It is an era of civil unrest.
With the death of the Sovereign, Garland XIV, rulership of the Rosefall System is in doubt. Although The Sovereign has had a son with his consort, Lady Helena, a grand master of the secretive Amethyst Order, Crown Prince Garland XV is still but an infant in minority rule and in addition to several planets rising up in rebellion to the concept of a system wide monarchy, there are some nobles within the Rosefall court who see an opportunity to take advantage of these uncertain times, either in the name of restoring good governance, or to settle private feuds amongst one another.
It was nearing dusk when the party reached the outer perimeter of what appeared to be a large beige plateau emerging from the hard soil and weeds of the upper marches outside of the town of Sweete Bay. To the east, the land slanted down to the nearby low marsh before winding back towards the vast Argadania Ocean that drew all manner of holiday makers and petty nobles to planet Argo. The system might have been in turmoil, but that did not stop this merchant prince or that system lottery winner to wade into those turquoise waters and splash in the surf. Caine was scanning the perimeter of the plateau, hoping to find the winding crack in the uneven rock face.
Caewen stared with a raised brow as she watched Caine work. She had to ask: “Are those theater glasses you’re using, mate?”
Caine spoke as he scanned, “They were. I made a few adjustments. Shame to let a good pair of theater glasses go to waste because a scav had no interest in Qinlon Opera.”
“Yeah? What’s the chance that they explode?” Caewen asked with an amused expression. She was quite aware of the Uttin reputation for their tinkering and what it usually resulted in.
Caine rolled his eyes while he continued to scan the plateau, “Not everything we touch requires volatile circuit boards, sometimes we do build things that work.” He lifted the glass away from his eyes and offered it to Caewen, “You want to try it?”
“Why not, it’s just my eyes at stake,” She took up the brass lorgnette and was impressed when her thumb rested on a small focus wheel set into the side of the lorgnette that allowed the optics to zero on the plateau’s ridgeline. Caine directed from the side towards the east of the ridge right as it began to curve which showed the crack in the rock face, “That should be it. That’s the only ravine a man could fit through.”
“How’d you get this information again?” Caewen asked while she continued to scan the horizon, “I think it was a little unclear what exactly went on.” She lifted the viewfinder from her eyes and handed them back to Caine for him to fold up.
Daisy scratched her neck, her cheeks were pink as Caewen looked over to her and she admitted, “I usually try to be good, and it’s not like I pick the man’s pocket. Verringer is a regular Bartle’s place and is more-or-less harmless, kind of a saloon bum, but harmless. He happened to have a datapad lying on the table while he was passed out and it was unlocked. At first it was just curiosity, but then I actually read what he was involved in.”
“Must speak to the quality of the rebels if they are going to a barfly to facilitate their supplies then,” Caewen finished up. What was on the pad was known between the party members already. It was the location and presumably the access code for their liaison in Sweete Bay that was purchasing supplies and arranging the supplies to get out into the badlands for the rebels to get their hands on.
“He does bring advantage, he’s a local, and the last person anyone would suspect to be working with the rebels because of his reputation as the local drunk,” Caine said, “The only problem for the rebels that while Verringer is sharp… he is also an actual drunk, that isn’t an act. Now the only issue is we are not sure if there are perimeter cameras or sentries.”
“I can’t see anything on the horizon to suggest there are any sentries,” Caewen said.
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For this run I’ve decided to try out the tried-and-true Mythic GM emulator to serve as my oracle. I might change my mind, for now, I decide to ask if we get an interesting event at Chaos Level 5 - Somewhat Likely - Result: 47 / 65 - Yes
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The party’s conversation died down at a distant vibration that grew in a steady vibration. Despite the use of anti-gravity repulsors, the amount of weight the great pads were holding up in defiance to gravity had created the vibrations that drew Caine’s attention. The party spotted a personal transport drove down into the valley and approached the side of the plateau. The initial vibration was joined by a deeper tremor as the supposed residual boulders that were stacked against the plateau split and shifted, revealing the false front as a massive vehicle bay was briefly visible before the natural earth shifted and swallowed the vehicle again. The others could see enough to know they were close to something big.
“Well, well, looks like Verringer wasn’t just a saloon bum after all,” Daisy noted.
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The party decides to chance it after watching the vehicle bay button up, counting on that attention being drawn towards the vehicle and not towards the narrow crack to one side. The group includes Caewen at the front with shield and monosword in hand. She is followed by Daisy, toting her laser pistol in one hand with her datapad. Po backed the group with his flamer drawn, the muzzle pointed down. Last was Caine with his rifle huffing across the grounds towards the crack. The party reaches the crack and passes through with Caewen in the lead. Just beyond the outer entrance, in the dim glow of a fluorescent strip that was set into the wall above the group, the group could make out a metallic door leading into the rebel base.
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Are there any cameras? Chaos 5 - 50/50 - 45 < 50 - Yes
There are cameras and decide to see if anyone is paying attention to the monitors. I’ll put it at a 2-in-6 chance that the two technicians that are minding their stations are paying enough attention to potentially spot the party coming up. Result: 1 - The party is spotted moving through the ravine. This does raise suspicion, especially a party that is approaching with drawn weapons.
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Daisy steps forward and brings Verringer’s datapad up to the console built into the wall. The transmitter on the corner of the pad flashed a green light that matched its counterpart mounted to the right of the door. Two green lights, the door split open. As Caewen made her way up the steps, she found herself confronted with the business end of a laser pistol.
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“Wait, hold on, I’m a representative of Leonidas Verringer,” Daisy held up the datapad, “He asked me to bring these warm bodies out of Sweete Bay and bring them over to meet your recruiter. We have some top talent here, especially myself and my uttin friend here. We’re locals like Verringer and wouldn’t arouse suspicion.”
“Why didn’t he come himself?” The technician asked.
“He’s busy coordinating supplies, that’s why it’s vital that we join up and serve as part of the pipeline. You don’t think people won’t start asking questions about why he is sending out this parcel or that parcel to the drop off point?”
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This might be vaguely implausible, or shaky, but it still has a chance to succeed. I decide this counts as Silver Tongue and give the Technician a Save vs. Charm attempt. Result is: 9 < 18 - Failure.
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“Alright, I’ll go get the recruiter if all of you would like to lay your weapons on the table and relax, I’m sure we can get you situated for an overnight stay since you came all this way here,” The first technician said as he turned away and started towards his console. Both men visibly relaxed as the second technician followed the lead of his partner.
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The first technician walks over to the station and starts speaking into his intercom. At the same time, Caewen does not disarm, she does sheath her sword, which catches the eye of the second technician who watches her, his gaze flicking from her waist to the table.
Caewen keeps it simple: “It isn’t leaving my side, friend. I promise it won’t pop out and bite you.” She does set her shield on the ground to keep her hands free. As for the other two, Caine and Po, they do set their long arms such as the flamer and rifle, but like Caewen, opt to keep their las pistols at their sides. And while Daisy did set down her laser pistol next to the flamer and the rifle, she still had her hold-out laser still holstered at her thigh, she wanted to be diplomatic - to a point.
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