The first adventure starts on the transport ship, Madrid, on it’s way to Archimedes 2 (A2). As the ship emerges from a short trip in the Flux it slows to a stop for a bit then continues. As the ship continues the pilot of the small craft, Captain Lopez, welcomes the passengers to the asteroid belt and starts blaring Spanish electro-pop on the internal speakers. When the captain finishes an older man in a beat up Navy spacesuit who introduces himself as simply, Rusty, pulls up a chair. After taking a seat the grizzled space traveler pulls out a strange deck of cards and some Cicadian Whiskey. Rusty explains that the card game is known as Face Of Enoch and that it is all the rage on A2. Out of Rusty’s United Front duffel bag emerges a strange orange creature that looks like a combination of a monkey and a cat. Rusty says the creature is named “Scotch”. With that the PC take a seat and play some cards. [At this point the players present character descriptions and play a hand of Enoch.] During the conversation Rusty asks the various PC what brings them to A2. Most folks are either looking for someone or going for work of some type. Rusty says that he is coming back from a business trip. He says that he owns a hovercraft and engine repair shop on A2. Stooz asks about inspection procedures and Rusty does not seem too concerned except he does mention a hard nosed “sheriff” on A2 called Captain Slaine.
	As the game of cards starts to wrap up the ship bucks and veers to one side. Concerned Dave attempts to open the door to the cockpit. Surprisingly the door is locked! Stooz wires open the door quickly. When the door first opens smoke pours out! Stooz and Dave find Captain Y with his legs completely blown off. The copilot is also dead as a piece of metal juts out from his side. Quickly Stooz pulls the pilot out of his seat and Dave takes the controls. Mack moves in to help try and fix the panel so Dave can regain control. Vladeric also moves into the cabin to see if he can raise someone on the radio or get the shields working. It appears that the radio, distress beacons, and shields are completely fried. As Mack fixes the panel Dave makes some fancy piloting rolls to land the craft in a chasm on A2 within sight of the domes!
	When the ship comes to a stop it is caught in a slide under a large quantity of rock! Mack feels that the integrity of the ship will not hold very long. This time Stooz and Mack pull open the outer door. After jerking open the door the group finds it covered with boulders! At the same time the other PC have discovered that Rusty is hurt. In fact a large beam has crushed his chest and he appears to be dieing! Lena seems very concerned and tries to comfort the old man. As Rusty passes he looks at Lena with a knowing stare and says, “I saw it commin’...” Mack then proceeds to dig the PC out of the ship using some type of cybernetic drilling rig in his arms!
	As the PC emerge into the chasm they take their bearings. It appears that the walk to the domes will take around 4 hours and they have 6 hours of air. Down the center of the chasm are vehicle treads. With this information the PC decide to venture down the canyon. At the end they find a mine shaft opening and a security panel from a mining company called Red Brick 5. Vladeric breaks into the panel and turns on a map. It will greatly cut down on the distance the PC will have to trek so they enter the cave.
	Along the way the PC stop at a local base camp then proceed on. They hear a rumbling noise that grows in strength. Eventually they are attacked by a Vandor Granite Behemoth which Mack says is called a “Stone Snake” by miners. He also informs them that the tail is the beast’s vulnerable spot. With that the PC engage the huge creature! Hannibal dodges attacks while the other PC cut loose on the beast. Lena jumps over 50’ onto the back of the snake and urges the PC to move back so the tail is exposed. Eventually the PC manage to kill the snake.
	With that the PC continue to the domes. They enter an airlock and are eventually inspected by none other than Captain Slaine. The PC speak with the Captain for a bit. Lena feels that the crash was sabotage. For some reason Captain Slaine seems interested and respectful of the uniformed GeneCrux employee. One of the minor inspection officers mentions that Rusty was a “fixture” at A2 and the he heard the man had a will. With that the PC are allowed to enter the settlement.

	The PC are inspected by two Terran Confederacy Port Authority (TCPA) agents and Captain Slaine. After the inspection the PC take a look around for a bit. It appears to the PC that it must be “night” as the lights are tinted blue and seem to be changing color to a darker purple. Stooz kicks on his laptop, connects to a public net, and determines that it is 23:00 hours local time. He also finds some local hotels for the PC who are interested. With that the PC go their own way: Lena talks privately with Slaine for a bit about the accident and the reason for her personal interest. Slaine tells Lena he will inform her of any developments in the case. Lena decides to contact the TCPA to see if she can get more information. She then returns to an apartment which was rented for her by GeneCrux. Mack takes off to a local blue collar bar called Ela’s Tomb where he meets some G5 miners and partakes of some beer. Afterwards he heads to Cozy Quarters a local hotel that is known to most space travelers. Stooz starts immediately cruising the streets for a better weapon. He finds a dealer and get a blaster and vibro-blade. After looking around he returns to the hotel. Vladeric looks for some other Va Rulen noble house names in the local A2 registry then goes to Cozy Quarters. He finds two families he recognizes, Cromwell and Royyuru. The Cromwell are particularly interesting as they have a reputation for inbreeding and being a bit “eccentric” (i.e. nuts). Hannibal returns to the hotel after walking around for a bit. He turns on a rerun of Bounty Hunter World.
	The next day the PC further explore the domes. They visit the busy port dome and the storage dome. During the day they see posters that say, “It Could All Be Yours!” The posters also have a picture of Rusty! At the bottom the posters say free booze will be served at the Purple Fountain Club starting at 22:00 hours. During this time Lena is contacted by a slovenly lawyer known as Slim Nutty. Slim informs Lena that he is handling the Osgood (i.e. Rusty’s) estate. He also informs her that it is important that Scotch be allowed to attend as he is part of the will. Confused a bit Lena agrees. Lena then heads to speak to the TCPA port director where she finds him in a heated conversation with Captain Slaine. The director is a young Indian man named Zane Shadzi. Director Shadzi holds his own and tells Slaine that he will have the ship for his criminal investigation after it has passed a thorough inspection. Lena then speaks with Zane about the ship and convinces him to let her be present at the inspection. Hannibal investigates the police station and picks up information on two bounties. They include Hien Luu, a smuggler, and Frederic Pelletier, a suspected racqueteer. After asking around he discovers a shop that deals in “hard to find goods” called Trini’s Treasures.
	That night the PC attend the party at the Purple Fountain Club. The place is packed! It is run by a “fem” Pakuin known as Ivy Primrose. (She is a rose plant.) The bouncer is a large tan club wielding Trog known as Crooktooth. During the party Slim takes the mike and informs everyone that he is handling the Osgood estate. He also informs everyone that Mr. Osgood has left a recording them to view. The recording, only a month old, is displayed to the guest of the Purple Fountain Club. (Stooz secretly tapes the recording using his bio-comp.) The recording has Rusty going through a heartfelt speech about the importance of friends and family. After that he informs the crowd that Scotch will be used to determine who will get a share of his estate. Scotch is set down then approaches all of the PC in turn. The proceedings are very chaotic as often others are trying to push their way. With that the PC are asked to meet with Nutty Legal Services on the following day to go over his holding.
	That night Vladeric decides to investigate Rusty’s Engine Emporium. After breaking in he is surprised to find the place completely thrashed! It appears that someone has ransacked the place looking for something. As Vladeric starts to look around he surprises three dark brown Cicadians who are inside the place! The three quickly leave through an air vent. Vladeric calls the other PC who begrudgingly get out of bed to meet with the Va Rulen. The PC carefully investigate the place. They determine several things: The thieves were looking for something fairly small. The thieves were probably looking for something metal using sensors as only boxes containing metal bits were searched. Rusty’s computer, although an old model on the outside, is actually quite nice. The software includes a work log. The last job was scheduled for 5 weeks ago. It involved a G5 hover truck. A person named “Kielty” signed off on the purchase order. This entry also has an encoded message. The message reads, “Found a strange piece of kitsch in the bed of this empty truck. Was about to frag it in the compactor but then I got a twitchin’. This ain’t normal. I’m gonna go hit up the doll to see what she knows. If it’s strange she’ll know about it. For some strange reason Scotch does not trust it. Weird.”
	The next morning the PC inform Slim of the situation and get a complete low down on Rusty’s estate. The important assets of the estate include the following: Rusty’s Engine Emporium - This includes the lease for the 12000 square foot space. It is in the port dome so the location is very good. The lease is held with G5. A well used Beckworth Super Hauler which does not currently have an engine installed. The Super Hauler is a semi truck sized ship with a medium range. It has several features which make it unique. On the back are very powerful magnetic clamps which are used for towing vessels. About 2/3 of the way down the cargo area the ship opens along the top spine like a clam. This allows smaller vehicles to completely enter inside. It can tow a lot more than it’s size. A partially built Va Rulen engine. 10,000 credits in the bank.
	At this point the PC decide to visit Trini’s Treasures. Hannibal suggests that the “doll” in the message is likely Trini as she deals in hard to get items. Trini Lux, the owner, is a pretty woman of Chinese decent who is wearing a tight spandex top and a pulled down space suit. She describes Rusty’s visit and the strange “S” shaped rod with strange ruins. Trini said a scan did not reveal it’s composition so she suggested that Rusty visit a scientist friend of hers. She tells the PC she can setup a meeting with the man the following day and that she will accompany them. At this point Vladeric talks with Trini about getting some high end security gear. (Vladeric is not happy with the security at Rusty’s Engine Emporium.)

	At this point the PC proceed with Lena to the berth which has the wreckage of the starship Madrid. On the way the PC hear a ticking sound on the dome. Dave comments that it must be a gamma ray storm. This will ground traffic in the dome. After chatting with Director Shadzi in the berth the group is introduced to a plucky Japanese woman named Jules Hyaguchi who will be leading the inspection of the craft. She appears to be quite proficient at her job. When the ship is first opened the PC split up and start to search the ship. Captain Dave heads off with Jules to check the cockpit. He lamely tries to hit on her. During their search Dave blocks the doorway so Lena can look around the main cabin. Dave and Jules discover a detonator device and remove it for inspection. In the main cabin Lena feel a lot of remorse and almost become sick to her stomach when she sees Rusty’s body. She finds Rusty’s bag and discovers a blaster, some clothes, a vehicle scanner, and a picture of Rusty standing in front of a ship with two other Navy men. The ship is called the Viceroy. When Mack gets done looking at the engines he examines the body and finds a strange metal bar in the shape of a square with the corners rounded. Surprisingly it is NOT in the dollar sign shape which the PC have heard Rusty possesses. Mack pockets the object. He then goes to the cockpit and takes a look. It appears that the demolitions were placed by an expert. The compound is one that is commonly used by demolition experts (i.e. MEC). The shield, navigation, and controls were set to be disrupted. The detonator was connected to the guidance system. Mack could not tell anything more about the detonator without opening it up. After the investigation the PC return to the engine shop and get some dinner.
	Stooz returns to the ship and sets up a quick surveilance rig on the ship so they can watch who goes to check it out. As he is leaving three men in TCPA inspection suits enter the berth. They then enter the ship and move directly to check Rusty's body. They quickly check the cabin and leave.
	At dinner Hannibal speaks with two Va Rulen. One is strangely dressed in a blue and black harlequin space suit with a white trench coat that has fur on the collar. He says his name is Carter Cromwell. The other is dressed nicely in a white suit and light blue stole. He introduces himself as Barclay Loftus. Hannibal asks the men if they know Vladeric. The men laugh and say that they didn’t know the spy was on A2! They also reveal his family name to Hannibal. After getting prompted Cromwell says he is a “politician”.
	On prompting from Dave, Stooz sets up a sensitive sound device on the rod. After some analysis he determines that it is making a low frequency strange noise. He records the pulsing and tries to analyze it. Stooz discovers that something is missing from the code. Stooz also starts to scope out security for Rusty’s Engine Emporium. In the process he finds a camera pointing at the shop! He sets up a loop on the camera and decodes it’s frequency. Stooz cannot find the receiver.
	The next morning the PC meet with Trini and take off to the storage dome to meet her scientist friend. During the ride she mentions that he is a bit “strange” but he’s very smart. Dave lamely hits on her. At the warehouse Trini knocks twice and after some shuffling there is a hesitant reply, “Um…please go away.” Trini looks confused and shrugs her shoulders. She moves away and signals to the PC. Stooz recognizes the man as his friend Gilby Toren! Stooz talks to the voice. Surprisingly Mack acts! He digs a hole through the thin wall of the warehouse. With Dave on his coattails they surprise four thugs who appear to be holding Gilby hostage. Two of the four thugs were in the party of three men dressed in TCPA inspector uniforms earlier in the adventure. Mack punches one thug while Dave opens fire with his blasters on kill! He knocks out one man then fires at the second in the head where he is not armored and hits. The result is devastating! The brutal act forces one man to give up and the other to run. Hannibal easily chases down the man trying to escape. Quickly Lena, Stooz, and Gilby attend to the shot man. It appears that he will live if he is taken immediately to intensive care. With that Stooz and Gilby start to catch up. Gilby tells the PC and Stooz that his alias on A2 is Martin. After this he shows that he has a dollar shaped rod previously in the possession of Rusty. Trini, Dave, and Mack take off. Hannibal expertly interrogates the men. Hannibal discovers that the men are named Jerry Hall, Stinet, Bartlett (“Bart”), and Marcus. They have G5 badges and TC pilot registrations. They claim to be mine haulers for G5. When prompted the haulers say that they found the strange rod on asteroid M34L65 after returning with a load of tourite. They say that their boss, Kielty, hired them to rough up Martin to get him to research the device. Minutes later Slaine arrives and takes control of the situation. He questions the PC and the men. He seems very upset but also glad that nobody was killed. Slaine is not happy…

	After the scene at the warehouse Capt Slaine leaves to find Mack and Capt Schaffer. He try the engine shop then Ela’s. At Ela’s Slain finds the two partaking of some beer with friends of Mack’s who are G5 miners. They include Jim Del Rio (Foreman), Damian Penney, Joe Lesney, and Phil Roy. After some snide comments by Mack he takes the pair into custody and questions them. Slaine warns the pair to be careful using weapons and informs them that he will keep an eye on them. Hannibal bribes some of the guards into releasing the pair. As the trio are leaving they see Slaine bringing in a captive which they assume must be Kielty.
	After receiving a call from the TCPA Port Director Lena goes for a visit. At the appointment she is joined by Capt Slaine. Slain tells the pair that he has captured Kielty. The two listen to Shadzi explain the results of his analysis. He had determined the following: The detonator was keyed to a certain target location in space near navigation beacon #2. Navigation beacon #2 was down during the time when the ship detonator exploded. This is obviously NOT a coincidence. Shadzi realizes this means an inside job. Shadzi mentions that only a limited number of TCPA employees have access to the beacon maintenance schedule. He will narrow down the subjects soon. Surprisingly Slaine says that Shadzi can process the culprit as he sees fit. In other words, he will not be pressing criminal charges. Slaine explains this by saying that he is after the “king” not “some petty pawn who probably had no clue that this crime would be committed.”
	Stooz and Martin catch up and analyze the latest metal bit. Stooz learns that Martin has been attending meetings with Technoists. Hannibal stays with the two metal pieces listening to the two friends. Eventually Stooz asks Hannibal to leave so they can talk in private. Mack is working on the ship with Dave. Lena is looking at accounting records on the computer. Vlad decides to visit the other Va Rulen in the city. When he investigates Royyuru he decides not to approach.
	Stooz, Vlad, and Martin attend the Technoist meeting. Father Blun meets his guests with a two handed shake and offers them a chair. Snacks and flyers can be found on the back table. As the meeting starts Professor Burl Oak, the large Pakuin, joins the meeting. The meeting consists of a talk about gamma ray storms. The key points in the discussion include the following: Shielding and ship armor will only hold of the effects of the storm for a limited time. He displays a formula for how long shields would hold out based on power output. The rays corrupt ships computers, robotics, and engines. In fact, any mass of tourite would be adversely affected. On human tissue the effect would be brain damage then likely death. Eventually skin tissue would deteriorate.
	Father Blun finishes with a talk about the Technoist. After the meeting the group meet Semus Mayberry. Mayberry is a TCPA technician who thinks the navigation beacons could be adapted to collect tracking data on astral bodies not simply incoming ships. The data would be very useful to scientists. Father Blun seems very interested as do several of the other guests.
	That night the rest of the PC are contacted by a strange black man who says that he represents a “buyer”. This buyer wants to discuss the metal bits in their possession. The PC feign ignorance of the bits. The man ignores them and gives them the details for a meeting at the Purple Fountain Club. He tells them to ask Ivy for the “Carter Party”. The PC instantly expect Barton Finkle as the buyer as he owns G5 where Kiely worked.
	All of the PC approach Crooktooth at the club. He loudly asks Ivy about the meeting. She leads them to a private room that may have some type of security installed. At the table are the black man and a thin white human who appears to be very nervous as his hands are twitching. The man asks the PC to sit. Stooz refuses at first. The man then introduces himself as Barton Finkles VII and the black man as his security chief, Randazzo (i.e. “Daz”). After introducing himself he explains the following: “Mr. Kielty” came to him and told him that he was in trouble with the authorities. According to Barton, Kielty explained that he had found a strange metal bit that he thought might be valuable. At the time he did not know the seriousness of Kielty’s previous offenses. After discovering them he handed Kielty over to the authorities and fired him. Barton makes a special point of telling the PC that he does not condone this type of conduct at a personal level and especially not while in the employ of G5. The PC then bring up the issue of G5’s liability for the sabotage crime that was committed. In a frightened manner the CEO quickly explains that this was done by Kielty alone (i.e. not on company time or under company orders). Barton Finkle then asks the PC if they have the piece discovered by Kielty. The PC infer that if they had pieces what would he be willing to offer for them. Kietly seems very excited and mentions that he did not realize they had more than one piece! Almost forgetting himself, Barton starts to muse about a price. The PC seems offended that he showed up at the meeting without a price. Several of the PC walk out at this point. This make the CEO frantic! He makes a surprised comment that the PC want only money. When the PC threaten to break down the door to the room Barton says he would give at least 250,000 credits each. The PC leave with no deal being struck. They tell Barton to come up with a solid price and get back to them. (Immediately after the meeting Hannibal and Mack rig Finkles hovercar so it will tip over when started.)
	After the meeting the PC notice the three Cicadians that robbed their place walking into the Purple Fountain Club. When the three Cicadians see the PC they bolt! The trio jump into a taxi and are pursued by Stooz on hoverboard and Capt Schaffer and Vlad via a procured hovertruck. After a wild chase scene where Capt Schaffer shoots one of the Cicadians the PC arrest the trio and flee the scene. Capt Schaffer pays off the taxi driver. The PC then interrogate the Cicadians. C’Taa seems like the smart one, C’Tab seems like a whiner, and C’Tac seems like a tough silent type. During the talk C’Tab spills and tells the PC that after the men who were raiding their place left they broke in. They found only a small metal bit in the shape of a “U”. They sold it for 10 creds to a man the PC identify as the smuggler, Hien Lu, using a wanted poster from Hannibal. Capt Dave pays the trio to find Hien Lu. They discover that he left right before the storm. His ship is named the Silk Worm.

	Hannibal decides to go but tickets for the team to travel to the small station outside of the local flux gate in attempt to track down the Silk Worm. As he returns from the trip he is met by a bounty hunter associate of his, Loi Tran. Loi introduces Hannibal to her current partner, “Murph.” After some banter Loi mentions that she is her on a “private job”. She will not reveal any additional information. With Gilby, Stooz creates a couple of simple fake metal bits that the group can hide around their shop.
	When Hannibal and Stooz return the group decides to go to the Purple Fountain Club for dinner. At the club they are met by an Ichthian smuggler friend of Capt Schaffer’s known as Capt Marlin Kelp. Capt Kelp claims to have just arrived from a trip in Va Rulen space in his ship, The Swordfish. Kelps says that he plans to pickup a load of tourite for a trip to Ichthia. He mentions that his brother and sister-in-law have been elected as leaders of the Coral Reef region. Apparently this is quite an honor. Mack writes down a list of parts that he needs to complete repairs on the groups ship but Kelp does not have them in his cargo. He also brings some news. Va Rulen space is not a safe place to travel these days. There is some type of internal strife taking place and many of the space-ways are dangerous. TC President Sharpe has just released her head of interstellar security, Retired General Franklin. The move is not unexpected as President Sharpe is pressing for rapid recovery. Jessa Ebb, a famous Ichthian singer, is at Harden and may venture to A2 later in the year.
	At this point Vladeric decides to go over and speak with Carter Cromwell and his associate Barclay Loftus. The conversation is full of innuendo and inference but the results of the meeting suggest several things. The Cromwell clan who has vast shipping resources has pulled out of several contracts due to disagreements with the current regime in Va Rule. Cromwell is in A2 on some type of business. Cromwell would be willing to work with Vladeric in the future. After the meeting Vladeric speaks with Capt Kelp privately about conveying information to Va Rule. Capt Kelp seems interested in the proposition as message data trips are often lucrative and extremely easy to transport. With that the group returns to the shop for the night.
	The next morning as the group discusses the upcoming trip there is a knock at the door. It is Randazzo (i.e. “Daz”) the security chief from G5. After getting the door shut in his face he knocks again. Daz speaks to the PC about his employer, Barton Finkle VII. He tells the PC that Baton would like to have another meeting with the PC if they are willing to talk. Daz then goes off the record and tells the PC that Barton has not experiences the “hard living” like the PC or himself. He says that Barton still has “pie in the sky” ideals. The PC say they will think about another meeting and get back to him. After this he leaves the shop.
	As the PC are walking to their transport ship through the port dome they observe a small commotion outside of one of the berths. There are two TCPA officials with a small Va Rulen girl. Arguing with the officials are two crewman from the Swordfish. One is an Ichthian and the other is a human. The Ichthian is very upset and claims that the stowaway should be prosecuted and that they should be reimbursed for having to transport her to A2. As the stowaway appears to have no creds these is no way for her to pay. Vladeric approaches the group and convinces the Ichthian first mate to fetch Capt Kelp. Once Capt Kelp arrives Vladeric reaches a deal where the stowaway is released into their custody. At this point Stooz anonymously calls the TCPA and reports a problem with their transport so it will be delayed. This will give the PC a chance to figure out what to do with her. The stowaway who appears to be 18 years of age claims to be named Yasu. As the PC decide what to do with her Mack takes her to a local food vendor to get something to eat. Mack calms her down and discovers that Yasu came to A2 to visit “her beloved”, Carter Cromwell! After Yasu talks with Vladeric she reveals that her full name is Yasuharu Cromwell. Yasu claims to be the daughter of Cromwell but also his lover! This surprise many of the PC but Vladeric does not seem as surprised based on the reputation of the Cromwell clan and typical Va Rulen customs.
	Vladeric sets up a meeting with Cromwell and discusses Yasu. Cromwell tells Vladeric that it would be good if he could, “find someplace else for Yasu to be”. Vlad then returns to the PC and buys a ticket for Yasu. He tells her that Cromwell has left A2 and that they are going in the same direction and would be willing to escort her. Yasu agrees. At the same time period the PC with Yasu visit Ela’s Tomb to wait. At the bar Mack hears from his friend, G5 foreman Jim Del Rio, that their union contracts are coming up for renewal and they are worried about it.
	With this the PC travel through the flux gate to the station. They leave the three Cicadians in charge of the place while they are gone. At the station they discover that the Silk Worm never came through the flux gate! They also realize that they probably should have checked a bit more on A2 before leaving. Vladeric escorts Yasu to a transport and gives her some spending money.
	The PC return to A2 a week later. The Cicadians painted a picture of a hog holding a beer mug on the front of the ship. It appears that Capt Schaffer and Mack are making plans. Waiting for them is a report for Lena on G5. The report is over a year old but there is quite a lot of detail. Here are the important facts from the report: Summary: G5, or Generation 5, is a small exploration company run by CEO Barton Finkle VII. Controlling interest in G5 has been passed down through the family. Barton is actually the TENTH family member to be CEO. (The document casually mentions that Baron is not married and there are currently no apparent heirs.) In previous years the success of the corporation has depending on the savvy of it’s CEO. Currently the assets of the company are down and appear to be falling. The best years of G5 occurred with Barton’s grandfather, Carlton Finkle II. Privately held. Revenue = Approximately 10 million/year. Costs = Estimated at 8 million/year. Depreciation in mines, equipment, and ships are raising costs and lowering revenue. At the current run rate G5 would be achieve a negative run rate in under two years. Assets = Approximately 200 employees. Most are skilled miners. Some researchers and archaeologists are also employed. Most of A2 plus several nearby mines are owned by G5. The port is owned by the TC. G5 has 12 mining vessels and an outdated processing plant. They own several local satellites as well as the local flux gate access point. Intellectual Property = G5 has discovered several important artifacts in the past years. Many are on display in museums around the megaverse. They have also patented several mining and exploration techniques. Records include extensive information on ancient cultures among all of the prominent races.

	As the game starts Vladeric announces that he is going to do some investigation on Cromwell and heads out of the engine shop in a disguise. [Jeff was not at the game.] The rest of the PC start talking about the Horny Hog. Initially discussions focus on how they can get their ship repaired. After a while they start talking about other ways that they can get ANY ship to follow The Silk Worm. The trio of Clickers take off to get something to eat. After a few minutes the PC follow.
	On the way to the Purple Fountain Club the PC see a commotion at Bellweather’s Arcade. When they approach they find the their three Cicadian friends donning goggles and entering a strange metal box which is sunk into the floor. After a while other patrons start betting on how long they can last. When monitors turn on the PC realizes that the three insect men are in a sort of holographic game. The goggles change their perceptions to make simple effects look and real. The simulation starts with dodging obstacles. It soon progresses to higher levels. When reaching the highest level the arcade operator gets a nod from the owner and cranks the difficulty to the maximum. When this happens the scene change to a dark tunnel with the three being attacked by Trogillian warriors! When the clickers try to fight back they are severely pummeled. When the ride ends they are knocked out and very frightened. Captain Schaffer enters the metal room and sees to his crew. They head to the restaurant to get some drinks.
	Lena meets with Barbara Lane, Zane’s secretary, and asks about the Silk Worm. Barbara says the Silk Worm has been the latest talk around the office. It was LOST after passing beacon #9. (There are a total of 12 beacons.) The search ships will not able to find any piece of wreckage. The TCPA is considering the ship destroyed. Barbara seems to like speaking with Lena.
	At the Purple Fountain Club the group meets with Stooz. Their final plan includes marking the ship for repairs then “borrowing it” to look for the Silk Worm. The plan has several parts including fake transponders and hacking into the TCPA computer but Stooz thinks it can be done. The group decides not to speak with Barton right away as they don’t have a good angle to direct the discussion. While chatting Trini Lux sits down at the table with the PC. She informs Stooz and the group that a tall Asian woman came into her shop asking about high tech medical gear. In particular she asked about gear that Martin owns. On leaving she tells Stooz that they are “even”.
	Stooz leaves to talk to Martin about it. He catches Martin speaking with someone about the Silk Worm on the phone. After digging through the phone records at G5 Stooz figures out that Martin is calling Professor Oak. Stooz relays this information to the PC.
	With this information Lena and Captain Schaffer decide to attend a Technoist meeting where they know Professor Oak will attend. Mack attends the meeting to hear his friend, the G5 Foreman, Jim Del Rio speak about comet mining. At the meeting Oak arrives as do the Asian woman and a black man with dreadlocks. During the meeting Lena and Dave speak with Professor Oak. They threaten the safety of Martin if Oak does not speak with them. They also infer that Martin has told them “everything”. This seems to really frighten Oak. He tells them that they should talk after the meeting. After this Dave decides to speak with the Asian woman. After talking with her it is apparent that she is not interested in comet mining. In fact she is intrigued by Dave and leaves with him for drinks. She tells Dave her name is Loi Tran. (Dave knows that she has a reputation as a bounty hunter.) The pair leave before the end of the meeting. After the meeting Oak leaves. Lena briefly speaks with Mack then the two follow. They speak with Oak on the street but he will not reveal anything until he can see Martin in the flesh. The two setup a meeting with Martin and Stooz at the Bio-Dome.
	Stooz confronts Martin about his involvement with Oak but he will not say anything. Martin tells Stooz that it could get him in a lot of danger. Martin says he needs to speak with Oak before saying anything.
	Captain Dave and Loi Tran are getting along very nicely when Loi receives a call. She complains for a bit then explains to Dave that she has to leave.
	Lena, Mack, and Oak go to Oak’s smaller domed house and wait for Stooz. When Stooz and Martin arrive they he notices some cameras and calls Lena. They setup a meeting in a different part of the dome. When the two groups meet Oak puts his massive branch-like hand on Martin’s shoulder and slowly utters, “I’m glad you are unharmed old friend.” This surprised Stooz who did not know the two were so close. Oak then asks Martin if he trusts the group. Martin says yes. With that Martin tells a story about his project with Oak: After leaving the corporation he wandered for a while. Several months later he contacted an old colleague of his Professor Oak. Martin told Oak about a project he was contemplating involving tissue regeneration and memory retention. The problem is that many would not understand the beneficial ramifications of the research project. Many would simply consider it experimentation with artificial intelligence. Oak and Martin worked on the project for almost 2 years in a secret basement under Professor Oaks dome. A month ago Martin and Oak discretely contacted a remote Technoist cell to show off an early prototype. They planned to use funding from the Technoists to continue their research in secret. Their first prototype was shipped out of A2 on the Silk Worm two week ago. This is the very ship which contained the missing artifact that the PC are trying to find. The two scientists are very concerned as they have spent a lot of time on the project and are afraid to lose the results. They have called this first childlike AI by the name “Otto”. Later Martin explains to Stooz that the name of their prototype is a shortening of a portion of both of their last names “Oa” (Oak) and “To” (Toren). At the same time Martin tells Stooz that Otto communicates through radio signals. The coded frequency can be located with their notes in the basement lab.
	With that the PC split up. Stooz and Martin go to a local hotel to hideout for the night. Stooz stays up all night hacking. Lena and Mack return to the engine shop. On the way back to the shop Mack spot a tail. By setting up Captain Dave at a local bar they pass by and identify the tails as Loi Tran and Murphy. Lena and Mack go to the Purple Fountain Club for drinks. Captain Dave watches Loi and Murphy from a distance. Eventually Dave decides to join Lena and Mack. After talking for a bit the trio return to the engine shop and call it a night.
	In the meantime Stooz attempts to send Oak a message. He is surprised to find a large amount of black ice watching the Professor’s computer. By later carefully approaching Stooz discovers that the source of the ice is from a hacker known as “5hU773R” (i.e. hacker speak for “Shutter”). Stooz guesses that Shutter might be Murphy. Stooz also orders a TCPA ship to be serviced by the engine shop. He also starts to rig some transponders that will allow them to exit with another signature.

	The group starts by receiving the ship that they setup for repairs. The ship is a TC multipurpose scout class corvette named the Black Sun. It has some special outfitting which includes a front mounted docking connector, ventral and dorsal mounted turrets, long tethers for extended space walks, and lots of miscellaneous satellite parts (inventoried and catalogued). After loading in their gear the team departs.
	The group decides to head out to beacon #12 then swing out from there to beacon #9 to start the search. This way the mission will not seem as contrived in case anyone is tracking them. Once they reach this point the group starts a search for the Silk Worm using signal data from Otto (i.e. the AI). After searching for almost 6 hours the team gets a signal. Strangely the signal cuts in and out at irregular patterns. Using mathematical skills with a heavy dose of Cryptography Stooz determines that the patterns are not random. They are just cutting in and out because they are emanating from a spinning astral body. By approaching when the signal is off the crew stealthily approaches an asteroid which is the source of the signal. After a brief discussion of their various options the team decides to simply fly over the signal in a daring surprise attack and shoot out the engines of the target ship (i.e. the Silk Worm). When they fly over they don’t see a ship. Instead they find several caverns. After probing the caverns they find the one where the signal is emerging. After another talk they decide to simply fly down.
	Once inside the shaft the Black Sun is attacked by a small anti-personnel laser turret. This does not harm the ship at all so the team leaves it alone. At the bottom they find the Silk Work and a small shelter. There is hardly any power coming from the site and all of the life forms except one are in the shelter. With that Hannibal gets on the communications link and pretending to be a TCPA official orders the base to surrender. No response is given. At this point Mack shoots out the turrets and the bridge of the Silk Worm. The group then formulates a second daring plan. They decide to doc with the Silk Worm and have the Cicadian trio knock on the adjoining hatch with tools. While the smugglers inside are distracted they will tunnel under the shelter and surprise them from behind. With that the team digs under the shelter. Mack closes the tunnel behind the team so escaping air will not be an issue.
	Mack digs into the shelter with a thrashing metal noise as the floor to the shelter is metallic. After emerging he eyes 7 people in space suits. He throws a mass of tourite at the captain, Hien Lu, and a strange Va Rulen in a black space suit with wings (i.e. the first mate). The explosion throw the two men to the ground in a heap! With that the rest of the PC rush into the room. Captain Dave finishes off a crewman with two point blank shots while Hannibal keeps two other bust with a dodge. Stooz uses the hole lip for cover and fires at a crewman. Quickly the team dispatches the crewman and Hien Lu. During the fight the PC note that the crew were quite crazed in their attacks. [GM Comment: The PC rolled REALLY good on damage and to hit rolls. The PC only missed 1 time the entire fight! The initial grenade took out the only two bad guys who could fight! Lucky night for the good guys.]
	After taking out the people in the shelter the team rushes in different directions. Mack notices that on Hien Lu’s belt there is an artifact piece and a detonation device which has been activated. He then deduces that the only real way to get the most effect from an explosion in space would be to explode the ship. He alerts the team then digs back to the ship through his tunnel to prep it for take off. Stooz looks at the device to see if it can be shut off remotely. He finds that it cannot. Hannibal picks up his bounty, Hien Lu, and heads towards the Silk Worm to find the lone crewman. Captain Dave leads the way until they get to the ship them lets Hannibal lead. Upstairs the team finds a lone crewman who is quite crazy. He has locked himself with the engines that appear to be overheating! The man is sitting on the box containing Otto! When the PC enter the room the man simply cowers. They grab the man and the box and escape to the Black Sun. Captain Dave blasts the ship out of the cavern just as the Silk Worm goes up in a huge ball of flame.
	The crew then returns to A2. Once back they return the ship after milking some money from the TCPA for repairs, try to decide what to do with Otto knowing that there are bounty hunters outside, and turn in Hien Lu for the reward. They turn the rescued crewman, Juan Egas, over to the Technoists so they can study his brain. The crewman relayed to the team that after the gamma storm it left the Silk Worm almost completely non-functional. He jury rigged power after a couple of days. When food ran out and the group decided to eat one of their crew named “Bob” he locked himself in the engine compartment.

	The first order of business is to decide what to do with the box (i.e. the AI Otto) and the third artifact piece. Stooz decides to hide the box in the ship and to mock up a fake one for show. At this point Otto communicates through random characters that flow onto a screen. Martin suggests that Otto only be given short bursts of input data so he does not get confused or overloaded. The third piece is held by Mack. (Currently Mack, Stooz, and Hannibal have a piece each.)
	Once that is decided the PC venture to the Purple Fountain Club for dinner. On the way they meet Loi Tran. Murph is not with her at the time. She claims he is “busy”. Loi mentions that she wants to bring the “cat and mouse” stuff into the open. They both know the other is watching. No need to hide it. At dinner she reveals that the pair is working for a man called Maxwell Beanfeld. Beanfeld is a wealthy industrialist who specialized in biological compounds. He is a known Technoist. Loi also reveals that he paid them 10,000 credits for the job and 1,000 credits per day to look out for highly skilled doctors. She knows Martin and Oak fit the bill. Beanfeld told them to simply watch and that they would be paid until he tells them to stop!
	Mack attends a union meeting with his friend Jim Del Rio. The union representative is a thin man with a goatee named Randy Ochs. Mr. Ochs conveys that the first round of meetings was tense but not negative.
	Vladeric returns from his investigation of Carter Cromwell. He relays the following data: General – Cromwell has considerable resources and political connections. His assets are public AND hidden. Liquid – Over 100 million credits in cash and stocks. Capitol – Medium sized luxury craft called “Winters Run”. It is completely Va Rulen in construction. There are no obvious hard points but likely there are a lot of hidden extras. The ten man crew is rumored to be elite. Property – Carter owns much of a Va Rule industrial center known as La Mason Landing. This includes several manufacturing plants which specialize in robotics and an extensive stellar research company. A2 Assets – Owns several warehouses, ships, and cargo containers. Owns a poor housing complex. Corporate Interests – On the board of a major shipping company called Cromwell Expanse. It is family run. In the business his greatest ally is an elder named Charlton Cromwell. His biggest enemy in the business is a half brother, Marcus Cromwell. Political Ties – Strong ties with many families in Va Rulen space. One key tie is with the Loftus clan who have strong military assets. Carter is known to be good friends with the Va Rulen admiral, Simon Loftus. The Cromwell’s biggest family foes are the Kelkar clan. Their current leader is a politically savvy woman named Preeti Kelkar.
	The next day the group starts working on a plan to steal the Va Rulen parts they need from Winters Run. Vladeric sneaks up to the ship in a ventilation shaft and takes a look. They decide to sneak in Vladeric in a food crate.
	Finkle contacts the team through Daz. They blow him off for a couple of days so they can commit the robbery of the parts.
	At the next labor meeting Mack learns that the G5 miners plan to strike. On April 4th the tunnels into the G5 done are blocked by strikers. This prevents food from getting delivered to Winters Run delaying the plan to steal the parts. The PC call Finkle and tell him they want to switch meeting days.
	Before the meeting Hannibal starts playing with Rusty’s old deck of cards. To his surprise Scotch jumps up on his lap and seems interested. As a joke Hannibal deals Scotch a hand of cards. At that the strange alien creature jumps up on the tables and starts rolling on them! When Hannibal tries to take on the cards Scotch attacks him and hisses! When Lena approaches with a canned ham Scotch backs off but it is not easy. At that Stooz directs Martin to use his medical scanner on Scotch. Martin reports that Scotch is under the influence of some type of toxin that apparently does not affect humans. Stooz then directs Martin to search for more compound in the engine shop while the PC attend the meeting with Finkle.
	The PC enter the Purple Fountain Club meeting room and proceed to order some food. Daz is eating a steak but Barton Finkle seems to be only pushing his food around the plate. When the PC have settled in Barton explains that his goal is to make sure the artifact bits get researched. He would like to own the pieces but if the group will not sell he would be willing to talk about some type of research deal. After some great discussion the PC point blank ask Barton if he has a piece. He says he has one. When Finkle asks the PC about their pieces it comes out that they have 3 and that there are a total of only 4 pieces. This is information that the PC did not know until this point. More bargaining commences then the PC eventually make a shrewd agreement with Barton. They will let him join their research team and take some credit for their discovery if they get 75% of the proceeds from any exploitation of the artifacts. Although very hesitant the PC bring up a great argument involving the unions and how this deal would allow him to resolve that issue as well. The argument works and Barton agrees. He sets up a meeting with the PC where he will bring his piece but not his information. Barton wants to meet the team. Barton gives out Daz’s cell number. (Mack calls his friend and tells him to have the union negotiator bargain tougher…and not to ask him how he knows it will work.)
	On the way back to Rusty’s Engine Emporium the PC are passing the port dome tunnel to the G5 done. They hear a loud explosion then red depressurization sirens start to blare. The PC quickly don helmets and move to help. Captain Shaffer jumps into a hover truck that is caught in the door and after a jackknife manages to get it out of the way. Others grab people and move them to helmets. When a crate knocks out one of the men Lena uses a telekinetic grab to pull him to safely. Hannibal rushes back to the shop as he is worried that someone might have caused the explosion as a diversion to break into their place. The doors close sealing the shaft. With this the PC return to the engine shop hoping none of the striker got hurt.
	The crate containing Vlad is loaded onto Carter Cromwell’s ship (i.e. Winters Run). After waiting a few minutes Vlad sneaks out of the crate and opens a panel labeled Thrusters in Va Rulen script. A guard interrupts Vlad but does not notice him. Vlad finished his work and connects two of the devices. He then activates them and replaces the panel. At that moment a guard enters the room surprising Vlad. He hides behind a crate hoping the guard will leave. Instead an alarm on the ship is sounded. Over the crewman’s radio another crewman informs him that they detected an unauthorized radio signal leaving the ship and that they have activated the jamming devices. The man immediately enters a defensive posture. Vlad carefully opens a panel in the floor and shorts out the life support on the ship hoping to distract the man. Instead the guard maintains his position and calls for help. A second guard enters the room and they start searching for an intruder. They find Vlad trying to sneak by and hold him at gunpoint. The other PC move to try and help Vlad but it happens too fast. Cromwell then enters the hanger with some TCPA security guards. After talking with his crewman Cromwell tells the guards that it is an internal issue and that everything is handled. When the guards leave Cromwell speaks with Vlad. Through a series of innuendos it is apparent that Cromwell now expects a favor from Vlad for letting him off the hook.
	At the shop Martin finds more of the toxin and a data crystal in a small box hidden in one of the lift compartments. The message on the data crystal follows:

	After returning to the engine shop the team sets up a meeting with Barton to go over some preliminary information, and more importantly, to get a look at his bit. (Before Barton arrives Stooz and Martin hide the AI.) Barton and Daz show up in a taxi in different clothes. After entering the shop they explain that because of the accident it is very hard for them to move around discretely. Following brief hellos Barton produces his piece for examination. Hit bit is in the shape of a triangle with rounded corners. Martin and Stooz quickly confirm that the piece is genuine. While Martin and Stooz examine the piece Barton conveys some high-level information that he has about the ancient race that his family call “The Others”. [Note that I will summarize all of the PC information about the bits and The Others below.] While chatting it is evident that Barton is extremely interested in the research. He is completely in awe when he is allowed to examine the three bits the PC have acquired. With all four bits Stooz is able to see signs of a very intricate coded message in the low frequency tones. He determines that even with his awesome computer power it would take at least 2 weeks to decipher unless he also utilizes the computing power of Otto (i.e. the AI). Stooz does not reveal Otto but quotes the translation time at around 20 hours to the group. As Daz is starting to gather their things Barton comments that the group will want a ship. When he sees the Hog he asks about it. Stooz prints out a list of the parts they still need. An hour after starting the meeting Daz forcefully removes Barton so they can attend some important union meetings.
	The group then heads to lunch where there learn that one of Jim Del Rio’s crew, Phil Roy, was on strike during the explosion. He was blinded by flying rock shards. Jim is quite upset as Phil does not make a lot of money and will not be able to afford even cybernetic replacement eyes let alone cloned replacements. During the same time Hannibal puts out feelers for someone he is hunting. Vladeric locks himself in the box and puts the plan to steal the parts into action.
	That night the PC visit Barton’s home to discuss more about the Others. (Stooz and Martin do not attend as they are working with the bits and the computers.) The dinner is very friendly. The PC come to realize that Barton and Daz are very likeable people. During the meeting they learn more about The Others and they learn that Barton has sold the G5 assets on A2 to Carter Cromwell. According to Barton the results of the union talks were enough to cripple the already declining mining operation. When Carter approached with an offer that was extremely generous he could not refuse. Barton also lets the PC know that this is very confidential information at this time. As part of the deal Barton was able to convince the Va Rulen politician to provide parts for the Hog and to completely waive the lease for Rusty’s Engine Emporium! Here is a summary of the information the PC have on the bits and The Others. (Note that this is the PC information ONLY.): The ancient race is called “The Others” by the Finkle’s. They used the term as it could be pulled into a conversation without attracting a lot of attention. Finkle’s penthouse is littered with books, ancient stone tablets, and computer data that his family has collected over the years. (Note that all of this information is not given over to the PC at this time.) The number four is very important to them. It appears in several places of their writings. Carlton Finkle, Barton’s grandfather, was good with numbers and was able to create a computer program that can be used to help decipher the alien writings. It is based off of what the family has learned over the years. (On the way to the space coordinates Barton shares this program with Stooz.) Traces of writing from The Others has been found stretched across the entire Megaverse. These are folks who has space travel. Barton’s piece was actually found by Barton Finkle IV. When it was found remains of writing were discovered with the bit. The writing describes four “inputs” or “keys”. Even thought the bit could not be dated the writing was dated to 150,012 years ago! These are very old artifacts. The four bits are in the shapes of a “U”, a rounded corner square, a “$” with the ends of the “S” removed, and a rounded corner triangle. The bits are made of a strange metal that produces a low-frequency tone. All of the bits were found close to this subsector of space.
	The next day Martin and Stooz hide Otto and the group meets with Barton to report the results of the decoded message. The message is in three parts. The first is a prime number sequence which is used as a basis for decoding the rest of the message. The second section resolves into a unit of distance and time based on the speed of light. The last is astrological information about four stars, their decay rates, a time 150,000 years ago, and a point in space. By gathering ancient star data a precise point in space can be determined in 2402. Later Barton returns with that information and news that the parts for the Hog will arrive in two days. The location is approximately 10 days away from A2 in an uncharted region of space. As the data is very old Stooz warns the team that it may take a while to find what they are looking for…whatever that might be…when they reach that region of space.
	With that Mack and the Clickers start repairing the ship. The rest of the team starts gathering supplies and equipment for the trip. Barton plans to go but Daz needs to stay with the transitioning company. The process of fixing the ship and gathering the gear takes 5 days.
	After completing the repairs and gathering their gear the team departs in their ship, The Horny Hog. The ship bucks when it starts and shimmies when it accelerates but after some adjustments on the engines Mack and Capt Schaffer seem pretty happy with the results. The ship accelerates quickly and travels at a fast maximum speed but it turns like a “charging rhinoceros”.
	The 10 day journey to the location is uneventful. Some of the PC play cards while Capt Schaffer keeps the Clicker crew busy doing odd jobs around the ship. During the trip the PC reveal the AI to Barton. The PC start to search the area but the search drags on severely. After 10 days the PC find something unusual. In a very light asteroid field one of the rocks is denser on one end. By synchronizing with the spin of the asteroid the PC are able to jump off onto the surface. Although Barton is extremely reluctant to jeopardize the mission due to his lack of zero gravity training Captain Dave “strongly” asks him to attend. The spinning of the asteroid imparts only 0.5g which makes moving around dangerous. With some subtle directing from Mack the perceptive group finds a small disk with a triangle indentation. Inserting the bit reveals a strange dark passageway into a very strange room…

	The PC place the triangle shaped bit on a small circular platform. After placing the piece a small door opens. The path leads to a large open room. Along the walls are intricate patterns that look like air currents. Ancient text inside the doorways says: Core Of All Life, Quick, and Fluid. The room has a set of pillars over a spiked pit. By throwing rocks Mack determines that there are three spike guns in the room. The group drops down carefully into the pit and circles the weapons. On the other side they climb out.
	The next door has a square piece indentation. Inside is a tube leading down into an open room. Writing says: Durable, Home, and Resource. Hannibal drops down first. He discovers that the room is some kind of puzzle. The enemy is a large status with a huge club. Force field limit the way the PC can move (i.e. only into orthogonal squares). When Hannibal gets electrocuted and falls Lena and Mack give it a try. They get to Hannibal but are not able to make it to the far doorway. Finally the PC are able to figure out the puzzle and get to the other door.
	The symbol on the next door is an upside down “U”. The door opens to a long “v” shaped room with reflecting walls. The writing on the floor says: Enriches, Peels Deception, and Life’s Joy. When Hannibal enters a laser fires. The PC discover that they can break the mirrors. With a rush of speed Hannibal gets to the other side and breaks the end mirrors which prevent the lasers from reflecting down the hall.
	The next door has the “$” but it is laying on it’s side. When the door opens they find the bottom 3 feet to be covered in water. Writing on one wall says: Powerful, Life Bringing, and Cleansing. The PC check the water and it appears safe. When they get half way through a set of switchbacks a large metal crab robot attacks. It moves with amazing speed! In seconds Stooz falls with a terrible shoulder wound. Mack tries to fight back but he does not seem to be able to hurt the creature. Lena’s laser sword seems to be the most effective weapon. In an effort to reach the far door Mack grabs Stooz and rushes forward. As he drags Stooz the beast follows snapping at their heels. Stooz pushed Mack forward to get out of the way. At the end of the hall the PC stop and the beast continues to attack. With the help of shots from Hannibal, Captain Dave, and Lena the beast falls but not before Stooz becomes gravely wounded. Only help from his internal biocomputer saves his life.
	The last door has all four symbols. As the door opens four skylights open in the roof over four sets of spiral text. As the light enters the room a hologram appears. The hologram is a star map. Stooz records the data and Finkle takes pictures. Back in the ship the PC translate the spirals. Here is the text:

	On the way home Stooz discovers that Otto has learned some simple words like Father, Mama, Casa, Star, Happy, Electricity, Power, and Spanner. Stooz has no idea how Otto learned the words. Later he rigs Otto with a computer eye and feeds Otto some star chart data. The other PC try to convince Stooz to hook Otto up to the ship but Stooz says Otto is not ready.
	When the PC arrive at A2 they discover the following: Phil Roy, Mack’s miner friend, got his replacement eyes healed but in the process Martin got caught. He ends up spending the night of April 14th in jail. Loi Tran bails him out of jail. The mining operation sale is now public knowledge. Most of the workers and local businesses are concerned even though Cromwell tells them that he will continue the operation, “as long as it is profitable.” Barclay Loftus has become his heavy handed VP of Operations. Many consider Loftus harsh but fair. He also rewards those who work hard. Loftus has cut the workforce by 10%. Daz mentions that he has moved Finkle and himself into a local apartment. He has rented a storage locker for the artifact stuff. Noticeable more people are walking around the streets of A2. Probably due to layoffs. TCPA is getting flooded by folks wanting to leave or wanting to work. Coincidentally on the night of April 14th the cameras in the shop go out. After very careful searching the only sign of broken entry of any sort is on Martin’s laptop. Stooz’s intrusion code caught a bypass signal then nothing. Vladeric and Stooz concede that the intruders were very careful not to leave any traces. They must be real professionals.
	Stooz feeds Otto the ancient star chart data. The two of them determine that the destination in the hologram is the planet Euclid.

After returning to the engine shop the group tries to get up to speed with what has happened on A2 while they have been away. At the same time they try and prep the Horny Hog for it’s next mission (i.e. the long trip to Euclid). Lena gets a message from GeneCrux. She chats with Randazzo for a bit then leaves the shop. Hannibal leaves the shop with a vague comment about following up on a lead. Dave receives a message from Kelp then works on the ship with the Clickers. For some reason he seems concerned. Vlad says he needs to take care of some “business” and leaves. [GM Comment: Note that all of these events will be covered in the next session where these players are present.]

Capt Dave gets a message from Kelp. Kelp sent the message on April 14th, 2402. The message opens with a scene of Kelp enjoying himself at an underwater party. On his head is a wreath of seaweed…

	Stooz decides to reset the security on the shop. In the process he finds a very clever camera hidden in a soda can outside the shop. By tracking the signal from the camera Stooz is able to find two more cameras in the dome. One is on the tunnel leading out of the port dome and the other is on a hotel room in the main dome. Stooz also notes that the fact that the no camera was placed inside the engine shop. This is noteworthy as it signifies a sort of unwritten rule among hacking professionals…”I could have planted a camera inside but then you would have found it and I would have violated your space which is bad form.” By tracking the hotel room reservation Stooz determines that the cameras were placed by Loi Tran and her companion, Murphy. This really motivates Stooz to try and come up with a way to plant a device on them.
	During this time Mack does some work on the ship then heads to Ela’s Tomb for a brew. At Ela’s he is taken aside by Jim Del Rio, his miner foreman friend. Jim tells Mack that he was in a high level meeting at G5 where a salesman from United Space Mines showed a very interesting bit of video footage. The footage is an advertisement for a new exciting advancement in mining technology…the TOLARM! The footage claims features like cybernetic digging and advanced sensors to find that claim and lay your stake first. It then show a stark white lab with a large stone block. From one side of the block a small man digs through the stone and emerges from the far side. The man then turns and smiles at the camera. It is Mack! Once Mack views the footage he turns off the player and takes the crystal. Jim tells Mack that the man looks a lot like him and asks for an explanation. He seems very concerned. Mack tell Jims that the man is a relative of his. Jim slowly nods. Mack then finds out from the mining foreman that the salesman’s name is Patrick Liu. With that Mack returns to the shop.
	While walking around Stooz and Mack hear about an upcoming A2 Settlement Day Festival. On July 1st the settlement celebrates the opening of the camp. This year the regional judge will be making a visit.
	As the PC are working on things in the shop they hear a faint knock on the door. Looking out of the camera Stooz sees Yasu, the Va Rulen waif who was sent on her way by Vladeric some time ago. Stooz opens the door and questions her. Yasu says she wants to see Vlad. Stooz says he is not around and closes the door. With that she sits in front of the door and starts to sob. About 15 minutes later she knocks again. This time Mack opens the door. She then asks if they can at least direct her to Carter Cromwell. Stooz prints out directions and sends her on her way. About an hour later Yasu returns. She is very upset. When Mack opens the door she falls into his arms sobbing. Yasu tells Mack through her sobs that Carter does not want her back but that she will make him take her back by letting out a secret. Mack lets her into the shop and tries to calm her down. While she is resting the PC hear a scrapping on the roof. From the air duct the PC see a mechanical spider emerge! The spider scurries along the roof and jumps down on an equipment rack. Stooz takes some shots at it doing minor damage on a fantastic shot! The shots tip off Mack that the shield does not cover the creatures feet. Yasu runs into the office and Stooz blocks the door. The spider charges Stooz and bites him. Luckily the bite does not penetrate his suit! Mack then grabs the quick robot and wrestles it to the ground. Pumping his adrenaline Stooz helps. (During the struggle Stooz takes a picture of the spider with his bio computer.) After some bashing and struggling the PC manage to break apart the small robot spider. When the spider stops moving it starts to heat up! Mack digs a hole in the floor and throws it in. The spider blows up in the hole.
	After destroying the spider and consoling Yasu, who swears that her beloved Carter would never hurt her, the PC decide to go to dinner at the Purple Fountain Club. At dinner Mack and Stooz wine and dine the young Va Rulen. After having several drinks Yasu admits that she told Carter she would tell everyone that she knew that there was another flux route discovered from Va Rule to the A2 gate if he did not take her back. Stooz and Mack reason that this is why Carter sent the spider robot. As the robot was quite sophisticated and expensive they don’t see more robots appearing soon. They decide to rent a room for Yasu. On the way out of the restaurant Stooz and Mack see a Chinese man paying his bill. He watches them leave with a stare. When the man leaves Stooz and Mack return and ask Crooktooth if he can find out how the man paid for his bill. Crooktooth says he paid on a credit chip from United Space Mines. Stooz thanks Crooktooth by giving him candy bars. Mack later admits to Stooz that the Chinese man is looking for him. Stooz asks if Mack needs help but he replies that now if not the time but maybe later he would need help. Stooz lets it drop as he realizes that just about everyone in a place like A2 has something to hide…

	After stocking up the ship with even more supplies the group prepares to leave for Euclid. Before leaving they decide to take Yasu (i.e. the Va Rulen waif) with them as she is likely not going to be safe on A2 for a month without their help. It might also give Cromwell a chance to forget about her. Randazzo stays behind with Martin to care for the engine shop.
	The 20 day trip to Euclid is relatively uneventful. Stooz connects Otto to the ship sensors and doors in a read only capacity. He then teaches the AI how to play chess. Yasu eventually starts becoming less concerned about Cromwell. She also tells the PC several stories about stowing away on various ships over the last few years. Vlad makes a point of teaching her new ways to route security in these endeavors. Yasu seems very taken with Vlad.
	Euclid is the second planet in the system. Currently the planet is in a summer orbit. It’s days are 16 hours long with 10 hours in daylight. The temperature is warm at approximately 90 degrees F. It has a high nitrogen and oxygen atmosphere with trace of methane that should be breathable without space suits. The gravity is near 1 G. There are some small mountain ranges but a bulk of the planet is covered in a dense jungle. After in depth scans the group finds some ruins poking out of a jungle canopy in one area. They find a place to land about 4 miles away in a large swamp.
	After landing the PC pack up the hovercraft and start to move towards the ruins. [GM Note: I did not remember the hovercraft when I made the adventure. This cut out some neat “wildlife encounters”. Ah well.] The planet’s atmosphere contains a floating form of lichen that give everything a green pallor. It also makes breathing labored. A smell of sulfur lingers in the air. Every so often they hear the cry of an avian creature. In the distance they see a light brown colored horse like create which appears to be grazing in the swap.
	The group flies the ship over the ruins to get a closer look. The ruins are a set of three stairways leading into a cave mouth. At the foot of the stairways are trees with strange spikes sticking out of them. The PC land and examine the trees. There appears to be dead animals staked on the trees. Out of the tree line a strange being emerges. He is a humanoid figure with white skin that has large cracks. He is naked except for a loincloth. His chest, arms, and legs are covered in a thick fur. On his neck is a strange metal bit on a leather thong. At his waist is a primitive club like weapon. He motions his arms and grunts. The PC take this and the dead animal as a sign that the man wants them to leave. Slowly they edge the hovercar off of one stairwell. In the trees they see movement. Carefully Mack approaches the creature and shows him a piece of tourite. The man smiles. Then Mack gets a candy bar from Stooz, eats a piece, and hands it to the creature. He eats it and seems happy. With that the strange being goes to the cave mouth and starts chanting in a loud voice. After several minutes a second creature emerges. This humanoid is very different from the ape men. He has a metal walking cane with a mechanical light on top. The man is very thin and heavily scarred. On his head is a red gem. Mack notes that his feature are surprisingly similar to a Va Rulen. The thin figure leads the PC using head gestures into the cave mouth.
	As the PC enter the cave they see a huge tourite vein. Mack notes that there are strange green worms moving in the tourite! The PC proceed into a large round room with four exits. One side of the room has a meteorite sticking into the ceiling. Debris clutters the floor. In one area the man leads to a black pillar. He them motions for the PC to speak. The pillar glows with a blue light as the PC speak. Eventually the pillar is able to act as a translator for the thin figure and the PC! The man greets the PC and tells them that his name is Ankmil and that he watches over the creatures that they met outside. When the PC ask him about the spirals he seems confused. He has not heard about them. They go over the text of the spirals and Ankmil seems very intrigued. He then tells the PC his story.
	He is part of a project to preserve the four races. In each exit are small round chambers which preserve their lives over the ages. A female and male of each species was kept in each smaller chamber. He says that 235 years ago nature disrupted their “bunker”. It sent a meteorite to awaken them from their eons of sleep. In the crash the mechanical systems in his chamber were broken preventing his mate from awakening but stopping her chamber. She died in her sleep. He then relates that the Patriarchs were very upset about being imprisoned. In the process of stealing their only ship the Patriarch’s killed the Oceanites leaving the Stone Ones and himself trapped forever on this planet. Strangely the Stone Ones lost their intellect and have become the ape men the PC saw on the way into the cave. Ankmil says he has decided that he must care for them. He says that he is the only remaining Equal. Ankmil says he fears that there may be many Patriarchs now that so much time has passed. Ankmil says the PC are free to look around and ask questions.
	With that the PC move around the ruins. Stooz tips over one of the chambers and takes out some metal plates. He thinks it might provide a way to stabilize someone over a long period of time. Mack asks about the worms. Ankmil says that the glow worms eat tourite then regurgitate reenergized tourite crystals. By working in concert they can keep the tourite vein healthy over a very long period of time. Mack and Dave realize the potential of the worms and ask if they can take some. Ankmil says that is fine as long as they don’t take enough to disrupt the natural balance of the cave. Finkle finds some old writing which tells of the intent of the place. Below the writing are the four symbols. They are the exact sizes of the keys. The PC place the keys into the slots and a secret door opens! Ankmil is shocked.
	Everyone enters the secret chamber which only appears to contain a black pillar. The pillar speaks when the PC approach. Here is what is says:

	A healer with a warriors soul,
	A short lived one with an immortal passion,
	A machine youth who fathers a kin,
	An ancient being who searches for the one thing that matters to him,
	A wild spirit whose soul rests with the stars, and
	The kin of the fathers who has lost his way.

	When the PC place the keys into the slots on the disk they see a bunch of strange formulas appear above the disk. After translating the text Hannibal says that they look like flux formula. To the surprise of the crew using Otto’s help he finds that the formula are for four flux routes that connect Euclid, Archimedes, Geminus, and Plato. Mack deduces that these are the four ancient home worlds and that the Oceanite home world is likely A2 as it is now an asteroid belt. The PC hide the disk from everyone on the ship. (They hide the disk under Otto. The keys are not currently in the disk. They were inserted only once on the planet Euclid.) The PC also hide the tourite in a crate in the cargo hold.
	The PC ask Ankmil about the symbols. He tells the PC the following. The “$” symbol is the Patriarchs. The triangle is the Oceanites. The square is the Earth Ones. The “U” is the Equals. Stooz asks about the Patriarch. Ankmil describes them as a parasitic race that can take over the mind of a target host. He says that they attach themselves to the spinal cord of the target. Mack tries the “$” one on everyone and it reveals nothing. He tries the “U” one on Ankmil and it lights up which scares him. It does not light up on Vlad. The square one lights up near the creatures outside.
	The PC then gather up everything and return to A2.

On April 9th Lena received this message. As a result of reading the message she sets up a meeting with Helena Bitter. The message says:

	The group talks about the worms and how to proceed. Stooz decides to send for more information as Martin is not going to be able to help them out. Martin thinks that Oak might know more but that he is not a xenologist. Stooz also sets up a simply camera on the worms to monitor them. Later Stooz decides to go to the Technoist site to find the name of an expert in the field. He gets a name and discovers that there will be a Technoist Cardinal in town for the festival. The PC decide to name the worms “Finklesteens” based on Barton’s prompting.
	Martin examines the plates Stooz found in the sarcophagus. It will take him some time to examine them in more detail. Martin also conveys that they will be difficult to test out.
	Hannibal goes and talks with Loi Tran. Loi informs him that she is off the case and was paid in full. She also lets him know that the person who contacted her was a cutout for the Technoists. Hannibal is not surprised. Hannibal asks Loi about Oak. She gives him all of the details that she has including the fact that Oak is not well liked on Pakua. In fact, according to Loi, he left because he had differing opinions on who should rule. His terra forming experiments were also not well received. She also tells Hannibal that there was a guy looking for him at Ela’s Tomb named Dominic. With that Hannibal heads to speak with Professor Oak. He asks Oak some questions about worms. Oak gives him some of his home grown worms and gives him some basic care and feeding instructions. According to Oak having enough moisture and nutrients in the soil is important to their health. With that Hannibal returns to the shop and gives Stooz the information. When Hannibal goes to examine the worms he finds the clicker crew looking at them! He tells the clickers to stop and reseals the crate.
	Back at the shop while working on scrambled radio headsets Otto begins speaking with Stooz in Spanish! This surprises Stooz. He starts speaking in entire sentences saying things like the following: Are you Otto's father? = ¿Es usted padre de Otto? Where is Otto? = ¿Dónde está Otto? Otto is happy. = Otto es feliz. This is Otto's home. = Éste es Otto casero.
	Mack and Capt. Dave head towards Ela’s Tomb for a drink. Mack notices a very poor tail. At a building corner the pair cover the man with a pistol. The frightened man is Patrick Lui the United Space Mines (USM) salesman. While holding the man at gun point Capt. Dave is surprised when Mack starts to pummel the man. Mack breaks the mans nose, teeth, and several ribs before Capt. Dave decides to tell him to ease off. During the attack the man refers to Mack as “TOLARM”. This confuses Dave until Mack explains that these people are after him. As the pair are walking away the man curses at Mack, “You can leave now TOLARM but it won’t help! We have more back at the factory!”
	At Ela’s Tomb Mack and Dave meet Jim Del Rio and his crew. They are pouring over star charts. They explain that they plan to race in the Belt Games Load n Go tournament. When Mack and Dave look confused Jim explains that there are three parts to the Settlement Day Festival. First is a commencement speech by the G5 CEO. Following that is the Belt Games. The Belt Games involve two contests for miners. One is called the Sonic Drill Challenge and the other is the Load n Go tournament. The Load n Go tournament involves picking up rocks, moving them around beacon #2, returning, then loading them onto a conveyor. Last year they came in second but this year Jim want to win!
	While Mack and Dave are talking Helena Bitter meets with Lena. Lena reflects on what she knows about Helena. Helena is a Gamma level teep with a form of psionic mental awareness. Her talents are not that unusual so she has not become a permanent GeneCrux employee. Currently Helena works in the loading docks. Helena has already gathered information on the crime but wanted to finish it off with an interview with Lena. During the interview Lena realizes that Helena is not happy with this job.
	While the PC are chatting Capt. Dave’s friend, Marlin Kelp, arrives. He seems to be in a very good mood. Kelp explains that he has brought Jessa Ebb to A2! He also says that she has the “hots” for him. After the group jokes about it for a while Kelp gives Capt. Dave 6 tickets for a concert a couple of nights before the festival. The tickets are a hot item as attendance is limited.
	Hannibal finds the dirty contact, Dominic, at Ela’s Tomb and buys him some clothes. He then follows him even though he feels it might be a setup. The man leads him into a trap with several other human thugs. The mercenaries tell Hannibal to forget about Basat. After some minor beating Hannibal returns to the engine shop. [GM Note: I want to thank Brian for not playing out this combat as it would have taken a while. The results would not have changed the results of the scene.]
	A few days later the group attends the dinner concert. They are met at the door by Crooktooth who tells them that he setup a special table for them. With some reluctance the PC turn in their firearms then take their seats. At their tables is a gray haired human in his late 50’s who claims to be Judge Royce Ring. He asks the PC what they do on A2 then realizes that they are involved in one of his dockets. When Lena pushes for information he smoothly declines. As dinner starts there is some commotion as Crooktooth removes a huge blaster carbine from a large Ichthian named Mako. Mako is Jessa Ebb’s bodyguard. The group also meets Rip Coral, Jessa Ebb’s nasal voiced personal manager and Jessa Ebb herself. Jessa is a golden colored Ichthian with a yellow underbelly. She is wearing a blue sequined dress with a high leg slit. The PC soon come to realize that Jessa is quite the diva and not a very nice person. Later Jessa visits Cromwell and people at his table. The PC surprisingly do not recognize many of the people at Cromwell’s table except for Barclay Loftus. After dinner Jessa gets up to perform her act. As she is getting up a waitress brings her a note on brown paper. She read the notes and becomes fearful and pale. Jessa puts the note in her dress, takes the hand of her bodyguard and leaves the table. She performs her act then the PC return to the shop.
	On Settlement Day the PC move to the commencement speech site. Jim Del Rio and Loi are present but the PC do not see Jessa. A stage has been erected. On the stage are Loftus, Cromwell, and Judge Ring. There is also a crate with a curtain over it. Loftus introduces Cromwell then he begins to speak:

With that the group breaks up. The announcement is the hot topic all around the domes. On the way back to the shop the PC hear two blaster shots. When they round the corner they see an unmoving Crooktooth lying on his face with smoke coming out of his shoulder. At the other end of the alley is a human laying on his back twitching in pain...

	Immediately after the alarm starts to sound Ivy closes the doors to the Purple Fountain Club. The PC gather at the club to try and figure out what is happening. Lena goes with several NPC to get information on the dome alarm and the rest of the PCs go with the parasite people to a conference room where they can talk secretly.
	The PC who talk with the parasite people (i.e. Jane and Jessa Ebb) discover and piece together the following information. Note that Jessa does all of the speaking. Jane is very quiet: The parasites are NOT Patriarchs. They are Oceanites! This confuses the PC as this does not agree with their keys. The Oceanite symbol is a wavy line (i.e. a dollar sign laying on its side). The Earth Ones symbol is a square. The Equals symbol is a triangle standing on one point (i.e. in the shape of a tornado). The last piece is an arc (i.e. an upside down “U”) which belongs to the Patriarchs. This makes the PC realize that Ankmil may not have been truthful with them on the planet Euclid. This new data agrees with the detection keys and suggests that Ankmil is not an Equal but a Patriarch! This scares the Oceanites as they did not realize a Patriarch, one of their races mortal enemies, was still living. Jessa reveals that Osapad, the symbiote in Erik Winn, was one of the first two from Euclid. He describes the Patriarchs as “bogeymen of the highest stature with sadistic tendencies on their ‘good days’”. (This reminds Hannibal of Kumar.) She also says they are rumored to look like gaunt Va Rulens. This again jives with the data the PC gained from Euclid. The Oceanites have not heard of any prophecies regarding the PC. They say that the other ancient one of their race is in a host known as Fangslay on Trog. He is apparently a politician of some type. His symbiote is named Imslek. A2 was the Oceanite home world which was destroyed by the Patriarchs. (This confirms one of Mack’s earlier assumption.) They meet here as a reunion and to give them a chance to mate. Jessa says the Oceanites do not “take over” their hosts. Instead they make agreements with them. They have a difficult time mating so they need reunions and gathering to give them the best chance of fostering their very scarce race. To recognize others of the Oceanite race they use a secret password. It is in the ancient tongue. Stooz says the translation is, “From water all life endures.” There are some Oceanites who believe that they should use their abilities to impregnate high level officials thus giving them more control over the affairs of humans. According to Jessa the symbiote known as Bilari Taxa is one of these radicals. The hosts and parasites on A2 which are known by the PC at the end of the adventure include four people. The fugitive is named Mal Baxter. His symbiote is named Bilari Taxa. There is Jessa Ebb and her symbiote Darasnunan. Jane Bulgrin has a symbiote called Kusat. The symbiote named Sismal is in Damien Penny.
	Lena and the NPC collected in Ivy’s conference get the following information. The NPCs at the meeting include Carter Cromwell, Barclay Loftus, Ivy Primrose, Captain Slaine, Judge Ring, Sister Spectrum (i.e. a visiting Technoist priest), Bonnie Whiteside (i.e. Sister Spectrum’s assistant), Father Plutonium, and Zane Shadzi from the control tower in dome #4.: Four ships came out of the flux gate without clearance or without previous notice from Harding Station. They were picked up at beacon #12 approximately 30 minutes earlier. The ships include three scout class ships and one large destroyer class cruiser all of alien design. The destroyer is almost half of a mile long! At this point Shadzi shows the people video footage of the ship exiting from the flux gate. The destroyer and one scout ship are now at beacon #9 and should be to the settlement in around 90 minutes. The other two scout ships are not accounted for at this time. Shadzi fears they might be laying in wait. What do they want? (Cromwell.) Nobody speaks up. What are the bases combat assets? (Slaine.) There are three ships with some firepower. In order of their military ability the ships include the Desert Sun (i.e. a TC scout ship which escorts Judge Ring), the Winter’s Run, and the Swordfish. The base has some other mining ships with weapons but their intent is not ship-to-ship combat. The base is in a crater which is ringed with a powerful shield and anti-asteroid batteries. The batteries are not meant for ship-to-ship combat. The shield is strong but not capable of holding off a destroyer. Can the station be evacuated? (Judge Ring.) Not without panic and not in 90 minutes. Can they send out a message for help? (Sister Spectrum.) Yes, but it would be very dangerous. As a follow up question Shadzi is asked about fast ships. Cromwell speaks up and says the Winter’s Run is likely the fastest ship. Lena also speaks up. This surprises everyone but Lena assures them that The Horny Hog has a lot under the hood. The decision is made to stock up the Hog and Winter’s Run to try and deliver messages to the TC military.
	With that data the PC decide to take off to prepare and load their ship. Cromwell offers G5 resources and help from Loftus. The PC gather a list of equipment they want to get and construct a passenger list. Hannibal takes off to go and collect Damien Penny who the PC suspect might be an Oceanite. After kidnapping Damien by zapping him with the key, Hannibal returns the ship as it is about to leave. He informs the PC that he thinks Kumar…or actually Osapad…was trying to tell him to go to the Patriarch ship on Terra. Thus the PC make this their destination. As the Horny Hog departs Captain Kelp wishes Captain Dave success. Both Captains understand the implication that they may never see the other again.
	When the Winter’s Run and Horny Hog exit the station they are immediately beset by the alien scout ship. Captain Dave positions the Winter’s Run between the enemy and the Hog. This forces the alien scout to pursue the Winter’s Run. As the PC enter the asteroid belt they see the scout pincer the Winter’s Run against the emerging destroyer who blasts the ship away with a powerful cannon the width of the Horny Hog!
	As the PC reach the gate they are attacked by the two scout ships which Shadzi could not account for earlier. They are guarding the flux gate! The PC make a run for the gate by running a gauntlet directly between the two attacking ships. Their shields are blasted and the ship is rocked with some damage. The shields are not reallocating and Hannibal warns that they don’t want to enter the flux without shield. This forces Captain Dave to bypass the gate and circle back to it. In a final run with their shields severely depleted the Horny Hog enters the flux…the scout ships are not pursuing…

	[This scene is a bit out of order. We replayed the scene as Steve did not make the last game and I did not know what he wanted to do with Otto.] Stooz decides to quickly box Otto to hide him from the other passengers. He realizes it may be difficult so he orders Otto only to speak to the crew. During the process of stacking boxes in front of the AI Stooz is interrupted by Otto who expresses a “dislike” to the process. As the last boxes are added to the stack Otto asks how long he will be in the dark. Stooz, “Padre” to Otto, says he will immediately begin work on a more permanent home on the ship for Otto.
	After narrowly escaping the alien ships the PC assess the damage to the ship and settle in for their 4 day voyage in the flux to Harding Station. The various events that transpire on the crowded Horny Hog are divided into 2 day sections. Here is a summary of the events and general feeling of the various passengers during the first two days of the trip: Mack starts repairs with the help of his friend Damien Penny. Damien sometime becomes physically ill due to the damage taken to his Oceanite symbiote. The hauler is not happy at being kidnapped and asks Mack if he is free to leave at Harding Station. Mack says he can go if he wants but explains the importance of his Oceanite. Mack finds that he can fix most damage except for that done to the exterior hull. The gear on Harding Station should make repair work easier. Stooz works on a quick disconnect in the bridge for Otto. He then moves Otto into his new home and instructs him to build another arm. The team instructs the rest of the passengers not to enter the bridge. During the move Stooz learns that Otto is hooked into most of the ships systems and that he has enhanced his arm with digits. Martin asks Stooz over a scanner pad if they should put a dead man switch into Otto just in case. Stooz hesitates then says no. During the trip Lena spends time speaking with Otto. She attempts to learn more about what he knows and his likes and dislikes. Lena finds the situation challenging and interesting. She also like it better than dealing with the crew who are predominately alien. Lena finds that Otto has several strange human characteristics and seems to know a lot about engines and ships. Some of his data is that which would only be gained through experience. She chalks it up to his having access to files on A2. Martin works on healing Crooktooth and spends most of his time with Stooz. Jane spends time speaking with Jessa and Barton. As Barton is extremely non-threatening she tends to open up to him a bit. Jessa becomes a real pain on the ship. She complains about nearly everything on the Horny Hog especially the crew. Lena urges on the clickers who take every opportunity to get in her way. Vlad and Yasu keep to themselves. Often Yasu is silent sitting on a box in the cargo hold listening to others speak. To the surprise of the crew Randazzo knows Jessa. Apparently he was her bodyguard for a while on one of her tours. Their break up does not appear to be too pleasant as nether speaks about it.
	During the second half of the four day trip things escalate in some areas: Martin deduces that Crooktooth is well enough to be released from the healing tank. The PCs head with Martin to the stateroom which is acting as his medical bay and storage room. When Martin opens the door he initially finds it stuck. When he presses it open there is a thud and the PC see C’Tab lying on the floor. Over the tank are C’Taa and C’Tac. C’Tac has just cut a line to the tank and C’Taa is about to pour chemicals into the tank! They appear to be trying to kill Crooktooth! Lena acts quickly and telekinetically pinches closed the tube going to the tank. Stooz charges C’Taa. The clickers profess that the Trogs enslaved them so they deserve death. The PC tell them to keep quiet about the situation and that they will be deducted pay. They also tell the clickers that they will be ejected from the ship if they try something like this again. The PC do not tell Crooktooth when he awakens. Jessa emerges saying that her ruby encrusted scale pic is missing. She wants it back saying that it has sentimental value. Nobody admits to taking the item. Mack does a scan for the Ruby and finds it on Yasu. Mack quietly questions Yasu. She eventually fesses up and gives Mack the pic back. Mack gives the pin to the clickers with instructions to hide it in Jessa’s bags.
	When the ship emerges from the flux most of the passengers want off. The flight chief of Harding Station, a young human named Torel, instructs the Hog that they are cleared to land at docking clamp 4. (The PC see two other ships docked at the station. Once is a small TCPA marked light scout and the other is a TC design cargo hauler with no military markings.) Lena asks to speak to the station commander. With that the screen changes to a skinny old yellow and brown Trog named Captain Winder. Lena explains the alien attack and their plea. The Captain asks them to dock and proceed immediately to the station bridge. As the connection ends the PC hear the Captain grumble about nothing every being easy on his watch…
	As the Hog docks and the doors open the PC are met by a Chinese hauler named Nathan So. He greets them with, “Welcome to Harding Station…road kill of the galactic spaceways. What brings you to this place?” Mack begins working with So to inspect the ship while Lena and Stooz head to the station bridge with the message tube. Several of the passengers disembark to look around.
	Lena gives the canister to Captain Winder who plays a message from the TCPA Director on A2. The message opens with a personal note then details on the attack. Captain Winder hisses then shakes his head in disbelief. He speaks to Lena about their options. The group decides that Captain Winder will take his scout ship to Ichthia with the rest of the crew from Harding Station and anyone from the Horny Hog who wants to go to Ichthia. With that the PC turn to leave.
	In docking port 4 Coral comes stumbling in. He is panting as if tired. Rip says that Jessa and Mako have been kidnapped. With that view screens change to a dark haired human with greased black hair. He speaks with a raspy tone, “Sometimes thing just go your way. Habber the Jut hired me to go to A2 to nab Captain Schaffer and not only does his ship fall into my hands but so does the lovely Jessa Ebb. Soon the crew of the Nightsun under the ruthless Captain Night will have cash and notoriety.” He rubs his hands in glee and continues, “Now…would you be willing to trade Jessa Ebb for Captain Schaffer or should I just keep the little song fish for myself???”

6th of July 2402 (07-6-2402)
[Author’s Note: This is the start of the 17th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be the exact order that they occurred in the session.]

	After hearing the threat from Captain Night the group assesses the situation. Jessa and Mako are being held hostage on the Nightsun. They want to trade for Captain Schaffer. The Nightsun is in a synchronous orbit around Harding Station where it can view the Hog and the station’s lone scout ship, The Far Star 7. The Far Star 7 does have a small nose cannon and fair speed but it is not heavily armored and the nose cannon is not on a turret. Thus the ship would have to release and spin to get the cannon to bear on the Nightsun. Scans reveal that there are about 8 to 10 life forms on Captain Night’s ship and that it is a Yamaha medium range transport ship.
	After some scheming the PC decide to tell Captain Night that they are willing to make the trade. Based on his reaction they will decide on a plan of action. Night boasts then says that the unarmed Horny Hog will doc with the Nightsun and make the trade. The group sets the communication unit to mute while they chat. While they chat they see a small green Clicker with red face paint whisper to Captain Night. Night merely smirks and waits for a response from the PC. Hannibal recognizes the Clicker as C’Marandak, an infamous bounty hunter with a nasty reputation. Captain Schaffer gets on the line and asks for a simultaneous trade. Night agrees.
	After proposing several ideas the PC resort to a simple plan...frontal assault during the trade! They also tell Captain Winder to man his ship and be ready for their signal. As the ships doc the PC wait in the Hog’s hanger. Mack hides near the side of the door and Stooz sits in the hovercar with the Clicker crewman who have been supplied with grenades. When the doors open Night walks out and greets Captain Dave. The PC can see several crewman hiding behind boxes but they do not see the Clicker bounty hunter. Night has one of his men drag Jessa and Mako who are unconscious closer to Captain Dave. When the bodies get near Dave he draws his pistols and starts blasting. Stooz tells Captain Winder to attack the Nightsun then steps on the gas and proceeds into the ship. The small bounty hunter jumps out of a box and runs into the Hog blasting away! Mack jumps out of cover surprising the Clicker with a massive shot from his stun stick. The Clicker hits the deck in a heap! The Clickers throw grenades why Stooz mans the hovercar. The PC take several shots but do not get knocked down. The crew of the Nightsun fall quickly although Night hangs tough. During all this combat the PC hear commotion on their intercom connection with The Far Star 7. It appears that something is wrong as they have not started firing on the Nightsun. Eventually the characters grab the bodies and retreat into the Hog. The crew of the Nightsun also back off. As the PC retreat Stooz and one of the Clicker crewman throw sensor scrambler grenades. This will prevent the Nightsun from using sensors, communications, and maybe even from firing their cannon for brief time period. As the door between the ships shut Dave takes some parting shots at the fallen Clicker bounty hunter which Stooz tries to push out of the way. Mack shoots the door controls on the Nightsun forcing them to undock with the cargo doors stuck open by about a foot. As the Hog starts to pull away it rocks with an explosion! Otto reports damage to one of the guidance thrusters. The crew of the Nightsun planted explosives on the hull of the Horny Hog and The Far Star 7. Captain Winder chases the Nightsun to the flux gate then returns. While chasing away the Nightsun Captain Schaffer tells Captain Night to deliver a message to Habber the Jut that he is not to be messed with!
	After repairing their damage and loading up both ships the Horny Hog and The Far Star 7 go through the flux gate on their way to the Hu. The current plan is to separate at Hu. The Hog will go to Terra while The Far Star 7 goes to Ichthia.

Date And Time At End Of Game: 7/6/2402


Dave Schaffer's personal log
Hah. That'll teach them to mess with us. BTW - For the record Knight shot first before I started blasting away (due to a bit of a safety catch issue) ....

Stooz's personal log
fyi -- order was a bit twisted, the bomb on the Hog went off before the sensor spoofers did, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to set them off.

	While traveling through the flux on the relatively short trip from Harding Station to Hu the PC get a chance to talk to Captain Hiss Winder and the crew of his assigned ship, The Far Star 7. It turns out that Winder lost his own ship in an asteroid accident. The cost of the cargo which he lost cost more than his ship and insurance. By working through the TC Navy Winder hopes to save up enough cash to fund another ship.
	When the Horny Hog and Far Star 7 emerge from the flux they see a light ring of defense satellites around the gate. Near the ice rock which is called Hu the two smaller ships approach a collection of TC Navy ships in orbit around the planet. To their surprise one of the ships is a medium cruiser. Ships of this size are not normally found this far away from the core worlds. The larger ship hails the PC craft identifying itself as the White Knight. It’s captain is Eiichi Majima. Captain Majima is known for being fearless but also very strict. When the PC convey their message they are allowed to dock with the White Knight. Lena, Winder, Mack, and Hannibal head into the ship to deliver the mail canister from Winder. Most of the working class crews don’t feel comfortable in a military ship of this type so they stay on their respective ships. The PC are lead through the immaculately clean White Knight into the Captain’s ready room. The Captains ready room is decorated with a large black onyx table which ends in a black bureau. On the wall is a watercolor picture of a waterfall in a Japanese style. On the end bureau is a matched pair of samurai swords. After only a few moments the Captain enters the room flanked by his first officer. He says nothing but Captain Winder stands and salutes. The rest of the PC stand. When he sits the PC sit as well. Captain Majima asks Winder to report. Winder goes through the story and the contents of the canister. Captain Winder falters a bit when he describes his reasoning for leaving the station. After the canister messages are played and their contents confirmed Majima orders the ships on yellow alert and says that he will take the canister. Majime chastises the Captain for abandoning his post but agrees that the contents of the message were vital. He asks the PC their destination and seems happy that they are heading to Terra. When the PC get back to the Hog they find the crews splitting. Captain Winder is taking the Far Star 7 to Ichthia. Jessa, Mako, and Rip Coral are heading to Ichthia. As Jane and Jessa had become friends it does not surprise the PC to find that she is also leaving with Winder. Penny and Crooktooth are actually unsure of what to do. Crooktooth’s initial plan it to go with Winder but the PC convince him to stay with them. Penny talked about staying with the White Knight as he does not trust anyone. Mack eventually coerces Penny into staying but he is not happy. With that the ships part. The Horny Hog proceeds to Jefferson.
	The trip to Jefferson is 2.5 days. During the trip Hannibal talks flux theory with Otto. Mostly Otto acts as an advanced calculation tool as he is not “inventive”. Martin mentions that it has been a while since Stooz and he lived on Jefferson. They claim to have left a couple of years ago. Stooz and Martin convey some information about the system. The gate is around 12 hours from the planet of Jefferson. Between the gate and planet is Ulysses S Grant Station. The station which is known as Grant Station to locals, is primarily used by the military but it is also a significant shipyard. As Jefferson is so far away from the station they have setup a line of communication satellites. On Jefferson is a significant down port and a medium sized city, Jefferson City. Between the city, which is known as JC to locals, and the downport is a sprawling startown. The sprawl is known as “Limbo” to the locals. Some of the street savvy PC think Limbo sounds like a great place to hide.
	When the ship emerges from the flux gate they find a much more fortified defense. There is a ring of missile satellites and two small cruisers. Immediately the Hog is hailed and scanned. The ship is boarded by inspectors. When the men try and extort the ship Lena steps up and asks to speak to their commander. The PC are then allowed to proceed to Grant Station where they can speak with the station captain Greg Katai. At the station the PC see a battleship, the Portsmouth, a carrier, the Yi Tong, two heavy cruisers, four light cruisers, twelve corvettes, and at least twenty free fighters. After showing the message to Captain Katai he tells them that they must speak speak with the ranking officer, Force Commander Irons who is currently on Jefferson. They will meet Irons at the local downport. The Hog then heads to Jefferson.
	Jefferson is one of the first terraformed planets. The experiment was a success...sort of. It’s atmosphere is thin but the temperature is hot. The mantle is not firm so the planet is scorched in places and is only habitable near the equator. The Horny Hog lands and the PC starts to gather their gear. The air reeks of noxious fumes and sulfur. Stooz seems unusually tense but the PC chalk it up to his normal high level of paranoia. Lena leads the PC to the local TC Navy Officer’s Club. As the PC wait for Irons in the local Officer’s Club they take showers and relax. Martin speaks with Stooz about visiting Jefferson Academy. Apparently the two of them have some local friends. Stooz is very reluctant but eventually agrees when Martin when he brings up a favorite restaurant that they both miss named Chucks.
	With that the PC accompany Martin and Stooz to the restaurant. They take a monorail to a stop in Limbo. While walking to the place Martin calls a friend of his named Doctor Loebach. The Doctor mentions a new project he is working on that involves some concepts discussed by the two of them before they left. Doctor Loebach calls Martin, Dr Zhu. The pair leads the PC to a low wooden building called Le Charles De Pit (i.e. Chucks). It is an expansive place with a real grill. The main attraction is their grilled real beef burgers. When the PC enter the young attractive hostess runs up to Stooz and gives him a huge hug, “Marcus! I thought you were dead. I’m glad your back.” Stooz acknowledges with a simple, “Its good to see you too Nancy.” She seats the PC at a large booth in one corner. The table lights up with a computer menu as the PC take their seats. Stooz smirks then hits three menu items at once. The screen flashes and returns with a “Hello Marcus!” The menu now has several new items. Stooz selects several items with a smile. At this point Mack starts calling the young hacker Marcus or Marc. A few minutes after ordering Doctor Loebach enters the restaurant with two other men. Loabach is a middle ages man with a blond beard. He introduces his two associates as Doctor Yin and Blakely. Doctor Yin is a small Chinese man with a gray vest and canvas pants. Bleakely is a confident black gentleman with a slightly heavier coat. Lena notices that he is armed with a pistol. With that Loebach, Yin, and Zhu talk shop. It appears that Yin is a scientist. After some talk Mack asks Doctor Zhu to explain in layman’s terms. Doctor Zhu explains that Loebach has created a biological circuit which can be used to control a target’s adrenal glands. The effect would be heightened strength and endurance. It would be triggered by an external signal of some type. At that point Marcus asks the men about their employers. Doctor Yin says that they work for Biogentech. After saying Biogentech Doctor Zhu makes a noticeable flinch. Blakely asks if Doctor Zhu knows of them. He says he has used their gear in his research. The PC know this as the company that makes slap patches and their medical tube. At this point Marcus gets up to get more beer. Lena accompanies him. At the bar Marcus looks tense. Lena starts to ask him a question when she notices that his hands are digging trenches into the wood. When Marcus turns to Lena his eyes are filled with uncontrolled rage! He rips out a brass rail on the bar and goes berserk! He attempts to hit Lena with the bar! At another place in the bar two military cadets start to go crazy as well. Lena dodges the attack while Scotch knocks over the pitcher of beer on Marcus confusing him. This give Lena a chance to draw her laser sword in defense. At the table Blakely slinks off the end of the table. Mack notices blood leak out of Doctor Yin’s mouth! He appears to have been stabbed by Blakely! Mack grabs Blakely who has a spike in his hand that appears to have come from a hidden cybernetic sheath. In the chaos Hannibal moves to help Mack then Lena when she calls for help. As Hannibal and Lena try to figure out how to deal with Marcus without killing him Doctor Zhu says, “What is happening with Remy?!? I mean Stooz...Marcus.” As Mack wrestles with Blakely Lena cuts off the pipe being welded by Marcus. The cadets starts attacking anything that moves! In the chaos Lena sees two men sneaking out a back door. One of the men is using a small camera to record the scene. After a few seconds Doctor Zhu tells Hannibal that he can deal with Marcus if he gets close enough. With that Lena chases after the men while Hannibal lures Marcus close to Doctor Zhu. When Hannibal punches the crazed Marcus to little effect Doctor Zhu bends over and says something softly in Va Rulen to Marcus. (Hannibal knowing Va Rulen hears the phrase, “Sleep Softly”.) When Marcus hears the word he instantly becomes stiff and falls over unconscious. Lena chases the men into a back room where she manages to knock out one of them. Hannibal returns to help Mack subdue Blakely. After the battle the PC grab the fallen comrades and foes and flee the scene.

10th of July 2402 (07-10-2402)
[Author’s Note: This is the start of the 19th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be the exact order that they occurred in the session.]

Everyone always talks about having bad days. Well...the day I had today tops them all... - Transcribed from the personal log of Doctor Loebach.

	After leaving Chuck’s the PC head to a dark alley to recover. When the PC ask Martin where to go he stares at Stooz with a look of panic and says, “I don’t know.” Mack digs a hole which allows the PC to let Stooz recover. When Stooz recovers he brings them to a local hidey hole he setup years ago and logs into the local network. By talking with Blakely, Loebach, and the captured cameraman the PC learn the following. Doctor Loebach is practically in shock after witnessing the death of a business associate and the chaos at the restaurant. He does admit that he did not know the military was involved. Loebach also tells the PC that the project was NOT ready for human subjects yet. In the lab mice died after getting pumped. Loebach worked in a warehouse building with Yin. The address is on the outskirts of Jefferson City. Blakely is a professional operative who works for corporations. He was surprised when the execs ordered him to kill Yin and Loebach. The PC find a card key for Biogentech and a hotel room key. The cameraman’s fried is Enrique Lopez. His boss with the camera and the radio trigger is Neil Lorentas. They are salespeople who work for Biogentech. The military wanted hard evidence of the project so they captured it on video. Lopez says the Lorentas will return to the office and send out the video. The PC realize they need to quickly follow and get the video footage. Stooz and Martin also seem motivated to stop this plan. The PC also take his Biogentech badge.
	After Stooz gathers the location of the local Biogentech office Martin drugs the two men and the PC leave them for the police. With that the PC head towards the Biogentech office. During the trip Stooz and Martin seem concerned about how they will prevent Stooz from going crazy if the signal is sent again. Stooz manages to rig up his internal biocomp to go into a debug mode while the signal is getting broadcast. This should prevent him from going crazy.
	At the warehouse the PC decide to simple barge through the door using one of the security badges. Lena mans a side doorway with her laser sword. As the PC enter they head to the executive offices. They are met by cadets who start to fire when the PC don’t stop moving. Once the firing starts Lena cuts through the side door and confronts Lorentas. The rest of the PC deal with the guards. Stooz throws his radio jamming grenades to prevent the cadets from going crazy or for calling for assistance. This allows Mack and Stooz to take them out. One of the guards does manage to escape. This pushes the PC to finish their business and leave quickly. During this time Lena confronts Lorentas. She takes the camera and the triggering device. After taking these Lena question Lorentas who seems frightened. Lorentas tells her that he sent the video to a local mail carrier for delivery. After getting all of the information she wants Lena skewers his leg with her laser sword sending the man screaming in pain and rendering him unconscious. With that Stooz enters the computer center. Martin starts examining the lab. The two grab all the important data then destroy the computer banks. Stooz knows that corps often make backups so he is not sure if they were able to get everything. The decision is to examine the information when they return to the ship. As they leave the warehouse Martin comments to Stooz, “You realize it is happening again...” The two carry on in silence.
	With that the PC leave for the hotel where Blakely stayed. The plan is to grab anything at the site then to return to the ship and the meeting with Irons. At the hotel the PC find a briefcase with a fancy disguise kit, $20,000 in cred sticks, and an extra pair of his cybernetic spikes.
	When the PC get back to the down port Stooz and Martin return to the Horny Hog. Lena and Mack go to the meeting with Irons. Irons is a gruff man who dresses in fatigues. He is followed by a small posse of “yes men”. After examining the data and talking with the PC Irons takes off with the following comment, “Just another chance to serve your navy. Let’s move people!!!” With that the PC and Irons take off.
	Just before the ship takes off Stooz informs Loebach that he must leave Jefferson and that going with them is the only safe way to be safe. He seems confused but trusts Martin and Stooz so he decides to go. As the ship leaves orbit Martin and Stooz breathe a sigh of relief.
	As the Horny Hog drives towards the flux gate they pass Iron’s ship and Grant Station. As the get into sensor range of the gate it flares open. Two Patriarch ships like the small ones the PC encountered leaving A2 exit. Seconds later the Patriarch father ship emerges. On it’s tail is a dizzying stream of smaller ships! The PC estimate that there are at least 200 smaller ships! With that Dave spins the hog...what now?!?

Date And Time At End Of Game: 7/11/2402


Hannabal Mayweather's personal log
Man this all sounds like an old vid movie The Fifth Element or at least like the plot. Earth is doom find the secret weapon, blah blah blah, and then destory the threat. But where the pretty girl??? Again i told everyone we should just head to Earth!

As the enemy ships emerge from the gate they slowly drift forward in an eerie silence. Like a calm before a storm the alien ships wait. Breaking the silence is a broadcast from the massive father ship:

	A lead corvette class ship proceeds slowly to the station. It docks with the station. The PC put the Hog into a circular orbit so they can approach the far side of the gate. Approximately 15 minutes later the small ship leaves the station. As the ship returns a broadcast is sent on all channels from Commander Irons. The message is that all ships should return to Jefferson immediately. After this message the Hog picks up a message sent only on it’s band. After raising his hands in a slow gesture Irons addresses the crew telling them that they must return to the station immediately. When the PC object Irons stresses the importance of the order. The PC chat with a closed com as they decide how to react. They again deny the command. During this time the PC supposition that maybe the aliens asked for them to be turned over or something? They definitely take Irons message as a warning. With that Irons wishes them well and cuts the line. As the line cuts the TC fleet starts to edge towards the enemy fleet.
	When the enemy ships start to move the missile ring around the gate opens fire. The back of the alien fleet takes the blast. They then destroy the defense ring. Some of the enemy ships remain at the gate as a rear guard. The enemy loss seems minor compared to their numbers. Around the father ship the smaller ships form into a defensive sphere. The TC fleet forms into a spear pointed formation with the battleship taking the lead. Behind the spear point the TC carrier moves to a flanking position and releases its fighters. The first salvo comes from the TC battleship in the form of missiles. As smaller enemy ships are destroyed others adjust to fill the void. When the ships reach canon range space becomes lit up with the blinding flashes of laser fire! Surprisingly the PC see the TC battleship proceed through the enemy line making a path towards the gate! When it gets closer a contingent of corvettes break off to confront the alien ships at the gate. Briefly a com signal is sent to the PC from Irons, “Clear sailing gentlemen!” With that the battleship turns back towards the battle. As the PC near the gate Lena feels a mental attack of some type wash over the PC. She does not know what it is but she knows the feeling. The PC wait for a bit to watch the fight then decide that a head start might be good and depart.
	The first leg includes a 3 day trip in the flux to Babylon. During the trip the following things happen: Stooz gets a chance to investigate the stolen Biogentech data. First he finds a set of non-secure data. For the most part it is not that useful. He does find that the TC Nacy contact is named James Keller. After two days of hacking he breaks the code on the data. It is created by a hacker named, “BxCr”. The secure data includes a copy of the mailed tape and research data. The video shows the scene at the bar. To Stooz’s chagrin there is a good shop of several PCs and Martin. The PC shots include Lena, Hannibal, and Stooz. The research data reveals that Dr Yin was trying to make a cheaper but easier to install module that would boost adrenaline levels like Stooz’s biocomp. The concept was actually to be used as a medical aid for injured soldiers in the field. Martin thinks Yin’s take on his design are brilliant. He also feels very guilty as he knows the research could have saved many lives. Martin has a bit more information on the worms. They are hermaphrodites that replicate similar to an earth worn. A blue band moves down their body and breaks loose when ready to replicate. He says it takes around 2 months for the worms to gestate. Martin also finds that the digest mineral water, earth, and tourite. He says their production of tourite is slow. He estimates that it would take many worms to keep a starship supply of tourite refreshed. Martin stresses that a xenobiologist is needed. The only thing Martin has learned about the plates is that they don’t work on worms. He thinks the casket plates might be tuned to a race but it will take more study. Hannibal is starting to decipher the information on the plate and the engines. The disk is actually a power source. It releases a burst of energy that recharges every hour. The burst is massive! It would likely be near the strength of a nuclear bomb. This would enable a gate to open if the right engines were present. He also finds that the disk does not provide any flux mapping except for the main four Other planets.
	Babylon is a lifeless planetoid. Several years ago it was mined of all tourite ore. Now it is being mined for heavy metals and nuclear material. The system has a small outpost. The base commander is Zoraida Leyva. She is a former blue collar TCPA hauler with a great smile and a tough demeanor. The outpost commander is Captain Sriram Goplan, a good tempered man. When the PC present their data he starts evacuation procedures. The next leg is a 2.5 day trip to Huai. On the way the PC learn the following: During this leg Hannibal figures out that setting up the Hog with the disk would require almost an entire jump engine. To buy one would take 5 to 7 million credits assuming you found someone to sell you one. He also determines that the energy released from the disk will take a special force field unit to contain it. The entire setup would be custom. He knows that only one company can do this type of advance flux engine work...Mayweather Global.
	Huai is a booming system with two populated planets. The system thrives with commerce. There is a full military base commanded by Admiral Walter Lee. Lee is small in stature but legendary in leadership. The fleet on Huai is large and very active. When the Admiral hears the news he immediately puts the fleet on alert and assigns a ship to escort the PC to Terra. The escort is Captain Tom Perry. Captain Perry is an older gentlemen who likes to talk about polictics. The last leg is a 1 day trip to Terra. Nothing happens on the trip.
	When the PC emerge into Terran space they are met by a small queue of ships waiting to enter the gate. There are a couple of merchant ships, a luxury liner, and a militate frigate waiting to enter. As the ship passes the moon Perry comments to the Hog that there is a lot of politics going on with moon base unions. The PC interrupt him with harsh comments about coming alien hoards. With that Perry escorts the Hog to Terra and New Shanghai. Instead of stopping at one of the orbital platforms Perry leads the ships to the main military base through a protective shield. As the Hog lands the PC observe the splendor that is New Shanghai. Skyscrapers touch the sky from Mt Victoria. Some buildings in the shape of pagodas lend to the beauty of the city. The local time is 11:30 PM. The ships are directed to a landing zone near the sunken military base. Lena has been in the base before and knows that it is massive with over 150 underground levels.
	When the PC land they are met by marines in black fatigues. These men are members of the Presidential Guard. They act as a sort of elite secret service. Their leader is an Italian man who introduces himself as Sergeant Torelli. He is well armed and carefully scans the PC as they leave the ship. When he detects weapons he asks the PC to either hand them over temporarily or to return them to the ship. The PC agree. He next asks for all passengers to disembark. The clickers do not want to leave and Captain Schaffer tells them it is ok to stay. With that the PC are escorted in a hover truck into the base. Torelli directs the PC to a private elevator where they are led to a very secure chamber on the lowest level. During the process the PC are heavily scanned. When Mack trips the sensors they ask him to remove the charge from his cybernetics. Stooz momentarily trips the sensors but they let him enter. Torelli leads them to a private meeting room with a large black lacquer table and wood paneling. The PC are asked to relax.
	From one of the side doors an older gentleman with a balding head enters the room. He sports small half sized spectacles. He speaks to someone behind him as he enters the room, “Madam President, this is the crew of the...um...Horny Hog.” After the man President Sharpe enters the room. She is wearing a yellow gold evening dress with white fur trim and carrying a tiny purse. She thanks the man referring to him as simply “Minister” then sits at the lead chair crossing her legs and straightening her skirt. President Sharpe speaks confidently, “Good evening gentlemen and lady I am President Sharpe. Please introduce yourselves and tell me about your role on the crew.” Without waiting Captain Schaffer introduces the crew while making suggestions that the ship is in need of repairs. With a smirk the President informs the PC that she has seen the footage they delivered and that it is quite alarming. She then informs them that members of the staff will debrief the crew. With that the PC are individually led to rooms where they are questioned in great details. A couple of hours later the PC are led back to the meeting room. President Sharpe returns and thanks the PC for their heroic efforts. She relays that the information they have delivered will likely save millions of lives. She then relays her intentions to the PC. In two hours she plans to inform the public of the situation. The plan will be to hold the aliens at Huai if possible. It is too populated to abandon. President Sharpe then asks the PC to continue their research of the Patriarch and the Others. She asks the PC to keep the investigation a secret. The PC could end up being an ace up her sleeve. The President then tells the PC that she will aid them by giving them hidden funds and a personal communication device which can be used contact her. She also gives the PC a private message which can be used to help them get passage. Aid provided by her cannot be public or others will detect it as unusual. President Sharpe then explains that Finkle will stay with her people to work on the casket plates. She also informs the PC that the worms will be taken for study. The President states that it is not her intention to hinder their business and plans to give them a cut of any profits that the worms turn. Next she informs the PC that they have “unclear pasts” and that her advisor have told her that everyone should be detained. She does not agree and reads them as a somewhat storied group but with the right intentions. Finally she tells the PC to contact her before leaving the planet.
	The PC then return to the Hog. They ask for weapons, suits, and gear from Torelli who gets clearance then provides the gear. At the Hog the PC find it crawling with agents. The C’Tac is handcuffed to a metal bar and the other clickers are sitting at his feet. They claim they tried to stop the men. After the PC arrive the men leave the ship. The PC comb the ship trying to detect what compartments were opened. Stooz talks with Otto who describes a man who removed his false front but did nothing but scan. Most compartments on the ship were opened. The worms are missing.
	At this point Penny, the hauler with the symbiote, declares that he is leaving as soon as the Hog docks at another port. Finkle and Randazzo tell the PC that they are going to stay on Terra to help the government analyze the Others. The PC realize that this will give Finkle what he wanted, public recognition for his studies. Martin and the Trog state that they are staying with the Hog. With that the Hog moves to the Mayweather Global space dock. Hannibal states that he needs to speak with them about setting up the custom flux engines and that since it may take some time it is best if they get started immediately. Later the PC will have to move the Hog to a different space port so that it can look for someone different to do additional retrofits. The plan is to install a large stationary canon mounted forward and a turret on the undercarriage for firing in several directions. The PC also plan on looking for shield improvements. [Note that this will be bargained with the funds given to the PC next adventure.]
	After landing at the down port on New Shanghai Lena returns to GeneCrux. The headquarters is a large green skyscraper with glass windows and a park view. The reflection of the trees on the glass gives the building a serene feel. With that she proceeds to the 60th floor to visit her office and immediate boss, Josh Becker. Josh is a larger white gentlemen with muscular arms and an infectious smile. Josh comes off as a bit of a “jock” but he an able negotiator and expert in military affairs. Josh acts as the Director of TC Affairs for GeneCrux. When Lena enters Josh shakes her hand then tells her to get a coffee and come to his office for a chat. When the Director sees Scotch he smirks then mumbles that he should not be surprised. Josh then tells Lena about her father, Rusty, and his role at the corporation. He describes many key missions that Rusty’s intel aided. Josh tells Lena that he was an epsilon level precog. He explains that when Rusty wanted to go to Archimedes 2 they reluctantly assented. Rusty’s premonitions had never previously faltered. At first his reports were minor until the big one with a planet sized explosion, alien fleets, and death. Of course GeneCruz told him to investigate. When they heard about his death they were devastated. They ordered Helena to investigate. Josh says that Rusty did not want Lena to know about him and they honored the request. Josh then tells Lena that they are Yellowcard insurance. Lena reacts with a reaction of acknowledgement to this data. He then informs Lena that she can use Yellowcard to contact them and receive a stipend. The Director then explains that they want to move Lena to agent status on a temporary basis as they have two very important missions.
	First Josh shows footage from the Hog of the battle at Jefferson. Overlaying the ships are “x” and “o”. As the patterns move closer Josh points out various parts of the Other movements. All of the things he is pointing out infer that the Others could be using a form of psionic communication to coordinate their attacks. The movements and changes are too fluid and precise. They have informed the military and have clearance to investigate. Since Lena is “entangled” with the aliens they are hoping that she can capture one of them for analysis. With a subject they can confirm if this is the case. The mission is called Operation AWOL.
	Josh begins to describe the second mission by first stating that he was surprised when he was briefed with this intel and that he was more surprised to discover that Lena already had clearance to this data. He relates some GeneCrux history that involves the founding of psionic abilities using Va Rulen “subjects”. According to Josh one of these subjects has been kidnapped. He then states that if the subjects subconscious data was uncovered it could be devastating to GeneCrux and Va Rulen affairs. At this point Josh relays information about why Lena is being asked to be part of this investigation. The missing subject is a Va Rulen woman named Vikizandra of House Gwynn. She is the Va Rulen ambassador to the TC. He also related that she is a very unique psi. Vikizandra can control her senses to a very fine level. The includes the ability to process external stimular very quickly. He gives an example of the ability. For example, if she was in a fight she could slow down the attacker’s actions and react to them as if they were running in slow motion. As her talents were connected to her senses the data retrieved from her analysis was important to breaking the secret. The Director then explains that Vikizandra is the lover of Hannibal Mayweather. He then hand Lena a data crystal and explains that this is the information that they have on the case. Josh explains that likely Hannibal has more current data as they have heard rumors that he is currently searching for her. Lena responds with a comment that now some of what she has observed with Hannibal makes sense. Josh says that it is critical that they ensure that this data is not leaked. If the brain washing is in tact then they concerns will be unfounded. GeneCrux believe Vikizandra is on Va Rulen. Their latest intel suggests that she was kidnapped by a mercenary crew known as the Black Razors. This mission will be called Operation Safety Net.

	When Lena finishes with the meeting at GeneCrux she heads over to Mayweather Global to meet the PC. The plan is to get the company to work on engines for the Hog and to search the Patriarch based on the cryptic final message from Osapod.
	Mayweather Global is in a 20 story building made up of red bricks and clear glass. The look is classic but sophisticated. As the PC enter the lobby the watch a holofilm about the company that plays over a dancing fountain. Over the fountain, hanging on wires, is the hollowed out shell of what was once the USF Patriarch. When the group approaches the lobby desk Hannibal takes the lead and asks to speak with Pearl. When the receptionist gets his name she pauses then calls the CEO. The PC are then issued badges and are ushered to a private elevator.
	When the doors open Hannibal is given a warm hug by the security chief, Graves. Graves escorts the PC into the office after giving Hannibal the latest security codes. The office is massive taking up most of the top floor. It is split into three areas that include a desk and meeting table, a wood paneled fireplace, and a sitting room with a full bar. Above the fireplace is a portrait of a man in his 60’s who looks like Hannibal. The name below the portrait says, “Ben Mayweather, Our Founder” Also on the fireplace mantel is a picture of Pearl with his father. When Pearl greets the PC he opens up with a boisterous hand shake and a loud, “Hannibal! My friend!” Hannibal then introduces the PC and begins to pour them some drinks. After that the PC chat with Pearl about the engines. Hannibal pulls out his notes and starts to go over the tech with Pearl. Surprisingly Pearl is able to follow the plans that Hannibal has created to some degree. He realizes that the power output would have to be immense. At that point Hannibal explains that he has that covered. Pearl tells Hannibal to bring the ship to Unity Station when his best ship man, Al Convey, can take a look. Pearl also promises to do his best at keeping it to a 3 day maximum. Hannibal then mentions his desire to search the Patriarch. In the process he explains the PC’s direct involvement with the alien invaders and suggests that Pearl be ready to move quickly. Pearl sets up the visit to the ship when the building closes that night.
	After using a hoverlift to reach the Patriarch Hannibal enters the ship carefully. As he walks through the historic craft he sees the ship as it was hundreds of years ago. Hannibal remembers the excitement and the constant motion. The other PC see an empty shell of a very old ship. Captain Dave moves to the cockpit where he takes the controls. The Captain feels some nostalgia while the PC start to search. Hannibal pulls out the “U” shapes piece and gets a reading. He homes in on a section of pipe that Lena cuts loose with her laser sword. Inside the PC find a 4” ring with runes. It resembles the material of the ancient artifacts the PC have gathered. When Lena activates the ring is sends shooting pains through her and Scotch become sizzled. After this happens the PCs vision black out then they observe the following vision:

With a jolt the ship shakes. The PC hear blaster fire reflecting off of the hull of the Patriarch. With a loud creek the ship starts to roll snapping its support cables. When it hits the ground with a crash the PC slip to the ground. They rush for the door to exit the ship. From the front of the office a squad of 15 Earthers in their purple stone armor are attacking. Immediately the PC jump into action. Lena and Hannibal race towards the back of the building while Captain Dave accesses the attacking forces. Mack digs down in an effort to provide another escape route. When the firefight ensues the PC realize that they are severely outgunned. Hannibal jumps the counter of the reception desk where he surprisingly doesn’t see anyone. When he picks up the phone it is dead. Lena races towards the stairwell. She does not see anyone in the back corridor. Mack dives down the tunnel after taking a serious shot to the arm. Captain Dave follows. When one of the Earthers throws a grenade down the hole Captain Dave grabs it, throws it up, and shoots it in mid air exploding it in their ranks! Mack is also surprised when there are not cars or people on the level down which is a parking garage. The PC start to realize something is amiss. Mack digs down and finds a black field. When Lena cuts a hole in the wall she also finds a black field. Hannibal supposes it must be another vision. Lena reaches through her bags pulls out the ring again. After some playing she activates again.

	Before moving to the next adventure the group took a look at the vision they experienced in the last adventure and translated the runes on the ring. They realized a couple of things after reading the story slowly as a group. They first noted the height of the first speaker as being very low to the ground. The then remarked that Imslek and Osapod were two of the original members of the group on Euclid and that there was more than one plan. The runes say, “Long lives are contained herein.” Lena returns to GeneCrux with the ring to do some research.
	First the PC met with CEO Pearl and got copies of the plans and instructions to meet with Al Convey, the foreman at the Mayweather Foundry on Unity Station. They are to bring the plans to him and deliver the Hog to get retrofit. Unity Station is the moon based formed after the last great war. After being mined out of tourite the moon was sold to several corporations to setup factories. This would help keep the Earth clean and make use of the many tunnels which remained.
	When the players dock at a nearby port they head through a small star town to a computer controlled underground highway. After getting off under the Mayweather Global sign the PC head to the front counter. Hannibal introduces himself surprising the young receptionist. She immediately gives the PC badges then asks for their weapons. When the PC object Hannibal tells the receptionist to call CEO Pearl to get clearance. She calls the security chief and clears the PC. They then enter the plant and are escorted to an elevator which brings them to the 10th subfloor. Each floor is comprised of large open rooms with massive vents, pouring red hot liquid metal, and the clamor of crashing metal. After exiting the elevator they head to Al Convey’s office. It is a shift change.
	Al Convey’s office and the conference room sit to the side of the large chamber. After knocking on the door they interrupt Al in a heated discussion with two of his leads. The leads include a large blond haired gentleman with a military cut and a squat man with a beard and mustache. Al Convey is a balding man in a vest. Al introduces himself with a smile to Hannibal. He then introduces Hannibal to his lead machinist, Gunther Dinselbacher (aka Gun), and his computer modeler, Bryan Carter. Al asks Hannibal to give the plans to Bryan so he can start the work. He then asks Gun to tell the men it is a rush job. Gun leaves telling Al that they need to continue their “discussion”. Hannibal asks Al if there is a problem at the office. Al hesitates then starts to explain. There are actually several serious problems. Benefits have been reduced, sales have been drastically increased since the news of the alien fleet, new hiring has been frozen, and several safety inspections have revealed “concerns”. Al explains that Gun is the union representative and that they are threatening to strike.
	Suddenly there is an explosion and a crash of metal! As the PC and Al move to investigate they see that one of the elevators has been damaged. Moving toward them is gun and four men. All are armed with blasters. Behind them another group of armed men are leading people into the elevator. When Gun approaches Hannibal warns them that Captain Dave is a killer and that they should back off. Dave crouches behind some boxes. Gun tells the PC that now is the time to act. With Hannibal in their control Pearl will have to listen to their demands. He then tells the PC to return to the conference room. Dave does not move and aims at the men. After asking again some of the PC and Al back up. Dave and Stooz remain at the boxes. When Dave does not move back Gun strikes him with his rifle using a commando blow stunning him. At the same time Dave fires at the men in the heads. He hits one of Gun’s men putting a hole through his head. Stooz flips on Captain Dave’s and his own shield. It is lucky that he does this as the other men open fire. One hits Dave in the head knocking him very unconscious. The other hits him in the arm. As Dave does not have on a helmet the hit to the head would likely have been deadly. With Dave unconscious Gun again barks his order. This time Stooz starts to drag away the body but he stops to collects Dave’s pistols. When Gun tells him to stop he doesn’t so Gun clocks Stooz. After that Stooz simply drags Dave into the conference room where Hannibal slams the door. Stooz then pus the table over a window in the room while the other PC decide what to do.
	Mack thinks to sense for more tourite. He detects two strong sources near the elevators. He suspects that they are setup as explosives. Mack then digs around to the devices and grabs the explosives. He then sets them under two platforms to cause a later delay. After setting up the scene he returns.
	After returning Hannibal does out of the room. He speaks with Gun. To the men’s surprise Hannibal says he will give them 100,000 credits each and setup a meeting with Pearl if they drop their arms and work on the Hog. This causes a dissention in the ranks of Gun’s men who consider this a large sum. Gun says he will agree as long as it is recorded. After recording the message Hannibal orders the men to drop their guns. When they do he barks out, “You can all take your money and leave. I'll make sure none of you work in this industry again! Now get out of here!” With that the men are arrested and leave. The PC speak with security and collect their things to return to the ship.

	After the last mission Hannibal stays to work with Al Convey and Bryan Carter on the engine design. The three work for over 12 hours straight fine tuning the design before it is presented to the fabrication personnel. At the end of the design Al tells Hannibal that normally this design would take at least a month to complete and fabricate. During a break Pearl visits Hannibal. He tells him that he has additional information about Vicki. Pearl has learned that the Black Razors who kidnapped Vicki worked through a middleman known as Abraham Benoit. Benoit is an East Indian human who connects clients on Va Rule. This does not surprise Hannibal as this type of position would not be wanted by local Va Rulen as it is public, dangerous, and has no chance for advancement. This man is a “necessary evil” in lower circles. As Pearl departs he wish his friend good luck and gives him a data crystal picture of the man which was hacked from a camera on Va Rule. The picture needs some computer enhancement to clarify. After completing the design work Hannibal returns to the Hog where worked are already making room for the new engines. Lena meets with the team. Captain Dave, Mack, and the clickers go to a local store to stock up on supplies.
	With the Lena reports what she has discovered about the ring at GeneCrux. The ring holds “psychic impressions”. Other psis cannot activate the ring. For some reason it does not work for them. The Ankmil visage and mental image of the attack by his men was some kind of triggered mental attack! The people at GeneCrux are amazed at the range and obvious power of this action. They also strongly suggest not connecting with the ring again.
	With that a conversation a short conversation breaks out with Crooktooth. He mentions that he left Trog because of some action related to his father. He would not go into a lot of details. The conversation is interrupted by a ring from the docking port. On the camera the crew view a young man of Spanish decent wearing a red silk robe and a much older woman of Spanish decent wearing simply garb. The woman is in her 80’s. When asked about their business the man say that he is looking for his brother Juan. When the PC reply with a comment that he is not on the ship the man asks if the ship is the Horny Hog. With that Lena and Stooz go out to meet the visitors. The man introduces himself as Jesus and the old woman as his mother. Jesus says that she was called by Juan and simple wants to see him. With that Stooz realizes that the call might have come from Otto! He then goes back into the ship to speak with the AI. Lena then learns that his full name is Jesus Egas. (Juan Egas was the engineer trapped with Otto on the ship on the asteroid hideout which was raided by the PC.) With that Stooz has a heartfelt conversation with Otto. During the conversation Hannibal rants that this is ridiculous and that Otto should be disconnected. Hannibal states that Otto is just a machine. Stooz tells him to be quiet and eventually gets Otto to admit that he called his Madre. Stooz asks if Otto wants to send her a message. The two rig up a holographic tape for the old woman why Lena keeps them busy. After seeing the message the woman seems a bit happier. Hannibal says the group should simple tell her that Juan did not make it off of A2 so he is dead. Lena and Stooz do not agree. With that the strange visitors leave. After the pair leave Martin talks with everyone about Otto and Juan. Having this “connection” make a lot of sense to Martin. It explains why Otto does not like being confined, it explains the Spanish, the knowledge of engines, etc. The PC do not know the extent of the “symbiosis” but they now have a different understanding of their AI.
	Before leaving the group has to make several calls. The first is to say goodbye to Finkle. Finkle says he is happy working with the TC. He finally has the respect he was seeking and an unlimited budget to conduct his research. Finkle also relays two important points to the PC. He has determined that the prophecy about returning the the homeworlds used the term “their homeworlds”. The PC were not clear which homeworlds counted but they got the message. The other news is about their destination. He feels it should Trog to speak with the Oceanite about the backup plan with the “sleeper”. The PC agree. Finkle then relays he has about the casket plate. He and Martin have discovered that the plate is tuned not only to a given race but a given person. With some work they might even be able to turn the plate into a weapon. Armed with this information Martin sets off to work in his makeshift lab on the Hog. Daz says a brief goodbye and close the link.
	Next the PC contact the President. They discuss their plan to go to Trog but they do not reveal the reason for the trip even when pressed. The President drives home the importance of their mission by reminding them that the thousands of men who lost their lives at Jefferson fought so they could escape. These men died so the Hog could deliver it’s message. She also informs the PC that the charges racked up on the cred card have been approved. There will be a 1 time stipend from this point forward. It is 200,000 credits. The President also give the PC a crystal that essentially provides a limited form of diplomatic immunity. It also have information on the alien for the other races. She states the ships have already left with this information but she is giving the PC the latest analysis. President Sharpe then informs the PC that the results of the worm research shows that their impact could be far reaching. It will greatly change long term power requirements. For uses like colonization it will be revolutionary. When asked for a company name to use Lena speaks up with “Rusty’s Engine Emporium”. The PC agree. The President then wishes the PC smooth sailing.
	With that the PC return to the ship to depart. They load up with cargo and head to the jump gate. At the gate they decide to test the new engines. Hannibal seems condfident but scares Stooz as he keeps saying, “Don’t worry...it’ll work...it looks great on paper.” As the ship reaches the gate the PC fire off the engine. The Hog bucks violently as if shoved up then down then a gate opens. Other ships stare in amazement as the Hog enters the gate in front of them. [Updated stats for the Hog will have details on how the engines function.]

	With their ultimate destination being the planet of Trogilla and a meeting with Fangslay the PC quickly pass through the Terran Confederacy systems of Thessalonia, Savoy, and Antioch. As the Hog enters Va Rulen space at the Enehamp system they are met with a small fleet of Va Rulen warships. The ships question them but allow them to continue. On Repoz, 10 days after leaving Terra, the Hog stops momentarily for supplies and news. As Repoz is a gateway system between Pakuan space and Va Rulen space it is very active. Stooz buys a new Va Rulen hoverboard and downloads news while Captain Dave and Mack sip beers. Stooz finds an interesting article about Pakuan cloning advances which he later shows to Martin. While chatting Mack sees someone he remembers from his “training” at United Space Mines (USM). The man is a ruddy faced medical professional known as Doctor Weber. Mack gets very serious when he sees the man. When the man notices Mack he nervously tries to board a nearby electrical light rail train. Stooz asks Mack if he wants to talk with the man but when Mack hesitates Stooz skates over with the intent of man handling him over for a chat. When he gets close Stooz knocks into one of the other passengers falling from his board. To Stooz’s surprise the doctor pulls a needler on Stooz and opens fire! With that Captain Dave stands on the table and proceeds to pump 5 needler shots and a blaster shot into the doctor nearly killing him. With that Stooz tries to stop the mans bleeding. Dave moves over then leaves carefully. Mack grabs the briefcase and leaves. Stooz retreats to the Hog soon after. Once back at the Hog the crew immediately departs.
	Stooz examines the briefcase carefully. After removing several security devices including a thumb print reader and a keypad lock he opens the case. Inside is a PDA and some data crystals. Examining these reveals the following information. Note that Stooz first discusses this information with Mack only in case he wants to keep it private. The PDA reveals that the man started his journey roughly 8 weeks ago on a freighter in the Media system. (Dave notes that there is not a station of any type on Media.) From there he traveled through Trog and Pakuan space to Repoz. Along the way he conducted meetings with potential USM clients. His eventual goal is a critical meeting with a company called Terran Materials on Terra. He plans to meet up with a USM salesperson called Doug Chaney. The data crystals have information on 10 “candidates”. The candidate files are labeled “TOLARM” with numbered designations. The number run like this: T3, T5, T6, T8, etc to T16. There are gaps in the numbering. Each file is a detailed medical history of 10 people that look identical to Mack with the same cybernetic outfitting. Mack is at a loss as he did not realize there were others like him.
	[This is the start of the 25th session.] As the group approaches Va Rule a tense silence hits the bridge. As the Hog emerges from the flux gate there are a fleet of Va Rulen warships. The PC could many smaller ships and four massive capital ships. The capital ships are needlelike in shape giving them a fearful image. After a few seconds a voice comes over the intercom in a lilting pangalactic, “Move to the following designated area or you will be destroyed.” With that the line cuts. The PC follow directions, are boarded, then allowed to continue to Va Rule.
	The dead planet of Va Rule is dark gray with lighter gray cloud masses. Above the planet in orbit are several arc shaped stations. These stations vary in size, orbit, and speed giving the feeling of a complicated child’s puzzle ball. Ships swarm around the arc shaped stations. The main port arc on Va Rule is known as Va Rule Prime or simply “Prime”. Prime is a massive orbiting structure with many space ports along its outer edge. The inner edge watches the dead planet. Inside the arc are many restaurants and shops. Sections range from upper to the very lowest of classes. Instead of docking at Prime, Hannibal suggest that they first visit the Gwynn family at Star Stream Station. Star Stream Station is a very high end arc that caters to the most prominent Houses only. After getting clearance and docking the PC walk towards the Gwynn family dwelling. The populace is 90% Va Rulen with only slight traces of Humans and Ichthians. Trogs and Cicadians are very rare. Star Stream Station contains a lighter gravity (.7 G) and high end shops. It even includes tree lined streets that remind one of a local high-end shopping mall. Most of the signs are in Va Rulen text only.
	The Gwynn family house is a mansion. It is fronted by a large black barred gate and huge sign that reads, “Gwynn Mansion.” At the door is a small guard station. Hannibal takes the lead and speaks to the guards in Va Rulen. They let the PC enter but take their weapons and escort them to the house proper. As the PC approach they see a huge garden with an artificial starry sky and a mansion with steel pillars. At the door a rigid seneschal stands. Hannibal walks by the man without saying a word. It is almost like the men share sort of hidden acknowledgement. Inside the PC are met by a maid who warmly greets Hannibal and instructs them to wait in a nearby study. Along the way the PC see a long corridor full of family portraits. Most of the frames has titles that include the word “Ambassador” or “Dignitary”. After eating a small informal meal three Va Rulens enter the study. The first, Landis, is a bearded man with an intense glare. He is wearing almost regal attire. Landis simply walks over to the fireplace mantel and nods at Hannibal. The second is his wife Linalnasm (i.e. Linal to family). She is a beautiful woman wearing a long red dress with white fur on the cuffs. Finally Vikki’s younger sister, Ananil (i.e. Ana to family) enters the room. She is also wearing a gown but move as if she is not comfortable wearing it. (Ana appears to be about 13 years of age.) After they have entered Hannibal relates the story of his trek to find Vikki on A2 then the pursuit by the alien fleet. The entire time Landis simply nods or grunts. He says nothing. When Hannibal finishes Landis pauses then continues in a stern tone, “Hannibal...Vikki is dead. Please accept the fact that she is gone. Do not seek to find her.” Linal looks on her husband in concern staying silent. After Hannibal replies that this is his wife and that he is going to continue he tells Hannibal that he is no longer welcome in the house and asks the group to leave. As the group departs Linal walks over and speaks with Hannibal. She tells Hannibal that she is sorry. Ana walks over and hugs Hannibal telling him to be careful. As Lena leaves she thanks Linal and subtly passes her a note with her mobile communicator number. The woman nods then escorts the PC to the door.
	With that the PC return to Prime to look for Abraham Benoit. He does not appear on the registry so the PC start to ask for him on the streets. They discover that he can be found at a media café known as Tenchini. Hannibal relays that this means “Broken Dreams” in Va Rulen. After watching him for a while the PC spy a young boy who is watching the PC and Benoit. When the boy approaches Benoit, Hannibal trips him then asks him to take a seat. After questioning the boy and paying him off the boy leaves. Hannibal leaves the restaurant after some time. At this point the PC devise a plan to lure Benoit out of the café. Lena walks in and orders a drink. She proceeds over to Benoit and tells him that she is in town on business. At this point Lena deftly seduces the man and invites him back to her hotel room. At the hotel room the PC are waiting. As the door opens Stooz stabs a stun stick into Benoit’s nuts sending him sprawling on the ground. Hannibal enters the room and kicks him in the gut before starting the interrogation as payback. Hannibal quickly gets Bennoit to give up the information he has about the Black Razor deal regarding Vikki. Bennoit brokered a deal between Asad of House Cromwell and the Black Razors. Asad gave Bennoit money plus information about where to find Vikki and information that she had some sort of psionic ability. Benoit then contacted the Razors and made the deal. Bennoit does not know where Vikki is right now but he says it is likely on some out of the way property of Asad’s. Hannibal then calls Linal and tells her to send someone over to cleanup the hotel room. Linal assents then informs Hannibal that the reason Landis did not want Hannibal to poke around is that Asad is holding Vikki and blackmailing them. If Hannibal pokes around Landis and Linal are afraid that she might be killed.
	After leaving the hotel room for “cleaning” Stooz starts to research Asad Cromwell and his holdings. He finds several legitimate businesses at first. Lena suggests looking for places with security upgrades. With that idea Stooz finds that Asad did a security upgrade on one of his double blind companies known as Cluster Storage Containers. This is a small company that runs out of an out of the way space station a couple of hours from Va Rule. Stooz also learns that it is running heavily in the red. After some talk with PC decide to approach the station carefully to take a look at the situation.
	The station is a very small structure in the shape of a long thin rectangular box. It is in a large solar orbit with a small moon or asteroid fragment. It does not appear to have any gravity plating at all. By approaching from other side of the fragment the PC are able to get close the station without being sensed. From there they decide on a brave plan. They spacewalk from the moon fragment to the station. At the stations they see a sleek yacht is docked. Asad is in the station! Stooz carefully opens some exterior plates and hacks into some internal security cameras. He also hacks into some of the internal pressure doors and the pressurization hatch. Quietly the PC enter the outer door of the pressurization chamber. They know they will not get much surprise as the depressurization will alert the crew. After starting the process they kick in the internal door and charge into an internal chamber. After everyone makes it into the side chamber Stooz starts closing the pressure doors to hold off some of the crew. All the while the PC are engaged in a chaotic melee! Stooz throws boxes at thugs. Mack wrestles with others. Lena cuts down some attackers. Hannibal races for Asad. Luckily Hannibal shoots the man several times with massive effect. Pushing their advantage the PC soon knock out Asad and chase back his concubine and sister, Roxy into a nearby room. Before she can lock the door she numbs Hannibal with some type of mental attack. Hannibal then trips into the room where she locks the door. Acting quickly Lena stabs through the wall cutting into the side of Roxy! Roxy lets out a howl. When Hannibal regains his sense he grabs Asad and orders her to stop or he will kill him. Roxy stops and begs Hannibal not to shoot. She is very strange and not very coherent. As Lena cuts down the door to the room Stooz and Mack are busy dealing with some Black Razor mercs who have hot wire the doors into opening. By lobbing grenades through the opening doors Stooz is able to cause some damage and knock down their shield. This leaves them open for more grabs by Mack. Soon the foes are down. Roxy reveals that Vikki is in one of the crates in the back! When the PC pry open the crate they find Vikki floating in a medial tube. Calling Captain Dave for pickup the team moves the tube into the Hog then departs.
	[Now the PC need to wake Vikki and leave for Trogilla. There could be several smaller scenes here so I am inserting this placeholder.]

	The Hog moves at maximum speed out of Repoz. It heads through Pakuan space and into Trogillian space. As the group passes through Pakuan space they get a feel for their easy way of life and a glimpse at their unique biomechanoid ships. Restrictions on travel are minimal in Pakuan space so the Hog presses on at full speed.
	Before exiting out of the flux gate at Steelfang Station the PC have a sense of impending doubt. They have a lot of questions and fears. They wonder how the Terran Confederacy fleet is doing against the alien fleet? They wonder if their pursuers are still following? As the Horny Hog emerges from the gate the PC are met with a dizzying array of massive Trogillian warships. The ships are massive and frightening. The sport serpent fangs, dragon motifs, scales paint jobs, and sharp spines. These adornments give the ships a ferocious visage. The Hog is order in Trogillian then broken pangalactic to head towards the station using the following coordinates. The PC agree and move toward the massive Steelfang Station.
	Steelfang Station is a huge structure orbiting a small white star. It is comprised of four donut shaped rings nearly 100 miles in diameter. In the center of the rings is a hodgepodge collection of structures. The station reminds one of something that might be found in Heavy Metal. As the PC dock they are met by a Trog lading officer who glances at the ship then leaves. As the PC explore the station they find a large mall arrangement with shops and warehouse facilities. About 75% of the beings they see are Trogillian, 15% are Ichthian, and 10% are Human and Pakuan. There are VERY few Va Rulens present. The only Cicadians are held in high tech shackles. The PC note that Trogs like the Ichthians. Not only is Ichthia a close neighbor but the Trogs find them honest in trade which fits well with their sense of honor. With that Stooz plugs in to get some news. There are a couple of stories that he finds worthy of note. The alien invasion is pervasive in many news stories. It is affecting politics and trade significantly. Interestingly the latest invasion news is coming from Ichthia NOT Pakuan space. According to local news stories Pakua has fallen to the alien fleet and is under military rule. This greatly concerns the Trogs as they like the Ichthians. Fangslay is also in the news. He is a politician. A newsreel that is only 1 day old shows pictures of him giving a speech to a large group of snakes at some type of public forum. The article claims that Fangslay has a “radical stance” on the impending conflict. This means Fangslay must be on Trogilla or very close so the PC embark towards Trogilla. Captain Dave notes that now they are not going away from the aliens as moving to Trog is actually closer to the alien fleet.
	As the PC come out of the gate over Trogilla they are met by a few ships and are given clearance to land. Captain Dave supposes that most of the fleet is likely moving towards the Ichthian border. Trogilla is a brown and green planet with swirling clouds. The planet is very rugged and warm. The volcanic activity and large fresh water lakes produce many geysers and jungle like conditions. The PC are lead to the main settlement known as Scalver. Scalver is on the coast of the largest lake on the planet which is known as Carnitas (i.e. “Tears Of Life” in Trog). After docking the PC are again met by a lading officer. Dave tells him they are delivering raktor worms and the man nods. Stooz decides to plug in for news. After that the trio asks around the streets for any information on Fangslay. Here is what they discover: The news reveals that 2 days ago Fangslay pit, a local pub, was raided. According to the news the place was flattened after the melee. Although Fangslay was not captured several of his men were killed and 1 is hospitalize. The ruling political clan leader, Mog Croc of clan Draikon, has banished Fangslay and has ordered him to be shot on sight for his “rebellious forked tongue”. Asking around the street the PC find out that Fangslay is universally liked. Fangslay does not preach military indoctrination which is so common with others. His stance has made him an almost Robin Hood like figure to the street people. (This does not surprise the PC as they know he has an Oceanite parasite.) Folks on the street say that Fangslay has taken to the hills in hiding.
	By modifying the ship sensors to use the Oceanite key as a guide, something Stooz had been working on with Martin, the PC are able to get a reading. As the terrain is so daunting the PC are forced to disembark over a hillside and approach the area on foot. The heat is intense. The jungle is dense. The rocky footing is sharp and rugged. The PC cannot wear space suits so they decide to take shield belts and lighter armor only. Crooktooth goes with the PC. He warns them about the Trogillian enhanced sense of smell. After an hour trudging through the bush the PC stop for water. They are tired but doing well. While waiting they are attacked my Monda hunting lizards! Stooz grenades two why Captain Dave opens fire taking one down. The others rush Mack and Crooktooth. Mack takes a deep shot to the chest. In another few seconds the lizards are down. Stooz patches up Mack and the PC continue. As they near the area revealed by their sensors they see a nestled set of natural caves. To their surprise in a flanking position they see a squad of 12 Trogs moving towards the caves. The Trogs are wearing Draikon insignia. Without too much discussion Stooz drops a smoke grenade and yells to the cave saying that they are being attacked. With the the PC rush towards the cave knowing that Mack can dig them out. The Trogs are surprised by the move and open fire. Mack and Stooz get hit but they make it to the cave. Just into the cave mouth the PC are held at gunpoint by a small group of six armed Trogs. Stooz starts excitedly telling them that they have a ship waiting to take them to safety. An old black and red skinned Trog steps forward and asks who they are in a deep voice. Stooz says they want to take him away. After repeating the exchange the group runs down the caves. Behind the small group one of the Trogs is activating antipersonnel mines in the tunnels. When the group emerges the PC contact the Hog. Behind them explosions resound. From over a hill Otto takes the ship lower for a pickup. As it crests the hilltop is nips several treetops and scrapes the ground roughly. Stooz grimaces while Captain Dave yells out! As the doors open the party jumps on board. Captain Dave takes the controls as two man fired missiles head towards the ship. Captain Dave guns the engines and heads for a nearby rock outcropping. He plans to turn the missiles back on the group but instead gets caught in a nearby geyser which forces the ship into the rock outcropping ripping off several hull panels. (Captain Dave rolled an 18 on his piloting roll.) With some correctly the ship takes off at full speed leaving the PC with a confused set of armed Trogs...

[At this point the PC need to take up a conversation with Fangslay and his men.]

Date And Time At End Of Game: 8/30/2402

Episode #22 - All Things Being Equal

19th of August 2402 (08-19-2402)
[Author’s Note: This episode actually started in the middle of the 26th session and completes at the end of the 27th. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be the exact order that they occurred in the session.]

	The Hog rockets through Trog space into Pakuan space. Along the way Martin monitors Vikki and Imslek. He feels that their condition is improving but he is not yet comfortable awakening them. Wanting to take the most direct route to the comet the group decides to skirt Pakua itself. As they pass close to Pakuan space they are briefly hailed by a scouting party. The ships have a bulbous look and a very organic feel. Pulsing lights make the ships feel alive. The PC are allowed to proceed without incident. As the PC approach the comet they decide how they want to find Seely. The comet is teardrop in shape. It is approximately half a mile wide at the top and 2 miles long. First they perform scans but those reveal no energy or metal of any kind. This does not surprise the group as it has not been detected as anything except a standard comet. The decision is to land on the surface and investigate. As the comet bucks and chunks fly loose Captain Dave moves closer with the intent of landing. With only a slight jar Captain Dave deftly lands the Hog on the surface. The PC suit up and proceed to a lower hatch. One out the hatch Mack digs down and begins to sense for tourite sources. He eventually finds one.
	After much digging Mack emerges in a chamber. At one end is a panel engraved with indentations for the Other keys. Mack notes that the door is not ice but crystal. As the small door slides open the PC cautiously enter. Lena and Mack find a strange engraving on the floor in the center of the round room. Under it is a small box with ancient text on the lid. While Lena and Mack investigate Captain Dave stands watch and Stooz tries to get a sample of the wall crystal for Martin. Out of the walls emerge strange crystal lizards! The PC fallback to the door and start fighting. Strangely the creatures lunch at Dave’s guns, Lena’s power sword, and Mack’s sonic tunneler. When they get shot they radiate with a purple glow. Mack and Dave get hit by the creatures and discover that they suck power from batteries on their person! Just before Dave and Mack run out of power Lena manages to get the upper hand on the beasts. Stooz moves to decipher the writing. Lena and Captain Dave keep the creatures from regenerating. Stooz reads the writing which says, “Our lady guides us in the pitch, She licks our skin in the spring, Finally pulling back the night.” Under the writing are formula for power output. Stooz decides that a light weapon with the power of a large shot must be used. Lena takes the cue and stabs at the spot. It glow purple then fades. After a second stab the creatures stop and the box emerges. When it opens the PC see a small fragile creature which looks like a cross between a white lizard and a bird. It wears small jewelry and has ancient looking tattoos. As it awakens it slowly moves towards the tunnel mouth. The PC lead it to the tunnel back to the ship. At this point there is a flash then a bolt of light which races up the tunnel! When the PC get to the top of the tunnel the strange new Other is waiting. It appears to have changed into a beam of living light!
	As the PC climb into the Hog it rocks with an explosion ! Otto calmly explains that the ship is under attack. As Dave races to the bridge a familiar voice comes over the intercom, “Captain Shaffer, this is Captain Night. After our last encounter I decided it best to settle for “dead” not “alive. HAHAHAH!” With that the PC rush to their stations on the ship. The strange alien Equal simply hops up on the back of a chair in the bridge. After getting blasted three times while powering up the Hog jumps into action. The three shots did a fair amount of damage to the back of the ship causing it to lose half of its structural integrity. Stooz, Otto, and Mack furiously race to align the shields for more attacks. Once airborne Captain Dave sends the ship toward a nearby hill. The Nightsun follows the Hog in hot pursuit. To Captain Night’s surprise the Hog is much faster. The PCs also remark that he likely he does not know that the Hog is armed as in the last encounter it was not. Captain Dave takes the ship in a tight looks around the rock hugging it tightly. When the Nightsun emerges from the ferocious icy winds it cannot see the Hog and proceeds to raise up a bit and start a search. The Hog rounds the hill and proceed directly onto the tail of the Nightsun. Once Capt Dave closes the gap the Hog lets loose. First the autofire turret rips into their rear shield causing them to weaken. Captain Dave targets their engines and fires the large gun. With a brilliant shot he cripples their engines sending them skidding towards the comet. With a quick barrage the Hog vaporizes the Nightsun in a fiery ball! Captain Dave celebrates the victory and plans to send a tape to Habber the Jut. As the ship leaves the vicinity of the comet they notice three Pakuan ships in a patrol. The patrol appears to be watching but they make no reaction at all when the Hog leaves. The crew of the Hog does not contact the ships and simply lets them depart.
	Now that things have setting down the PC get a chance to speak with the strange alien Other. First Stooz conveys the names of the crew. With a strange squeak the creature says that her name is Seely. After a bit Stooz pulls out the plate and the symbols. On the plate Seely starts reading the text and verbalizing it. Even though the PC do not understand the spoken form of the ancient tongue they do know how to translate the written form. Stooz give the creature a pad which allows the creature to write to the players. After relaying what the PC know so far the creature relays the following information. She is a member of the race of Equals. Her people possess the ability to become living light. This allows her to travel at a very fast speed. They can also endure the rigors of space (i.e. vacuum, cold, radiation, etc) with no protection devices of any type. Ankmil is a powerful psychic entity. He has vast telekinetic and mental powers. The Patriarchs also have the ability to form flux gates and travel through them without the need of any device. They do this mentally. This ability is so powerful that it has been done on object as large as capitol class space ships. Seely also know of a flux gate which is not on the main star chart. She knows of a gate from Ichthia to Plato. This provides an important short cut in this region of space. Stooz also comments that this might explain why Ichthia fell so quickly. It would put it much closer to Patriarch space.
	The Equal thinks that the PCs idea to use the casket plate as a weapon is wonderful. Her question is how the group will lure Ankmil to it.
	Seely asks if the PC know about his base of operations. Stooz takes an educated guess that it must be on Euclid as that is where he was stranded for so long. Seely and the rest of the PC agree. They decide that attacking his shipyards might be a good way to get his attention so that he will return to Euclid. Stooz also suggests that by alerting the Trogs, Pakuans, and TC with this information it might give them a place to focus their attacks. The thought would be to travel back to Trogillian space to inform them of the plan.
	During this time Martin alerts that PC that he would like to stop at Pakua for several reasons. The first is that he would like help with the plate. He is having trouble getting it smaller than the size of a telephone booth. The scientists on Pakuan are quite good so he hopes he can get their help. Stooz also comments that this might be a good opportunity to inform the Pakuans about their plans for an attack. [Note that Steve also wanted to discuss further plans with the rest of the players before going to much farther.]

Date And Time At End Of Game: 9/13/2402


Dave Schaffer's personal log
He thinks he's got me trapped? :D He's the one not getting away this time...

Dave Schaffer's personal log
I was surprised by Stooz blood-lust in asking me to go back and mop up any survivors following our victory against the pirates. I'll need to teach that kid that it's best to only kill when absolutely required.... :D

Episode #23 - If A Tree Falls In The Forest

13th of September 2402 (09-13-2402)
[Author’s Note: This episode is the first half of the 28th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be the exact order that they occurred in the session.]

	Without too much deliberation the team decides to head to Pakua. Their goal is to help on the plate weapon and to see if they can get more information on the cloning technology recently revealed in the news. The PC think the cloning technology might be able to help Vikki and Imslek recover.
	As the PC approach the system after a couple of days of travel they are hailed by Pakuan scout ships. Captain Dave replies with a brief message and the PC are given clearance to land. Captain Dave has been to Pakua in the past and seems very comfortable with the Pakuan philosophy of “live and let live”. Pakua is a blue green planet that is comprised of 75% water. It sports lush forests of all varieties. As the Pakuan people are very much into the health of their planet they use an up-port and a space elevator to handle traffic to and from the planet’s surface. The Hog docks at the up-port without incident. Captain Dave gives the clickers some cash and tells them to stay near the ship. Seely, Lena, and Hannibal also stay with the ship. Lena take charge of getting the ship restocked. The rest of the PC and Martin head towards the surface. Martin has also apparently been on Pakuan and claims to know one of their scientists well. He tells Stooz in private that he may have to use Professor Oak’s name to get some “attention”.
	As the group descends in the space elevator they see a lush green environment that teems with life. The lack of air traffic and clear evening skies provide a majestic view. When the elevator stops the group follows Martin to a environmentally friendly subway train which will take them to the person he wants to visit. Along the way the group spies a lot of Pakuans of all sizes and shapes. Occasionally they spot a Trog, Icthian, Human, or Cicadian. When the train stops the PC walk to a nearby security center. At the gate a large Joshua tree Pakuan guard asks them to present themselves. Martin fumbles along trying not to say his name until Stooz interrupts to help him out. When they mention Professor Oak the guard perks up and calls someone on a high-end headset. After showing a camera on Martin the group is led by the large guard to a secure lab.
	Inside the biotech lab Martin meets a large silver oak tree who is named Doctor Knotbranch. Dr Knotbranch and Martin appear to know each other very well. After introducing his lab assistant, a lovely Va Rulen woman known as Rehath from Clan Uratain, the PC are led to Dr Knotbranch’s private office where they can speak in private. Stooz notices that Rehath appears to recognize Martin. In the office Martin and Stooz carefully explain the plate weapon and their need to learn about the cloning technology. They carefully avoid giving out any additional information.
	In the meantime Captain Shaffer speaks with Rehath. Rehath asks Captain Shaffer about the purpose of their visit. That is when he explains that he is a galactic hero out to save the universe from the attacking alien fleet. With a smirk Rehath nods in assent. She then tells Dave that he keeps “interesting company”. Assuming she means Stooz, Captain Dave goes into a diatribe about how much of a liability is it to have him around all the time. Rehath continues the conversation for a bit not realizing that he is speaking of Stooz. They are interrupted when the lights in the lab turn red.
	As the alert sounds the entire group moves to a nearby ready room. Most of the complex appears to be evacuating while the PC are moving against the flow. Captain Shaffer grabs Rehath and pulls her along. When the group enters the conference room the roof parts down the center and begins to open. The moonlit sky is obscured by a huge being that grabs each side of the room like a it is peering into a small box. The create could only be Rootspire, the Pakuan minister. He speaks in a slow but forceful tone, “Who are these people Doctor? We do not have time for this now.” Dr Knotbranch replies that the party are friends who know a lot about the ancient races and are working on a weapon which can be used against their leader. With that Rootspire asks for details. The Joshua tree guard speaks up says, “The enemy fleet is estimated at 100 frigates, 2 larger capitol ships, and a massive father ship. Our fleet totals 60 frigates and two capital ships. As we have to defend the planet as well plan the attack our chances are at best very very low. We estimate that they will be at Pakua in about an hour.” With that Rootspire wonders why the enemy fleet would be coming to Pakua in the first place. The PC feign ignorance. Dr Knotbranch and some of the PC recommend surrender as it would preserve the most life. Rootspire says that he will enact a plan called “Camouflage 1” that will hide the fleet then protect the planet with a global shield. The PC suggest that the only plan that has worked against the enemy fleet is to flee. They think their best course of action is to head to Trog space with Dr Knotbranch so that they can complete the plate weapon and tell them what they have learned about the enemy. Even though Dr Knotbranch wants to stay with Rootspire he orders him to go with the Hog. Knotbranch and Rehath grab some of their gear and leave with the PC to return to the hog.
	By the time the PC have returned to the Hog via the space elevator and packed up their gear they get a message from the enemy fleet:

[Ankmil rests on the bridge while his men quietly man their stations. After a pregnant pause he speaks in a flat even tone.]
“I am from an ancient race of beings known as the Patriarchs. Over 150000 cycles ago my people acted as guardians of all the known races. It is to that end that I journey to Pakua.”
[He looks down and pauses. After a low sigh he continues.]
“The Pakuan’s respect like no other race of this age. You respect the wisdom long life brings. By allowing me to protect you from invaders or threats of any kind I can guarantee you a prosperous future…one without war or strife.”
[Ankmil fidgets in his chair.[
“You will have 30 minutes to consider my proposal. At that time I will contact Rootspire and expect an answer.”
[With that the line cuts.]

With that the PC take to space. Captain Dave uses the planet and other ships to mask their departure. Instead of staying quit Stooz opens a channel to the alien fleet and tells Ankmil that he sucks and that they will be coming for him. Rootspire comes on the line and talks to te PC for a bit. After 20 minutes Rootspire opens a channel to the planet and the enemy fleet:

[As the channel goes live Rootspire is shown on a hand camera. It appears as if a Pakuan standing on one of his limbs must be taking the shot.]
"I have heard your offer and discussed it with the elders. Though you offer protection and peace it comes at the price of personal freedom. Freedom is more important than long life and is worth defending."
[With that Rootspire closes his eyes then waves his massive arm. The Pakuan ships start to advance.]

Initially the small Pakuan fleet hits the enemy like a brick wall. With little resistance the Patriarch fleet advances. As the ships get close to the planet a shield surrounds it. At that moment the rest of the Paluan fleet emerges from behind the planet attacking the flanks of the Patriarch ships. The Pakuans center their attacks on one of the two capitol ships causing it to eventually flame and start to break up. When that happens the line opens again. This time Ankmil looks sad and forlorn. He closes his eyes and lifts one hand in a grabbing gesture. A strange black glow starts to surround his hand. With that action one of the Pakuan capitol ships lurches. It a swift action it move at a perpendicular angle into the other Pakuan capitol ship sweeping it aside as if both are mere toys. In a flash both ships split then explode. The communication ends.

With that the PC take off at high speed. On the way out Seely turns into light and says that she will meet the ship at Steelfang Station. She wants to scout out the enemy fleet. As this happens the PC are mentally probed. Everyone except for Lena sees a strange set of runes in their mind. Stooz translates them into, “I’ll get to you. Ankmil.”

On the way back to Trogillian space the PC get to know Knotbranch and Rehath a little better. Knotbranch convey the following information about their cloning technology in laymens terms:

	Their technology is very advanced but at quite an early stage. It is risky. The process is also quite slow.
	The base for the clone must be a DNA sample of the being to be cloned. With the sample growth is accelerated using terraforming techniques pioneered by Professor Oak.
	They still have some hurdles to overcome.
	Memories are transferred using a biocomputer with massive storage and speed. When Knotbranch mentions this Martin makes a comment that he, “know a bit about biocomputers.”

Date At End Of Game: 9/16/2402

Episode #24 - Scale Mail

16th of September 2402 (09-16-2402)
[Author’s Note: This episode is the second half of the 28th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be the exact order that they occurred in the session.]

	With that the PC head at full speed towards Trogilia. Their goal is to give all of their latest information to the Trog fleet which they know want to perform a counter attack. On the way to Trog the PC gets to spend some time with Knotbranch and Rehath. During the trip Stooz happens to walk in on Rehath speaking to Martin in Va Rulen. When Rehath and Martin see Stooz they stop talking. Martin seems visibly shaken by the conversation. When Rehath moves to another area of the lab Stooz asks Martin quietly if she is upsetting him. Martin reluctantly says yes.
	Martin, Rehath, and Knotbranch also got a chance to examine Vikki/Imslek. They are concerned that she has not awoken and are trying to decide how to proceed.
	When the ship enters Trogillina space they meet up with Seely. She reports that Pakua has fallen. According to Seely the shield held for only a couple of hours. While it held Ankmil’s fleet wiped out the remaining Pakuan navy. Once the navy fell he used his mental powers to destroy the shield generators on the planet’s surface. Once the shield fell Rootspire surrendered.
	After meeting with Seely the group summons the largest Trog military ship they can find and flashes the Terran presidential creds. They say that they have vital information for the commander of the Trog fleet, Mog Croc. The leader of the fleet at Steelfang Station is Captain Jal Diamond. Jal is a friendly man who sees this as a chance to return to the battlelines with critical data. He appoints one of his seconds to stay with the fleet while he takes his cruiser as an escort for the PC. With that the PC speed towards Handfury where the Trog armada is mustering.
	On the way to Handfury Stooz gets a chance to speak with Rehath alone in the lab. He tells Rehath that she will find herself out an airlock in Trogillian space if she upsets Martin again. After threatening Rehath Stooz crushes a table leg. Rehath calmly says that she will have to be a bit more careful.
	As the Hog emerges from the flux gate at Handfury they see an amazing collection of warships. There are several battleclusters arranged throughout the system. Each is formed of a large capitol ship and arrays of frigates. In the center forming the largest battlegroup is a massive capital ship almost half a mile wide and three miles long. The ship is in a roughly chisel like shape. Battlepaint on the ship is of a large brown dragon with its head down in a charging posture. A ridge along the upper spine forms the bridge. After announcing the PC the Hog is cleared to land near the bridge. Before landing Captain Diamond tells the Hog that Mog Croc likes to be called General not Admiral as he was a "footslogger". He also suggests being curt and precise with General Croc as he is a no nonsense type of person who hates pleasantries. The PC are met by a squad of huge Trog marines wearing armored space suits each with unique patterns but a common brown dragon symbol on the right breast. The PC are scanned then allowed to proceed to the ready room. They are not disarmed. When Mog Croc enters the room Captain Diamond stands at attention. The PC do as well. General Croc is a huge brown Trog with black around his mouth. His teeth are warm and his space suit is planely decorate with the ship logo and general clusters. It shows a brown camouflage pattern. He speaks in a stong tone, "Sit down gentlement. What brought you to me ?" With that the PC explain the information that they have gained. They also inform the general about the new flux route that they have discovered between Ichthia and Plato. Finally they relay the fact that they are working on a weapon which can be used against the Patriarch commander if they can get close enough. To that end they would like to lure him back to Euclid by attacking his base of operations. While the PC convey the story General Croc listens intently saying nothing. When they finish the general conveys his current plan. In 4 days the fleet will be ready to move on Ichthia. The news from the PC simply lends more importance to their mission. He asks the PC for their plans. They say that they will accompany the fleet on the attack. General Croc says that is fine as long as they stay out of the way. With that the PC return to the Hog.
	Once back on the Hog the PC discuss their options. They could send Seely ahead to scout but she cannot enter the flux gates so it would be very hard to find her. Mack then tells the doctors and PC that he may know a place where they can find proven examples of clones. He tells them that he suspects that Media is not simply a United Space Mines output but also a hidden cloning base. Although everyone is surprised by the data they think the cloning data from United Space Mines could be vital to the recovery of Vikki/Imslek. It is at that point that Stooz realizes that they better go ahead of the Trog fleet. If the Trog fleet enters the Media system they will be looking for a fight and will likely destroy any information that might be present on the base. The group decides that the will go out a couple of days before the fleet. When they tell General Croc about their plan he speaks with one of his scientific officers. After some debate in Trog the being steps forward and says that they are working on an experimental imaging device which can be used to hide a ship. The problem is that it requires large engines and a very powerful computer to operate. Even then it has some several technical limitations when being run. For example, as it covers the ship shield cannot be used. Also it has a visible fringe at close ranges. The tech is very surprised when the PC tell him that they have a computer which can drive the device (i.e. Otto) and Va Rulen engines which can handle the load. With that the tech brings over some men and they install the device. During the installation Captain Shaffer speaks with General Croc. He explains that any other weapons they could provide would be nice. After some convincing General Croc orders his men to deliver some space mines to the Hog. These can be manually deployed form the rear doors or used on the enemy base if they manage to find it. After fueling up the PC depart for Media…

Date At End Of Game: 10/13/2402

Episode #25 - You Can Never Go Home

13th of October 2402 (10-13-2402)
[Author’s Note: This episode is the 29th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be the exact order that they occurred in the session.]

	After getting the new hardware installed the Horny Hog departs for Media. The ship has approximately a 2 day lead on the rest of the Trog armada. After 5 days the ship nears the flux gate to the Media system. The computers on the Hog know the following information about the Media system: There are 4 planets in the system. There is no known base in the system. The first two planets are gas giants. The third is a habitable planet with only a thin atmosphere. The last is an ice ball. The third planet, Media 3, is approximately the size of earth with a standard gravity. It is extremely volcanic. Only a small band around the equator is habitable. In that band there are rugged bluffs. At the base of the bluffs is a deep cloud of volcanic ash and steam. The strange gasses form superheated gels which leak out of the sides of the bluffs in flaming waterfalls.
	The PC decide to turn on the new cloaking device then to drift through the gate. Even though anyone on the other side would see the gate open and close they would hopefully not see detect emerging. After deftly performing this move the PC wait for a couple of hours. Everything looks quiet so the PC carefully move away from the gate. They are using passive sensors only. The first target for the PC is the 3rd planet in the system as Mack remembers volcanic activity and digging in real rock which is really only possible here. After slowly approaching the group spies a group base on one of the bluffs. The cameras on the Hog see two TC transport ships and a warehouse building. They can see roughly 10 men moving large boxes from the building to the ships. Mack says that the main base will lie underground. Stooz decides to look for a surveillance satellite and detects a tiny cylindrical shaped device. On the end facing the flux gate is a huge lens. On the other side is a radio transmitter to the planet.
	After some discussion Mack and Stooz think infiltrating the base is the right move. Captain Dave thinks waiting until the ships are loaded then attacking them in flight is the right move. Eventually Mack and Stooz convince Captain Dave that infiltrating is the right plan. With that the PC maneuver the Hog into a nearby valley and approach in the hovercar. The PC wear their space suits due to the toxic environment. They also arm themselves with grenades and lots of explosives. Mack literally takes every bomb he can carry!
	As the PC approach the bluff they do not see any security devices although Mack guesses that they might have seismic sensors of some type. With that they start to dig into the side of the bluff. Mack senses for the base power generator and make a beeline towards it. Eventually he hits some wire, then concrete, and a metal plate. Quickly he stops. Stooz wires the sensors in a loop while Mack prepares to blow a hole through the metal plate. After the work is done the PC blow a hole into the base.
	The PC appear in a metal lined room with piles of rocks, two teenagers that look exactly like Mack but a bit younger, two guards, and two scientists. Captain Dave opens fire on the guards while Mack rushes one of the nearby scientists. Stooz lobs a stun grenade at the guards but misses wildly. After crushing the first scientist against a wall Mack charges a guard. Captain Dave shoots the other guard in the foot and arm. Stooz pumps his stats and grabs the remaining scientist. The Mack clones move to a nearby unlocked room. With a few well placed punches Mack takes out the guards. Stooz and Captain Dave are shocked at the seriousness of their spark plug mechanic who is normally very jovial. With that Stooz drags the man to a locked door in the room. In the meantime Mack enters the unlocked room and confronts the now three clones. As he has on his space suit helmet they first react with fear telling Mack that they are not armed. Mack removes his helmet and tell the men that he is here to take them to safety. The clones are shocked. The older one says that this is their home and that they do not want to go. One of the other says that Mack looks like them and that maybe they should listen. The scene is quite emotional as the group discusses what to do. They ask for evidence of what Mack is saying and he says that can be found on a video on their ship. During this time Stooz with the captured scientist and Captain Dave are moving down the locked hallway. Stooz asks the man where the cloning tech can be found. The scientist says around the corner. With that Stooz knocks out the man. Through the next door Captain Dave can hear a lot of men moving around. Stooz quickly decides to fuse the door closed so the men will be delayed. During this action Mack places a radio detonated bomb on the base power supply. Captain Dave finds a supply room and tells the clones to get space suits and to head down the tunnel.
	After that the PC group in the side room and prepare to blow a hole into the next room which Mack remembers as being another lab. When the wall blows the PC find a cloning lab with two scientists and a 4 year old clone strapped to a table. Mack charges one man while Captain Dave opens fire on the other. Stooz rushes into the room and starts accessing a nearby laptop. While Stooz hacks into the laptop Mack frees the boy and Capt Dave mans the other door. After finishing with the boy Mack goes out of the door and enters another side lab. Surprised Captain Dave follows. At the end of the hall are a bunch of armed guards! Stooz lobs smoke and stun grenades. Captain Dave opens fire yelling, “Patriarch brigade attack!!!” As men fall Mack enters the next room. Inside are two guards and two clones. One clone is around 6 years old and the other is around 16 years old. Mack rushes the guards knocking the first one silly with one punch! He then grabs the man spinning him around as a shield. The guard opens fire on Mack hitting him but to no real effect. In seconds the second guard falls. Mack tells the clones to leave. Outside Captain Dave blasts away but he soon realizes that there are many men on moving through the smoke! He yells for Mack to leave. Mack grabs a pistol and kills the guards before following Captain Dave and Stooz out of the base.
	When the group heads out of the tunnel the clones are reluctant but see no other options and accompany the PC. Stooz calls Otto and tells him to bring up the ship. The group then enters the ship. Once in the ship Captain Dave takes over. He removes the cloak and raises shields. He then rises up to the top of the bluff. At the top one of the ships is starting to take flight. Quickly the Hog blasts the ship sending it falling into the choking ash clouds. With a sharp turn Captain Dave uses the ship engines to ignite the buildings. In a second quick pass the second ship is destroyed on the runway. Mack hits his radio detonator. The result is a huge explosion as the side of the bluff disintegrates. Slowly the bluff starts to slide down as if cut by a knife at an angle. As Stooz stares on in horror Captain Dave and Mack seem appeased. Captain Dave mentions following their plan at the beginning and his plan at the end.

[Author’s Note: This episode is the 30th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be the exact order that they occurred in the session.]

After raiding the base the crew of the Horny Hog decide to wait for the rest of the Trogillian fleet to arrive. During the wait Stooz starts to examine the data taken from the base. There is a lot of information on the computer. Information is present for the entire project and for each subject. Here is a summary of the information which is collected. Note that the general information was discussed with Stooz, Martin, Knotbranch, Rehath, and Mack only. The medical information was discussed with Stooz, Martin, Knotbranch, and Rehath only. Project TOLARN (Tourite Location And Retrieval Unit Nine) – The nine comes from the petri dish which was the first success. The project goal was to create an advanced group of miners to do the work of hundreds. Functions include psionic dowsing, a cybernetic digging unit, lots of training, and a “willing worker”. They plan to sell the units for millions of credits. T1 (i.e. Mack) was receiving bids in the 15 million credit range. After the business information there is a picture of Mack as a boy standing next to a man in a white lab jacket. Stooz guesses Daddy. The cybernetics include the digger, a homing device, and a neural stunner. The stunner was added in response to the escape of unit T1. The mental conditioning is done from birth using standard brain washing tactics. A report recommends stronger methods due to the incident with T1. The cloning technology is very advanced. Initially Martin, Knotbranch, and Rehath conclude that the process is advanced but unstable. This would account for the low success rate and the fact that resulting candidates have a shortened life span. The prediction is that subjects age at a rate of almost 3 to 4 times that of a normal person. There is some data regarding cloning and mental powers. This is very interesting to the scientific trio as this is startling data. (A side scene will develop which is related to this topic. See below for details.) Later the doctors decide that the technology could be used to help Vikki but it should be a last resort as it would age her at a rapid rate. The data include complete histories on all of the clones. Here is a list of the clones with their designation, apparent age, real age, psionic skill, and cybernetic digger level. The psionic skill and digger level are on a grade scale where Mack is assumed to be a “B”.

T3, 18, 8, C, B
T5, 16, 6, A, C
T6, 14, 5, D, A
T10, 10, 3, B, Too young to implant digger. Only stunner and homing device.
T12, 6, 2, C, Too young to implant digger. Only stunner and homing device.
T16, 4, 1, A, Too young to implant digger. Only stunner and homing device.

After discussing the USM cloning technology, Martin and Knotbranch pull aside Stooz. They tell him that they are pretty sure that Rehath was trying to lead them to wrong conclusions when they were looking at the cloning date regarding mental powers. They don’t understand why but Martin concludes that she must have her own agenda. After this talk Stooz speaks with Rehath alone in the lab. He tells her that he would appreciate it if she worked with the others and did not hinder them with her own plans. Afterwards is fine…just not now. Rehath takes the message calmly.

The clickers seem to really bond with T12 and T16. They are all young and born for slavery so they seem to relate. T3 has a heart to heart talk with Mack. He asks Mack if he has any plans and what they should do. Mack tells T3 that everyone can do what they want. T3 leaves…very confused. T6 hits on Lena and Rehath. He seems to have overactive hormones. T5 feels wronged and wants revenge on USM. He asks anyone on the ship to teach him how to fire a blaster.

Date At End Of Game: 10/18/2402


Dave Schaffer's personal log
Heh heh heh. Heh.

Stooz's personal log
you bloodthirsty bastard.

Episode #26 - The Battle Of Ichthia

18th of October 2402 (10-18-2402)
[Author’s Note: This episode is a continuation of the 30th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be the exact order that they occurred in the session.]

	After the Trog armada emerges from the flux gate into the Media system the PC report their status to General Croc and enter the formation between the second and third battle groups. On the short 2 day trip to Ichthia Martin approaches Hannibal. He tells him that he feels the best course of action is to awaken Vikki with a stimulant. After draining the tank Martin places Vikki on his operating table. He then attaches some probes to her temples and relays that she and Imslek are doing fine. Martin then applies a stimulant and waits. As Hannibal peers in her eyes flutter then open. A gleam of joy brightens the corners or her eyes. With that Vikki’s eyelids shut tight then open again. This time it is not Vikki. She sits up and holds her head. Hannibal realizes that his wife’s mannerisms are wrong. In the ancient tongue Imslek thanks the assembled group for his life. When he sees Seely he bows deeply and says that he has not seen him since he was a hatchling. Imslek them explains that her nervous system is recovering but it is progressing slowly. Every now and again he feels something from his host. Imslek fears that there might be some brain damage. Imslek also relays that it is a lot of work moving a host body without them being conscious and asks to stay on the table. Hannibal leaves quietly. He goes to the storeroom and starts lifting weights…deep in thought.
	During the trip Martin also removes the homing implants from the Mack clones. Although the first one is difficult the rest go quickly. Knotbranch and Martin also complete the weapon. It is about the size of a large manhole cover. The disk slips into one side. It can be buried under loose dirt or held up but it is quite heavy. Stooz outfits the team with devices that can be used to trigger the device.
	As the armada reaches the flux gate to Ichthia General Croc comes over the comm to address the fleet, “We march towards a battle that may determine the fate of every living creature in our universe. In this battle of fate we are the sword that will deliver victory. Fight with honor and passion and we will win! For Trog!!!” With that the line cuts. As the gates gets closer a silence comes over the fleet. When the gate becomes visible the Trog flagship looses waves of drones. After releasing the drones the flagship presses forward at flanking speed! When the drones breach the gate they slam into a large mine field. Through the explosions the flagship emerges. Immediately the stars are blotted out with flashes of laser fire. The enemies are split into two large battle groups. Each group is comprised of a large capital ship and a group of around 20 frigates. The Trog flag ship heads towards the closest group. At this move the other enemy battle group heads towards the gate in an effort to seal the breach. As the second Trog battle group emerges it is beset with fire losing many ships. After passing through the enemy the Trog flag ship spins to clear the ships at the flux gate. At this point Captain Dave takes the Hog through the gate dodging enemy fire and crashing ships. Deftly he moves the ship into a flanking position where it can observe the battle. After doing this move the Hog spots three smaller frigates which are waiting back at the planet just out of the atmosphere.
	As the battle starts to turn toward the Trogs the three ships at the planet turn and start to descend. Quickly the Hog closes and scans the area. It detects the ships near Reef City the capitol. The Hog carefully approaches behind the domes that form the underwater city. Two of the frigates guard amn underwater tunnel. Captain Schaffer who has visited Ichthia states that the tunnel leads to the imperial palace. After talking about what to do the group decides to activate the cloak and try to slip past the ships. The issue with this tactic is that the crew does not know how well the cloak will work underwater and they are afraid the ship will form a wake that can be detected. Otto and Stooz start working on tuning the sensors so that they will work better underwater. [They make the roll by 17!] As the ship slips by Captain Dave guides the ship towards the tunnel. As he enters the tunnel the Hog brushes the side. Carefully the ship pauses then continues. As it works it way up the tunnel it drops three mines. At the end of the tunnel the PC find an underwater grotto. They cannot see through the water clearly but their sensors show a ship. At this point the PC decide to attack. The emerge from the water with shield up. They see an enemy frigate preparing to exit. They open up on the ship causing severe damage to its engines. After another round of fire the frigate falls to the floor of the grotto. Immediately the PC hear explosions from the tunnel. Soon another ship emerges into the chamber but it is damaged by the mines. The Hog blasts it down taking some damage. After mopping up Earther warriors on the ground using the ships guns and engines the PC decide what to do next.
	The PC send Seely to investigate the frigate. She reports 6 normal Earther warriors and 4 Earther warriors who appear to be from an advanced guard. They are protecting medical tubes with people in them that she does not recognize. The PC decide to attack the ship on foot to save the people in the tubes. They blast down the doors on the frigate then fly in using the hovercar. As they enter the ship it hits one of the metal doors and flips! [The PC roll an 18 on a driving roll!] As the PC scramble to their feet the Earthers attack. The advanced guard use energy shields and laser swords which are built into their power armor. After a pitched battle the PC defeat the troops guarding the doors. They then move to the second deck. There are lots of great pitched battle scenes. Hannibal cuts loose using the Earther key. Mack grabs them for Hannibal. Stooz throws grenades and fires with his laser. Eventually the enemies on the second desk fall.

Date At End Of Game: 10/20/2402

Episode #27 - Friendly Fire

20th of October 2402 (10-20-2402)
[Author’s Note: This episode is the 31st session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be the exact order that they occurred in the session.]

	After taking down the enemy warriors in the Patriarch frigate Mack and Hannibal get medical attention. Knotbranch comes over to give medical aid. Stooz and Martin move the tubes to the Hog then start to examine them. Captain Dave and Lena begin to examine the enemy ship. Dave orders the clickers to pick up anything they can salvage form the ship or warriors and load it into the Hog. The Mack clones start to try and figure out how they are going to get the Hog out of the underwater cave. As the water pressure is very high their best idea is to haul out the wreckage blocking the tunnel then to dig out the collapsed area.
	The medical tubes contain 5 people resting in a green liquid. To the surprise of the PC they recognize 4 of them. The sleepers include Jessa Ebb, Jane Bulgrin, Mako, Rip Coral, and a blue-green Icthian who vaguely reminds Captain Dave of his smuggler friend Captain Kelp. The tubes use an alien technology and are controlled by a strange keypad device. Under each tube is a locked box. Carefully Stooz and Martin translate the control device and deactivate a security system that includes an explosive trap. Mack carefully disarms the explosives and adds the material into his stash. After waking the sleepers they appear to be groggy and incoherent. Martin thinks that the green liquid might be a sedative of some type. The sad news is that the Oceanites inside of Jessa and Jane are dead. The sleepers rest as the PC examine the ship.
	The enemy frigate is definitely a vehicle made for war. There is a forward weapons control and living chamber on the lower floor. Behind it is the entry foyer and in the aft is the engine room. The engine room is completely destroyed after being attacked by the Hog. On the top floor is the bridge and a small chamber that held the tubes. There are very little to no personal effects found anywhere on the ship. The controls to the ship are alien but not impossible to figure out. The ship appears to be holding a spare battery which is being recharged by worms. This interests the PC as there is a box hosing it that might be useful to their worm farmers. Lena examines the Other battle armor and finds it to be made of a strange stone line substance. It is very heavy. She takes several repair parts from the laser swords in case her weapon needs a repair but leaves the rest.
	While search around Captain Dave notices lights on the Hog indicating that the engines are starting. Without warning the hatches and doors close! Quickly Captain Schaffer climbs up the hull to the roof. Lena psionically leaps to the roof with her laser sword out. Hannibal takes control of one of the wenches and starts to maneuver it over the Hog. As the engines start to whir Captain Dave tries to open the hatch using the control panel. It is not working so he starts to hotwire it. Stooz contacts Otto and tells him to powerdown the ship. Otto replies but the radio goes to static in mid reply. This worries Stooz who runs for cover with Martin. After entering the bridge through the roof Lena and Captain Dave see the blue-green Icthian piloting the ship. Next to him Jane is pulling wire attached to Otto. Jessa is leaving the bridge through the aft hallway. As the sleepers turn towards the PC they see that their eyes are black and are glowing with an eerie black light. They are being mind controlled! Captain Dave opens fire by hanging down from the roof hatch. Lena charges the Jessa and the Icthian pilot. The sleepers fire back with blasters. Lena slashes at Jessa removing her head! Captain Dave fire at Jane eventually killing her. Hannibal attaches the wench to the Hog then joins the others. Hannibal and Dave take down the Icthian pilot while Lena heads down the hallway. When she enters the hallway she is fired on by Mako who is using a laser rifle! She dives out of the hallway into Martin’s makeshift lab room. To her surprise she find Rehath typing feverishly on Martin’s computer. Imslek/Vikki is under the lab table hiding. Lena asks what she is doing and Rehath replies that she is copying the data so it does not get lost. Not having time to worry about it Lena returns her attention to the hallway. Captain Dave rushes down the hallway to attack Mako. Mako lets loose a fierce volley or automatic laser fire that cuts down the smuggler. Quickly Hannibal grabs Captain Dave from the hallway and hands him to Rehath who puts him immediately into one of the medical tubes. (Dave was actually dead according to the rules but I did not want to kill Dave the adventure before the last session.) After timing an attack Lena takes down Mako who appears to be in an enraged state. Hannibal moves to the rear of the Hog and takes out Rip Coral who is arming the ships weapons.
	When the fight ends Martin informs the crew that the sleepers have been altered to remove connections to their pain centers. This explains the groggy state. He also helps give everyone medical attention. Hannibal realizes that the sleepers are an elaborate trap from Ankmil. This also explains why the PC knew the sleepers. During this time Stooz investigates Otto and Martin’s computer. Otto is luckily alive but just barely. After making sure Otto is ok Stooz checks Martin’s computer. Nothing was hacked into due to code Stooz previously installed but someone tried to get into the information and broadcast it out over an open channel. As things settle down Stooz and Martin discuss the situation privately then Stooz angrily speaks to Rehath. [Note that I would like to roleplay out this scene when Steve returns next session.]
	After some time the PC are contacted by the Trog fleet. They are victorious but it cost them nearly an entire battle group. They plan to spend a day or so resupplying the fleet before heading to Plato and Euclid. The PC nurse their wounds and dig out the Hog…

Hannabal Mayweather's personal log
Lots of killing today and i feel rather numb to it all. I should have been the 1st to take on Mako, i hope Dave will be alright. My life is such a mess.

Episode #28 - Heroes Of Prophecy

21th of October 2402 (10-21-2402)
[Author’s Note: This episode is the 32nd and final session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be the exact order that they occurred in the session.]

	The PC then confront Rehath. This time their decision is final. They decide to leave her in the cave until the Ichthians find her. When the Mack clones dig out the Horny Hog the PC contact the Trog fleet. Here is a summary of what they discover after speaking with the Trogs, Icthians, tube sleepers, and remaining crew members: The Trog fleet has lost one capitol ship and the equivalent of a frigate battle group. The remaining ships have formed on the flag ship and second capitol shop. General Croc would like to spend two days doing repairs and restocking. He only wants to spend two days so he can press the advantage of surprise. The PC remind him that Ankmil is a very powerful psychic and likely knows exactly what is transpiring. The Icthian fleet was almost entirely destroyed in their initial battle with the Patriarchs. They have 10 frigates and some support ships that they want to deploy. The Icthians are devastated by the loss of Jessa Ebb and hold a massive funeral. Mako and Rip are particularly shaken. Make decides to accompany the Icthian while Rip says that he will return to his family. The Icthian in the tube is Oyster Kelp. He is the brother of Captain Dave’s smuggler friend, Marlin Kelp. Due to the deaths of many officials Oyster is now the Icthian president. He vows that they will rebuild and do whatever they can to aid the attack on the Patriarchs. Doctor Knotbranch plans to stay on Ichthia. They could use his medical skills and frankly he feels that being with the PC is too dangerous. Mack clone T3 speaks with Mack. He tells him that he plans to take several of the children to live on Icthia. T3 does not feel like they should risk their lives as they are too young to understand. He takes clones T10, T12, and T16. This leaves T5 (militant) and T6 (teenage hormones) with Mack.
	Martin tells the crew about the status of their fallen comrade. It turns out that Martin is barely keeping Captain Dave alive. Martin says that his best chance of survival is to use the cloning technology to regrow his lost organs. The problem is that this process can take weeks and Captain Dave may not live that long. The only other option he can think of is to replace the organs with cybernetics. One of the PC suggests using an Oceanite but Lena remembers Dave saying that he would rather die than have one of those things in his chest. The PC leave the decision to Martin. On Euclid they pick up Marlin Kelp so that he can pilot the Horny Hog while Captain Dave is out of commission.
	After 2 days the Trog led battle group departs for Euclid. During the trip Vikki becomes more and more lucid. After 4 days she is all but recovered. Vikki explains that she was captured by the Black Razors then turned over to scientists. They performed many painful experiments on her. The last thing she remembers is going under the knife. In an emotional talk with Hannibal she confesses that she does not like Imslek in her head either. She feels issues with their relationship and with her duties as an ambassador. The two leave the matter open but there is now a feeling of understanding. The next couple of days the PC note that Hannibal and Vikki spar and that she is very good. Hannibal is able to beat her but just barely! In another scene Vikki tells Hannibal to grab a blaster and to meet her in the cargo bay. She contacts Lena and tells her to meet her in the cargo lab. Vikki explains that she remembers “everything”. That she knows the Terrans got psionics through her. Vikki then explains that as an ambassador for the Terran Confederacy she realizes the repercussions that this could have on their peoples. Lena then suggests that when this mess is over she things she can ensure that these scientist never get to reveal what they found. Vikki gets a shiver and nods her head.
	As the fleet approaches Euclid they pick up speed. As they near the gate the flux parts is sort of a large eddy! The entire Patriarch fleet including the Patriarch father ship, 2 capitol ships, and over 60 frigates confronts the fleet. Behind them sits the flux gate and an asteroid which has been outfitted as a ship building facility. As the fleets near the communication links open. Ankmil sits on his chair with his staff on his legs. He speaks calmly and confidently.

I have detected our loss at Icthia and I understand the conviction of your people so I will not ask for your surrender. Instead I offer you my best in the coming battle.
[He pauses briefly.]
If you wish to “regroup” that will be allowed if you agree to turn over one of your ships and their crew…The Horny Hog. They have something that I desire.
[Sighs.]
Fight well and hard General as you will need to do so to survive.
[The line cuts.]

[At this point the PC are mentally contacted by Ankmil.]
You do not have any such mental hang-ups regarding your position in this battle so I offer you a choice. Give up the cloning tech and I’ll take you under my protection. All of this useless bloodshed can be avoided and General Croc will be none the wiser.
[There is a pause as the PC decide how to respond. They think back to Ankmil and let him know that they will meet him on Euclid with the information he desires.]

	The PC decide that the tomb would be the best chance to get Ankmil over the disk weapon. Stooz quickly erases the PCs bracelets with the cloning tech and comes up with a new plan. He sets up bracelets for each PC and gives each person a password but he does not tell the PC that their passwords are false except for his password and it only works on one of the bracelets. Stooz then ensures that he cannot tell which bracelet is the one with the data. The intent is to make it hard for Ankmil to pry it from their minds. The PC then arms up and head to the flux gate and Euclid. As the PC approach the enemy fleet they are allowed to pass. Before entering the gate Mack detects for power plants on the asteroid and informs Seely. Seely wishes the PC good luck then takes off towards the asteroid base in a streak of light.
	The PC bury the disk in the center of the round tomb. They give Mack the case as he is strongest. Vikki and Hannibal take the Other Keys. The PC then wait for Ankmil. In a swirl of pink flux he appears in the chamber with 6 Earthers that have red tiger stripes. They have laser swords and laser shields out. Slowly Ankmil leads the group. He speaks to the PC in a calm tone. Ankmil explains that he is no different than the PC. He explains that he simply wants to protect his race but he is currently the only member of his race. He then asks the PC about the cloning tech. They say that they have it but they do not feel his offer to protect them is genuine. Ankmil says that it is his duty to protect all life that is inferior to his own. When the PC object Ankmil attempts to telekinetically grab the case away from Mack. Mack and Stooz pull the case away from the TK! The Earthers attack. Hannibal attacks the Earthers with his laser rifle. Lena tips up the disk so Ankmil is within range and activates it. To the surprise of the PC the disk does not fire! Instead it starts to charge up. It appears that it will take a turn to fire! With that the PC curse and start to defend themselves. The PC dish out some shots but take some laser sword hits. As Mack wrestles with Ankmil and his TK he is mentally attacked with telepathy. Previously Lena had Scotch stay with Mack. That was a good move as it helped Mack defend from the initial attack. As the turn gets close to ending one of the Eathers is standing on the plate! Lena jumps to the other side of the room so she can activate her TK without being interrupted but she is being attacked and there is still the Earther on the plate. She asks for help keeping the Earthers off of her. Hannibal cuts loose with a volley that takes down the man who is attacking her. Mack tackles the Eather on the disk pushing him off. Lena tips up the disk as it fires off! The PC split the damage roll for the final attack rolling 41 on 10d6! After screaming Ankmil falls cursing the PC for not understanding.
	After Ankmil falls the Earthers in the room are stunned. They can still fight but they are stunned. They surrender. When the PC return to the fleet they see the asteroid alight in flames at the locations of the power plants. The Trog fleet has succeeded. General Croc explains that the battle turned in a single moment. He knew the PC has succeeded.

[This ended the campaign. I asked to take the PC so that I could update the site. We also talked about the campaign for a bit. I then asked the players to write a final story about their PC. These will get posted on the site.]

Date At End Of Game: 10/30/2402