Thevshi

Happy birthday Moria and olopi!

Paradigm Paradigm had watched some of the evening portion of the Opera, but was finding herself somewhat distracted by the various problems that had seemingly sprung up around them. After spending a bit of time observing the evening portion of the Opera, she had gotten the few hours of sleep she required and then spend some time talking with Elite and Traveller back on CoVic Station to keep informed on what else was going on in the galaxy. Now that they were back among the other guests, Paradigm had given up on the pretext of trying to appear as if they were just there for the Opera. As such, she was not carrying a drink around with her now as she had moved along with Barrier, listening to some of the comments from the other guests. When Sphere came over to tell them about Sri Klikk's odd behavior, Paradigm quickly focused on the Star Knight, even as Red Spear suddenly appeared. "We will find out." She replied to the bounty hunter. "If you will excuse us." She added before following Barrier over toward the Star Knight.

Happy Birthday Gizmo!!

Well, I had mentioned in chat how Paradigm does not need more than a few hours of sleep at night, but whatever. Paradigm also gets a 19 on her Wisdom check.

GM With the decision made, Starshot and his crew spread out slightly and settle down for a few hours of sleep before they would have to continue the underground trek. The rocky ground was rather course, likely due to past lava flows, but eventually Starshot was able to find a comfortable enough position and drift off to sleep. It had only seemed like he had just drifted of when he was awoken suddenly by loud rumbling and crashing, the very ground below him vibrating. The cause of the commotion quickly became apparent, there was some sort of earthquake taking place. Sitting upright, Starshot saw lots of dust in the air, as he glanced about to see Laark and Soreen waking as well. A short distance away, a massive pile of rocks had fallen in the middle of the chamber, cutting Starshot and his companions off from where the Ul-Mor had been setting up their camp.

So just moving things ahead for the sake of story and wrapping up. Moon-Moth is up Ex.

Aboard the pirate capital ship The Broan that had been attacking Mater Vyrdna seemed very shocked as parts of the bridge shifted and flowed to form a prison around him. The large alien snarled as he slammed his fist against the barrier, but to seemingly little effect. The other pirates present on the bridge had managed to get their bearings, but they did not appear at all interested in attempting to fight the Praetorians that were present there. The other Boran had managed to avoid Cavalier's attack, but as he saw his companion trapped, he seemed to think better of attacking either of the two and instead pushed off a wall and propelled himself toward the door of the bridge. As he reached it, he managed to grab the doorway with one hand, and swing himself out into the hallway and out of direct sight of either of the Praetorians. Surface of Galor III, Yollon City The pirates that had been attacking the city were now in full rout. The barrage of fire from the other mercenaries, combined with the mystical barrier that protected the city's defenders while allowing them to be attacked had broken their resolve. Those still on their feet were running from the barrier, heading back towards the landing ships that had brought them down. Shell took aim at one of the larger pirates, and fired her battlesuit's plasma weapon, knocking the hulking figure off his feet and to the dusty ground unconscious. The three remaining pirates were starting to realize they were alone, facing all the city's defenders.

Take care of yourself Kolo, we will be here when you are doing better.

Happy Birthday KD!

GM Laark glanced back toward some of the closest Ul-Mor briefly before looking back at Oskar and Soreen. "They have had ample opportunity to capture or kill us, if such was their goal. There seems little reason to squander limited resources just to keep us alive longer if they only intend to kill us. Although I have not communicated with them as you have, they do seem sincere in attempting to help us. I believe we should continue on this path." Soreen waited until he had finished and the spoke up. "Well, they might look weird, but that alone is no reason to distrust them. Given the situation we are in, we could use all the friends we can get, and certainly do not need more enemies. So might as well see where this gets us, even if we have to face whatever this quickdeath thing is."

Paradigm Amara gave a slight humored smile at Barrier apologized for striking her deal with Red Spear. "Traveller would be proud of you." She said with complete seriousness, although the smile remained a few moments longer. The she turned to look back in the direction Red Spear gone. "We no longer have the unqualified backing of a major galactic empire. Since we were reawakened in this millennium, we have had to form new alliances and make agreements where we can. We have not always been able to be particular about who we have dealt with. While there are some who cannot be held to their word, our adherence to our principles defines us, to both allies and foes. We must honor our commitments, so long as doing so does not compromise other principles." "In any case, I have heard of this Zaul Zeno, although in truth I cannot say I recall much about him. Rightly or wrongly, he has not been a primary concern given other problems we have face." Amara then looked back up toward Barrier. "But I suppose he is a concern for us now. Another to add to the list that seems to be forming." "Now let us go and see how the opera we were invited to observe has progressed."

Okay, that is a bruise and daze, plus she is knocked down. So with Ruby dazed and the Jaas distracted, that brings up to Roulette.

Tsunami Paradigm (1) Revanche: At the Point of a Sword (1) GM (1) Revanche: At the Point of a Sword (1)

Paradigm Paradigm remained mainly impassive as Ambassador Raal began addressing the council. The initial wave of discontent that swept over many in the council was not particularly unexpected. It had been Paradigm's experience that council meetings could get rather contentious at times, at least initially. The current reactions might be more pronounced that was typical, but then again there were many present that had reason to distrust and even hate the Stellar Khanate. While she should have been at least a bit surprised by the announcement that Kinan Khan had somehow regained his health, the return of such a dangerous foe should not be completely unexpected. That was of course if it was true. So far all they had to go on was Ambassador Raal’s statements. She felt herself tense slightly as Raal’s comments became a bit more aggressive. If Star Khan was indeed restored, he appeared to be wasting little time in trying to regain what he had lost in the time since the Incursion. But her thoughts were interrupted by a faint chirp of her communicator. "Paradigm, I am sorry to bother you." Came Magnetar's voice. "But there is a disturbance in the Spinal Core. Some unknown parties are in the middle of a firefight and a number of Peacekeepers are already down." The Imperatrix frowned slightly at the news, the last thing they needed right now was to divide their focus away from the Khanate forces that were present on the station or in the nearby flagship. But she also could not ignore a situation where the station Peacekeepers were unable to handle it. "Take a couple of Praetorians to the Core and see if you can bring the disturbance to an end." She responded. "Of course Paradigm." Magnetar replied before the line went silent once more.

GM When the light indicating a member of the council wished to be heard, Ambassador Raal turned in the general direction of the representatives of the Grue Individuality to focus on their question. "A very direct question honored representative." Raal replied with a slight bow. "One to which I am happy to provide a direct answer." "The great Kinan Khan was grievously injured by the partial cyberzation process the Communion performed on him. But the intervening cycles have allowed him to recover and return to his former strength and stamina. At the same time he has been consolidating his loyal forces, strengthening them and preparing." As he spoke the ambassador’s tone became firm. "Now he is ready to strike back against those who treacherously sought to seize control of the Khanate for themselves. He will defeat the renegade Boran prince Dovax, who stylizes himself as 'Sovereign' and take back the territory the pirate has seized." Raal then looked out over the gathered council members, focusing it seemed on those from independent Khanate worlds. "To those Khanate worlds that choose to forge their own paths, the great Kinan Khan respects your refusal to join the traitors who sought to seize control of the Khanate and for not allowing yourself to fall to brigands such as Sovereign. Now that he has returned to full strength, the great Kinan Khan offers you a chance to return to the glorious Stellar Khanate without any repercussions."

Happy Birthday Gamer!

Tsunami gets a very average 22 for initiative.

GM As the Ul-Mor led Starshot and his crew deeper into the caves, the air did become much cooler compared to the surface. As they made their way along, the caves were regularly changing in shape, getting wider and higher at some points, only to narrow and get much lower at others. Despite regular twists and turns, Starshot's helmet was able to determine that they were generally moving in a northeaster direction. There were many side passages they passed along the way, their various lights going party into those other passages before ending in mysterious darkness. It was difficult to tell, but at times Startshot felt as if something were watching from the darkness of some of the side passages, but nothing ever seemed to appear on his enhanced vision. That continued on for many hours, with occasional breaks to rest and eat. Then, by what Starshot estimated to be mid-afternoon, their general direction began to be more in a northwestern direction. The Ul-Mor continued leading them in that general direction, until Starshot believed it was getting closed to early evening, and everyone was starting to show some signs of exhaustion. It was then that the Ul-Mor came to a halt, and began to set up for the evening in a section of the cavern that had opened up into a wide space. The Lopers were all gathered together toward one end of the cavern, roped together to keep them in place. There were a number of side passages off the main cavern, at which several Ul-Mor took up guard posts, while the others began setting up their sleeping areas. Starshot and his group were left to set up their area near where the cavern had widened from the more narrow and low section they had travelled through.

Paradgim Amara watched for a few moments as Red Spear departed the hanger, her expression neutral. She then turned to Sphere as he spoke up about taking Lexa to be examined. "That sounds like a good idea Sphere." She said with a small nod. Once the small robot had led the artist out of the hanger, Amara looked over at her towering teammate. "Well, so much for a peaceful trip to an opera." She stated with a slight smirk. "Do you know what Red Spear meant about her and her partner looking for a criminal here?"

Paradigm was going to want to talk with Barrier at least briefly.

So olopi, while we wait for Dark, I wanted to handle the large bounty hunter counter attacking Barrier (as the two of you are separated from the others). He will shoot at her, but misses horribly with a 10. Oh well.

Paradigm Amara eyed Red Spear for a brief moment as she suggested leaving the Texian Wasp with her. "Well, as you say, they are illegal. Although I suppose their legality can very, depending on where you are in the galaxy." The Praetorian replied, still holding the small device. "In any event, I am afraid this one is evidence, and will need to be held as such." She then added. "Number 17," Amara began, addressing the silvery robot, "please escort Munn and his pilot to the holding cells. And take this into evidence as well." She handed the Texian Wasp to the robot before turning toward where Barrier was speaking with Lexa.

Paradigm Amara had gone in to help get Lexa out of the spacecraft, given that she was able to move quickly through the water like medium. Once the hand the artist outside in the hanger, she gave the robot a small nod. "Thank you for the assistance." She stated as it took Munn into custody. The Praetorian then turned her attention to Lexa and listened to Red Spear’s explanation of what the small device on Lexa's forehead was. "Yes, I had a brush with one myself. Thank you for the information." She then looked up at the bounty hunter. "You can discuss who you are looking for in more detail once we have Lexa back on her feet." With that, Amara gently removed the Texian Wasp from Lexa's forehead.

We will be hoping that everything goes as planned and you have a smooth recovery olopi!

As many know, when Guardians of the Galaxy came out we sought to develop more of the outer space setting for the site, launching a major, mostly space focused event and seeking to encourage space based characters. While there have continued to be space based threads since, this part of the site has not been as big of a focus as it could have been. The Ref team and guides have recently identified parts of the setting that are in need of some additional support to help get going to a point that they can be more self-sustaining (such as the core Freedom City generally is), with Refs and guides volunteering to provide extra focus on specific areas. Gizmo and I are the Refs that have chosen Space as our focus, and are committing to running at least one thread per month set in Space. Electra will be helping update Guidebook pages for relevant characters, places and events in Space, and to be another source of answers to any questions regarding details of the site’s Space setting (and particularly how it might differ from what is in the Green Ronin books). To that end, we are looking for interest from players for the following: 1) “Guest Stars”: We will be providing opportunities for Earth-Based PCs to have adventures in space and meet some of the space-based PCs. This is made easier thanks to the wormhole left at the edge of Earth’s solar system after the Incursion event. If you have a character you’d like to see have an adventure in space or have ideas about that story, let us know here! Along these lines, we are currently planning on having PCs associated with the Freedom League rotating as representatives of the League and Earth on CoVic Station, the hub location for space adventures (and also near a wormhole connected to the one in Earth’s solar system). If you’re a player with such a character and have any thoughts on that, feel free to pipe up! 2) Space based characters: Increased activity for space-based adventures means increased support for space-based characters! If you’re considering making a space-based PC, here are some possible avenues to pursue: The Praetorians The Praetorians are always looking for new - or “old” - members. This is a good option for newer players in particular as being part of an existing team will make it easier to find threads to be involved with. The Praetorians have been one of my main projects in the last two years and are a combination of the Legion of Superheroes and the Shi’ar Imperial Guard. They are generally a more traditional superhero team, just set in space… and primarily filled with aliens as opposed to humans! Star Knights: After suffering heavy losses during the Incursion event, the Star Knights have been recruiting. While there are already Star Knights assigned to Earth there are plenty of alien systems that could use an armored hero! This is a good option for players who want a ready-made concept with strong ties to the setting. The Voidrunners and the Eclipse crew These two starship crews of roguish heroes are comparable to the Guardians of the Galaxy or Star Wars bounty hunters. While they may not be looking for new members a run-in with either group would be a good way to introduce a new space-based PC. Form a new team or crew: Space is big! There is a lot of room in space for new teams to be formed if a group of players making new space heroes wanted to create one of their own. This could be a starship crew or a group of heroes from an interstellar culture like the Lor Republic, Khanate worlds or Grue individuality. Independent Space hero: Of course, not everyone needs to be part of a team! This may be an especially good option for a more powerful, cosmic character in the vein of the Silver Surfer or Nova Prime. One of our goals is to provide opportunities for that sort of higher PL play if there are players interested in it! So, let us know what may be of interest and what questions you might have!