Zax had those skills to survive. The green ducks had that instilled as they knew how to use a gun but they would still spit out insults or cheer at every minor victory.

They were still green but Kyr still internally groaned a bit.

However being able to push back a squad of armored troopers with equal equipment and a commander who looked like what she was doing was pretty good. This was the time to push on the advantage as, once again, time was not on their side. The reason why is that she could feel the reinforcements coming and there was still three unaccounted for. Not to mention they may have more goons coming through from any of the companies invested into this.

Kyr knew the risk of pressing the advantage but she had no time for a longer firefight. Time to earn that pay and take them for everything they got.

Action: Press the advantage and try to break their spirit. The ducks have no time for this and sweet loot awaits!

[Zjaum]

Keyu looked at T'kra. "And now we've lost the rover. Great job. Good thinking. I'm so glad I came here."
T'kra looked at Roai. "What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything! Why do you have to blame everything on me?"
T'kra nodded. "Well, the good news is that we have an opportunity to explore. Likely an opportunity that the miners at Hovorkam didn't have."
Keyu nodded. "Well, think of whatever you're going to do. I'm getting my sun bath." Keyu turned her back to them and waved goodbye. She didn't go far, however. A nice flat rock that she saw in the near distance would suit her well enough. Truth be told, it could have been some secret Ancient Builder executive table, one of the most sacred objects in their culture, but for now she didn't really much care at this point. Now it will be graced by her backside.
T'kra, on the other hand, was curious. Perhaps there were even more valuable trinkets, not to mention discoveries, that lay inside this vault. The gate could function; why couldn't the other machinery inside? "Hey, Roai... do we have anything that act as good, solid rope for creatures of our size?"
"I mean, I think there were some bed sheets. Those could work."
It took an hour for them to leave, tap Keyu on her sun-bathing belly to annoy her, reach the housing units, collect the sheets, return, and tap Kayu on the belly again for good measure. It took another hour for them to tie and test the sheets in a fashion that T'kra would find suitable. Keyu did nothing during this whole time. At long last, the expedition was mildly prepared. "Roai, you spot for me. If you need to come down, wake Keyu up. You're stronger than she is."

Action: Lower T'kra down the hole, and scout for anything of interest.

[The Empire of Tau]

Merchant Man, Sam
The Deal

Samuel would have liked the meeting to be somewhere else then this crowded and filled bar, but beggars can’t be choosers as the saying goes. What annoyed Samuel the most is the awfully loud-ass music that played in the background. The heavy bass rhythm was decent at least. Once inside, after having passed through the security and the long line, Samuel felt the heavy force of the music inside. This is more noisy than all the slums, but whatever. Samuel had a meeting to do. A lot of colourful lights here too, a bit too much for Sam’s liking. The Salunri representative noted that it is hard to eavesdrop and Sam responded by saying that no one can eavesdrop here with the loud and shit music playing, Sam said jokingly as well.

Sam arrived at the table and sat with his representatives. Samuel gave simple nods towards Mobgako Rimmig and Yodsata Muvithu. Sam introduced himself by his full name, Samuel Iron Brigades, Secretary of Transportation for Ylem’s single transport ship. Sam chuckled at his own bad joke. Sam also ordered an average glass of milk from one of the clerks that passed by. After a few seconds, Sam came back to his straight face. So, international affairs. Sam really got into the game of politics, did he now? Well, in any case, Point Bravery wanted Ylem instructors in exchange for food and minerals. Not a bad deal, but Sam wanted something more. Sam asked for administration instructors too in the deal. Sam said that there were a lot of refugees in Ylem and that was a massive pool of untouched potential. He wants to expand and train up the administration capacity of Ylem and do a lot of bureaucratic reforms in the very near future. Besides that, Sam asked how can he trust Point Bravery? He knew a lot of corporations that harmed their own bottom line for profits and short-term gains for their share-holders. How can Sam be sure that Point Bravery would not backstab Samuel and Ylem? If that issue could be solved then Sam would be happy to accept the deal.

The crew meanwhile sough to expand the crew size by orders of Sam. There was going to be a need for more hands on deck as Samuel's operations starts to expand. So, the crew went around the local market, towns, and cities as they post posters on local networks, notice boards, bars, and whatnot. Plus, the crew could also sight-see if they want to too.

[Elerian]

Old Man, Rakodan

Last lost lord? Dust? What did it want from him? What did it want from him indeed. He could only guess that it wanted to know how long it had been asleep, and where it was now. The being might go berserk if he found out that the civilization that had held him in stasis had been dead for longer than the old man knew, and that everyone the being might have known were almost certainly dead. He knew what kind of anguish that feeling could inflict, and he didn’t care to know what the being would do with that information. He would have to try and change the subject for the time being.

“Rakodan. You’re on the planet Rakodan.” He tried to keep it simple so his translator could convey the words easily enough to the creature. From its reaction to his translator speaking Rakodan, he assumed that it could speak their language, but he didn’t know how well.

“I don’t know how long you’ve slept, but it's been sometime.” Keeping the being talking was of utmost importance.

“What shall I call you? My name is . . . Leon. Yes, Leon.” It had been so long since he’d heard anyone say his birth name, let alone himself. He’d tried to bury his old name with his past, yet these past few days had forced him to remember time and again. Perhaps he should stop running, but that was a thought for another day.

“My species is Human, have you heard of us?” He prayed that the being was still in the mood to talk.

Action: Calm the Being and try to Allow the Translator to Understand its Language

[The National Dominion of Hungary]

Kyr Mirhorn Van

On her order the ducks covering to the left bounded out of cover as her own group popped out with the guns at the ready to lay down a withering hail of covering fire while shouting taunts and curses at their cornered prey. There was little time to waste as the group to the left moved across the open, guns raised to try and get around the enemy cover and smoke them out. But it was at that point the damn problems began. A burst of fire raked the wall next to Kyr and send a shower of plaster washing over her and the brave Dunkidor clansmen next to her. A blast of hot blue plasma singed the air as it impacted the shield of a young warrior to the her left and he quickly dove down behind cover. There! The blue bastard that got away, and how cute, she brought two a little friends. The three guards had taken a position in a doorway and their volley made a number of her mercenaries turn, firing in their direction, quickly pinning them down. But... that meant the rest now had a window, a window they exploited. Popping out a cover a hail of fire came to greet the Dunkidor mercenaries caught out in the open. Thank the spirits they were shielded and some armored and that the enemy was relatively lightly equipped. The young recruits in the open were shaken, firing a few rushed bursts before turning and making a run back for cover, shields flashing brightly when struck by bullets or flechettes as the two older mercenaries tried to cover them as they moved back. One of the recruits was not so lucky, a burst from a guards´SMG took down his shields with a bright flash and an accurate lasblast from the Elliean commander burned his right shoulder. She cried out in pain as he was thrown to the floor, his greenhorn buddies had enough sense of camaraderie to turn back and drag him along into cover with them as the two more experienced mercenaries retreated back with them, just in time as well, their shields flickered and a few shots ricocheted off their armor before they finally dove back down. Kyr swore under her breath. That survivor and her two henchwomen had stopped their assault, however, only the survivor was armored and armed with anything but a plasma pistol. The other two had nothing but corporate security uniforms and T25-DEP's, Kyr also bet on a personal shield generator. Now, now she needed to salvage this situation. She could try to get her mercs to undertake an organized retreat, perhaps lure the enemy away from their position where they would have the advantage, of course, they knew the building and might actually turn it around on them. Now they had them in their place, perhaps sending a group of her more experienced mercs around to outflank the new arrivals would be the best idea? They had the Zax's plans and could use them to find the nearest path, of course she could join them. But perhaps it was best if she stayed with the greenhorns, those that got caught out looked skittish over there as they sat listening to the pained moans of their wounded comrade.

1 Crewmember sustained a Medium Injury.

Skill-check: 49 - Minor Failure.

---

T'kra Tyawerai

Roai helped T'kra fasten the makeshift harness around her waist and secure it around herself as she balanced her weight, leaning backward to support the weight of her captain who stood at the edge of the dark maw of the open gates, gazing down upon the starlit ruin below. It looked like it could perhaps be an old Builder spaceport, silent for two billion years where once these massive gates had opened to incoming ships, allowing them to set down and unload their cargo. Silent where once the cargo of millions upon millions of worlds, of an entire galaxy-spanning empire had moved through these gate. T'kra felt a sense of awe, perhaps this place held holy relics, even an executive table. How they would stare in wonder, the King and all the fools in that court who had driven her into this glorified exile. If she were to return with an executive table... a small smile tugged at the edges of her mouth, well... you never know what might happen then. Roai gave her captain the all-clear and T'kra slowly made her way down, lowered by Roai who strained against the weight. After a few moments T'kra's feet touched the moonlit sand that had fallen through the gaping maw they had unwittingly opened. Lit by the pale light she could see the smashed rover, it's axle broken, the wheel jutting out in a bizarre angle. T'kra lit a few small glowsticks, leaving a few where she had arrived and throwing a few more around the vast hall, illuminating small parts with pale red light. She then took out her flashlight and slowly made her way around the vast hall. It was relatively bare, much less old equipment left about, no apparent docking platforms, perhaps this wasn't a spacedock after all. Along the shadowy roof there was a large crane, high on one of the walls she could see a number of windows. Maybe it was a large cargo storage facility where the colonists kept goods and valuables? Though now, it was little than a large, empty hall illuminated by pale moonlight reflecting off of dark metal. At the end of the hallway to the north and south were two large doors, one firmly closed, locked and bolted but the other one was slightly open. Wide enough for T'kra to squeeze through, she did and took a quick look around, there were a number of hallways and many doors, some opened and others locked. The darkness was overwhelming, seeming to drink the light from her flashlight. She entered a small room through one of the open doors, dusty furnishings, a bunk-bed, table and old chair all covered in immense amounts of dust. On the table she found a few triangular objects with fine engravings, made from a shimmering metal alloy seemingly untarnished by age, quickly pocketing them. She could of course continue into the darkness alone, but perhaps it would be better to go get Roai?

---

Samuel Bridge Iron

A trader at the right place in the right time could do much to make his fortunes great. Sam had come to Ylem in what could for him have been considered the very nick of time. He had come to a ravaged world that most other traders would have avoided, especially given that it was right in the middle of a cluster still smoldering after being hit by an armada of bloodthirsty pirates. Traders that went places like that mostly either made it big or made it into an early grave, turning their ship into an icy, frost-encrusted coffin drifting in the vastness of space. Those thoughts were far from Sam's mind however as he leaned back in his chair, a confident expression on his face. A undercity kid from what some referred to as the premier urban blight of the Galaxy was rubbing shoulders with the high and mighty. Sure, the high an mighty of an Outer Rim colonial city-state but high and mighty nonetheless! As a representative of Yelm's single-ship merchant navy even, well, he was rather high and mighty now too... right? Damn, all it took was to be at the right place in the right time. The Salunri nodded approvingly when Samuel spoke to them of his long term plans for the planet. Rimmig chuckled as he heard Sam's intricate question, asking how he could trust the local government to hold up it's end of the bargain, "Well there's only one way, isn't there?" The obese Salunri politician said and leaned over the table. It is in our interest, he continued. Food, minerals, they have such things in abundance Rimmig said. He proceeded to say Ylem also had things Point Bravery need, manpower, skilled in battle and strong-backed workers. They could ease the the carrying capacity of your Ylem in time by relocating some of the refugees to Point Bravery. The mining and aquacultural corps would be glad for an influx of workers. As the situation stabilizes, perhaps regular passenger flights could be established he said in his musings before finally reaching his intricately woven point. There was no guarantee, interstellar politicking is what it is. Indeed, it is what it is and has always been. Nations have only one permanent facet of themselves and that is permanent interests. To make an close relations closer and friendships stronger, both parties had to be able to in that partnership secure their interests. As it stood currently it was as they saw it, goods needed by Ylem to rebuild and military expertise needed by the citizen militia and corporate security forces of Point Bravery. In time, new needs would arise and then, if the hands of Ylem and Point Bravery have been clasped once already it would be much easier to find common interests in new circumstances once more. But for that to happen, both would need to take that first step on a long road, a step that the authorities of Point Bravery hoped Muvithu visit could accomplish and start a beneficial relationship between the two states, an alliance that would be even more beneficial in time no doubt, hopefully.

---

Leon Tchaikovsky

The being sat down on the cold stone with a thud, stirring up ancient, millennia old dust from it's resting place. A hand still covering it's sensitive eyes. It seemed a little less erratic but Leon could not help but notice nervous twitching on the alien's face. The being was still very much in fight or flight mode and judging by it's own stature when compared to Leon's, well, the old man did not have to think long and hard about what this massive hulk of flesh would pick. Of course, it didn't know that Leon was able to bring the forces of what had in ages past been called magic, wizarding, witchcraft and admittedly still was by some superstitious souls out their in the wider galaxy. Failing that, he had the ancient laspistol found in the ruined manor where the Ellirean scientists were still hard at work in the hidden laboratory that they had found and probably awaiting his return in the next few days. Then it hit him, maybe this alien knew something about that, about the things in the tanks. But first, Leon had a much more important priority, live long enough to bring it there. The autotranslator struggled to reform the words that Leon spoke into the sequences of deep guttural sounds uttered by the recently awakened alien. Likely it came out just as cryptic on his end Leon noted as he saw, at least what he assumed to be a look of perplexion on his face. Dust all above, all below, speaking the master's tongue with but one tounge. The alien said, his eyes seemingly slowly getting more used to the light. Chainworld all Dust, Rakodan the Red. The being slowly said and rose slowly to it's full, imposing height, only now getting a good look at Leon and the crumbling hall in the center of which the stasis tank has stood. Many cycles no doubt. It said as Leon explained that he had no idea exactly how long the alien had been there in that stasis pod. Perhaps if they were to come back here with some of the Ellirean scientists whom he had been recently employed by perhaps they might find that out? If all gone... if all rotten... The autotranslator didn't convey much emotion, but the alien's face did. Leon had not seen being like this ever, he didn't look like a Rakodan from the faded murals, broken statues or visions. No, he was something else, but the fact remains that his people may very well have suffered the same fate as the Rakodans. Leon. Never heard of Leon, never heard of it's kind. Humans... The alien said and looked at Leon once more, up and down. Many cycles... It then said with a sigh and sat down once more, if it didn't know what humans were, it had to know it has been long. Perhaps very long since the pod closed, that it had woken up to an alien Galaxy. Greetings Leon Human. The alien said, even Leon could tell with a sorrowful tone. Speaking to Ket Thulwar, defender, protector, dust like the rest... It said and ran a handful of sand through it's large, powerful fingers, watching the dust stir as the sand hit the cracked stone floor.

Skill-check: 52 - Small Success.

---

[Ralnis]

Kyr Mirhorn Van

It all happened in a flash. Just when the assault was called in by the recruits, the Eilereen that was able to escape the failed ambush came back with reinforcements and stopped it from happening. The commander even landed a hit on one of Kyr's own and that made her angry. Now the tables have turned and Kyr needed a quick plan to salvage this heist. Zax had made a mention that the recruits seemed to be shaken up but they seemed to be able to fight.

Her most seasoned and her second, Talou, had suggested that he and a group of some experienced clansmen take a nearest route to outflank the reinforcements since the three of the new guards are undergunned. It was true that there was only the one armored guard and two lighters guards, the armored one was armored with the rifle that was standard and the lighter one only had the shield generators and SMGs. If Talou could get the jump on them then it would break this firefight as it has been shown that even more reinforcements will come.

Kyr thought it was a good idea if he can pull it off, he was the one who suggested the ambush on the pirates in the Wicked Grin but their luck hasn't been the greatest in this fight. Kyr decided to stay with the recruits and try to provide enough of some covering fire while also the Chieftess wanted to try and take that commander's head for her hurting one of her own. However first she must make sure the job is done and this firefight has gone on for two long.

As she rallies the recruits and tell them the plan, she could see the fear in their eyes. As trained as they are, they are still greenbills and needed someone like Kyr to rally to and she had to be just that. As she checked the ammo for everyone and gave them their orders. They prayed to the gods for this victory despite their casualties.

Action:Kyr stays with the recruits and have them draw fire while Talou and a group of experience mercenaries try to outflank the new arrivals and take them out.

[Zjaum]

The Moon Hovorkam

Roai was fairly bored for the time being. She looked around, if not looking for something to do, at least looking at something to stare at. There was very little, and certainly nothing that moved, that could attract her attention for very long. She paced back and forth, then jumped up and down, then-
The rope pulled. Finally; it had been ages! Roai tugged against the rope, careful not to lose her balance. She looked down at her captain as she was just about to clear the edge. "So, what did you find?"

Keyu was in the middle of a dream. It was a good dream. She wouldn't remember it, though, as she was awakened by a sharp pinch. She adjusted her eyes and tried to adjust her strange surroundings. The first thing she noticed was the muzzle of a gun. The Foehammer Laser Pistol, to be precise. "Whoa! What the-" Keyu announced, almost lifting her back off its resting place in shock. She then adjusted her view to see T'kra at the other end of the gun. Keyu's muscles relaxed as she sank back into the platform. "You're not going to use that thing, so put it down."
"We found a large space dock. Some small trinkets and valuables, but possibly something more. I need you to help lower myself and Roai down into the pit."
"Whatever's down there, you know it's not worth risking your second-in-command. I'm stronger than you. Maybe not as strong as Roai, but I can hold my own in a war of attrition. There's nothing you can do to get me off of this rock, and you sure as heck are not going to shoot me. Go away."
T'kra never intended to fire the laser. "Funny thing, Keyu. One of the great things about being a general is that you know a lot of random trivia about military items. In fact, if you rearrange the circuitry and then pull the trigger-" She demonstrated. A ferociously loud buzzing noise filled the cavern beneath them, the structures around them, and the sky above them. The electricity, rather than being forced into electromagnetic waves, was now forced through a resistor, one that dissipated its energy through noise. And the Foehammer packed quite a bit of a punch with regards to energy.
Keyu covered her ears but could only protect them from rupturing, not from the confounded blast. "Fine, fine!" She kicked her feet up in protest, since she dared not let go of her ears. T'kra stopped. "I will do what you say, General. But you. Owe. Me. Understood?"
T'kra's face lit up as she responded with a short, massive blurt of her Foehammer. "Understood. If you'll be so kind."
Keyu was just barely durable enough to lower Roai, but the expedition had to be lowered one at a time. As Roai was lowered down second, she made conversation with her captain beneath her. "So, what are those trinkets you showed me?"
"I don't know."
"Do you know how to activate them?"
"No."
"Will they sell?"
"Well, that's what I intend to find out once we reach a base."

Action: T'kra explores the dark areas with Roai.

[The Empire of Tau]

Merchant Man, Sam
A Short Day

”We’ll hammer out something as we travel. Come on, let's get to my ship.” Sam stands up and waves to Muvithu to follow him.

This appears to be a good time as any to talk about politics and deals. Samuel wishes to mod the deal a bit. Ylem needs food, no doubt about that, but Sam wants heavy industrial farm machinery and equipment to upstart and expand Ylem’s agriculture sector to be competitive on the galactic market, and to ensure Ylem’s food supply. If Muvithu can help Sam get what he wants then Sam can get in a good word for Point-Bravery. From there, well, Sam and Muvithu made small talk about their life, where they came from, what they like to eat, plans, tv shows, and likewise. Sam also asked about intergalactical news, if anything was occuring around the galaxy. This appears to be a pettey short day for Sam, nothing really else to note.

[Piscina]

Captain Audax Veni

Audax looked around, trying to take in as much of the scenery of Fiyarro as possible as they walked towards their destination. The city was situated near one of the rivers that wound their way across the planet. The local sun was at a low angle in the sky, as the Inquisitive had arrived at about 6:00 local time. Rays of sunlight filtered through the ubiquitous mist that rolled off the nearby river, illuminating the city as if the mist itself was glowing. As it was too early for many tourists to be on the street, the view was unimpeded by the crowds that would throng through the city later in the day, taking pictures and buying trinkets from the hawkers that were even now setting up stalls alongside the street that Audax and their companions were walking along.

“Beautiful view” Audax commented. “The way the sun illuminates the mist, you can see why this is a tourist spot.” Their companions were less impressed. “I grew up on a planet that was close to its sun, with deep oceans that acted as heatsinks.” Eyalla, the First Officer said. “Some days you could hardly see through the mist. It was damned inconvenient. Still, I agree. Nice view.”
Tassin, their guide to the region of space they were in, gave his input. “I have researched on this planet for a year. These weather conditions are not unusual for this area.”

The group continued walking as the sun rose an degree or two. They were travelling to an equipment shop in order to replace the items they had lost in a theft at their last stop, and after that they would try to find some interesting leads. “I told you that technician was up to no good.” Tassin said. Audax sighed. “I agree.” Audax said. “In hindsight it seems obvious that he knew nothing about drive maintenance. I’ll be more careful in future.” Tassin’s response was: “A mistake is not a mistake unless it is made twice.” Nothing else was said. Audax reflected on where the rest of crew were. Most of them were probably touring local museums and monuments, while Xenim, Handar, and Necatrix guarded and restocked the Inquisitive. They continued walking.

Purchase: 2x Senemarys C32, 2x Space Suit, 1x Light Armour. There will be 190 credits remaining afterwards. Audax, Eyalla, and Necatrix will be armed, and the space suits and light armour will be added to the storage racks on Inquisitive.

Action: Look for leads on interesting (and profitable, if possible) things to investigate and explore. Note that Tassin will be helping with this, so it is unlikely the group will be majorly scammed.

[Elerian]

Old Man, Rakodan

Ket Thulwar. A name, something the old man could work with. He wasn’t sure what more he could do to help the being from this old decayed building. If he brought Ket to the Ellireans, perhaps they could help him. They were academics afterall, and they had dedicated their effort to learning more about Xenos. Or at least that was what he could only assume, what exactly they were here for was a mystery to the old man.

“I think it would be best if we left this place” he said as he gestured to the decayed structure. “I have some friends nearby that may be able to help us learn more about your situation.”

If the being didn’t know anything about Humanity, he likely knew nothing about the Ellireans too. Humans had been a dominant force in the galaxy for many long years, so Ket obviously predated the old Human Empire. In his experience, stellar nations came and went like the tide. So too did their patron species go with them. If Ket was as old as he seemed to be, he was more than likely the last of his kind. In another life, a life long since past, the old man had been in a similar situation. At least he’d been given the satisfaction of revenge, Ket didn’t have the same option.

It was time to leave this place.

“Come with me Ket, there’s little use remaining here.”

Action: Take scientific readings of the stasis chamber and try to get Ket to the Scientists

[The National Dominion of Hungary]

Kyr Mirhorn Van

Talou nodded and made a signal to three of his clan-mates to follow him. It seemed the appropriate number and if they get the drop on those guards in the doorway, well, then they wouldn't need the numbers anyway. All Kyr had to do now was to keep the morale of the greenbills up and make sure they draw the enemy fire until Talou's group manage to get around the enemy and smoke the bastards out she thought, anger flaring inside her but she had been in situations like this many times, she knew how to keep her head in the game, otherwise it would have left her shoulders a long time ago. On her order the mercenaries popped out of cover and laid down a hail of fire at both the main group of guards covering where they could and the reinforcements hunkering down in the doorway, forcing the Ellirean corporate security guards to keep their heads down as the withering fusillade tore into walls, shattered glass and ripped through soft targets like paper. Talou and his followers quickly got up and sprinted down the hallway behind the ducks, going back the same way they had come to turn right and bust down the door to a maintenance staircase before running upward to another floor where they would be able to get the drop on the enemy's reinforcements. The dunkidor moved as fast as they could, knowing the chieftess and the rest of their clan were hard pressed and needed them to carry out their mission. Talou ran onward, eyes fixed on his hand-terminal from which he projected a small hologram of the building plans that Zax had downloaded to guide him along the fastest possible route. Meanwhile, Kyr was feeling the effects of being four ducks short the enemy's suppressing fire kept them down, it was increasingly harder to peek out, harder still to keep the guards down with a few volleys of their own. The chieftess heard the Ellirean commander shout orders, the blues were definitely planning something over there, no doubt convinced that they were getting the upper hand. Kyr projected a live from the helmet-cam on Talou's armor to the HUD of her own armor just in time to see him crash through another door to run down a hallway that was a clean and pristine as they had all been before some were ravaged by gunfire. The pressure was mounting, the enemy was keeping them down, Kyr popped up, her shield absorbing a few hits as she watched one of the reinforcements, the armored one moving up alongside two from the main group trying to close in from another direction. They had to get them back behind cover! On her order the mercenaries fired blindly over their cover, letting loose a murderous hailstorm through the area, most the greenbills were afraid though, having realized that something was wrong out there. One popped out to get a look and a quick volley cut through his shield before he could get back down, an SMG bulled struck him in the side of his head as the shields flickered, the youngling was dead before even hitting the floor. Kyr cursed loudly and popped out, letting off a burst as her own shields began failing. Then, a panicked scream from the doorway followed by a burst of fire from a plasma carbine rang out. Kyr turned quickly and saw one of the reinforcing guards fall dead, half-obscured behind the wall she had hunkered down behind. Her comrade did not fare better. On the feed from Talou's helmet-cam she witnessed a hail of fire drop her to the floor, leaving a dark crimson stain on the wall. Giving the order with a furious roar she and the recruits invigorated by the success of their clanmates rose and let their guns sing. The two Ellirean guards from the original group barely managed to get back behind cover, chased by a hail of fire. The armored guard from the doorway was much worse off, caught completely in the open a burst of flechettes from a Zavras AR took down her shields and Kyr finished it with a burst of fire from her DMR hitting square in the forehead. The guard's head snapped backward and the Ellirean collapsed in a bloody heap. The greenbills cheered loudly, seemingly for a second forgetting about their clanmate who lay dead, a pool of blood around his head. A menacing smile graced Kyr's bill, it would be easy for Talou's group and her group to move in and finish this now, she just had to give the order. And the commander's head would soon be hers...

1 Dunkidor Mercenary Killed.

Skill-check: 61 - Small Success

---

T'kra Tyawerai

Back into the darkness they went, squeezing through the half-open doorway and once more, T'kra made her way through the hallways passing door after door, most of them shut behind heavy doors. Some open and empty, full of nothing but ancient dust while others stood with dust-covered, open crates which all gaped empty. Perhaps whatever was inside had been valuable enough for whoever was here to bring it with them, perhaps it simply didn't survive the ravages of time. Didn't matter now though, now they had to find something here to make this worth the lost rover. The captain was intensively thinking back, trying to remember everything she knew of the ancient Builders that went beyond the common knowledge every being in the known galaxy learned in school but there wasn't that much. The study of extinct alien species had not really been her priority in life. No, she had spent her time being a fierce fighter, even in her youth she led the warriors of her home village into battle. Hell, as she thought back to those days now, creeping through ancient, crumbling ruins, it was another life, wasn't it? T'kra let the bright beam of her flashlight cut through the inky darkness as Roai followed close behind with her own flashlight, the Werai women slowly, steadily explored the darkness until finally, after what must have been a whole hour of wandering the hallways they arrived in some kind of large room or atrium perhaps, benches, ancient planters devoid of life and what T'kra expected had to be ancient Builder decorations in the form of carefully made, intricate geometric patterns inlaid into the dark metal walls which threw strange shadows around when the beams from their flashlights swept over them. Columns rose toward a dark, shadowy ceiling and two great staircases led upward. Well, only one way to go forward T'kra thought as she walked the first step up the stairs. The silence of these ancient halls broken only by their footsteps, the Werai women advanced onward and upward. While slightly nervous, T'kra also felt a sense of excitement tingling within, she understood why some folk chose to devote their lives to the xenoarchaeological pursuit. On and on they walked until arriving at a large, heavy gate. Luckily for them it also stood wide open and after walking through it they found themselves in a cavernous room. It had to be some kind of control station T'kra thought as it was lined full of dust-covered desks, ancient screens, dead holoprojectors and overturned chairs. This, this was the place! If there was anything of worth down in these catacombs it had to be here! T'kra quickly got to work and told Roai to leave to grain of dust undisturbed. The looked and they searched, finding only what seemed like common everyday items. T'kra told Roai to pocket what she could. Collectors could sometimes pay good money even for the most mundane artifacts from ancient civilizations, especially the legendary Builders. However as they went about their business, T'kra noticed light in the corner of her eye. A low, pale blinking blue in the darkness. Immediately she got back on her feet and in a heartbeat both her pistol and flashlight pointed to the blinking light. What if it was a drone? Or a battle-droid? Some ancient Builder security system reanimated from death to drive away those who disturbed the tombs of their makers, loyal still after years beyond counting. It seemed her alarm was unwarranted, at least for now, who knows... maybe they did awaken something in the dark? But this was just a small light flashing on a screen. Perhaps a closed circuit? Perhaps it had been reactivated by the same power-surge which opened the doors. T'kra called out to Roai who soon stood at her captain's side. They approached slowly, trinkets, sure, they could sell those but the right data, that could really set them up. After a few minutes of studying the panel they seemingly found the right button and the screen lit up in blue. Strange glyphs flashed in a rapid sequence before a loud thrumming noise started reverberating through the hallways. Then, suddenly bright orange lights came on lighting up the command center, screens flickered but drawing the gaze of the Werai was a hologram projected above a raised dias or podium. It depicted a star-map with some system clearly marked, T'kra stared in awe for a few seconds before coming to her senses, the power could go out any minute, if they wanted to try and recover some data from these ancient Builder systems, they had to do it now.

Search Result: 67 - A spark of life, what hides on the ancient drives? A total of 20 Engraved Tri's added to inventory.

---

Samuel Bridge Iron

The Salunri woman rose and smoothed out the creases on her suit before following Sam, she quickly reached for her hand-terminal and sent a few messages, turning to Sam and saying that she had arranged for a few attendants to bring her luggage to the ship and asked Sam to inform his crew, which he promptly did by sending a message to Carnegie with his hand-terminal. Saying their goodbyes and leaving, the two exited the establishment and made their way down the streets leaving the thumping music behind them. As they spoke further, Sam mentioned that he was very, very interested in the acquisition of improved farming equipment and heavier agromachinery to jump-start Ylem's agricultural sector back up Muvithu responded sympathetically, she could very much see why he would say that and she could have entertained the idea of making a deal. However, Point Bravery did not produce too much of that itself, indeed it had little need for such things as they mostly centered their economy around aquaculture, mining and metallurgy. However, she did provide him with the contact info of a certain Ellirean corporate representative on Chasca, an independent world whose system was often seen as one of the prized islands of peace, growth and tranquility in the Outer Rim, and a haven for farmers who grew psychoactive substances along with often clandestine branches of particularly unscrupulous megacorps from the Accordance. All kept safe and secure thanks to the good relations they upheld with the Renegade King in nearby Noctis Station. Give her a call when you have the time. I bet she'll be glad to hear your proposal. Muvithu said with a nod to Samuel. As they made casual small-talk Sam got the feeling that she was genuinely glad for the opportunity to travel and negotiate with him and with Ylem's higher-ups once they reach their destination. For personal gain and prestige in the eyes of her peers back here or indeed mainly because of the benefits she saw in the possible alliance? Too early to say. They did however share a few laughs about the terrible music back at the bar, hey, they were both Fluxx fans after all. Best band in the Galaxy after all, obviously. Most of the coreward galactic powers had their eyes firmly fixed on the War of the Successors tearing through the space of what once was the Imperium Galaxis, most powerful nation in the known Galaxy. The humans were spilling good amount of their own blood and the wars did not seem to slow down. However, fortunes were shifting for the factions involved. The Blessed Empire, most powerful of the successor-states of the Imperium Galaxis and controller of the old throneworld was still the most powerful, controlling approximately a quarter of former human space but they were also bogged down in bloody battles of attrition against both Imperial Warlords, formerly subjugated alien star-nations attempting to reform and the other major Imperial Successors. The Imperial Commonwealth, the second major successor was suffering badly, losing systems and clusters to the Blessed Empire's crusade-campaigns on one front, losing to the Freeholds on another, recently losing whole a cluster to the Yaaric Union and, perhaps most interestingly being battered badly along the front where they faced the troops of the Once and Future Imperium, an Imperial Successor led by a former Psi-Corps officer turned self-proclaimed Emperor. Then there were of course rumors that might be of particular might be the fact that whispers from Noctis Station suggested that the Renegade King was looking to curtail the influence of Faeran Illuvian, leader of the Pirate Armada that was ravaging the space around Ylem to curtail his rising influence in the Outlaw Council, just a hint. As they arrived back at the spaceport and got aboard Sam's freighter, her aides had already arrived, two well-dressed but stone-faced Salunri men. I suppose you have place for two more on the ship for the trip to Ylem, yes? My assistants would be of great help to me over there. Muvithu asked.

---

Audax Veni

The group walked down the steers of the waking town clear to their purpose as the run slowly rose higher and higher into the skies, still casting a glittering shimmer on the lazy river. The first few hovercars began gliding along their way a bit above the road and in the corner of their eye Eyalla could see a Steel Caste police drone flying above the roofs of a group of houses. While it was a relatively young colony at the edges of Union space it had already established a name for itself and thus drew in a diverse mix of strange and exotic explorers from around the Galaxy, explaining a higher police presence than in most similarly sized colonies. Well, that and the local Sathanni of course. As the group walked further down the street and turned to walk across a decoratively constructed bridge from which they could fully enjoy the view of the thriving planetary capital of this frontier colony. Audax turned to Tassin with a question. They had come here, one of the famous last-stops before leaving the civilized space of the Coreward Powers before going out into the wild space of the Outer Rim and now they needed to see where to go next and while yes, once could try to seek out the secrets of the void on one's own, it helped to have at least some clue of where you were going. Apparently, it was the Voidfarer's Rest or bust in Tassin's opinion. The Warpslip was full of newcomers equally looking around for opportunities while the Drunken Android was full of scammers and con-artists looking to make a quick cred off of all the starry-eyed young captains that came to this place, eyes fixed on adventure. Come on, follow me Captain Veni, Tassin said with a motion for them to follow and so Audax did just that with their crew following just behind them. As the town woke they all could witness the array of strange and exotic individuals that often made port on this planet. Well-dressed, graceful Ellirean explorers gave Audax a curt nod as they passed them on the street. A band of surly and scruffy looking Ulthars stood in the doorway leading to a dingy hotel smoking lho-cigs and from another motel came a group of colorfully feathered Gharryn spacers, beaks clacking in an animated conversation. They arrived outside and Audax took a look at the holoboard on the wall of the cantina. Explorer captains posting notices announcing their ship is taking on new crewmates, a number of notices posted by other captains claiming to sell star-charts at a low price. Tassin immediately disapproved of most of those posts, luckily for Audax who almost thought about responding to one and setting up a meeting with the captain who turned out to be a local grifter after Tassin firmly explained it. To one of those posts however, Tassin nodded with a small smile. Jarad Kell, a grizzled human explorer known for his voyages into the Ghoul Stars beyond Port Dusk was selling a map for the low price of 125 credits leading to a cluster much closer to civilized space which they had quickly passed through on their way back to Sathas from the edges of the known Galaxy. The cluster supposedly had three systems and two planets in the habitable zone of their stars, potentially capable of supporting life! It was a good deal, all Audax needed to do was to take their hand-terminal and book a meeting at the Voidfarer's Rest. Of course, they could also go to this one store a few minutes walk away which was run by a former explorer, settled here in her later years. Still has charts, both her own and those she buys. A little odd though, sky must have gotten to her. Tassin said absently.

---

Leon Tchaikovsky

Nothing here. Leon why stay is so, no work... no work... The alien said and let another fistful of red sand pass between his fingers before rising slowly to his feet. Taking one last look around him before walking down the walkway with heavy steps stirring up ancient dust where the ancient being walked. His face flat, as far as Leon understood that species facial expressions at least. However, before leaving Leon took out a datapad and connected a small handheld scanner, blue streaks of light emanated from the device as he swept it back and forth across the open pod gathering what readings he could. It took Leon a few minutes and after looking over his shoulder seeing the alien waiting for him he turned of the scanner and looked at the data it had gathered as the old man walked up next to the alien. And answer light and dark, maze brightness of sun-cycles. He could hear the translator repeat after listening and decoding Ket's guttural speech, it obviously still needed more time to analyse his language. As the walked in silence for much of the rest of the way, Leon looked at the readings he had gathered, not much, with such rudimentary equipment as he had carried with him it was to be expected. He had the approximate percentages of what elements made up the alloys that the metallic parts of the stasis pod had been built out of and a good 3D scan of it along with a rudimentarily estimated blueprint. Not too much but T'kess and the rest of the Ellirean researchers might be able to make more of this data than he was able to right now such as ascertain if it had been produced with local resources or perhaps some other helpful information. Not that much, but at least he had been able to get Ket to come with him instead of having the confused alien throw him into a wall like a ragdoll breaking every bone in his body in the process. Every now and then Ket stopped, looking at the faded murals, at cracked stone walls through which the sunlight trickled into the silent ruin. Leon stood and waited, old Ket had woken to a galaxy utterly alien to him, realizing that he might very well be the last of his kind. A living relic of an age long dead and gone. Damn, was almost felt a pang of compassion of the old alien? Maybe, Leon didn't dwell on the though as the two kept walking through the ruin, wind moaning drearily through the rooms and halls. They finally made it to the end of the long hallway that he had come through, Ket was forced to almost half-crawl to get his massive bulk through it and then through the hole blasted in the wall. They finally found themselves back on the platform where Leon's pinnace stood awaiting it's owner and now a passenger as well. The old admiral heard a sharp intake of breath next to him, Ket stared out across the planet, mouth agape, eyes wide taking a few twitchy steps forward as he swept his gaze across the great vista that bared itself before them. Vast expanses of red deserts and ridges of blood-red rock, crooked pillars, half buried statues once rising high into the sky now under the sands. Old building, vast manors and great pyramidal structures broken and ruined. Leon walked over to the ship and climbed up the to the hermetically sealed door, leaving it open for Ket who came a few minutes later and sat down next to Leon in silence.

Skill-check: 71 - Success.

---

[Ralnis]

Kyr Mirhorn Van

In one swift few seconds it was enough to turn this fight around. Kyr had been many of these swing missions and battles as she lost and won them all the same. The thing is that she survived and the Clan has survived such failures to come back stronger. The lost of a greenbill was heavy on her heart but being able to chase off two and kill off the reinforcements made the commander remind her just who she was dealing with. Kyr was beyond angry but disciplined sharpened her wrath into the very combative skills a Dunkidor needs to survive and to always sharpen their skills against other fighters, it was how the warrior race got their name as they continual their Eternal War against the Blessed Empire.

But none of that matter to the outcast chieftess. She cared about only getting the head of the commander that gave her so much trouble that reinforcements were allowed to be called in. It was because of her that one of her own had died and Kyr was angry about their death no matter if they signed up for this type of work. Once they had joined the clan they were family to her and it was never good to see family died in front of you.

Now the tables have turned for the security forces. Outflanked and downed by three and injured one morale and momentum swung back in her favor again. She wasn't going to let up now as she set her sights on the commander and wanted this to end so they can get the artifacts and leave this planet.

Action: Have Talou flank the main group and Kyr advance on them straightly as the chieftess tries to take the commander's head to end this. Have them end this fight.

[Piscina]

Captain Audax Veni

Audax considered Tassin's advice. Kell's offer certainly seemed good, as it would not only be an interesting trip, but there was the possibility that the group might find some discovery that could be sold to fund their voyage of discovery. Despite Audax's distaste at the prospect of selling artefacts and discoveries that should by all rights be preserved and placed in a museum, or be further studied to uncover their mysteries, they were well aware that they would soon run low on credits, and that the group's trip would end quickly if they ran out of funding. Of course, Audax would need the group's assent for such a significant decision, so they set up a group hand terminal call with their crewmembers to inform them of the situation.

Back at the academy, several months before the crew began this trip, they all had agreed that if possible, all major decisions would be ratified by group vote, either in person or by hand-terminal call. The E-voting practiced in the Accordance had inspired this detail. As this decision would affect the overall direction of their journey, this definitely qualified as a major decision. In a few minutes, the crew had voted. There was an almost unanimous agreement to buy the chart, but Tassin had abstained, stating that he wanted to see how the group tended to handle decision-making. Genar and Xenim had voted against, being of the opinion that it was a rather large expenditure for the group's rapidly dwindling budget. However, they were outvoted, so Audax booked a meeting with Kell at the Voidfarer's Rest for three in the afternoon. Many of the crew had also recommended that Audax, Eyalla, and Tassin investigate the nearby shop. Audax was inclined to agree with them, as despite the fact that scheduling a meeting with Kell implied a commitment to buy the chart that would be very awkward to break, and the group probably didn't have enough money to buy a second, it wasn't as if they were obligated to buy one the second they walked into the nearby shop, so there was no harm in looking around.

Audax checked the local time on their hand-terminal. Between replacing the stolen equipment and browsing for a starchart, it was now nearly 9:00. The town had fully woken up by now, and a steady stream of hovercars wound their way along the streets. The mist had dissipated somewhat by now, yielding to reveal a stunning view of the river and the town itself, but it was still present in the background. The sun was at a steeper angle than it had been at when they first landed, and the shadows were shortening as noon inexorably approached. Throngs of Yaaric locals mixed with a variety of offworlders, creating a vibrant sea of colour and sound. Stalls set up on the pavements offered a dazzling variety of foods and trinkets. Audax turned to their companions. "Let's head over to that shop", they said. The group started walking. "I must admit that you've got me interested, Tassin", said Eyalla. "A mysterious shop, run by an enigmatic and possibly crazy woman. Sounds fun!"

The group continued walking.

Action: Book a meeting with Jared Kell for the afternoon, then enter the shop run by the former explorer.

Equipment/Location
Senemarys C32/Audax Veni
Senemarys C32/Eyalla
Senemarys C32/Necatrix
Space Suit x3/Inquisitive
Light Armour x2/Inquisitive
190 Credits Remaining

[The Empire of Tau]

Merchant Man, Sam
Peanut Butter

Sam nods, “We have room. Get in.” Sam opens the doors to his ship and lets in the two Salunri men. “Find a place in the general-living room and sit down. It won’t take too long to get to Ylem. Make sure you also follow safety rules as said on the plates to your sides. Thank you.”

On most days, Sam had no thoughts. A blank mind on autopilot….You know, peanut butter is not made from peas or butter, but a peanut, which is a nut. A peanut can be enjoyed in many ways, in its processed form, Peanut butter or the nut itself in which you need to crack the outer-shell. Normally, a peanut will be harvested in its season by famers and then transported to a food processing factory. Normally, the peanuts are deshalled first and then they are moved to a belt to be roasted. After roasting, the peanuts turn from white to slightly brown in color. Next, the peanuts are then cooled at room temperature with suction fans that aid in the cooling process. The peanuts need to be cooled down in order to stop the peanuts from cooking as to not lose too much oil in the heating process. The peanut’s outer-skin is removed between two rubber belts and the peanut’s kernel is spilt, core removed. The outer-skin and kernels are sent off for cheap animal feed to other food companies. The peanuts go into a massive steel-bin to be grinded to a paste. Salt, sugar, and vegetable oil is then added. The peanut butter is ready to be poured into glass or plastic jars. Caps are then added on and the labels added on. The shipment is ready to be sent to shops...Sam is gonna call up that Ellirean corporate representative after he gets to Ylem. The labor force existing within those refugee camps is massive and can be put to good work. Hhm, Sam also remembers that one case. It has that one seed for those massive trees, forgot the name of it, but it likely be of usage sooner or later. Samuel wonders if peanuts can be grown on Ylem, or other nuts in general. How about Maize? Maybe, maybe. Corn is nice as it has a lot of recipes going for it. Corn bread, cornflakes, corn on the cob, corn itself, fried corn, creamed corn, corn pie, corn soup, corn with oatmeal, corn relish, corn chips, corn salsa, corn beef, corn hash, corns with eggs, corn sandwich, and likewise….Corn can also be made into plastic..Hhm, oh, there is also rice and wheat. You can have lots of recipes for them too..It’s not before Sam wanders off into his mind before he makes landfall onto Ylem’s port and then calls upon that Ellirean lad, given that everything went smoothly and no pirates tries to raid Sam’s ship.

[SloopDeWoop]

“Hey, ‘wanna meet up at Port Dusk? Mmmhmm… Ok, right. Meet’cha there!”
Right, what will I need? Well…“Cobra, pull up calculator application!”Right, so… what will I need? Hmmm… well, I will need another T25, 20 Credits, and another Personal Shield, 30 Credits. That is 50 Credits, now, Alaa will be our main combatant, so he will probably need some light armour, and an M51. That brings it to 180 Credits, 250 minus 180 equals 70 Credits left over, so that is 45 Credits each maximum. Why did I use a calculator for basic addition?
Action: (basic addition time guys!) buys: T25, Personal Shield, light armour, M51. 250 – (20+30+50+80) = 250 – 180 = 70 Credits left over. Uzi also attempts to meet up with Alaa and Arwa, offering them 30 Credits each to join him

[The National Dominion of Hungary]

Kyr Mirhorn Van

Onward! Onward brave clan Van! With a thunderous roar Kyr commanded her warriors forward and one team put down suppressive fire while the other with Kyr at the helm bounded forward trying to go around the hard cover of the remaining corporate security guards in a direct assault. At the same time Talou took his unit around the enemy position to outflank and smoke them out, the ducks now dominated the field with their firepower and could move almost unhindered. The few instances when an enemy popped out to blind-fire a burst, their salvos either went wide or were too scattered and inaccurate to even pierce the shields of the Dunkidor mercenaries. Kyr ran forward gaze red with rage and after a few heavy steps, as if perfectly coordinated her unit and Talou's group fell on the corporate guards like avenging angels here to demand a red price for the greenbill's death, as the Gods decreed. The enemy turned to safe them with a mix of raw adrenaline-induced bravery and desperate self-preservation instinct one emerged from their cover howling like a banshee and letting off a stream of bullets from a SMG with a vengeance. Five hostiles stood before them, four fully combat effective and one wounded. The ducks quickly let their rifles and pistols play the tune of battle and death and the enemy did the same. Close quarters was bloody and brutal but the enemy got the worst of it. Numerically inferior, their shields were quickly stripped away by the heavy fusillade the Dunkidor were putting down on them. First to fall was the wounded guard who guarded the flank alone from Talou's flanking party as a salvo of superheated plasma from the Dunkidor's carbine ripped through their shields and a burst of flechettes from an AR ended their life. Then was the second unarmored guard who attempted to return fire against Kyr's group but with their numbers and the heavy weapons they possessed, the Ellirean guard fell dead to the floor after a salvo ripped through their shield and body. Talou and the flanking group moved further around and put their firepower to bear on the armored guards and their commander. In a mad dash, the Ellirean commander threw her spent laser weapon away and with a lightning fast motion drew a hardlight sword. In a mad dash they came for Kyr, having figured her out to be the leader of the mercs, the commander's shields flared as they were impacted by projectiles and energy but they did not slow down. A young greenbill, blood pumping got in the commanders way, barring their path toward Kyr but was quickly sent to the floor with a light injury as they hardlight blade came down upon him. That was when the commander's shields failed and the subsequent volley ripped into armor and body, sending them crashing to the ground. The two armored guards had been focused down by Talou's group and a few of Kyr's fighters and now lay there dead in a bloody heap. Kyr grinned, victory. She pulled out her blade and walked toward the dying Ellirean commander, the fight had cost the mercenaries one life and two of their number injured. But it was done, now it was time to grab the loot and make a run for it! And get the trophy, of course.

1 Mercenary Lightly Wounded.
Skill-check: 76 - Success.

---

Audax Veni

With the crew having had their say, Captain Veni took one last look at the town from the bridge letting themself enjoy the beauty of this morning for a bit more. Then they once more took the lead of the party that walked further down the street toward the small back-alley stop. It was a quiet little lane, prefabricated first-in colonial housing still dominated here but it was kept in good condition by the residents Audax noted as they passed the occasional local on the street. Most of the buildings along the alley were simply homes, but after a little bit of walking and basking in the warm sunlight they finally reached the large, candle-lit windows of Farwalker's Treasures, a holographic sign projecting in the style of old wooden shop-signs from millennia upon millennia ago shimmered above the door in the warm early morning light. They entered the shop, it was dim and dark, lit with candles on the shelves and serpent-green lamps overhead. The shopkeeper who greets them from behind the counter is a tall, willowy human woman with hair so light is was almost silvery in color. She welcomes them and gives Audax a twitchy smile. The Ellirean captain walked over to the counter and asked if she still had any charts for sale and that made the human light up in a smile. "Oh, a babe taking it's first steps." She cooed as if speaking to a toddler before vanishing into the back of the store for a few minutes after returning with two OSD's, after slotting one into a small holoprojector on the counter. A light blue starmap projected in front of Audax. "The Alenic Depths, there and back again beyond to the Hadrex Cluster, far away to the Port Dusk and further still." Audax was taken aback, this was somewhere in wilderness space, if they wished to go here then they would go far, to the edge of the Outer Rim and beyond into galactic darkspace. The hologram flickered and was replaced by another image as the shopkeeper swapped out the OSD's. The view of another cluster appeared, with five system instead of the six systems of the Hadrex cluster somewhere in darkspace. "Closer to home, closer to all our souls. One jump with Warp Gate JGHUH2139SD, one with 213490JKHG30 and Triskaedia is at your feet. They were both equally expensive, 100 credits. I like you my young patron. The woman said with an eerie smile. If you decide to buy one of my maps. I'll give you this, free of charge. She said and rummaged behind the counter for a while before slamming down a jar on the table. A strange fanged nightmare goggles idiotically at Audax from the murky liquid. "Pickled! We shall all be pickled one day I have no doubt! Preserved in some desperate museum somewhere... I'm sorry... the light here confuses the mind..." She took a step back with twitch of the corner of the mouth before rummaging in the back of the store for a bit. She returned and placed a strange stone figurine with large eyes on the counter right next to the strange catch in the jar. "I have a whole bunch, keep them all with their faces turned to the wall though. You never know." Audax said they'll think about it and get back tomorrow after making up their mind, they still had a meeting to attend in the evening. The Voidfarer's Rest was not a loud at night as some of the other well-known spacer cantinas got when the sun started going down, by custom only the captains came here to do business and sign agreements over a few well-mixed drinks. As Audax entered they could feel the smell of good quality lgaru smoked by a group of Ulthar captain hunched over a table. There was much patronage here this evening and soon, Audax spotted their own business associate, a large, well-built and olive-skinned human with graying hair. Captain Jarad Kell offered Audax a star-chart to the Chukchin Stars, a cluster of seven stars not too many Gate jumps from Sathas. Seven systems, some of which he had scanned at long range in passing and noted a number of planets in the habitable zone of their stars. Some systems however, he suspected that pirates sometimes came to discharge their FTL-drives into the magnetosphere of the local gas giants. The map would be Audax's for 125 credits.

---

Samuel Bridge Iron

His calls and musings are soon put on a secondary priority when a call comes to his hand terminal from Francisco Brudos, Samuel immediately answers and is met by a smiling face on the terminal's screen as the vidcall connects. "Captain, good news. I can confirm without a doubt that it's Gilderwood seeds, I wanted to let you know as soon as you came to port. Had your ship flagged the moment to entered the system." The happy biologist said and and equally pleased merchant captain hung up the call after thanking him. He'd just have to send the remaining 350 credits as payment, he made a note to himself to tell Carnegie to handle that soon. Now the young trader had a few things to consider, he could sell the Gilderwood to the Ellirean corporates perhaps? In exchange for agricultural machinery, industrial equipment and construction equipment the planet desperately needed to rebuild it's homes, factories and just... well... rebuild normalcy to be honest. If they got that, they would be able to make much more significant progress than they were currently doing. It may be a good a idea to get that valued but from what Sam expected he could very well get as much as 5000, maybe even more credits after skillful negotiation for a container full of Gilderwood acorns. He'd been sitting on a pot of gold all this time without knowing it, he chuckled slightly to himself, maybe it was time to watch some Extranet botany courses the next time they were on a long voyage through the stars. While on autopilot for much of those long trips through the vast blackness of space, Sam's mind was now lighting up with activity. How to spend this newfound fortune, on himself and his little ship and crew? Would he try to buy the gear and materials he had been thinking of earlier privately to then take them back to Ylem and present it all as a gift to the planet from their first official merchant fleet captain? That would surely gain him a good bit of fame and popularity with the people, probably with the more idealistic members of the government as well no doubt. However, maybe, just maybe some would feel like this up-jumped captain from the slums of one of the Galaxy's two ecumenopolises was trying to usurp their authority with this showing of generosity and kindness to the masses. Well, Samuel had a decision to make on how to play this out but for now he still needed to get a report to the authorities and start unloading the food. When looking out the windows into the dock he could already see burly dock-workers in their exo-skeletons lining up to carry the containers of food from the cargo hold and get it up on trucks which would ship it out to the refugee-filled camps and shantytowns that had sprung up across the planet. A great source of labor could they be harnessed. His hand-terminal buzzed in his pocket, the Ellirean corporate rep was calling.

---

Uzi Haddad

The small pinnace slowly made it's way into position using it's RCS-thrusters until it was picked up by a docking-grapple and slowly taken into it's berth at one of Port Dusk's star-harbors. The press of small ships moving to and fro was great, smugglers no doubt, the larger vessels belonging to either explorers making their way out into the voids of galactic darkspace and the occasional pirate more certainly. Uzi's ship was soon securely fastened in it's berth and the station was his to explore. Maybe later though, he had important business to handle first, a rendezvous with old friends from a old, cold place where he had first made a bit of a name for himself until he became a victim of his own success. As he exited the ship and made his way through the haphazardly build space-station and colorful menagerie of inhabitants pushed their way forward on the narrow walkways and corridors. An explorer captain shared a jest with a void-crazed cultist, traders hawked strange goods brought back from galactic darkspace beyond the Alenic Depths and Beta Strinicus Cluster, narcotics of strange and amazing potency, wine made by some bronze age culture far beyond even vaguely mapped space. Picking up his hand terminal, he followed the path that the nav-app drew through the streets, somewhere in the distance he could hear the cheers of the onlookers spectating a plasmablade showduel, yes, that was the kind of street performance this place offered to passers by on the street. Steadily he made his way closer to his goal, the Drunken Android, a relatively large establishment near the mid-range of the station close to the Golden Chambers, the station's main trade and commerce area. If one had the credits and contacts one could buy almost any kind of darkspace treasure one could imagine. He realized the place was more crowded than he had imagined it took a while before he could grab a table and await the arrival of his former associates from the old days back on Crehup IV, petty theft, burglary, pick-pocketing, hacking, identity-theft. Simpler days before that bank heist put them down on the map of the planet's underworld, both for the Steel Caste enforcers and for rival gangs. Bah, that was in the past, it was time to look to the future Uzi thought to himself and smiled as he saw two familiar faces approach who smiled in return, he even remembered their favorite drinks. For hours they talked, there was much to catch up on but in the end Uzi was not here to make small talk, he was here to put a crew together for his ship, and who better than his two old associates? A life of adventure sounded good enough but Uzi knew that neither would go for that alone. However, the credit-chits were adequate, and they raised their glasses in a toast, to old times and times yet to come.

- 60 credits.

---

[Ralnis]

Kyr Mirhorn Van

Kyr started to walk over to the commander with increase rage on her face before she plunged the dagger in the enemy's throat. The life drained from her life and it was enough for the Dunkidor. The death of the security forces was enough for a victory of this intensity. As she took the power blade of the former corpse, she claimed this was her trophy for such a fight.

After retrieving their fallen classmate's weapon and ammo they got to the progression of the heist. Zax already on the hand terminal leading the group towards what they've been trying to get. Talou and her were making sure the green bills stay behind.

In her adrenaline state of mind she was trying to think about if this entire raid was a false one. That the thieves perhaps knew that her employer would send someone but maybe not what they were expecting. Of course that would mean that they just hired a bunch of corp soldiers to stop the attack.

However she also thought about the corporations who pulled enough money for this entire auction. The mission was still the same but what about afterwards? Already the chieftess had painted a target on her back once with the Wicked Grin but this was more dangerous. These auctions would be more than the job itself so she thought but doing so will get those corps on their head.

She siged, it would have to be something she has to deal with when the job is over.

Action: Move out towards the storage room where they're keeping the items for the auction.
Kyr retrieves the commander's powerblade as her trophy. Kills said commander.

[Piscina]

Captain Audax Veni

Audax smiled. Kell's price was acceptable and the captain himself had quite an agreeable personality. "That price is quite acceptable, captain.” They said. "The cluster seems very intriguing, and my crew and I should be quite capable of dealing with any potential pirates. I can transfer the credits now, if you want?" Kell smiled broadly. "Feel free." After checking that the credits had been transferred successfully, he transferred the chart to Audax's hand-terminal. Audax and Kell then chatted for a while about exploring, life onboard starships, and some of Kell's own trips to the Ghoul Stars. Eventually, Audax got up to leave. "Good luck out there.", Kell said. "I shall endeavour not to need it. Still, thank you. Some of those stories about the Ghoul Stars sounded distinctly terrifying!” Audax replied. They then sent a hand-terminal message to the rest of the crew, telling them that they had acquired the chart.

By the time they got back to the Inquisitive, the sun was setting, casting long shadows over the spaceport. Audax took a few moments to admire the view, before they climbed the boarding ramp. Once onboard, they checked with Xenim to make sure the ship was fully stocked and refuelled. "Fuel tanks are filled, and all routine maintenance has been completed, Captain. We'll be good to go in the morning.", was her report. The crew raised the boarding ramp and sat round the common room table discussing the day so far, as well as plans for the future. Afterwards, the lights were shut off, and the crew settled down for sleep.

Purchase: x1 Chuckchin Stars Chart. 65 credits remaining.

Action: Rest for the night, then set off for the Chuckchin Stars next morning. Adventure awaits!

Equipment/Location
Senemarys C32/Audax Veni
Senemarys C32/Eyalla
Senemarys C32/Necatrix
Space Suit x3/Inquisitive
Light Armour x2/Inquisitive
Chuckchin Stars Chart/Inquisitive databanks
65 Credits Remaining

[SloopDeWoop]

After finishing their toast, hours of talking followed. What would this new life be like, out in the stars? Would they succeed in their goals, or would history just repeat itself…
After getting The Black Cobra fuelled up and resupplied, Arwa posted an advertisement in regard to their smuggling ambitions.
She noticed something, “Hey, Uzi, our chain-gun’s jammed. We’ll need some grease for it.”
“Sure,” He responded, “I’ll go get it with Alaa when we pick up the guns.”
“Why’ve you so much ammunition?” She said.
“Uhh… Hey, have you seen the hidden compartment?” Was Uzi’s reply.
“No, it’s hidden… Almost like that’s the whole point.”
Alaa entered the ship. He was in quite a happy mood. Probably something to do with his high blood-alcohol levels, “So, we’ll be going to get the guns eh?” He cracked a smile, “Any explosives?”
“No” Uzi said firmly. Alaa had always liked explosives. Actually, that was a bad omen if you thought about it...
“Well, what are we waiting for!” Alaa was definitely too exited for this.
While Uzi walked off to pick up dangerous weapons, with Alaa skipping in toe, Arwa decided to finish moving her belongings onto the ship. “The Black Cobra eh? Cool name, and good engines. I’m actually quite exited for this.”
Action: Arwa posts an advert for their smuggling business, something like, ‘Transport available! No questions asked! Speed and discretion guaranteed!’ while Uzi and Alaa go to collect the T25, Personal Shield, M51, and the light armour he ordered. And Assuming that no hiccups happen, he gives the M51 and light armour to Alaa, and the rest to Arwa.

[The Empire of Tau]

Merchant Man, Sam
Seeds and Delivery

Not too much to do today. Carnegie sent over the 350 credits due to Francisco Brudos and Sam had to write up a report due to the Ylem authorities, and he had to meet up with said authorities too. But first, Samuel needed to call up one of the many Ellirean corporates out there to sell off those seeds for industrial goods. Luckily, Sam just had to look up Ellirean corporates on the net and find one that was in the heavy industrial sector. Amernah Heavy Industries was the first pick, one of the more bigger companies out there. So, Sam sent over an email towards their rep, informing them of Gilderwood seeds that he wanted to sell off for in exchange for agricultural machinery, industrial equipment, construction equipment, prefabs, and likewise. From there, Sam headed off Discovery’s government hall to meet up with Ylem officials to talk about the recent delivery and the newly arrived Point Bravery officials, along with discussing upon the topic of more deliveries - besides from that, nothing else to note.