The Rebel Base Run - #1

 

The Rebel Base Run 

Preamble - Sovereign’s Fall: The Rebel Base Run takes place in a time of calamity and the brink of civil war in Rosefall Sector after the death of Garland XIV, the Sovereign of the sector, passed away and leaving the throne occupied by his son, Garland XV in his minority rule as an infant still being nursed and cared for by his mother, a powerful Seeress of the Amethyst Order of Star Knights along with the king’s wet nurses and staff. With the Empire governed by a privy council of loyal courtiers and overseen by Consort, Genevieve of Chrysanthemum, along with her Order of Amethyst sisters, trained star knights and psychics like her, several planets led either by ambitious noblemen or independent factions seeking to free themselves from Imperial control have begun to rise up across the sector.

The actual adventure takes place on a planet known as Sweetbay and a town known as Calantha Spire. It is there that Daisy Lockridge, a bored saloon girl, managed to use her talents with quick fingers to lift a datapad on a passing trader who has had in the past suspected links with local insurrectionists in the area. She has brought the pad to her friend, Caine Miro, to decode along with assembling a few others at Caine’s junk shop that serves as the party’s base while in Calanthan Spire.

The party is made of the following:

Daisy Lockridge - Daisy is a human barmaid (also known as a saloon girl) with a knack for skullduggery. She is a native to Sweetbay and has gained access to the keycard that should let them into the rebel base.

Caewen Bradshaw - Caewen is a former sword arm of the 5th cohort within the Rosefall Legion. She was discharged not long before The Sovereign, Garland XIV, died, and is torn between a desire to return to service and a desire to remain as an independent.

Po Bramblepath - Po is an ursine, or bear-humanoid alien from the world of Paigris, or Lotus, by the reckoning of the empire. He is on Sweetbay as a former auxiliary of the 5th Cohort and is a friend of Caewen.

Caine Miro - Caine is a native to Sweetbay and obviously owns the junk shop known as ‘Caine’s.’ He only knew Daisy by reputation at first before joining her inner circle as part of the job. ---

1 - The Rebel Base Run

Daisy and crew stood around Caine’s console and monitor setup towards the back of his junk shop after hours. A motley as ever: a human who had just changed out of her gaudy saloon girl uniform into a simple set of low riding shorts and a scarlet colored camisole. Contrasting the casualness of one Daisy Lockridge was the short haired blonde in an olive crew shirt and a set of denim breeches that were tucked into her boots. The tattoo of a ‘V’ alight in flames noted her as a member of a 5th Cohort of whichever legion served the Imperium. In the stellar winds outside Sweetbay, the talk of rebellion was in the air following the death of the Sovereign and the prospect that an infant in minority rule would control the fate of the system. Rebellion was not exclusively on the mind of ambitious lords who controlled whole planets, individual worlds were also weighing the possibility of throwing off any links to another authority and governing their own affairs. Sweetbay was, by all accounts, a staunchly loyalist region within the Imperium.

Caewen: “And yet you, of all people, manage to find a datapad that is linked to a rebel cell on this planet?”

Daisy: “Why would I bring you all here if I forged the material?”

Caewen: “I never said you forged it, I just find it hard to swallow you found anything so sensitive as a location to a rebel base.”

Daisy: “We have a chance to take something, maybe come off as heroes, or maybe just strip and sell the place.”

Caewen: “Don’t get me wrong, Daisy, I’m interested. You interested, Po?”

The ursine rattled his glass while looking up from the sunglasses resting on the bridge of his muzzle. 

Po: “I’ve got nothing better to do but drink green apple liqueur on the beach, and the money only lasts so long going that route. I’m interested.” 

Po Bramblepath had come with Caewen. The two of them met Daisy through Caine Miro, the white furred ratfolk that sat with his back to his console. Caine knew Daisy as they were neighbors and the closest to natives of Calantha Spire and the planet Sweetbay.

Caine’s quick fingers working the console was aided by the occasional tap of the keys by his tail. The uttin’s tail lacked the strength to do much, but it could hold small items or perform minor feats of electricity such as making tertiary keystrokes as part of his interaction with the pad. After several minutes, he is able to decipher the locking command and the location that the pad is paired with.

Caine: “It’s keyed to a location in Winding Stair Mountain outside of town. I wonder how they managed to build a facility. It was probably something already previously established, dating back to when the first colonists arrived on Sweetbay.” ---

Daisy is a native and tries to recall anything about that rugged region outside of Calanthan Spire.

(Daisy  History: 7 < 13) - Daisy is only vaguely aware the base probably existed due to some mining guild operating on the planet before greater colonization, but she doesn’t know which one.

The party agrees to use Caewen’s tracked vehicle, an older model industrial piece whose days of hauling cargo have fallen by the wayside. Caewen does not need to roll go from Calathan Spire to Winding Stair Mountain, so most of the day is merely resting, absent mindedly playing cards, or performing other minor actions as the Caewen generally handles control, passing it off to Po when she needed to use the head. Eventually, the transport parks shy of Winding Stair Mountain where the base should be built into the cliff face. The party exits and makes their way to outlying residual boulders to look over the valley in front of the base. ---

Q: Is there anything occurring of interest?

A: Yes, no modifier - A false portion of the rock face is open to reveal that a vehicle bay is built into the base. The rebels are busy backing their own crawler into the base. A pair of rebel guards oversee the matter with SMG’s in hand before they follow the vehicle inside and the rock face closes again.

Daisy: “Already has a vehicle for us to claim.”

Caine nods in agreement while Caewen makes a dry comment: “We have to claim it first, friends.” ---

The party makes a move towards the door entrance and sticks together and utilizes the card that Daisy had managed to get her hands on. The party marching order consists of Caewen, backed by Po, with Daisy and lastly Caine in the rear. At the door entrance, Daisy passes the keycard for Caewen to use. Swipes the card into an access port built into the rockface. The doors hiss open with Caewen moving in first, changing stance and returning to sword and board.

Caewen does not try to be stealthy, which gives the guard a chance to notice Caewen.

Guard Perception: 13 - He looks up and sees Caewen Bradshaw appear with a chain sword.

Initiative - Round #1 (This game we will be using Side Initiative) Party: 19 GM: 6

Caewen is a fierce loyalist who hates the idea of rebels arming on her adopted planet. She moves and attacks! Attk: 7 - Miss

Po moves in but holds back, but is reluctant to use a flamer unit where his friend is fighting. He moves across to guard north doors, which are closed.

Daisy moves in and grants an Inspiration Die to Caewen (d6 to Caewen - ⅔ Uses Remaining)

Caine moves in and keeps his distance. He reaches for the nearby station and tries to hack in (Computer Tool Kit (+2) + Int (+3) = +5): 8 < 13 - While he has access, he is being stopped by a security system.

Rebel Guard #1 takes a step back and fires his SMG into Caewen. Attack: 10 - Miss

Round #2  Caewen attacks Guard #1. Attack: Natural 20! Crit. Damage: 9+2 + 6 = 17. Rebel Guard HP: 0/14 - Slain

The rebel minion attempts to flee north to get reinforcements from the lounge with Po watching the area, requiring a stealth roll to get past without being spotted. Minion Stealth vs. Passive Perception: 9 vs. 15 - Minion is spotted.

Po makes a Charisma check (Persuade) to get the minion to surrender. He recognizes that the minion may be a mixed-youth and not quite a zealot to the cause. Po gains an Advantage to Persuasion due to holding a flamer. Persuade: Natural 20! ---

Po brought the flamer to bear at the young man who had been walking up to the room when the party attacked. The rebel guard might have been a zealot, but the minion was a recent farm boy drawn into the promises of a new dawn of rebellion against the Sovereignty. 

Po: “There is no reason for you to throw your life away. Just drop your weapon.”

The minion complies and Po keeps his promise, bringing the minion into the entry room. ---

Daisy holds action, watching the west door leading down a set of steps.

Caine continues to try and access the computer. Result: 13 ≥ 13 - Success! Caine is able to access and shutdown the auto-turrets in the area without an engineer to be present to personally reactivate the turrets with a portable terminal on their person. ---

Caewen is given Farm Boy’s slug pistol.

Caewen secures Farm Boy to a chair and binds him with the utility rope she carries. (Rope is quietly retconned into Caewen’s gear) ---

Daisy performs a Persuade on ‘Farm Boy.’ Persuade: 18 vs. 13 - Success

The guard is cooperative and can share that a rebel commander named Girdwood is in charge of what they hope to be a larger uprising of the population on Sweetbay. Is this to then turn the planet over to an ambitious nobleman? Or perhaps break off and form an independent republic in the sector? Farm Boy does not know. He just knows that there is a full squad of men with roughly his training in possession of the base.

Q: Do any patrols from the other rooms enter the entry room?

A: Yes, no modifier

---

The doors hissed from the cells.

“Tell me you got those cameras turned off, Caine,” Daisy said gravely.

(During the interrogation, there is a chance that Caine has tapped in and can manipulate the systems. Let’s see if he did that. Computer check (+5): 10 < 15 - He was still locked out of the system / Q: Are the guards aware of trouble from the control room due to this? A: Yes, no modifier)

“I… well… I tried,” Caine said at last when the doors slid open. The guards were not surprised, information about the attack had been fed into commlinks from the command center.