Episode I: Trader's Gambit
Introduction:
The Cygnus emerges from a Lagrange point and cruises towards a nearby world. On board the Trader ship are its two crew, Captain Jace Dolman and technician Jay “Lars” Larsen.
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| The Cygnus |
Jace: There it is, Reenoff 4.
Lars: Doesn’t look like the kind of place I’d expect we’d get a big pay day.
Jace: Appearances can be deceiving.
Lars: It might be helpful if you’d tell me why we’re here?
Jace: I got us a contract with Clawtech. There’s a civilian that’s got a data chip they want picked up. We collect it, take it to Clawtech, job done.
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| Captain Jace Dolman |
Lars: What’s the reward?
Jace: 5UA.
Lars: What? That’s barely worth getting out of bed for! I told you for our next job we need to go with the Flo!
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| Lars |
Jace: Yeah, and after our recent run in at the Orb you said you didn’t want to take any more chances! I got the best I could for the minimum of risk. Besides, you keep tellin’ me that this crate is in desperate need of repair. Beggars can’t be choosers.
Lars: I suppose…
Jace: That’s settled then. Take us down.
Lars: Wait…Sensors are picking up another ship!
Lars is indeed right. A second trader ship - The Ion Hope - has also emerged from the warp gate! Its Captain, Arianna Sabrine, and copilot Davíd Tirgarde have fired up the engines and their sleek vessel roars forward, bearing down fast on the Cygnus.
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| The Ion Hope |
Tirgarde: Ha! We caught them with their pants down this time! No chance Dolman is getting this payday!
Arianna: All right! You don’t need to gloat! Jace is a decent guy! I already feel bad enough about this…
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| Arianna Sabrine |
Tirgarde: Nothing to feel bad about. ‘Jace’ is working for Clawtech. We’ve got an alternative employer…
Arianna: Yeah, your friend on the shadow market. Who you won’t tell me about.
Tirgarde: We all have our secrets, Arianna. When you’ll tell me how you acquired this ship, maybe I’ll tell you about my friend… I thought not.
Arianna: We don’t know anything about this data chip. The information on it could be dangerous. Maybe it’s better if Clawtech get it.
Tirgarde: Because Clawtech can be trusted not to misuse it? Amusing. In any event, my contact is going to return it to them so the outcome will be the same!
Arianna: Yeah, for a juicy commission, I bet. And we don’t know what your contact will do with it first.
Tirgarde: Unfortunately a clear conscience won’t pay the bills. We need the cash. Badly.
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| Davíd Tirgarde |
Arianna: We’re here, aren’t we? Where’s this place we’ve to find the civy with the data chip?
Tirgarde: The Trader’s Gambit. It’s a space lounge and trading post. A local Purge presence emptied the place in a hurry. If we’re lucky, the salvage we’ll score’ll be worth even more than the reward for the data chip.
Arianna: Purge. That’s bad news.
Tirgarde: It’s worth the risk.
Arianna (distracted): Is it? I wonder…
Tirgarde: The Cygnus’ engines are firing up! They’ve spotted us!
Arianna: Don’t worry, we’ve got momentum on our side. We’ll be first down there…
Narrator: Back on the Cygnus…
Lars: Floor it, Jace! They’re tryna steal our payday!
Jace: Maybe if you’d spotted them on the sensors faster, I’d be able to catch ‘em! That Arianna sure knows how to fly!
Lars: Didn’t she crew up with that creep Tirgarde?
Jace: Yeah, but I can’t say I know much about the guy.
Lars: He’s a scumbag. That’s all you need to know.
The Ion Hope just winning the race by a few moments, both ships touch down beside the Trader’s Gambiit. Airlock umbilicals whirr and clunk as they clamp on to the building’s docking ports.
The Cygnus touches down at the north eastern quadrant of the Trader’s Gambit while The Ion Hope lands at the north western corner.
Hostility Phase: Hostility increases an extra level due to the Event Card.
Trader Phase: Arianna, Jace, Tirgarde and Lars all sprint as fast as they can into the Trader's Gambit.
Tirgarde: I’m picking up three lifeforms. The closest one those worms on the Cygnus’ll get to first!
Arianna: Don't be so sure! I’m quicker than 'em both…
Lars: Move it, Jace! We gotta get the chip before they do!
Jace: I’m going faster than you, Lars…
Tirgarde: If you can make that one first, I’ll head down the the south end, and have a word with the other two.
Arianna: Whoever's got the chip, let’s hope we can persuade them to hand it over!
Tirgarde (whispers): If they’re uncooperative, I have just the incentive…
Purge Phase: None.
NPC Phase: Gan’Eek is spooked by the new arrivals and tries to hide behind a console. Kaori moves closer to Butler.
Round 2:
Hostility Phase: Aftrer increasing the Hostility Tracker, an Event card reduces Hostility by 1, thereby maintaining the level from the previous turn.
Trader Phase: Jace rushes in ahead of Arianna to search the crate - and unearths several goodies which he takes!
Jace: Sorry Arianna! Finders keepers!
Having found Sensors Goggles, he immediately uses an Effortless Action to search the room and finds a Shield Belt! Unable to put it on at the moment, he (carefully) places down the grenade and takes the Shield Belt.
Arianna: Keep your tat! I’ve got a job to do here!
Arianna moves to Gan’Eek, cornering him to try to Persuade him the following turn.
Arianna: Keep your tat! I’ve got a job to do here!
Lars reaches another crate and also finds some lucrative loot!
Lars: What have we here…? A Shock Assault Tonga! Sweet!
Tirgarde is focussed on the mission and is already closing in on the other two civilians at the southern end of the Gambit.
Purge Phase: None.
NPC Phase: Gan’Eek is unable to move away from Arianna.
Gan’Eek: Please let me go free.
Arianna: Calm down, I'm not here to harm you. I just need to ask you a few questions…
Round 3:
Hostility Phase: Gan’Eek, perhaps terrified by Arianna trapping him, strikes out, inflicting a hit!
Arianna spends a skill point to use her Reflexes Skill, nullifying the wound!
Arianna: Hey! You could have hurt me lashing out like that!
Gan’Eek: I told you to let me go!
Arianna: And I told you to calm down!
Trader Phase: Arianna attempts to placate Gan’Eek, but the alien refuses to be Persuaded at first.
Arianna: The data chip.
Gan’Eek: …no. I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Arianna: Damn it!
Jace puts on his Shield Belt, picks up the Grenade and then closes in on Kaori.
Tirgarde is momentarily distracted by his mission as he finds a shiny flak jacket and puts it on!
Tirgarde: Oh yes. Functional and fashionable! Like it was waiting for me!
Lars puffs and pants as he presses on to the southern end of the Gambit, but it seems unlikely that he will reach Butler before Tirgarde!
Purge Phase: None.
NPC Phase: Gan’Eek, still clearly disturbed by Arianna’s interrogation, takes cover behind a locker.
Kaori moves to Arianna to offer a trade.
Kaori: I said I wanted to trade! I’ve got this pistol…
Arianna: Sure, have this knife…
Arianna gratefully accepts the pistol and hands Kaori a combat knife. The civilian isn’t so sure she got a great deal!
Kaori: What the hell?
Luckily for Tirgarde, he is not in the line of sight of an angry Butler although the two come face to face after Butler moves!
Butler: I didn’t like the look of that fellow at all. Quite the cad. If he thinks he can intimidate me, he’s got another thing coming…
Round 4:
Hostility Phase: Coolant Leak! Traders will have to be careful with energy weapons!
Trader Phase: Jace barges in between Kaori and Arianna, asking if she has the Data Chip…
Jace (to Kaori): Say, you don’t happen to have a data chip do you? Don’t worry, I won’t rip you off like she did…
Arianna: Hey! You saw the trade - it was fair and square! And don’t listen to him, I’m here for the Data Chip!
Despite often being difficult to prise information from - and perhaps sensing Jace is Arianna’s rival after the poor trade - he manages to persuade her to answer him.
Kaori: I’m sorry… I don’t have it. Butler was working on a console down there. He had a Data Chip…
Jace: Hell!
Jace curses as he sees Arianna grin and open her comms.
Arianna: Tirgarde, do you read me? The last civy has the Data Chip!
Realising that there is no way that he can reach Butler before Tirgarde, Jace throws open the crate beside him, finding a decent Machine Pistol.
Tirgarde, meanwhile, grins smugly and approaches Butler.
Tirgarde: The chip, please. I know you have it.
Butler: I’m afraid I haven’t the foggiest idea what you’re talking about, old sport.
Tirgarde: Let’s not play games…old sport. Dead or alive, I’m taking that Data Chip from you!
Tirgarde discards his knife to accept the Data Chip.
Tirgarde: All right, now get out of my sight.
Lars raids another crate and discovers a Shield Pod Upgrade. Useless to him, but valuable!
Lars: There's no life without tech!
Arianna races across the Gambit to close in on another crate…
Arianna: Since we're here anyway, I may as well see if there’s anything else worth salvaging. It'd be rude not to...
Purge Phase: A Harvester finally enters the Trader’s Gambit, entering close to The Cygnus! It instantly rushes inside, looking for victims!
NPC Phase: Perhaps aware that the Purge are closing in, Kaori and Gan’Eek approach Jace...
Kaori: The Purge are here! Hey, how about you give us a ride out of here on your ship?
Gan'Eek: We'd happily join your crew.
Jace: I wasn't recruiting, but sure, I'll help you.
Butler, fearful of Tirgarde, heads away from the Trader.
Butler: Frightful man!
Round 5:
Hostility Phase: A Sensor Scan reveals some more salvage, but not much of it is of value.
Trader Phase: Arianna opens a crate and finds Ship Parts and a powerful Magnum Pistol! She lets Tirgarde know that there is a Combat Rifle still in the crate and then begins heading back to the ship.
Arianna: Well, hello beautiful… Tirgarde, there’s a Combat Rifle in here as well if you want it?
In a bid to protect his new crew, Jace moves himself into a position to deal with the Harvester once it closes in.
Tirgarde finds another Tech Pack and Energy Baton from the last crate before chasing after Arianna.
Tirgarde: Thanks Arianna, but my hands are full!
Arianna: Great! Then let’s get the hell out of here!
Jace: That goes for us as well, Lars! Time to get back to the Cygnus!
Lars: All right, all right! I’m coming!
Lars turns around to head back to The Cygnus as do Kaori and Gan’Eek.
Purge Phase: Another Harvester spawns and heads towards Kaori while the first Harvester closes in on Jace and his new friends!
NPC Phase: Butler moves towards a crate to see what is left behind. Kaori and Gan’Eek stick with Jace.
Round 6:
Hostility Phase: Two Harvesters arrive close to Trigarde - and Butler!
Tirgarde: I think we may have outstayed our welcome here!
Jace: Follow me!
Tirgarde makes a run for it, leaving poor Butler to deal with the Harvesters!
Tirgarde (laughs): Good luck “old sport!”
Lars and Arianna also focus their energies on heading back to their respective ships, while Kaori and Gan’Eek take cover behind their new crew mate!
Lars: Hey! What are these two up to?
Purge Phase: With the Harvesters receiving two actions this round, Butler comes under attack - and succumbs to the assault!
Butler: What the devil? Arrggh!
The second Harvester rushes after Tirgarde but cannot catch him.
Meanwhile, as another Harvester closes in on Lars, he slips into the shadows using his Camouflage skill!
Lars: Take cover!
Unable to see the Trader, the Harvester turns its attentions to Kaori - and she too crumples to the ground after a ferocious attack!
Kaori: Uggh!
As it storms through the Gambit, Arianna’s eyes widen in terror as it closes in on her!
Arianna: We’ve got trouble!
NPC Phase: No action.
Round 7:
Hostility Phase: The Coolant Leak is no longer a threat… While Gan’Eek suddenly suffers a moment of madness and draw the Harvester’s attention! It closes in on him…
Gan’Eek: Hey you! Pick on someone your own size!
Trader Phase: Arianna uses her Passive Weapons Expert skill - dual wielding pistols, she makes a Ranged Assault action as an effortless action! With the Magnum Pistol and Military Pistol, she unleashes a devastating volley of 4 attack dice - and reduces it to a pile of molten slag!
Arianna: One down!
Adrenaline pumping through her veins, she charges the Harvester and uses her Passive Combat Expert skill! This is an even more deadly attack as she has 5 dice to roll! 4 hits - no contest, the Harvester is junked!
Arianna: No more?
She then uses her final action to revive Kaori! Kaori’s eyes blink and flicker as she is revived!
Arianna: Hey kid, you okay? You gotta get back on your feet before more of ‘em attack!
Arianna: …you’re welcome!
As he catches up, Tirgarde stares at Arianna in disbelief!
Tirgarde: This is no time for playing the hero! We gotta get to the ship!
Gan'Eek also rushes to the Cygnus!
Jace: You didn’t have to do that… Thank you for your help.
Arianna: Never mind the ‘thank yous’, get going!
As Lars emerges from the shadows, Tirgarde spots him and shouts at him.
Tirgarde: Well, well! Look who it is skulking in the shadows! Larse!
Lars: It’s ‘Lars’, you creep!
Tirgarde: Whatever Larse, be seein’ you around!
Tirgarde: Not this time! Be seeing you around!
NPC Phase: No action.
Round 8:
Hostility Phase: A tourist arrives!
Trader Phase: As his crew make their escape, Jace frantically tries to impart the danger the tourist is in - but the man seems unable to comprehend the captain!
Jace: What are you doing here? This place is crawling with Purge! You gotta get out of here!
Zed: Huh?
Arianna calls upon her Weapons Expert skill again and fires at the Devastator as an effortless action - but her guns jam!
She does so, bypassing the Devastator and racing after Tirgarde.
Seeing his Captain, Tirgarde waves her to follow him - and he makes it inside The Ion Hope!
Arianna: Thanks for covering my retreat, Tirgarde!
Purge Phase: Another Harvester and Devastator enter the fray but, like the other two shambling Harvesters, they are unlikely to be able to cause the remaining Traders any problems.
The other Devastator bears down on Arianna...
NPC Phase: The tourist finally understands the urgency of the situation - and joins Jace!
Zed: All right, lead the way!
Round 9:
Hostility Phase: No effect - the Civilian is now a member of The Cygnus!
Trader Phase: With her weapons jammed, Arianna decides to flee! The Devastator gets an attack of opportunity…
...but Arianna spends a skill point to use her Reflexes to ignore the hits!
As the Devastator trains its guns upon her, she charges into the ship, sealing the airlock behind her!
Arianna: Fire up the engines and get us the hell outta here!
Jace: All right, follow me!
Both crews make their escape - but Tirgarde has the Data Chip!
Aftermath:
On board the Cygnus…
Lars: What’s with all the passengers?
Jace: They wanted to become crew.
Lars: Wanted us to save their asses more like!
Jace: Probably. Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do the right thing.
Lars: You can barely afford to pay me, let alone another three!
Jace: True. We’ll drop them off at the next Trading Post…
Lars: Just as well we found some salvage, or this mission would have been a waste of time. Next time we see that pair, we’re not going to let them get the better of us!
Jace: If it wasn’t for Arianna, we might be dead.
Lars: I think we could have taken them on our own.
Jace: Maybe. But it’s thanks to Arianna that we never had to find out.
And on the Ion Hope…
Arianna: Thanks for the cover getting back to the ship.
Tirgarde: I knew you had things under control. Better to get the ship prepped for emergency takeoff. Besides, I had the asset. Couldn’t risk the Purge damaging it and making this little excursion all for nought.
Arianna: I see you picked up some nice looking armour.
Tirgarde: Indeed! Perhaps you should buy some yourself?
Arianna: The money we make at the Trading Post will be ploughed into upgrading the ship. Besides, armour just slows me down.
Tirgarde: Have it your way. Did you see that lump of lard Lars hiding in the shadows when those people were in danger?
Arianna: And I suppose you’d have rushed to their aid…?
Tirgarde: Well, thanks to your heroics, we’ll never know, will we?
Arianna: Ha, I suppose not. All right, lets get this Data Chip to your contact.
Tirgarde: Way ahead of you, course already plotted…
Trade Phase:
Arianna & Tirgarde check in to Tech Noir to see off the 2 Tech Packs they found, gaining 6UA. Note that they received an additional 5UA for recovering the Data Chip in the mission.
Jace & Lars head to Armourote and see both the Shield Pod and Power Claw gaining 8UA.
Jace cannot afford to take on any more crew just now, so the civilians are dropped off at the trading post.
Maintenance Phase:
The Ion Hope: The Hull degrades by 1 but Arianna uses the 2 Ship Parts they found and 10 of their 11UA on repairing ship systems improving 7 systems.
The Cygnus: Supplies degrade by 1 but Jace also throws all funds into his ship, improving 4 systems.
Arianna: Takes Level 3 for Combat Expert.
Tirgarde: Takes Level 1 Persuasion.
Jace: Takes Level 2 Weapons Expert.
Lars: Takes Level 2 Camouflage.
End of Mission Updated Crews:
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