Game Date

266-1105

Location

Iderati

We are heading to Down Port - current time planet side is 12.30 ish landing 12.45 ish gives us a couple of hours to prep for the meeting. We need to organise ground transport, and make sure all attending meeting have appropriate attire for the meeting.

Junebug wishes for us to spread some vague rumours/doubts around the crew complement to try to throw off an enemy from her past in the Marines, whilst she writes a message to the Marines with a complaint about him.

We get a docking port & safely land & meet customs. In system for 3 weeks, we have access for 6 hours due to our meeting with Mamon. We declare our cargo, but stress not planning on selling here, so it will not be leaving the cargo bay.

Annotated map on Sir Mamon Wakisha's Desk

We hire a ground car for transportation to Mamon's estate. Protesters outside down port no idea what they are protesting about, but give us no trouble. We arrive on time and are shown in immediately & he has a document on his desk. He welcomes us & asks how our survey went. To the best of our ability, then we explain what happened, tell him about the downed ships & explained about the creature and what happened. We give him the evidence photos & samples. He also cannot see the creature in the photo. Explain about Kimbley's assistance in locating it, no evidence of psionic abilities. Any research carried out about creature, ship modified and did not find anyone alive. Sensors also did not pick up the creature. We explain about our attempt to enter the ship but too high a technology for us to figure out how to enter. Mamon is taking copious notes as we give our report. We did not have any other strange feelings whilst doing survey but we do tell him about creature healing itself & returning for further attacks & as we were taking damage we decided to retreat.

We also report about incident on Bularia he seemed a bit taken aback, we explain what happened & how we managed to foil their plan. He adds it to his chart in front of him: He asks us our plans for the next while just in case he has any further questions or follow up & we inform him we plan to have at least 3 weeks down time in system. He authorises the second half of our payment.

Masuyo asks regarding the increased ghost stories around Iderate D, reason for asking is the thing we encountered could be considered a ghost. Strangely he hasn't shown any doubt about our description of the creature, giving rise to the thought he may have had similar reports before. We give him Vexar's name & he is known to him but he does not have enough pull with the Navy to stop him. He thanks us profusely & dismisses us as he has his own work to do & offers us potential future opportunities & tells us if there is anything we need we can contact him.

We get back into our ground car & stop to have a nice meal together. Earl buys some smart casual clothing & some formal attire as well. and gets a hair cut.

Cyn & Chase realise we have been gone for a while and are worried because we only got a 6 hour free pass, but we return at 18.00 hours & we decide to head up to High port, to shift our cargo and get replacement parts for the air raft so I can fix it properly. We need someone to head out to the Scout office to give our survey report on 886-945. The next day we all head out to carry out our own tasks, I go and get replacement parts & some spares (just in case).

Masuyo heads to Merchant Hall with one bottle of the Vodka as a sample to see who would be most interested in it & give us the best price. She finds the least busy trader &approaches them and offers 20,000 bottles of this, trader looks interested but not without a sample first. He seems to enjoy it, but seems to be a bit surprised by the amount we happen to have, so Masuyo explains about how we obtained it. Explaining that we have no intention of returning to the system so he can get the monopoly on it. We sell for 120000 credits. They will offload it themselves.

While Cyn does not see anything unusual, Chase has a feeling of being under observation. The rest of us notice that people are leaving the concourse. Tharbin & Masuyo in particular notice that people are leaving the concourse due some kind of communication. Trader is oblivious - Tharbin decides to follow someone, people who are in military uniforms or should be in military uniforms. Tharbin lets us know & thinks there may be some kind of emergency as the seem to be getting recalled.

We all head back to the transit tube leading back to the ship, as we arrive in the transport area. An announcement is then made. We approach the Security person to report to offer assistance & one of them throws a backpack into the transport tube to the North. There is an explosion, property damage & some injured people. Cyn & myself take some damage from flying debris, the security guards don't look well along with a lot of the civilians. Injured by the blast while running away, was he a fanatic? he shouted something whilst throwing the bomb. The surrounding terrain lessened the blast by the time it reached us leading to only minor damage.

I'm running a new traveller campaign - pages about it can be found here:

• Character Back Histories
• Traveller Session 1
• Detached Duty Contract Terms
• Traveller Session 2
• Traveller Session 3
• Traveller Session 4
• Traveller Session 5
• Traveller Session 6
• Traveller Session 7
• Traveller Session 8
• Traveller Session 9
• Traveller Session 10
• Traveller Session 11
• Traveller Session 12
• Traveller Session 13
• Traveller Session 14
• Traveller Session 15
• Traveller Session 16
• Traveller Session 17
• Traveller Session 18
• Traveller Session 19

Game Date

267-1105

Location

Iderati

The layout of the area in front of the transit tube entrance. This image doesn't show the explosion which has just occured in front of the red tape that is in front of transit tube entrance itself (middle left of this image) nor the profusion of prone and staggering people scattered around the scene of the explosion. Our heroes have just arrived on the moving walkway at the top of this image.

Junebug spots what she believes is a terrorist & throws her dagger at him & he slumps to the ground as Junebug shouts for all the civilians to stay away Earl shot at terrorist & missed, I move but decide not to take a shot as there a couple of civilians in the way. Security shout for everyone to get down. Chase moves into range and also just holds position as too many civilians - Junebug is shot by someone in a security uniform but it disintegrates on her Vacc suit: Cyn moves into cover and ducks down. A shout of You Bastard & a shot at Junebug which misses, but hits the civilian next to her. Another shot misses Junebug & hits civilian who drops to the ground. Cyn moves to assess the situation ready to jump in and offer medical aid. More shots come Junebug's way from the security team. Chase tells the civilian near him to get down behind him. I move into a position where I can shoot & take my shot & terrorist 1 & kill him - Masuyo shouts telling security here to help then moves & points weapon at Terrorist 2 & says drop the weapon or next shot is through your brain. Earl also tells security we are engaging the enemy as detached scouts.

Security reiterates Everybody get down. Earl tries to get security to stand down but they reply You stand down. I move closer to cover my crew mates. Security shoots the 2nd Terrorist & he falls unconscious - Junebug asks for her blades ack, but security refuse. Medical teams arrive, Earl presents ID to Security to prove our authenticity, Cyn checks on passenger & helps stabilises them, then revives to Terrorist to ask a few questions The Tactical team arrive & take the body & now conscious Terrorist into custody while giving sly glances at Junebug. Cyn makes note that the quality of the weapon is somewhat shabby & has potentially been smuggled aboard. Masuyo is people watching to see if anyone is acting suspiciously or trying to assess the damage, there are a couple but not sure if there are co-conspirators or not. They could just be curious. No one in or out through the docking area. The ship crews are arguing with Security about getting back to their ships, there are other ways to get through to docking via maintenance shafts.

Security eventually approach us, Chase is asked for his ID which he provides, Earl provides his ID, a less friendly security guy approaches me: Oh one sec I've got them here somewhere, I frantically pat my pockets & then search my backpack then give them over. Can you explain your actions, please. I explain, but get arrested anyway. Junebug is arrested too. asking for someone to look after Kimbley. Earl requests to know where the holding area is, but is ignored Masuyo cites Imperial law & they reluctantly provide the info & then she asks to accompany us as the ships Lawyer. Earl tries to somewhat diffuse the situation asking what there to do for fun around here and asks about nearest drinking establishment is but it is closed. The holo screens change to a news report: Many Jump emergences near Gas Giant & a fleet is amassing. Earl is not sure which ships they are, Cyn thinks they may be Imperial, but not sure. Masuyo tells them to keep studying the ships. Chase asks security about the news report & should he be worried. Yes you should is the response. The rest of the crew decides to head back to the ship. Masuyo speaks to senior officer with us. He threatens to throw us in the big until the new threat is dealt with Masuyo drops Mamon Wakisha name & tells them to contact him directly again citing Imp law about illegal arrest & imprisonment.

Still from a video news report claiming that it has been taken from on board a Imperial Starship moving to defend Iderati

Ships are not Imperial they are in fact Zhodani. Earl asks if they should return to ship or join us in Security centre, Masuyo tells them to join us over open comms - warning security not to take it as a threat & to expedite our trip to security centre D2. He goes into back office to make the call. then he comes back after a few minutes, How was the call? He was a little surprised to hear us involved in Terrorist activity, but not totally surprised. Security let us go - Masuyo asks me to call Mamon to see if he has any suggestions on how we may be able to help: We can see flashes in the window hear the Naval Base outside. Masuyo needs to send an urgent message to Glisten via X-boat and visits the X-boat office and is told No X-boat is here just now Anything leaving for next system with X-boat availability that you trust. None of them is the vehement reply. Masuyo calls Earl & asks him to come to the office that he would trust to take a comms packet. He prepares it for us to take to next X-boat point (Flammarion) ASAP, he provides orders to such.

Leave Message with Mamon's secretary that we are acting as an X- boat to Flammarion & will be back ASAP.

Can't get through, gate is jammed but explain to the security team that we need to get to ship ASAP as under orders he asks us to follow him & takes us to a maintenance area & gives us directions back to our ship.

Game Date

249-1105

Location

Bularia → Ucella → Iderati

Earl is keeping watch, Tharbin makes another attempt to submerge the ship but alas it fails, but we are far enough away to be out of any immediate visual range. We may be spotted if they send any more cutters out. Chase breaks radio silence with a request for help. A ship, the Darrian Conveyor responds asking the nature of the request and Chase explains our predicament and gives them his position. We run a search on them but have limited information. Chase explains that we have not been offered any assistance from the Star port staff. The Darrian Conveyor all seems to be above board. It is a bulk freighter of 3,000 tons so they can't offer any real assistance. Earl has more knowledge about our suspected pirate and he tells us he is exceedingly ruthless. Taking out the freighter would not turn a hair on his head. We decide to send a tight-beam comm to the freighter. We give them as much information as we have for the time being to warn them about the potential pirates at the Star port. The Darrian freighter needs to refuel and can only do so at the Star port as they can't refine their own fuel. We offer to hook them up and feed them the fuel they need. They want some kind of verification and we offer Chase as a form of security, which they accept.

A view of the 800 ton starship as it left Bularia

We bring the Hope to a stop & successfully submerge the ship to 60 feet beneath the surface. Chase lands the air-raft and tries to camouflage it somewhat. He can hear a smallish vessel coming using his bins he identifies a cutter & takes cover. The cutter fires its laser in his direction & some small fires erupt around him & he moves, but it comes around for another pass firing again getting very close to the air-raft, he continues to move away from it, the cutter breaks off and heads back to Star port. Chase gets back to air-raft to see if he can perform emergency repairs. It is flyable barely. He checks for any more cutters in the vicinity but thankfully sees none. It seems to have been a setup, proving that whoever is at the Star port is definitely trying to kill us. After looking around whilst moving, a large ship enters the atmosphere. Chase contacts the ship with a warning, but it turns out that this is the 3,000 ton Darrian Bulk Freighter Chase was supposed to meet, he gives them new co-ordinates for landing. He informs them about the attack on him & states air-raft is damaged and he needs to make emergency landing. He is told to land 1 mile south of Freighter. Turrets are pointed in his direction and several heavily armed men head towards Chase. He gets everything from raft & holds his hands up. He hands over all transcripts & recordings and all relevant info to prove we are not pirates. Going over all our info very thoroughly, but they are unable to verify our Scout status as they're not from the Imperium, they inform us a ship is taking off from the Star port. What size ship is 800 ton heading out of system? Not attacking. Pirate ship was 800 tons. The decision is made to head back to the Star port. We contact the Darrian ship, to let them know we are heading back to Star port, if you pick up a ship it is us. We will investigate & let you know, did you happen to catch an IFF on ship leaving? No IFF & not Darrian. At Star port a couple of 200 ton ships no cutters, in space an 800 ton ship close to Jump point, 3,000 ton in ship low orbit. Message transmitting from Pirate captain to Earl, threatening him & telling us he knows it was Earls' ship and implying that he may have left some friends behind to deal with us.

We land as close as we can to the Control centre facing the building so we can disembark under cover. Several civilians head towards our ship, we leave armed and demand names etc. They are the Star port staff, no casualties but they do inform us that the pirates wanted star port comms and were looking for the freighter we stopped from landing. They recognise the picture Earl shows them & he was in charge, they believe all 20 left. No security force, but may now get some. Darrian Confederacy would normally provide such. Junebug & Kimbley move through the buildings to check for any stragglers. Thankfully they don't seem to have left anyone behind. Darrian freighter informed and notified that they were the pirates target. They seemed surprised. Junebug checks for any booby traps Kimbley is distracted by an interesting smell, but no traps. 15 mins later the Darrian freighter lands safely. Trade goods incoming & taking back grain to Darrian, advise checking the cargo before loading. Potential hijacking is believed as reason for targeting the freighter. Chase is returned to us minus the air-raft which he tells us is damaged. Chase tells Earl of a strange sensation whilst out with the raft, so we go out armed to collect it. I have my tools for repairs complaining under my breath about the carelessness of my fellow crew mates. We find the air-raft, absent of its canopy & two seats damaged. We remove the seats, engine is fine. keep the canopy for now as I need the framework and will try to jury rig a new canopy back on the Hope. Thankfully there are no more funny feelings whilst recovering the air-raft. Tharbin negotiates some compensation & we offer to carry something that they may not be able to easily get off world. They can provide 20,000 litres of Vodka at 20 creds per unit giving us a good profit.

Which direction of Pirates ship. > Dorrania.

A selection of the new cargo

Happy to sell us grain on any future trips. Will pass on at Merchant's Hall on Iderati. Depart Bularia with no problems - Jump smooth. Air-raft is airtight but would not want to put it under undue stress. Emerge at Ucella and run a scan, no 800 ton ships in system, but a few Scouts one of which is scanning us. No transponder signal it is the only one not giving off a signal. Contact star port we need to refuel request landing - Welcome us back, we request ocean refuel or we can land in field and use river again ask about ship with no signal they are curious as well. We land at same site as before - keep sensor lock on scout ship not in geo synchronous. Scanning every 43 mins. 24 hours to refine fuel. We gather our fuel & refine it all the while keeping an eye on the Scout ship to make sure the ship is on the other side the planet. Jumped in 5 days ago not answering hails & no-one has been willing to investigate. We will report this at Iderati & get them to send a patrol ship. Day passes uneventfully. Scan for suspicious ship, we calculate the timing and lift off & get to 100 diameters all within our 3 hour window.

We continue training during Jump & arrive at Iderati.- Contact star port control requesting direct line to Navy who tells us we can land at Star port and make an appointment, Masuyo not impressed & gets name to report him. We contact Mamons' office & make an appointment to see him. We try to get him on comms but too busy at the moment - 3 hours to land appointment set for 1 hour after landing.

In regards to the Letter Junebug receives: Ask for a list of names if possible as long as it doesn’t put them in any danger.

Game Date

240-1105

Location

886-945 → Bularia

View of 886-945 when landing half a planet away from the encounter.

Earl is trying to research the creature he assures us he saw and has asked the computer to try and scan the photo he took and the computer does appear to be doing something but to the rest of us there is something wrong with it. There is no indication that anyone is tracking any specific keywords during this search.

While this search is taking place we search for a water source to gather for fuel and somewhere we can also land to gather all the relevant samples we need for the survey. We find a fairly large lake and set down on its shoreline and there are several types of terrain for the samples we need. Cyn lifts the quarantine of the other crew members, and Earl's initial searches done turn up anything useful, but over time the results throw up a lot of references leading to conspiracy theories around Aliens that can make themselves invisible and can alter memories and perception. Cyn runs some tests on the blood sample that was gathered from the ground after the creature was injured, it is contaminated with sand and soil but still viable for some tests, the results are that it is indeed some form of blood mixed with soil, but it not Human, Vargr or Aslan, it in fact shows no terrestrial markers at all.

Junebug reports that the communications blackout has been lifted. (familiar somehow?)

Masuyo wonders about the age of the two ships we encountered wondering how long they have been here. The smaller scout ship appeared to have more dust gathered around and on it showing it may have been here for some time, a few months maybe?² The other larger ship seemed to be on the surface for less time, perhaps it was here to investigate the Scout ship? Is it worth us heading back for another look? I enquire if it would be possible to remotely access the ships logs to download them for further study and request a flyby but it is decided that we should probably just focus on our survey.

We have almost gathered enough water to purify for our refuel when an active scan of our ship is detected from a ship in a transfer orbit, heading out to the jump point. We are unsure who is scanning us , possibly one of the two ships we already found? The comms activate and a female voice is heard asking What are you doing here? Earl responds with We are surveying the plant at the request of the Scout service, who are you? The voice is familiar somehow. You don't recognise me, well that is disappointing. Then Earl makes the connection this is the same female we helped on one of our previous missions, dealing with the contraband we had unwittingly picked up. She seems to be under the impression that we are in fact following her, but Earl assures her that it is merely a coincidence that we happen to be here on the same planet as she is at this time. They continue their conversation for a while the creature is mentioned and Psionic abilities etc. and she asks a few questions which are answered but by this point I have tuned out of their talk, focusing on my task of refuelling. She expresses some concern over what we have found and experienced on the plant but Tharbin assures here that none of it will go into the official report only the relevant survey report will be submitted she seems the be happy with this and tells us not to be concerned over the creature as it has been handled and advises us not to do anything Stupid and takes her leave wishing us a cheery goodbye and we may meet again.

Throughout this entire process Masuyo has been diligently gathering all of our samples and has now completed this task and has brought them back to the ship for testing and storage, after Masuyo has been briefed on the events whilst she was away from the ship we discuss what to do with all of the evidence gathered and the internet searches on the creature and any other odd findings, and it would be best for the to be deleted so that there is no trace of what we encountered here for anyone to find and we do not want it to be shared or downloaded in our information transfers. I, as an amateur artist, however have made several sketches of different creatures form the planets we have previously visited and like to sketch random thing as well have made a few discreet sketches of the creature mixed in with my other drawings so they could be seen as the figment of some ones imagination, but still serve as some kind of record of what we encountered. Cyn manages to purge the medical records of the blood tests and the psionic testing she carried out and then incinerates the samples.

We look through all of the samples Masuyo gathered and check all of our scans and photos of the planets surface and decide that we have what we need to make the official survey report. Would we recommend colonisation? Although colonisation is a viable option, the costs would exceed the overall rewards of doing so, the return is not worth the effort. and as there have been signifiant reports of Pirates in the area this would pose a considerable risk to the colony.

Chase purges the computer system of any remaining information on the strange creature.

We plot our course back to Bularia and make a smooth Jump, we continue our training/studying whilst in Jump space and one uneventful week later arrive at our destination.

View on approach to Bularia Town

Masuyo contacts Star port Control announcing our arrival and requests permission to land, refuel and pick up cargo, this is given at landing pad 6. The crew on the bridge however pick up that the voice on the other end of comms is less friendly than from our last visit.

As we make our approach, Cyn advises caution. There are two Cutters (50 tons, short range vessels) on pads adjacent to ours. Masuyo acting upon the advise of Cyn asks our pilot (Chase) to make our approach flight a bit off and to only let some of our landing gear deploy to show we cannot land at this time, she then contacts SP control again We are having trouble landing need to pull up, standby It is very strange as they do not give any of the usual responses for this situation and respond very slowly Vagabonds Hope is there a problem?

We have a problem with our landing gear we will need to come around again or land on water

We keep a close watch on the Cutters as we move away from the Star port, and still there are no comms asking if we need to declare an emergency they have not initiated any emergency procedures at all, we find this highly suspicious as this is the first place we have attempted to land after our survey was completed. We find a large body of water approximately 50 miles South of the Star port and make our flight towards it a bit more erratic playing into the 'we have an emergency situation on our hands' to help allay any suspicions and make our landing there as this will give us plenty of time to see anything coming our way. Tharbin sets up the passive scans to help detect any active scans directed at us and we begin scooping the water we need for fuel. SP control are not really showing any concern about our apparent situation which is very odd, not the reaction that would be expected under normal circumstances.

All available crew are sent topside with bins to keep watch and assess any damage to the ship. Masuyo asks if i can make something on the ship smoke without actually causing any damage and being the engineer it goes against everything I believe in but yes I can make one of the thrusters emit smoke without any damage. A small dot is eventually spotted coming from the North, the direction of the Star port, Masuyo asks us all to discreetly arm up, An active scan is detected and it is coming from the Cutter that is making an overflight, Junebug watches the Cutter and determines that it is making a tactical surveillance flight not a rescue flight. we currently have enough fuel to take off but not enough to make a Jump flight, The Cutter makes a second overflight and we keep the scoop going. Strangely the Cutter is making no attempt at communicating with us and makes a third pass over us, so Masuyo makes contact: Orbiting Cutter are you going to help us or not? there is no response and it heads back to the Star port. We cruise away from our current location to make it harder for them to pinpoint our exact location if they return.

We finally collect enough fuel to make our Jump 2 but it still needs to be refined and we need 22 hours for that so we decide to attempt to submerge the ship and make it look like it sank, while Chase takes the Air/Raft away from the ship to appear that we have abandoned the sinking ship, the attempt to submerge fails but we continue South while Chase pilots the Air/Raft around the lake back to us.

Game Date

239-1105¹

Location

886-945

The approach to the two vessels

Masuyo attempts to cycle the airlock but alas nothing, she does however discover that it is not a standard issue Imperial airlock, it has been significantly upgraded. She turns and asks me to have a look to see if I have any more luck but it seems to be beyond us for the time being. Tharbin runs a scan using the ships systems and it does not show anything unusual in the immediate area, Earl continues eastwards and rediscovers the creature at approximately 25 meters East of him which he relays to us despite the fact we cannot see it, He also takes a picture of it with Cyn's PC. Junebug tells us that Kimbley can see something as well and is quite agitated by it, so they both head towards it as well to give Earl some back up. As there is no way for us to access the ship we quickly discuss our options on what to do, meanwhile Junebug throws some chem lights towards the creatures position to see if it casts a shadow so we at least have something to target, she does catch a glimpse of it but nothing more. We remember the body lying at the base of a ladder from the ship across the canyon and decide it might be best for us to return to the ship and carry on with our mission rather than risk further injuries fighting whatever this creature is as we also don't know if there are more of them. Kimbley is straining at her collar as Junebug holds her back, it seems she is trying to defend Junebug implying the creature is indeed hostile.

Cyn gives Masuyo a hypo designed to help against Psionic powers to see if that helps her to see the creature, but it has no immediate effect, she shouts to Earl to throw some dirt over the creature to see if that helps us to see it and Junebug takes a blind shot at it letting Kimbley go in the process. Kimbley takes off towards the creature and bites it causing injury to it and Junebug chases her taking another shot at it and hitting it. Earl however misses again (methinks he needs to target practice 😉 ). Tharbin turns on the manoeuvring thruster jets to kick up dust in an effort to help but we still cant see it.

Earl yells that it is retreating again and it does appear to be injured and it has apparently left some blood behind on the ground. Masuyo lets Tharbin know we have all made it back to the ship so he opens the airlock for us and we all scramble onboard. Once inside and safe we have Tharbin take some images of the canyon and the ships and immediate surrounding area for later study. Cyn takes the injured team members and Junebug to the Med bay to document their wounds and get DNA samples and treat them. We run an Anti Hijack search for any unauthorised entries to the ship just in case any more of theses strange invisible creatures have come onboard without our knowledge. Cyn decides it is best to quarantine herself, Earl, Junebug and Kimbley in the Med bay for the time being.

We take the ship to 500 meters above the surface to carry out our survey, it is an Earth equivalent sized planet, we take all the usual samples soil, air, water for testing. We run the mapping program and continue with the full survey.

Earl searches the computer for any reports or legends and myths for indigenous lifeforms on the planet but comes up blank on all counts, nothing to be found no strange reports or occurrences. We change the planets classification to E833, 0 Population, 0 Law, 0 Tech² there is no sentient life on the planet (at least as far as we can tell from the scans etc. our experience is quite another thing) there is some plant life.

We check the photo Earl took of the creature and distance does not change our perception of the creature, we still can't see it even in the photo.

Masuyo asks for some clarification on some points, The Imperial ship is it Standard? From a distance yes, but up close it has been significantly modified with advanced tech, the engines are also uprated.

The other ship is 200 tons, streamlined needle formation, possibly a courier vessel, she asks again if any of us have every see a ship of the configuration before, we agree that we are not certain at this time, but it does appear to be more Zhodani than Darrian based upon Masyo's knowledge.

Masuyo speculates that there may be some connection with the 3rd Imperium worlds Goethe, Emape, Mirriam, Jone and Karin, which are all Amber worlds.

Cyn runs tests while in quarantine and there are unfortunately inconclusive, but show them all to physically fit, I am not so sure about their mental health however. Psionic testing may be required, but this will need to be kept off the records as great efforts have been made to suppress Psionics within the Imperium. Cyn tells us what she is planning and we all agree to the tests, these are just basic tests, Earl and myself both show a similar levels of genetic traces of psionic abilities, but only potential at the moment as neither of us has had any training, Cyn and Junebug both have slight indications of potential psionic abilities, Masuyo and Tharbin do not show any signs of potential and finally Chase is somewhere in between.

Game Date

237-1105

Location

886-945

View of 886-945 from space (with cartographic information added). Source of the radio jamming is shown as a pink ≏ at roughly the seven o'clock position about half way from the centre of the circle of the globe (and in a mountainous hex)

We use the asteroid belt around the Gas Giant as our launch point and set our trajectory towards the planet. We all man our own stations and are equipped with all our weapons, Cyn has medical supplies in a pack for emergencies, Junebug and Kimbley are in her quarters for safety. Masuyo has set up the recording device, and is on the bridge along with Cyn, Tharbin and Chase are in the pilot seats, Earl is in the Gunner seat and monitoring sensors and finally I am in engineering. Our pilot makes a perfect trajectory plan and pulls it off flawlessly.

The planetary maps we got from the previous surveys the first of which shows no water and the second one shows around 20 % water on the surface, but we estimate around 30%, we approach from the North and ship is holding up well, no active scans as far as we can tell as we make our approach. Respirators are required as the atmosphere in very thin (again!).

The site of the radio interference. The left hand ship looks like a standard Type S scout ship. The right ship is larger and has two decks. The ships are separated by a shallow canyon (easy to climb from the lighter colour base of the canyon to the darker colour of where the ships have landed (taking, say, only one combat round to do). The site is overlooked by a much taller and larger rock/cliff made of a much darker brown than the rest of the scene.

Tharbin stays with the Hope and the rest of us except Junebug and Kimbley head out. We are around 11km away from the installation which will take us a day or so to reach on foot. After we several hours of walking we begin to see a narrow ravine in the distance, with two ships on either side of it. Neither of them are Imperial ships but one is a Scout ship at around 100 tons the other ship is of unknown origin and is around 300 tons, we don’t see any signs of movement around either of them but they do have running lights on. we approach from the North and pick out a discreet campsite to watch the ships overnight and forming a plan to get to them unseen. Watches are set and the night passes uneventfully, no signs of movement and no other signs of change overnight except for one cabin light that came on towards to front of one of the ships for about an hour before it was turned off. I have been asked to have another look at the unidentified ship to see if my time in the Navy jogs my memory for its configuration but nothing comes to mind, but I can confirm that it is not Imperial. The scout ship is armed as is the unfamiliar ship. Earls time with the Scout Service allows him to guess at it possibly being Darrian or Zhodani.

Artist's impression using the description of the creature as described by Earl.

A hatch opens and someone climbs out and then disappears as if they have fallen to the ground, we are in pretty open ground with very little ground cover for us to take shelter behind. Earl tells us of a humanoid approaching us but he is the only one who can see it???? He thinks it might be a Vargr, which is a humanoid canine, bipedal and sentient.

Why is Earl the only one who can see it?

As it gets closer it becomes obvious to Earl that it is not in fact a Vargr as it does not have any fur or the distinctive long snout and it does not appear to be wearing any clothing. Earl tries to communicate with it but gets no response and it attacks Earl with long claws but misses. He jumps back away from it, putting Chase in its path for the next attack and Chase feels a breeze pass his face. Masuyo radios for Tharbin to bring the ship to us and gives him our position, Cyn is next and her Armour seems to somehow fail and she is in a lot of pain but has no idea why. After several shots from all of us Earl informs us that it appears to be retreating and that it seems to be glowing. After having a careful look around Earl confirms that it has completely retreated and it appears safe for us to proceed. We head for the airlock on the Scout ship.

Again the question that most bothers me is why was Earl the only one able to see that creature? I ask him but he has no idea himself but Cyn decides she wants to runs some tests when we get back aboard the Hope.