Chapter 3: High Noon on Walston

Jan 4, 2025 7:09 pm
The final hour of the jump crackled with tension. Four weeks ago, Fallon and Seally had shared a chilling vision aboard the Florian ship: Salvor Dreks, the vile pirate who once claimed the Wayward Wind as his own, was coming back to Walston to take "his" ship - the Wayward Wind, a cutting-edge Harrier-class starship with one of the fastest manoeuvre drives in the Third Imperium. This storied vessel was never really his—it had been stolen from Seally’s noble house, and Dreks’ depraved actions had tarnished the ship's name. Reclaiming the ship’s honour was Seally’s mission, and her handpicked crew had proven to be a resourceful team.
[ +- ] The Crew!
Yet, Dreks and his ruthless gang seemed to haunt the ship’s every move. As long as the pirate remained at large, the Wayward Wind could never escape its shadowed past. Justice for Dreks was not just a goal—it was a necessity. And now, Dreks was threatening Walston, a backwater planet where the crew had made many friends, and were celebrated as heroes.
[ +- ] Salvor Dreks
The crew had wasted no time after receiving the ominous vision. Using the proceeds from selling data on their extraordinary encounter with the elusive Alo’hei, they readied the Wayward Wind for battle. Microfractures in the hull were sealed, and a gleaming new pulse laser turret bristled from the ship’s dorsal hardpoint.

Their ranks were bolstered, too, by three Florian warriors—One, Four, and Nine—known as Feskals. Towering figures from a distant world, the Feskals were bred for servitude but had won their freedom aboard the Wayward Wind. Now, they lived as free men, their spartan camp nestled in the cargo hold as they dreamed of a world where they could explore their humanity in peace.
[ +- ] Feskal Warriors
The crew gathered in the ship's lounge, the weight of their mission heavy in the air. Ahead lay the Walston system, and with it, the chance to confront Dreks once and for all. Were they ready to face a band of hardened pirates and murderers? Analyzing the mood, Goldie decides to be helpful and chooses a song from their ancient Earth music repository. Zuzu's ears perk up as the song begins to play.

OOC:
Welcome back to the Wayward Wind, everyone! We're starting just before we arrive in the Walston system, right before the action begins. Let's role-play a bit to get back into character before we start blasting space pirates. What have your characters been up to, and how are they feeling and what are they doing before entering potentially hostile space?
Jan 4, 2025 10:19 pm
Seally's eyes check the navigation beacons and compare them with her own astrogation plots with her mobile comm. She's checked them twice, already, and about to start a third she instead pushes the device to the side and lifts her drink, gripping it with both hands. "Travel takes so long but when we get there we'll wish we had more time to prepare." She slowly rotates the drink in her hands.

They had spent too much cred on liquor station but somehow that just made it feel more like home. She was used to certain luxuries universally offered at the expense of efficiency and conservative management of resources. She felt her companions felt the same way. Certainly Fallon must.

"Think they remember us at that beach?" She snickers remembering the bold way they had talked themselves into committing what must have been a violation of a half dozen of Walston's decency laws.
Jan 4, 2025 11:07 pm
"Hey now don't get me started on that beach, ladies. Piloting a ship is a great responsibility. No distractions please," he says, fighting a smile.

"Your coordinates are good, Seally. Everything jives with what I'm seeing here." Zuni's brow tightens though as he scans his readouts. "The trajectories all line up. I just wish we weren't on a course to meet Dreks and his thugs too."
Last edited January 4, 2025 11:07 pm
Jan 5, 2025 1:34 pm
"They won’t know what hit them!" Alerio starts up, rubbing sweat from her brow.

She wipes her hands and then lets herself fall into her chair with a thud!

"Last time they saw this bird, well… it didn’t have some of the hardware it has now! They’ll be expecting a pissing contest and we’ll shoot them out of the sky!" she sneers, relishing the idea of ridding themselves and Walston of this gang.
Jan 5, 2025 4:34 pm
"True. That pulse laser is kick-ass. But don't underestimate the bastard. He probably has an idea we would have made improvements on The Wayward Wind."
Jan 5, 2025 6:33 pm
"News travels slow, so even if he has paid informants at the station, maybe he hasn't heard about the upgrades yet. Yet, so we don't have all the time in the world."

She looks fondly at Zuzu. "Especially chief woofer Zuzu!"
Last edited January 5, 2025 6:40 pm
Jan 5, 2025 6:44 pm
"I'm saying he is smart enough to imagine that we made improvements, whether he knows anything for sure, who can say?"

Zuni looks fondly at Zuzu. "Chief woofer. Cute."
Last edited January 5, 2025 6:44 pm

Goldie

Len

Jan 6, 2025 4:37 am
Goldie
Goldie's calm, pleasant voice chimes in through comms. "It is prudent to review combat roles and battle stations for each crew member, in the event of an armed confrontation in space."

"Dame Seally, you are the Captain of the Wayward Wind and have elected to route Sensors Operations to your command chair on the bridge."

"Alerio, you are the ship's Engineer and will be stationed on the first deck for damage control. In addition, you will be operating the Wayward Wind's countermeasures suite for conducting Electronic Warfare, also located on first deck."

"Fallon, you are the Wayward Wind's only qualified Gunner and acting Medical Officer. You have assigned to the bridge to operate the Missile Turret and Pulse Laser Turret from weapon systems console."

"Khazuni, you are the Wayward Wind's Pilot and will be stationed on the bridge, at the helm."

"One, Four, and Nine are assigned to the role of Marines to conduct boarding actions, and defend against such. They are stationed on the first deck, near the main airlock."

"I have updated Zuzu's roll to Chief Woofer, who is no doubt in charge of crew morale and belly rubs. Where would you like to station Chief Woofer Zuzu during combat?"

"Lastly, it is customary for personel to don vacc suits when called to their battle stations, in the event of hull breach and decompression, and as defense against directed radiation weapons."
OOC:
The underlined roles have specific jobs in space combat! I decided to split the Sensor Operator between Captain and Engineer because we only have 4 players and it gives those players a bit more action. If Alerio gets called away to fix damage, Seally might need to run down to the first deck to operate the Countermeasures Suite.
https://i.imgur.com/NR2vjkr.jpeg
Jan 6, 2025 12:40 pm
Weapons are primed and ready to blast. Like me after this is over with, I hope," she grins, dusting her hands theatrically since nothing she did had gotten her hands dirty. "And did I hear Zuzu got a promotion? I mean, well earned and all, but let's not forget the rest of us, yeah? The title 'Chief Master Blaster' has a nice ring to it, dontcha think? Anyway, how long till we arrive?"
Jan 6, 2025 3:10 pm
"Hear that Zuzu? You've been promoted. Give me a high five!" Zuni had somehow managed to train the dog to do that trick whenever he had the opportunity.

"We should station Zuzu in a secure, confined space for his protection during combat. Some kind of harness apparatus we could probably jury-rig. Any ideas Goldie?"

Zuni chuckles at Fallon. "I'd be happy to address you as Chief Master Blaster if it will make you happy."
Jan 6, 2025 5:41 pm
Seally laughs that Goldie took her seriously although in retrospect isn't surprised. "Let's make sure Zuzu has access to a comm unit so his woofs can be broadcast to any dastardly miscreants and malcontents we come across!"

She drops finger guns to Fallon and nods with a big smile at her title.
Jan 7, 2025 12:55 am
At that moment, the Wayward Wind lurches, the sound of the bonded superdense hull bending and flexing under force. The artificial gravity mostly compensates to dampen the effect, but you still fill the shudders through the ship.

Goldie
Goldie's calmly explains "I have traced the source of this disturbance to the Jump Drive. The terminus of jump space is currently being calculated, but the jump field is destabilizing prematurely."

Ever since you've taken possession of the Wayward Wind, the Jump Drive has been a little ... wayward. But fixing it has always been a lower priority. If you exit early from jump space, the carefully calculated terminus point might not materialize where Seally would have plotted it. Rather than a safe location, you might end up too deep inside a gravity well and be sucked into a star, or far outside the system, requiring days of travel to reach Walston.
Jan 7, 2025 3:14 am
"Damn! I knew we should have fixed that Jump Drive. Remind me again why we didn't fix it?" Zuni fights with the ship, trying to stabilize it.

"We're letting her live up to her name right now. Any damage to report, Alerio?"
Jan 7, 2025 6:23 am
OOC:
Alerio can get a damage report from a console to confirm that there has been no structural damage to the ship. If she wants, she can head down to the J-Drive to run diagnostics, and try to stabilize the jump field to avoid a bad re-entry into normal space.

To do this, Alerio can make an Engineering: J-Drive check (INT or EDU). Roll 2d6 and add your Engineering: J-Drive skill and your choice of INT or EDU modifier, and try to get an 8 or higher.
Jan 7, 2025 6:30 am
"Do we have a vacc su…" Alerio says, joining in the banter over Zuzu before she’s thrown a little off balance by all the shuddering the ship is undergoing.

She groans, and curses as the fault is found to be in the J-Drive.

"Chief J-Drive Pummeler, reporting for duty!" she says, harkening back to all her threats to batter the damned thing with a wrench at any and all opportunities.

"I’ll go take a look!" she says with a sigh, before taking off down the Wayward Wind.
OOC:
Both stats are zero, but J-Drive is 1!

Rolls

Roll - (2d6+1)

(44) + 1 = 9

Jan 7, 2025 7:44 am
Looking at Zuni, We agreed the hull was the priority since it's the most integral part keeping us fleshy and supple meatbags from becoming hardened ice popsicles in the vastness of space. But the J-Drive is definitely next on the list for repairs. Plus I shudder to think how expensive it will be if a major problem is found. Engines aren't usually the cheapest parts of the ship."

Fallon bends down to give Zuzu some pets. "Comms for the pup sounds like a wonderful idea."
Jan 7, 2025 7:28 pm
"I know Fallon. I wish we didn't have to prioritize that way, and who you calling a meatbag? I take pride in my supple, lithe body, you know."

Secretly, Zuni was a little concerned about what problems might be uncovered, but he figured giving voice to those concerns might be tempting fate.
Jan 8, 2025 2:39 am
"Come in suit up, play it safe ladies."

She hits the comm. "One, Four, Nine, put on enviro suits right away. Just in case things get a little dicey."

She grabs one from the bridge locker and begins to yank it on.

Len

Jan 8, 2025 5:57 am
Seally Llewyn says:
She hits the comm. "One, Four, Nine, put on enviro suits right away. Just in case things get a little dicey."
The Feskals respond immediately in unison: "Yes, Dame Seally." It had taken some amount of convincing to get them to stop referring to the crew as "Keepers of The Word" and "Witnesses of the Children."

Adapting to life outside their indentured servitude to the Barnai Florians was slowly taking shape. Although they hung onto their individual number, they had ditched their unit code and had taken to calling themselves the "Heretic Squad" after a comment that Seally had made when they first met you. Once a day, you might catch a glimmer of their beautiful song, a prayer to the Alo'hei, a privlidge that precious few citizens of the Third Imperium have ever experienced.

Alerio makes her way down to first deck, where the J-Drive is located. She passes the Heretic Squad as they are donning vacc suits, and enters the J-Drive chamber.

https://i.imgur.com/ZI8FES1.png

Giving it a good thwack with her spanner, Alerio hears the rattle of a loose power coupling. Opening up the access panel reveals a burnt out coupling - a grave danger. It takes a tense 20 minutes, but she manages to hot-swap it while the J-Drive is still formulating the Jump field, setting up a triple bypass circuit to accomplish the task.
OOC:
Congrats, Alerio, you succeed, though barely!
Now that the J-drive is stable, the Jump field begins safely collapsing. As per Imperial custom, the interior lights across the ship are dimmed almost to black*. You make your final preparations, such as wiring Zuzu's collar for comms, and wait as the Wayward Wind enter normal space. Before the shutters** on your windows can be raised, your comms station lights up: a Priority/1 distress signal.

"This is the Free Trader Beowulf, calling anyone… Mayday, Mayday… We are under attack!"
* - A leftover practice from ancient star mariners, from the days when starships needed to conserve every joule of energy while passing in or out of Jump space. No longer necessary, but a good luck charm practised by all space-fearing crews across the Imperium.

** - you always close shutters on Starship windows when entering Jump space, because looking into Jump space drives sophonts mad.
Jan 8, 2025 7:42 am
Fallon, now wearing her vacc suit as well, throws up her hands in disbelief. Oh come on! Really? I had just hyped myself up for this showdown with Dreks! I'm going to get fight-or-flight blue balls! Blue adrenal glands! Shit...Should we answer it?" She looks to Seally who is their de facto leader.
Last edited January 8, 2025 7:43 am
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