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THE TWILIGHT EMPIRE
Episode One

For the last 250 years the COMMONWEALTH has been
the shining light in a sea of darkness and despair. Stability
is maintained by SENTINELS, psychic adepts who use their
Talents to protect the Commonwealth from hidden dangers.
The peace they bring, however, has been threatened.

The SHARADAN EMPIRE has sought to challenge the
Commonwealth for ascendency. Their fighters jump
from star to star, attacking the weak and conquering the
powerless.

One such world, GHAEA, has been invaded by a Sharadan
fleet. Lead by GENERAL NELSON REKLIF, the Sharadan
have already seized the planet. Their goal is the capture
of a Sentinel, shadowy agents of the Commonwealth...

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Over the skies of Ghaea, a minor world of little importance to the Galaxy, a small scoutship flees pursuing fighters. The smaller spacecraft open fire, damaging the larger ship which tries in vain to evade. Bright flashes of tracer fire lit up the night sky briefly, to either hit the spaceship or miss completely and fall into the darkness. One such hit scores a glancing blow on one of the scoutship's engines, forcing it to be shut down. In retaliation, the ship's lone turret swivels upon the anatgonist and lets off a flurry of damaging shards. They find their mark in the fighter's cockpit, and with a brief flare of fire, the fighter and it's lone occupant become no more.

To avenge the death of their comrade, the remaining two pilots renew their attack with vigour. No longer content to snipe away at the heels of their prey, they blast forward in a bold attack. In defence, the fleeing vessel fires off sandcasters, keeping the fighter's laser cannons from hitting it; but this doesn't stop the bullets fired from it's attackers. The scoutship's last remaining engine is destroyed, and the fighters pass the crippled vessel which now falls into the atmosphere.

The friction of re-entry burns the outer hull, radiating red-hot heat. Onboard, the two occupants realise that they must abandon the stricken ship and face an uncertain future on the surface, or stay aboard and die. The human Alexander Delrim and the Chel'Noirn known as Kravis make their escape, their escape pod separating from the scout ship as it plunges to it's death. The attacking fighters don't notice the pod, and satisfied they have made their kill, turn around and return to their mothership.

The pod falls through the atmosphere, and lands on the outskirts of civilisation. Their entrance does not go unseen.

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The human Jax stares out at the night sky, his feelings inscrutable to the casual observer. He came to Ghaea via "icebox" - a low economy mode of travel not without risk. He didn't pick Ghaea as his destination, and if he had a choice in the matter he might have chosen differently. Being in the middle of an occupation isn't the best place to be in.

A brief glare catches Jax's attention. Above him, he watches a shooting star fall to earth. Grabbing his electrobinoculars, he takes a glance in the direction of where the object may have fallen.

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While Jax searches for the fallen pod, another individual witnessed the landing with keen eyes. The Sonnergatt Nev saw the entire vicious - though brief - battle in the sky, and kept the scoutship's escape on his screens. With it's position locked, Nev wonders whether he should investigate for survivors. That scoutship was no ordinary vessel, he knew that much - a turret and sandcasters were not standard equipment, and their presence can only mean agents of the Commonwealth had come to investigate.

Nev gave a status report through his datalink to Frank Summers, captive of the Sharadan in one of their prisons. The link showed he was sleeping, so Nev dumped the message and let him be. He turned his attention towards the crashsite, and debated with himself on what to do.

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It's 10:00 pm, the night is cold and the curfew is in full force. Troops patrol the streets of Ghorman, one of the cities of the colony. The pod crashed near the outskirts. Above, capital ships and their fighters blockade the colony world - no-one can get in, no-one can get out. Where do you go? What do you do?

"Oh boy, more excitement. What to do, what to do..." I open a channel to Ghea's spaceport control and ask for landing permission.

Captain tycho wrote:"Oh boy, more excitement. What to do, what to do..." I open a channel to Ghea's spaceport control and ask for landing permission.

Erm, Tycho - you're on a captive planet hiding from the invaders. Opening a channel might not be a good idea. Read the OCC thread. It's got info for you.

Ok, just so there is no confusion:

Alexander Delrim and Kravis are at the crash site. It is on the outskirts of the city Ghorman - 20kms from the city itself.

Jax is on the outskirts of Ghorman as well, in a jeep he stole. He is probably 10km from the crashsite.

Nev is in the Artemis, hiding in a lake - though he was outside the Artemis during the battle in space, with a high powered telescope. He's probably a kilometre away from the crashsite.

Frank Summers is in a prison cell, asleep.

Edward Drackman is hiding out in the countryside, very near the crash site. It wakes him up - he was in an abandoned lake house.

Stofsk wrote:

Captain tycho wrote:"Oh boy, more excitement. What to do, what to do..." I open a channel to Ghea's spaceport control and ask for landing permission.

Erm, Tycho - you're on a captive planet hiding from the invaders. Opening a channel might not be a good idea. Read the OCC thread. It's got info for you.

Oh sorry, forgot that I was sitting in a lake and not in space.
I run a diagnostic check on the engines, weapon's etc, to see if they're in good shape. I then scan 500 meters around the Artemis, with particular attention to life-forms.

Jax lowers his electro-binocs and gets a good mental idea of where the pod is.

"Allright, time to see how fast this thing can go."

*I start searching for the pod at breakneck speed*

Mere minutes earlier the small woodland clearing had been relatively quiet, disturbed by only the chirps and calls of the nocturnal fauna and the rustling of leaves. Now the leaves had mostly been burned away by the retro-rocket emissions, and any life had been frightened off by the loud noise of the pod partly burying itself in the ground.

Alexander Delrim walks somewhat shakily out of the escape pod, attempting to take stock of the situation and examine the immediate surroundings.

Another mission, another "promising" beginning. Talk about making an impression. And good luck getting Kravis to give you a ride ever again.

He sighs, attempting to quiet his heaving stomach and dismiss any doubts from his mind.

Oh well, the best laid plans and all that. Duty calls.

He turns back to the pod, calling out to his friend.

"Hey Kravis, I'm thinking we better get going, try to put as much distance between ourselves and the pod as possible. There's a good chance that in a few minutes the welcoming committee is going to show up, and I'm not willing to bet upon their being friendly."

He turns, continuing to examine the area and begins to walk toward the bright lights of Ghorman.

Ed gets up and examines his surroundings carefully, then makes sure his ACR is loaded and a round is chambered.

To Jedi: Ed sees where the pod landed - or to be more accurate, Ed can hear which direction the pod landed. It is about 100m away from the abandoned lake house he had been using as shelter.

To Tycho: The Artemis is actually within the lake, and the pod is within 250m away from it's current location; sensors are somewhat diminished by being underwater - in fact, they're a lot diminished. No scans register past 500m, and as for lifesigns you pick up faint readings of 3 humanoid level. The weapons and engines etc are fine. It is still nighttime.

To Laz: You tear through the bush with reckless abandon, trying to stay one step ahead of whoever could claim the pod or it's contents for itself.

To Mike: You look around you - the pod landed in the countryside, near a large lake. You can make out a house fairly close by, it looks sturdy but you're not sure if it's abandoned. You turn towards Kravis, who looks banged up but none the worse for wear.

"ss-Human Alex-ss, perhaps we find ss-shelter, no? I detect a lair by the water-hole." He points in the direction of the house. "ss-Though it is too close."

"Goddammit, SNAILS outrace this thing!"

*I try to nudge a bit more speed out of it*

Stofsk wrote:"ss-Human Alex-ss, perhaps we find ss-shelter, no? I detect a lair by the water-hole." He points in the direction of the house. "ss-Though it is too close."

"You're absolutely right, on both counts. Attempting to sneak into Ghorman unnoticed when the city streets are deserted except for armed patrols is probably a bad idea. We should bed down for the night somewhere, head out in the morning. However that house is probably the first place anyone would look."

Alex looks back at the house, thinking.

"Still, we may have to use it anyway, even if only temporarily. First things first. Let's get everything we can carry out of the pod, and get out of the immediate area."

Patting his holstered pistol for assurance, he walks back into the pod to collect anything of use.

Edward carefully picks his way out toward the disturbance, rifle at the ready. The past few days have had him on edge and he's not about to take any chances.

A noise wakes Frank from his slumber. He checks his messages and contacts Nev.

"Nev, what is the armament of the prison I'm in? If possible, I want you to start the ship, blast open this prison and extend a rope or ladder or a basket or something for me to grab onto. If that is not possible, find a way to send a message to homeworld. They need to know the situation as soon as possible.

Summers Out."

Frank interfaced with his neural link, trying to retrieve all files on Sharadan and see if their were any image files that matched the faces of his interragators.

'Might as well know all I can' Frank thought as the Artemis's computers did the search.

Nev grabs his pistol and loads it carefully, then pulls on his flak jacket and belt. "Time for a little trekking to see who those people are..." He puts on his respirator mask and heads down to the nearest airlock.

Nev opens his datalink to Frank Summers. "The Artemis is currently withink a lake. All systems are fine. My scanners cannot detect anything past 500 meters, so your prison's layout and aramament is unknown. I have, however, detected sveral humanoid life-forms nearby, so I'm suiting up to go check it out. Hopefully, I'll be able to make my way closer towards you on foot or in a vehicle. I'll contact you when I have more information about the situation. Nev out" Nev deactivates the datalink and opens the airlock's interior door.

The Prime Necromancer wrote:Patting his holstered pistol for assurance, he walks back into the pod to collect anything of use.

The pod contained only marginal supplies:

Your Katana, autopistol and Jack armour. The autopistol contains 10 rounds, and you have 2x spare clips. Standard rounds.

1x small medkit, carried via sling. It confers +2 to Heal checks, it can stabilise a dying person, and can be "loaded" with drugs etc. As it is, it can give 10 "charges" that can heal 1d8+Heal check worth of Stamina, and 2 Lifeblood points. The medkit is programed with your biosign and Kravis's, and can store 2 more profiles - it can still be used on someone without a profile, but they only receive the 1d8 points of healing to Stamina, and no Lifeblood is restored.

In addition to the medkit, you've also got:

4x Stim packs. Out of KOTOR, these are the stamina variety. Using one gets you 10 bonus and temporary Stamina points.

2x Frag grenades - they belong to Kravis.

1x Chel'noirn "Shock Cannon" - essentially a shotgun. It has 30 rounds all up.

Captain Tycho wrote:Nev grabs his pistol and loads it carefully, then pulls on his flak jacket and belt. "Time for a little trekking to see who those people are..." He puts on his respirator mask and heads down to the nearest airlock.

Just so you know, Nev is aquatic, so he doesn't need a respirator mask.

In any case, the Artemis has the following equipment (note - this will reduce Frank Summers's starting credits, Faxy)(double note - this is mainly for Faxy and Tycho's benefit, though of course everyone will probably be interested in knowing what is onboard - however, don't assume your character knows, unless told specifically by Frank Summers or Nev):

Tools and Personal Equipment
1x Electronic tool kit

1x Mechanical tool kit

1x Electrobinoculars

6x Cold Weather Gear

6x Explorer's Gear

3x Vac Suits

2x Scuba Gear

2x Combination Masks (respirator and filter), with 2x large (4hr long) oxygen tanks, and 4x small (1hr long) oxygen tanks.

3x Magnetic compasses

10x torches with a battery in each, the batteries can last days.

Medical and Survival Gear
1x Autodoc. Can only fit one person in it (It would be prudent for someone to take the Surgery feat for using this, though it isn't required.)

4x small medkits, like the one Alexander Delrim and Kravis have.

2x Heavy Medkits - these are large, about the size of a briefcase. It confers the same Stamina and Lifeblood repair that the small medkit does, but with the Surgery feat, you can add a extra 2d8 as modifier - so it becomes 3d8 + Heal check. But only if you have the Surgery feat.

10x Stim packs - you can choose which variety out of the following choices - Stamina (10 bonus temp Stamina points); Broad-spectrum Anti-toxin (+2 bonus to Fort Saves for 24hr period); Fast Drug (lasts 10 minutes, or thereabouts, and doubles your base speed and gives a bonus action).

Camping Gear
3x Pressure Tents (one is damaged and in need of repair though)

1x Active Scanner sled - gives NBC detection, motion detection, sound detection (AI discriminates from recognised sounds - ie, the party profile - and unrecognised sounds, which it then performs a threat assessment on), metal detector, all the various weather and environmental detectors. It can be dragged by 2 men on either side, or 1 Percy Robot. Though you don't have a Percy.

4x Laser perimeters.

4x Short-ranged communicators.

1x Medium-ranged communicator.

Ship's Armoury
Melee
4x Stun batons.

4x Blades.

1x Wakizashi. Frank Summers's personal sword.

2x Katanas. Frank's personal swords.

Ranged - with ammunition
1x Sporting Crossbow. 20 quarrels.

1x Dartgun - this is the size of a revolver, but it weighs little and is made of plastic - perfect for smuggling. 6x med. tranq. rounds.

1x Taser. 10 "charges."

2x Flareguns. 10x flares.

4x Sporting Rifles. 5x Flechette round magazines, 5x med. tranq. round magazines.

2x Carbines. 4x standard round magazines.

Armour
* Nev's Cloth Robe - not form-fitting like the cloth suit, Nev and all Sonnergatt have a loose robe made out of ballistic cloth that has been specially designed to provide low encumbrance when used underwater. It counts as light armour, provides a +4 bonus to AC, and the normal skill penalties to Swim are ignored. It can be upgraded (think KOTOR).

* Frank Summers's Diplomatic Jumpsuit - +2 to AC. This can be combined with a Jack to give an overall +4 to AC, though doing so hampers movement somewhat.

2x Vac suits.

Food and Lodging, and the Ship
The Artemis has average lodgings. It has 6 Wardrooms, each room has 3 bunks. 1 Wardroom is set aside for the cr

The Artemis carries a month long supply of food and drink. Half of this is in the form of pre-packaged rations for adventuring, while the other half is in the form of "prepare own meal" quality food, while not suitable for adventuring it is superior in terms of nutritional value - and it means that when in space you don't have to eat rations. Basically what this means is you can stay onboard the ship a month, maximum.

The Artemis has enough fuel for 1 month. The engines are powered by he-3 fusion (cleaner for the environment and all that - think of the fucking children, baby...), though it can take in "raw" fuel - say hydrogen from the water in the lake you're currently in, for instance.

The Artemis also has defensive systems. Only Faxy and Tycho are allowed to read it. But if you must fucking read it, keep your knowledge separate from your Character's knowledge.

2x Turrets, each turret is a dual-barreled laser cannon, and are equipped with Sandcasters (10x rounds). Sandcasters project a cloud of sand that acts as both concealment 9/10 (so a bonus to the ship's AC) as well as blocking Laser fire. Of course, you can't fire out of the cloud, as that defeats the purpose. Gunners have a VR-esque helmet that gives audio cues to enemy ships's directions as well as showing a visible laser beam to assist in tracking and firing.

1x Forward-fixed Laser cannon, with 4 missile launchers. These launchers are only useful in launching robot probes, which the Artemis doesn't have, or 4 single-fire missiles, which the Artemis also doesn't have. The laser cannon provides steady boost to the ship's combat abilities.

The ship's AI is sophisticated enough to fire the guns itself, though the firing program is rather antiquated - blame Paradiso design, but that's the nit-and-grit of it.

As for stats:

Initative - 2 + the Pilot's initiative modifier (add Dex and Wis if you have the Tactics feat).

AC - 11 (10 + 1 agility) is the "official" stats, as in this is what everyone would expect the Safari ship to have. It actually has an AC of 16 + misc (pilot skill can help increase the AC further by adding +1 or +2). There's also the Sandcasters that can provide concealment - they can even be programmed to shoot out less Sand so that you can have 1/2 concealment or 1/4 concealment, should that be required for whatever reason - like protecting one part of the ship while still allowing the other half the use of it's weapons.

DR (damage reduction) - 10. Everytime the ship is damaged 10 points are lifted off thanks to Armour. Each time though the DR goes down by -1.

SI (structural integrity "hitpoints") - 115. When it hits 0 the ship is crippled, and will not function - perhaps even needing to be abandoned. If a ship ever takes damage equal to double it's SI - so in the Artemis's case this would equal 230 - it is completely destroyed.

And all this equipment comes to a grand total of 75'000 credits. So Faxy, make a note of that.

The Prime Necromancer wrote:

Stofsk wrote:"ss-Human Alex-ss, perhaps we find ss-shelter, no? I detect a lair by the water-hole." He points in the direction of the house. "ss-Though it is too close."

"You're absolutely right, on both counts. Attempting to sneak into Ghorman unnoticed when the city streets are deserted except for armed patrols is probably a bad idea. We should bed down for the night somewhere, head out in the morning. However that house is probably the first place anyone would look."

"Still, we may have to use it anyway, even if only temporarily. First things first. Let's get everything we can carry out of the pod, and get out of the immediate area."

"ss-Human Alex-ss, your people are mos-sst rude. I lament the loss-ss of my ship, the Karvean. My ss-Sire would not have been proud."

Lazerus wrote:"Goddammit, SNAILS outrace this thing!"

*I try to nudge a bit more speed out of it*

You are half way there, by your reckoning. As you stop to intuit the direction, your insight catches up to you.

(2) You burned rubber pretty quick, without attempting to be stealthy - to your credit, this has given you much needed distance over the curfew patrols, but they're surely on your tail now. Also -

(+)

(2) - if you can see the pod crashing down to the surface, so can the Sharadan occupiers.

(=)

(4) Company's coming, and you estimate they're minutes behind you.

Faxmodem1 wrote:Frank interfaced with his neural link, trying to retrieve all files on Sharadan and see if their were any image files that matched the faces of his interragators.

'Might as well know all I can' Frank thought as the Artemis's computers did the search.

The datalink tells you that the data compilation will be available in 30 mins.

While you are sitting on your bunk, wearing fatigues that leave little to the imagination - your diplomatic jumpsuit was "confiscated" as it's bad PR to hold a diplomatic rep in holding - the door opens and the lights come on, suddenly and sharply, throwing you slightly off-balance (not literally, but your eyes were accustomed to the darkness and now it's fully bright - you get the idea).

In strolls a female official, dressed in a diplomatic jumpsuit all of her own. Her long dark hair is styled into a braided pony tail, keeping her face clear. The black of her hair contrasts with the pale-white of her complexion. She bears herself well, and is at least objectively attractive.

Behind her come two obvious soldiers, though they're not dressed in uniform. From what you can tell they're armed with stun batons and tasers - obviously, they consider a prize prisoner. All three Sharadan wear diplomatic jumpsuits, colour burgandy.

"Good evening Mr. Summers." she says sweetly. If you are surprised she knows your name, don't be - your diplomatic jumpsuit contains a microprocessing chip that can be universally accessed, and it contains your ID as well as your current mission. Obviously your name is your own, while for mission you programmed it with "negotiation with the Ghaeans."

"Your identification chip provided us with your name and mission here. We apologise for holding you, but as I'm sure you can appreciate we are under great deal of... concern, you see." She holds in her arms your jumpsuit, but she hasn't offered it to you yet. "In any case, allow me to introduce myself: I am Commander Sybeline Garret, liasion to the occupation forces of the Ghaean protectorate."

Nev straps down all his equipment (Medium range communicator, autopistol w/ 5 magazines, hand-held computer and a stamina pack, plus 5 MREs) into the watertight compartments on his belt., and double checks to make sure everything is secure. He presses a few keys to unseal the exterior airlock, and breathes deeply. (OOC: If the water can be let in slowly, then he does that to make sure he isn't washed away by the flood.) He dives into the water quickly, hovering for a second to test the water temperature and currents, then goes under.

Captain tycho wrote:Nev straps down all his equipment (Medium range communicator, autopistol w/ 5 magazines, hand-held computer and a stamina pack, plus 5 MREs) into the watertight compartments on his belt., and double checks to make sure everything is secure. He presses a few keys to unseal the exterior airlock, and breathes deeply. (OOC: If the water can be let in slowly, then he does that to make sure he isn't washed away by the flood.) He dives into the water quickly, hovering for a second to test the water temperature and currents, then goes under.

You don't have an autopistol, but you do have 2x carbines - can I suggest you take one? Also you only have 4x ammunition clips, not 5. I'll allow the handcomp, but Nev already has a Datalink - I can only assume the handcomp is for someone else's benefit, or for use as an interface terminal - datalinks aren't omnipotent. MREs? I'm drawing a blank here.

Anyway you enter the water and swim away. It's fine. Your datalink to the ship gives you real-time directions to where you want to go. As you're in your element, swimming there won't take terribly long.

Edward continues to make his way towards the crashsite, keeping low and remaining wary of Sharadan patrols or other unfriendly company.

JediNeophyte wrote:Edward continues to make his way towards the crashsite, keeping low and remaining wary of Sharadan patrols or other unfriendly company.

You're aware of 2 humanoid figures. You can't really see any patrols, though you've ascertained their likliest entrance, if they come from the direction of Ghorman.

Edward will then attempt to find cover/concealment and observe the humanoids.

The house is an excellent location for remote observation - it is close to the treeline, which itself is ideal for cover/concealment.

Satisfied, Ed returns to the house quickly and carefully enters, making his way to the highest floor (if applicable). He searches for a blanket, cloth, burlap or some other material and wraps strips of it around his rifle without obscuring the iron sights, then drapes the remaining material around himself like a cloak. That done, he will attempt to move any junk or furniture lying around near a window facing where he last saw the humanoids, and conceal himself among the items, watching for activity from the direction of the crash.