17 December 2023
We have decided to trail the raiders. Jump into the Borite system, make the arrival seem awkward and use the holographic hull to make us appear damaged.
To avoid any... diplomatic incidents we take no passengers, only cargo and mail.
On the way there, we experience power issues and find that the ship may have a few resident pests. We budget for the wire repair (400 CR) and set up some improvised traps.
Upon our arrival at the edge of the gravity well we land just a touch to close to the gas giant, skipping just a little. The duck sits, for a while.
Diogo, having worked his sensor magic, alerts us to a distress signal that seems to come from further down into the gas giant's pull. Having watched for any approaching vessels and not having spotted any, we decide to abandon our position as bait and fly in to investigate. We find an ancient fueling station, long since decommissioned with a distress signal emanating from it of a newer make.
Well aware that this may be a trap, we decide on an away mission anyway. The team comprises Brick, Heloise, Stigo and yours truly. Randy stays at ship control and Diogo stays at sensors to allow for a speedy evac should we need it and as a first line of defense should this be a trap after all.
After some time on board, a map of the ship is downloaded into our comms, courtesy of a remarkble good reading.
The murals are ghastly, large scrawlings of messages such as "the Ghost" and "The voice on the radio" and, even more ominously "They are coming". Thusly encouraged, we encounter remains in a ravaged vac suit. Heloise inspects the tear patterns and informs us briskly that we appear to be dealing with a creature that has mandibles, some type of acid and a taste for sophonts.
Once we reach the cafeteria, we find clues to help us age the space. A large mural informs us this time of the glories of the Sindalian Empire as it existed approximately 500 years ago.
We continue our search, find the station's radio room and a hotwired vac suit emergency beacon, which was what drew us here. We free up a channel and broadcast a stationwide message announcing our presence and intent to evacuate any sophonts who meet us in the cafeteria.
Having done so, we go back the way we came and notice the approach of... well... something. It reveals itself to have mandibles. And presumably acid and a taste for sophonts. We kill it. It was an ugly business.
After having dispatched the praying space mantis, a single sophont heeds our call. Former Captain Krrsh, a vargr, now marooned by his crew after a mishandled mission.
He identifies the ship he used to have as the Misery's Company, and openly admits to the assault on the Sarcomand. Obviously this piques our interest and once we assure the former captain that we do not intend to space him (yet, according to some crew members or not at all to others, because he needs to serve his time) he offers us information, his knowledge of access codes and a refueling system that would get us to Theev.
His contacts are Ferrick Gredthane, formerly loyal to Derrokin, and Muria Silverhand.
Having milked Krrsh for this information, we set down Borite-side and make the deliveries of cargo and mail. We also enquire about common ways of pest control and get referred to a local who seems to take in abandoned pets.
Randy and Heloise make their way down to the pet shelter and meet a few animals, selecting a female Nibbon(see Core Rule Book pg 88). After getting her spayed, they bring her back on board.