News Feed - 3200.04.30

News Feed

Twin Sisters Region 

Eurystheus 

3200.04.30

^ Guild Navy Press Release: Salvagers successfully return from Ogarrio asteroid belt, narrowly escaping The Night’s Howl scavenger fleet.  The Republican Navy is en route to force the scavs out of our territory.  Citizens should not worry.  Lead Salvager Mo Zebelius reports that the ships must have inadvertantly phase jumped into the belt causing massive destruction with all hands lost in space.  No ships were recovered intact, but parts are being sold at Sicilian Salvage.

^The Theroni News: Shulick Unity CEO Burut Angelis’ murder appears to be the work of the Liberal Combine. The union absolutely denies their involvement, claiming that their efforts to force labor improvements in the energy weapons industry is completely legitimates.  Theroni News anonymous sources in the government believe otherwise; they are following leads pointing to a Combine splinter group, despite other leaks suggesting off-world involvement. Sources were particularly concerned with the recent violent worker’s protests in Theroni. Were the demonstrations really the work of the Zen Socialists? No one has been accused of the murder.  Sabrina Black reporting.

^The Guild Republican: The People’s Society grip on the Sabre constellation remains tenuous as the Ferret Union opposition attempts to assert its rights on multiple planets.  Efforts to encourage settlement on radioactive Tathouris continue with promises of free exploration rights.  Guild territory enterprises continue to be concerned about the Society’s unfair trade practices. Joseph Vivaldi reporting.

^Sports Daily: Champion’s Again!  The Messinas Jellyfish swept the Hoverball Cup, defeating the Orgarrio Swans in four matches.  After their win over Ereuthalion last year, the Jellyfish continue to dominate!

^Guild Navy Press Release: Sahar Survey Teams Wanted. Given two reports of shots fired on tourist shuttles over Sahar, the Navy is seeking armed reconnaissance teams to scout.  No protected tribes produce energy weapons capable of firing on shuttles.  Teams must be ready to interact with the tribes peacefully to determine the source of this dangerous menace.

^Viridian News: The Viridian Council is seeking free merchants willing to pursue lucrative far trading contracts in the low contact regions. Traders must be willing to seek to establish peaceful trade deals with isolated council planets and out-of-contact areas.

What Next?

Our intrepid group managed to sneak off Minos Mine Settlement despite the security lockdown.  Nos' and Kev-Bo almost died, but Diego Mitsubishi revived them on-board the free merchant Traveler.  Arriving at Sardis Yard, above the planet Eurystheus, they met Xin Lee and received their very generous pay-out for delivering the Jellyfish Spiders on time.

NOTE: The pay-out for the first adventure was very generous. Don't expect such easy money hereafter.

What shall the group do next?  Even lacking a ship, you have some options:

Nearby Systems

• Brightside Station: Xin Lee called you the next day, indicating that he needs two novium ingots to repair a pre-tech mold.  He can arrange travel to Brightside Station in the Hard Light system on a tramp freighter, with the return trip arranged in two months. The Station is always looking for workers, so you can earn a salary during the downtime. The pick-up freighter will bring 8000 credits for payment and 10,000 credits to cover the cost of the ingots and other expenses.  Diego confirmed that he will be back at Eurystheus around that time in case the group wants to work with him more.  Hard Light's asteroid belt includes numerous alien tombs that can be explored, but one must be wary of pirates in this outer region as well as the exceptional dangerous radiation levels.

• Scavenger Crew: You meet Mo Zebelius in the shipyard cafe.  He is putting together a scavenger crew to explore and salvage the abandoned ships found in the asteroid belt of the Abra system.  You can join for an up-front cost of 1000 credits per person plus transport expenses.  The group will work together to salvage as many ships as possible, and your group will have a choice of the second or third recovered ship, assuming that many are worth recovering (and circumstances don't intervene).  You will owe Mo an additional 5% of the ship's value (or 4% if your team has appropriate tech skills to help with salvage).  If the salvaging doesn't work out exactly, you keep any recovered goods for resale with no additional charge.  Mo is concerned about competition in the belt and the mystery behind the ships' abandonment.

Eurystheus

• Follow leads on the Zen Socialists: Your information on the Z.S. role in the Minos settlement might prove valuable to you in terms of developing a friendly relationship with the Republican Guild authorities, and who knows, maybe some loot.  You could investigate these leads.  Now that you are above the planet, you have already pinpointed the Z.S. contact numbers as being associated with Messinas, the capital, and the gritty, small settlement of Forno.  Diego will be heading to Rannveig, the sparsely populated and harsh homeworld of the Unified Sodaility, in one or two weeks.  He welcomes you as crew, promising payment in the form of a cut on the trade goods he will sale.

• Hunter Patrol Wanted:  Something is killing off geode collectors in the Itherian outlands north of Forno.  The predator is believed to be a large beast or pack of small beasts. Guild Authorities will pay 1000 credits per patrol member, if the threat is destroyed, and supply a grav or land vehicle.  The patrol is expected to take one week; you must supply yourselves. Deep in the outlands, you may find salvage opportunities, but you must buy a salvage license for 200 credits per group in order to keep any findings.  Pack plenty of water and supplies. Diego will be waiting for you.

Post comments to share your preference for the next step. 

Themis Theta Sector - A Stars Without Number Campaign

Themis Theta Sector Campaign

Game: Stars Without Number Science-Fiction RPG, by Kevin Crawford,
Purchase at www.drivethrurpg.com

(Note: The Hard Light System description is taken from Kevin Crawford's scenario of that name.)

This campaign will be run as a sandbox game, giving the PCs maximum flexibility in pursuing their goals after the first session.

First Session Preparation

Twelve PCs are pre-generated, so you will choose one during the first session.  The remaining PCs will be available if you are killed.  To prepare, download the free rules or purchase the full set at drivethrurpg.com.  Review the rules on characters and systems (combat, skills, etc).

Sector Background

Most of the sector has recovered from the Scream, but it remains out of touch with the rest of humanity.  Three major powers and a loose confederation have emerged: the Republican Guild, the Buddhist-Communist Unified Sodality, The Peoples' Society, and the Viridian Council.  Although these political groups dominate the sector, rebellions, rogue groups, and lawless explorers are numerous.  Several systems, in gray, are not in regular contact with the rest of the sector.  Even in the recovered constellations, planets and moons that have not been scavenged or resettled remain.

No Credits and Two Creepy Aliens

A series of misfortunes has resulted in your band of adventurers being credit-poor.  Looking for easy money, you took a job transporting two jellyfish spiders, rare alien life forms, for a buyer on Eurystheus named Xin Lee.  Eurystheus is the Homeworld of the Republican Guild, located in the Lozano system (0103).  

You must avoid customs and security forces who might question the transport and seize the cargo. Although a legal purchase, Xin would like to avoid the problems that could arise from some overly zealous Guild bureaucrat holding the aliens for quarantine, ruining his plans to feature them at some event in three days.

On-Time delivery (in three-days): 30,000 credits for the group (and 2000 XP per player)

Late delivery: 15,000 credits for the group (and 1500 XP per player)

Delivered dead or not at all: Group must pay Xin 120,000 credits, one way or the other.

Xin provided an expense account, and the group keeps 50% of any remaining funds.  Today, you have 3000 credits remaining, loaded on 6 credit chips with no record of ownership.  To keep costs down, you chartered a flight on the rickety free merchant, The Black Diamond, captained by Torag Schmalls and his first mate, Reeves Losarian.  The ship has broke down twice, eating up your schedule slack.  

Tonight, you find yourself at the Minos Mine Settlement on the moon Zigzibus over Ogarrio (0003), staying in the Space Rat's Hostel.  After a quick bite at The Crater tofu bar and grill, Torag and Reeves returned to the ship with a local mechanic to fix the oxygen recyclers.  He seems very confident that you will be able to leave tomorrow morning and make the deliver on time.

The mining settlement consists of three large domes and a half dome that shelters a rare metal mining operation. The domes are connected by twin passageways.  Most of the inhabitants are miners, but you were surprised by the size of the security force upon arrival.  Although in Guild territory, all of the security guards and bots are part of a private force, not Guild soldiers or cops.

The domes seem to be in decent condition, but the air quality is less than optimal.  A fine silvery dust is noticeable in areas not recently cleaned.

You met several interesting characters at The Crater before hitting the rack last night.

• Master Chief Barkley- owner and retired space marine.  Barkley was friendly but gruff.  He commented on the lack of visitors recently given the miners’ situation. There have been many complaints about work conditions and even a protest that was quashed.  He recommended mechanic Derek M. to Torag Schmalls, your ship’s captain, to assist with repairs.
• Diego Mitsubishi- your group really hit it off with Diego who owns and operates the Traveler, a free merchant. While the ship is beat-up, Diego and his maintenance droid, GREENEYE, manage to trade far and wide across the sector.
• Theodore Cross - a curious but wary hydro farm manager who has lived on Minos for three years now.   He seemed bored but helpful.
• Alexandria Liu - Lexie was very, very friendly…almost too friendly.  She visits Minos often on business, traveling solo in Frozen Star, a free merchant ship, but she would not elaborate.  She asked a lot of questions. She offered to help the crew if you had questions about systems controlled by the People’s Society, which she visits frequently.
• Smitty - a one-eyed maintenance worker who was enjoying his Tofu brew a little too much.  He spent the night complaining to Barkley about management and the screwed up situation on Minos. He wants to move back to Eurystheus.
• One woman set alone in the corner, openly wearing two laser pistols and avoiding conversation. She ate a tofu and bioengineered-almond salad.

You are fast asleep in a squad bay in the Hostel, with the wheeled case containing the two jellyfish spiders sitting in the middle of the room, when the adventure begins.