ic Crash on Volturnus (IC)

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

"Good news" replied Starshot, honestly relieved. He loved a good fight, but only of a particular flavour. Sinew and fang, sweat and cunning. The hunt. Attacking the base was not comfortable. He began to realise why. It reminded him of war. And that was something he did not want to be reminded of. Even seventy years and more after being in one. 

 

He dismounted and hauled the pirate over his shoulder. "We best go meet Soreen. And see what we can use in the base. Parts would be good. An infirmary and power plant would be better" he explained. "And even better still would be stripping it down, making sure there are no booby traps or signals going to the pirate fleet out in space..."

 

"Which is a problem. Even if..I mean when...we get off this wonderfully beautiful planet, there may be other pirates out there. We still don't really know what they are doing. So I hope you have one or two left still conscious, because I have some questions for them..."

[Thevshi]

GM

 

"Well, Soreen will be better able to tell you what she has found so far, but there is an infirmary that I saw before coming out to keep watch."  Laark replied as he and Starshot made their way back into the garage area with the unconscious pirate.  "The other two pirates have started to recover, and are bound and being watched by the Kurabanda, though, I dare say they would just as rather gut them all."  The large alien added.

 

As they entered the garage, they found Soreen busy gathering together tools and some spare parts.  "Ah, there you are, finally decided to return from your little joyride?"  She asked with a smirk.  "While you were busy taking in the sights, I have been making an initial survey of what we have to work with here.  Good new, there is a power core that should be able to charge you plasma rifle, and anything else that might need some more power.  I also took a look at the pirate’s radio room, looks like their radio was having issues, so they are currently not in communication with any of their comrades, either elsewhere on the planet or up in orbit.  Bad news, my initial look over does not lead me to believe we have all we need to get the Xeno back into space.  But, it will take a bit more time to really get an idea of what all we have."

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

This was, by and large, good news!

 

Not perfect. But good. 

 

He plugged his plasma rifle and helmet in to recharge. Might take a few hours.

 

Lets hope we have a few hours. 

 

Starshot allowed himself to slump into a chair and put his boots up. He slung his jacket to one side and took a deep breath, his eyes closed. The scars on his face and down his arm seemed less livid as he relaxed. 

 

"So its in the lap of the Gods now, my friends. If they got a signal out, we are in deep trouble. But let us hope they did not" he reasoned. "Thank the cruel Gods for the radio transmitter glitch, eh?"

 

He took another deep breath in, centering himself. 

 

"So we should have some breathing space, at least. Even if we haven't got enough parts to get the Xeno going, we should take a good inventory here. See what we do have. Frankly, getting parts is only one part of the problem. Transporting them back would be another. But for now, we had a win"

 

"Lets leave the pirates stew a bit. First, lets strip this base down, and see what we got...."

[Thevshi]

GM

 

"Well, you are forgetting the larger flier they have parked outside."  Soreen said with a small grin as she and Starshot began to take a more detailed inventory of what was there for them to use.  "But even with that, I don’t think I will have everything I need."

 

Laark gave a small nod as Starshot mentioned letting the pirates wait a bit, before taking the unconscious pirate and taking him toward the infirmary. 

 

Soreen and the Starshot then turned their attention to the garage area.  She had already begun collecting a number of small mechanical and electrical parts she said would work for some of the minor, but not essential, repairs.  In addition to the grav bike Starshot had commandeered, there were several other spare parts for bike and some other minor bits of mechanical and electrical parts in the garage, along with several tools, which Soreen said were rather worthless, as she had better ones back on the Xeno.

 

From there they came to a small storeroom, in which they were able to identify several dozen power packs for the blasters the pirates carried, as well as half a dozen more fragmentation grenades and a similar number of smoke grenades.  There were also a pair of incendiary grenades along with a few packs of explosives, along with detonators and trigger devices.  There was a number of other miscellaneous equipment in the room, a couple dozen meters of rope, all weather blankets, a couple of med kits and survival kits, among a few other mundane items.

 

After that there was what appeared to be a common room, which just had some chairs around a table along with some gambling paraphernalia.  There was also a small countertop along one of the walls, on which there was a portable food heater and a small stack of plates and cups.  Next to that was a barracks area, with several bunks and chests filled with clothing and a few personal items of minimal use. 

 

Finishing out the interior of the crudely built building was a radio room, a small lab/infirmary, a computer room and the power generator.  Soreen was able to get them access to the computer system, and inside they found a variety of survey logs and other data, reveling that the pirates had apparently discovered rich deposits of several valuable metals in several locations in the nearby region.  To mine these deposits, the pirates had been enslaving members of the native species, Ul-Mor, Kurabanda and some other raced called the Edestekai.  Apparently the Edestekai were the primary source of labor for the pirates, as they had come upon a means of taking advantage of their religious beliefs and superstitions to deceive them into obeying the pirates.

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

Overall, it was a good haul. Power, provision, supplies. He wasn't a fan of explosives, and couldn't see a use for them right now. But...he would rather have them than not have them. 

 

So...this was a mining planet. And they had been enslaving the indegenous and sentient races here. Vile. He felt a boiling blood, a desire to blast everyone of them into cold hard space. It was tempting, but he gritted the feeling down and told himself that he would bring them to justice instead. 

 

I'd still like to space them. 

 

The fact that they were manipulating these Edestekai with religion was doubly vile. 

 

Not on my watch. 

 

"The Xeno may have to wait. I'm not leaving this planet till every damn pirate is buried in its soil, or taken to some Lor prison" he swore, gravely. "Next, we free the slaves"

 

It was a plan, of sorts. A philosophy of action, but spartan on the details. 

 

"Can we work out where the other pirates are?" he asked Soreen. 

[Thevshi]

GM

 

"Yeah, as I have said before, getting the Xeno operating is just one of our problems.  If we do not ensure there are no pirates to shoot us down again, getting back up into space is not going to be that helpful."  Soreen responded as Starshot stated they needed to stay until they had dealt with the pirates/slavers.  She then turned to his question on finding the other pirates.

 

"Well…I could try to look over the comm. logs and see if I can triangulate where they have been transmitting."  Soreen began.  "But, a better option might be to take a look at the flight logs of that flyer outside.  If it has been to where the pirates main operation is, there would be record of that there.  We could match those logs up with the scans you took with the Xeno's sensors just before we crashed."

 

The pair made their way back outside and to the small landing pad where the pirate flyer was sitting.  The main hold of the flyer appeared to be configured for transport, with some space for supplies.  Starshot estimated there were enough seats to hold the entire group of pirates that had been attacking the Kurabanda when Starshot and his crew had first entered the forest.  Powering up the vessel, the two were able to access the logs, confirming that the ship had just arrived at the outpost a couple of days ago, having travelled from a location about 400 kilometers to the northeast, where the sensor logs reveled a much larger compound in the lower elevations of a mountain range.  Comparing the logs to the scans Starshot had taken on the Xeno, both their current location and the larger compound to the northeast matched the technology readings the Xeno's sensors had picked up as it had come down.

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

"Interesting" murmured Starshot, stroking his grizzled chin. He felt an itch on the scar running down his face. Some tingle of ebbing adrenaline and flowing intuition. 

 

"That base to the North East is our answer. But its bigger than this one, and we were lucky to take this base so easily" he suggested. "We are better equipped now, and we have explosives. That's a boon, but I still don't like our odds"

 

"We need something to tip the odds in our favour. Much as I like a fair fight, I prefer an unfair one" he explained. This was only half true. When it came to beasts of fang and claw, he liked a good match. But these were filthy pirate slaver scum. They deserved no respect at all. 

 

"The natives of their planet. Enslaved and manipulated. If the boot comes of them, the pirates are finished" he reasoned, boldly. "But their techniques on the Edestekai. That sounds more subtle. Less easy for us to harness that. But we should try and meet with them. See what is happening". 

[Thevshi]

GM

 

"Well, don't forget we also have some transport now."  Soreen replied with a small smile.  "There are a lot of ways we can put this flyer to use, and there is the grav bike as well."  She then when silent for a moment when he mentioned whatever technique the pirates were using against this new species.  As she appeared in thought, she powered the flyer back down.

 

"Yeah, we need to learn how they are manipulating these Edestekai."  She looked back towards the back ramp of the flyer towards the makeshift building.  "Well, the logs might not describe how they are doing that, but these pirates still might have some idea.  If we can coax it out of them."

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

"My thinking exactly". 

 

And they had a pirate or two captured. It was time for interrogation. 

 

Making sure his captive was securely bound, and had no tricks up sleeve (or elsewhere), he gave a little shot of omni-stim to wake him up. 

 

"Scum" he started, helmet on, voice modulated to be deep and threatening. 

 

"If you want to walk out of this mess with your skin still attached to your body, you are going to answer every question I ask. We can skip the bit where you start bartering and negotiation. This is no barter, this is no negotiation. I am Starshot, and I keep my word. And my word is this... If you talk, you live. If you don't talk, you will wish you were dead..."

[Thevshi]

GM

 

There were actually three pirates being held prisoner, though the one Starshot had captured after the chase was unconscious in the infirmary still.  The other two were being held in the lounge room of the makeshift base, under the watchful eyes of several of the Kurabanda and Laark (who almost seemed there to protect the pirates from the natives, rather than keep an eye on them).

 

Given the tension in the room, Laark's imposing presence and Starshot's own fearsome presence, the two pirates were easily cowed by the space hunter.  Soon they were giving him quite a bit of information about what they called "Slave City One."  They told him the large outpost was typically manned by fifty or more pirates, with nearly a dozen of the combat robots like the ones that had been guarding the outposts.  There was an anti-aircraft laser to protect the outpost from air attack that was always manned. 

 

When pressed about how they had managed to trick the Edestrekai into enslaving themselves, the pirates hesitated a moment, but soon were reveling that a couple of their number were Jaas, an insectoid race that Starshot knew possessed telepathic abilities to various degrees of skill and often other psychic powers as well.  The pirates reveled that the Jaas were able to enter the minds of the Edestrekai priests and convince them they were receiving messages from the Edestrekai deities, instructing them to tell their people the deities desired the Edestrekai serve the pirates.

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

Interesting. And vile. 

 

Fifty armed pirates, combat robots, and artillery. That was an herculean feat for their motley crew, even with the best strategy in the world. Not impossible, but the odds were so very very long. 

 

But they had information now. The Jaas were the key which, if eliminated, would potentially allow the Edestrekai to be emancipated. 

 

He left the pirates to stew and conferred with Soreen and Laark in private. 

 

"I can't see any easy road from here" he started. "But every road involves the Edestrekai. For their sake, as well as ours" he explained. "We have to free them. But this won't work with a full on assault. We need a more precise, surgical stategy - and it's not going to be quick" he concluded. 

 

"As far as I can see, we have to take the Jaas out of the picture to start with. There are only a few of them, but I can imagine it will be dirty work. Namely, assasination..."

 

He was no fan of killing, but on the other hand their options were thin, and he would rather kill a few mind-raping pirates than leave an entire species enslaved. 

[Thevshi]

GM

 

Starshot had gone with Laark and Soreen to the communications room to discuss what he had learned from the pirates.  Laark nodded in grim agreement with Starshot’s comments about what lay ahead of them.  "If we can get those they have enslaved to rise up against them, the pirates’ numbers are not likely to be enough."  He stated.

 

While Soreen did not appear disturbed by the discussion of killing the Jaas pirates, she did have a bit of a frown on her face, but one appearing to be connected to being deep in thought.  After a few moments she then spoke up.  "While I do not have any real issue with spacing some psychic pirates, I am a bit worried that might not be the easy way to free these Edestrekai.  If the Jaas have convinced the Edestrekai priests that they have been hearing the word of their deities, I am not sure killing the Jaas will be enough to change the status quo.  How will we be able to prove to the Edestrekai priests that what they have been hearing in their head was psychic interference from the Jaas?  If we cannot do that, why would the Edestrekai priests not just continue along what their last messages from their deities told them, which was to serve the pirates."

[Supercape]

Starshot nodded grimly, scratching his chin and scar. "Its the long game" he replied slowly. "But, I admit, it is a very long game. It may take years for the Edestrekai to revert back. I am no sociologist...but I think you are right, beliefs do not die fast. Or easy"

 

"But equally I can't see how we have any hope with the Jaas whispering into their minds all the time. If that continues, any chance we have of an uprising has gone" he said, grim and gloomy. 

 

He clenched his fists in frustration and then breathed out, trying to exhale some of the adrenaline soaked sweat in his body. 

 

"The ideal would be to get the Jaas to convert to our side. Use this religion to our benefit, not theirs. A poisonous venture...I never trusted religion, or war, and nothing is so bitter as religion married to war" he said, remembering the faux religious trappings of the Nazi regime. His feelings on the matter where complicated; he had seen religious beliefs, if doctrimated, allow the most blatant cruelties. He had seen religious beliefs - in spirit - potentiate the greatest nobilities. Whatever the case, he found using religion a toxic task. 

 

"But every road ahead is a grim one, yet we must choose nonetheless" he said, bluntly. "But perhaps...not yet. For the first order of business is surveillance. Understanding the pirates, the religion, the Jaas, and the Edestrekai..."

 

"What is the range of those g-bikes? and how far to the pirate base?"

[Thevshi]

GM

 

"According to the flight logs of the flyer outside and the scans you took before we crashed, the main pirate base is about 400 kilometers to the northeast."  Soreen replied.  "The grav bike could get you there, but will likely take a couple of days.  We could always load it into the flyer and at least head to a point closer."

 

"While we cannot rush into things, we also cannot take too long."  Laark added.  "At some point the pirates at the main base will be become concerned when they do not hear from this outpost, or the pirates that arrived in the flyer do not return.  As for the Jaas, I am skeptical that we will be able to sway them from their current allegiance.  Even if they claimed to do so, how would we know and trust what messages they sent to the minds of the Edestrekai?"

 

Soreen seemed in thought for a moment and then spoke up once more.  "Well…we happen to know a local species that has some telepathic abilities."

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

The Ul-Mor!

 

"Good idea" replied Shatshot, brightening. "Not easy" he added. "But it is worthwhile..."

 

"In any case, we need to abandon this base. As you say, its only a matter of time before they notice it has fallen, and then try to retake it. Or worse, just bombard it. I don't think we can risk using it is our base. We need to strip what we can into the flyer, including the G-bikes, and relocate" he said. As far as he could see, there was no option here. True, it was not urgent, but it could be mere hours before a counter attack was launched, and it would not be one they would survive. Or, given it was in the middle of the desert, one they could flee.

 

"I suggest we rebase in the forest, or at least next to it. With our victorious freinds. Then, we should see about making contact with our Ul-Mor freinds. See if they will help!"

[Thevshi]

GM

 

"Well, at the very least it will be easier to search for the Ul-Mor with the flyer and grav bike than hoping to happen on them again just by stumbling through the desert."  Soreen said with a slight smirk.  "As for clearing this place out, it should not take too long to get what we can use from the base and aboard the flyer."

 

"It may help to slow down any investigation by other pirates if we use some of the explosives to detonate this facility’s power core once we depart."  Laark added.  "They may assume it was some sort of accident, or at the very least take a little longer to figure out what may have happened."  Neither he nor Soreen had any objection to moving their operations to the forests of the Kurabanda while starting to try to find the Ul-Mor.

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

"Good thinking" noted Starshot, impressed with Laark's tactical acumen. "It will also stop them using the base again". 

 

So, it seemed the plan was set. Starshot, Laark, and Loreen sent about - with good pace - stripping the base of anything they could reasonably use. Medical supplies, rations, energy cells, tools being the priority. Then, once stripped of what they could, it was time to detonate the place. If possible, to make it look like an accident. As Laark noted, even if they did spot it was deliberate, it would slow them down. 

 

After detonation, it was time to go look for the Ul-Mor once more. And, as Soreen noted, this time they were not stumbling around on foot!

[Thevshi]

GM

 

The trio quickly set to work gathering everything of potential value from the pirate base while the Kurabanda continued to guard the captured pirates and kept an eye on Phalen, who one of the Kurabanda had kept an eye on during the attack and the brought up to the base once everything was secure.  Soon enough they had it all stored aboard the atmospheric flyer, taking up about half the cargo space of the vector-thrust vehicle, which was about the size of a mid-sized bus. 

 

Then Laark and Starshot took some of the detonate explosive they had found and rigged it to the main regulation couplings of the base power core.  Destroying those would quickly lead to a core overload which should destroy much of the base.

 

Once all that work was done, they loaded all the pirates, Phalen and the Kurabanda into the flyer and Starshot took the pilots seat.

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

Strashot flicked on the power and heard the soft rumbles of the flyer. He had half - forgotten about Phalen - what to do with him? He is still half - crazed. He wondered if the telepathic Ul-Mor could start knitting his head back together. It was a long shot, but, he thought, in the absence of anyone with psychiatric expertise or indeed treatment, it was probably the only shot. 

 

The ship seemed familiar enough in principle, but principle and practice were a different thing. He wobbled the ship on take off. 

 

"Just getting the hang of it..." he reassured his crew as he straightened up. 

 

"To the Ul-Mor then" he said, plugging his helmet in. Full charged, its computer map pinged up on his HUD. Even if the Ul-Mor were nomadic, the map would guide them to where they had met...

 

And thus, he activated the G-beams and set proverbial sail to proverbial wind...

[Thevshi]

GM

 

As the flyer started away from the pirate outpost, Laark activated the detonator for the explosives they had rigged in the power core.  For a moment it seemed as if little had happened, then there was a distant sound of a large explosion and the flyer's sensors picked up the core's explosion.

 

It did not take long for Starshot to get the feel of the flyer's controls, and soon the vessel was cruising over the desert sands.  Starshot made sure to keep it low to the ground, just in case the pirates had some sort of long range sensors.  It was not too long before they were flying along the edge of the forest, staying out over the desert as they went.

 

In the cargo area, the Kurabanda looked out the side view ports at their forest home with amazement and wonder.  It was not long after that they had come to the plain of blade grass, the flyer soaring high above. 

 

Even at their rather low altitude, Starshot could make out several of the paths formed by the larger creatures with the most unusual "rollers" on their tusks that smashed their way through the blade grass as they fed.  "Much nice to see that grass up here rather than back down in it."  Soreen commented as they passed over the plains, reaching the edge of the desert once more and the last place they had seen the Ul-Mor clan they had befriended. 

 

All said, it had taken just a little over an hour for them to follow the general path that had taken them some four or five days to walk.  But now came the more difficult portion of their trip, finding the Ul-Mor.  Starshot started off in the direction they had last seen the clan heading, zooming over the dangerous sands that they had spent several days traversing following the crash landing. 

 

A short ways out, they began moving in a zig-zag pattern, covering larger areas of desert as they headed in the general direction the Ul-Mor had been traveling.  After about another two hours, the sensors picked up a larger collection of life signs, and Starshot headed in that direction.  Soon enough they crested a large sand dune and saw an encampment of Ul-Mor set up around an oasis. 

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

Starshot had no intention of frightening the Ul-Mor with the flier. They would think it comandeered by pirates, or some wrathful God, most likely. Instead, as soon as he caught sight of the Ul-Mor, he landed the Flier on the sands. 

 

"Loreen, stay here. Come get us if it gets ugly" he commanded. He didn't think it would turn ugly. But he would rather have the Flier swoop dramatically in if it did. 

 

He slung his plasma rifle over his shoulder and took Laark outside onto the dunes. They had trudged so many miles in worn boots through the desert it was almost second nature now. 

 

Weapons clearly slung, with nothing pointed to the Ul-Mor, Starshot and Laark advanced towards the oasis hands open, as peaceful a pose as they coud strike. He had no idea if the Ul-Mor would know him. Where these the same ones? Did they have some gestalt - mind? Impossible to say...but he did indicate his forehead as an invitation to commune...

[Thevshi]

GM

 

Soreen gave a nod in response to Starshot's instructions as she moved into the pilot's seat and prepared to be ready to take off if needed.  Laark slung his commandeered blaster rifle across his back and had his pistol on one hip as he hefted his large club over a shoulder and followed Starshot down the ship’s ramp and back into the heat of the desert.

 

The pair had not made it far across the hot sands when over a dozen Ul-Mor approached them astride their Loopers.  The Ul-Mor formed a small semi-circle a short distance away clutching their weapons tightly, but not making any other threatening actions.

 

As Starshot moved forward and indicated his forehead, he spotted another group of Ul-Mor approaching on Loopers.  In the lead of these new arrivals he was fairly certain he recognized Athru in the lead.

 

The new group stopped among some of the other Ul-Mor, and Athru climbed down off his Looper, leaving his weapons with another Ul-Mor and moved across the hot sands toward Starshot.

 

Once in front of Starshot, the Ul-Mor reached up with one tentacle to the space hunter’s temple and once again initiated the telepathic link.  Despite having gotten somewhat accustomed to it while traveling with the Ul-Mor, that familiarity had started to fade somewhat in the past few days after leaving the Ul-Mor.

 

Athru is pleased to see Star the Shot again, for we are One.  The Ul-Mor relayed in greeting through the telepathic link and Starshot was certain he could sense a happiness to the Ul-Mor’s tone.  Star the Shot and sky companions have returned in their Skyship Xeno?

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

No replied Starshot, most happy that he was recognised! Good fortune today!

 

Not yet. And we will not return until we stop the...

 

What would be the term?

 

villains from the sky! he said, dramatically. In his head. 

 

They have come to enslave the races of this world. With chains and spears and false religion. Some of them are...controlling the minds and will of the natives. We feel we must free all peoples of this world from their tyranny!

 

He waited for their response. Perhaps, they might have caught wind of the problems....

[Thevshi]

GM

 

Athru was quite a few moments after Starshot described why he had returned.  Then the Ul-Mor responded though the link.  Athru has heard tales of the others from the sea of stars.  The others have attacked other Ul-Mor clans, taken Ul-Mor away from the sea of sands.

 

The Ul-Mor was quite for a few more moments before continuing, enslaved by these others the taken Ul-Mor must be.  Taken away from the One Who Is Many.  None who are One should be taken so.  Ul-Mor wish to help Star the Shot in his battles with the others.  How can Athru and those with which he is One help?

[Supercape]

Starshot

 

It was a good question, and Starshot did not, as yet, have a good answer. He wanted to find out if the Ul-Mor would help, but had not got so far as to consider how. 

 

That was a much more complicated question, practically and ethically. Should they try to eliminate the false pirate religion, or replace it? Twist it? Turn it?

 

Bah, he was not a sociologist!

 

We do not yet know. We wish to free all those enslaved, and are going to the sky-villains...camp....we wish to learn of them, and once we understand them, we will try to free the natives of this world. When we do, we ask of you to help us...

 

It was a vague, but honest answer. 

 

You may come with us, or if you wish, we can find you when we have learned what we need to learn...