Adventure Overview
Players: Mr. Rhyze, Morton, Tripp McIntyre, Moritus.
Enemies: The other programming teams, the Fat Man in a Speedo, the incompetence of Red-Shirts and more.
Started: As the damaged Epsilon fleet returned to the space station.
Ended: With the explosion of Steel Star.
This adventure began as the battered Epsilon fleet returned to the military bay. Two ships were gone, and the APC had been badly damaged. None of this seemed to concern Mr. Rhyze, who was enjoying a game of Free-cell from the dubious comfort of his escape pod. This pod was currently being pushed into the bay by Morton's now semi-operational Falcon-X. Despite the damage to his precious ship, the pilot was still extremely pleased with the increase in his record that had resulted from blowing up the Great Leon's ship. Once all the ships had landed, Falco spent a few moments assessing the damage. And he didn't like the what he saw. As such, he noted that Mr. Rhyze should help fix the APC, considering the wear and tear he had inflicted on it. Mr. Rhyze agreed to no such thing, and instead took a place on the couch next to Johnny, The Man, ready to engage in a Y-Box game. Although somewhat annoyed, Falco declared that Mr. Rhyze's mechanical skills were likely no better than his piloting, making any repairs he might do less than useless anyway. Morton's resulting chuckles were only interrpted by Fayde's appraisal of his own ship. The Electran officer noted that it had sustained no permanent damage, and seized the moment to talk up the powers of Imperial Electra's space fleet. Tintin seemed to find this indicative of some sort of massive conspiracy, but before he could question Fayde on the topic, an announcement instructed all pilots to report to the bridge.
Commander Zaya was waiting for them, along with a typically grim-faced Jean-Luc Picard. Although they had fended off the Star Wolf Team for the moment, the losses were considerable. In addition to the destruction of the two Falcons, Commander Zaya noted that the station itself had been damaged. Specifically, the pirates appeared to have targeted the station's long range communication systems. With their destruction, Epsilon was now temporarily cut off from the rest of the galaxy. Fortunately, Shaimus had been located wandering the tunnels, and was now assigned to fixing the communications. This did not seem to please the engineer, who paused from his welding only to scowl menacingly at Morton. Zaya ignored this threatening glare, and asked the pilots how long it would take them to restore the space fleet to full functionality. Falco and Morton wouldn't commit to a definite answer (especially given the mysterious way time seems to flow in this campaign), but admitted it would likely take quite a bit of work. In addition, Morton noted his shortage of Falcon-X missiles, and the station's shortage of missiles in general.Zaya was understandably concerned and agreed to bring the matter to Manolo, the station's acquisitions officer. Morton about Manolo's competence, even given the latter's marketing degree, and suggested that he should be put in charge of purchasing missiles. Mr. Rhyze added that he had been entrusted with an expense account before, and would be more than willing to go back to Starbase for the purchase of these weapons. Of course, Mr. Rhyze's alterior motive involved learned the Jecht Shot, which he was convinced could only occur on the trip back from Starbase to Epsilon. Such plans were foiled by Jean-Luc Picard, who noted that they had to follow the books. Any such change in duties would require paperwork and a wait of four to six weeks. Beaten by Picard's bureaucracy, Morton could only agree to leave the matter in Manolo's hands. With that decided, Zaya declared them free to return to their duties. Noting that the communications were down, Mr. Rhyze smugly declared that he would be going for some Free-cell on his laptop. However, such a declaration caused Picard to ponder reassigning him to fixing the damaged ships. Faced with such an alternative, the communications officer decided he could probably prepare protocol messages at his console. This seemed to meet Jean-Luc's approval.
Work Log: The title of this section is slightly misleading. That's because you don't really 'work' on the station. Then again, considering the productivity you've noticed among most of the officers onboard, you're not the only one avoiding official work. You just have a better excuse than they do. Still, that doesn't mean you aren't looking for potential profit.
Cargo Status:
-You just delivered an important shipment to this station. It included basic medical supplies, munitions and a whole lot of potatos. You also transported a small number of black pilot data cards. As part of your payment, they gave you one of these cards for your own personal use. You have yet to figure out how to modify it to reflect the kill figures you might potentially have.
-The Wild Isle, your cargo vessel, is parked in space bay two. They seem to have some impressive military ships on this station, but you're sure that your ship could stand up to them, provided the fragile interrocitor doesn't break down.
Potential Profit: You're in constant contact with your extensive information network. It really pays to know about any opportunities for potential profit, and this station has more than a few.
-As a potential smuggler, you know the value of the right merchandise in the right place. And your investigation of this station has allowed you to turn up several valuable items, including:
-A coffee pot.
-A George Foreman low-fat grill.
-The engine valve for a ship.
Although some of these items might not appear to be worth much, you're sure they could bring in quite the profit if marketed to the right people for the right price.
-The Bounty Hunter's Agency provides a useful list of wanted people and the price that goes with them. It's unfortunate that you were unable to capture Wang, but the prices offered by desperate Universities weren't so high anyway. On the other hand, the price for Star Wolf, one of the most infamous space pirates, is very substantial. He was last sighted in this area. Though taking him on might be risky, this reward would make it a potentially very profitable venture.
Personal Notes:
-Your contacts tell you that a man known as The Broker has come to the station. Rumour suggests that this man knows the stock market like the back of his hand, and is always willing to offer inside deals and tips to those willing to shoulder the risks of the market. It might be worth making an investment with this guy, if you can find him. And if he checks out.
-The annual Kessel Run is set to begin soon. This space race is known as the definitive test for any potential pilot. You can personally attest to the difficulty of this challenge, and can only suggest to any potential participants that they give their ship a complete check-out before beginning the race.
Mini-Objective:
-It's all about profit. And in this case, that means trading your commodities for as much money as possible.
Work log: Work was slow for a while as the long-range communications were fixed. Not that this really bothered you. After all, it gave you an excellent excuse to devote time to other matters, such as Free-cell. Unforunately, the communications have were recently restored, forcing you to return to your normal duties.
Incoming Transmissions:
-The Blitzball community is in a buzz about the victory of the Lorac Monsoons over the Armorian Defenders of Justice. Most viewed it as a game of good against evil, and though edgy adolescents might have been supporting the Monsoons, most people were hoping to see a victory for the kung-fu heroes. One elder on Armoria even claims to see the hand of Dagobros in the Monsoons' victory. Of course, the real reason the Armorians lost was because they didn't have you on their lineup.
-More details have arrived about the CSSS (Computer Science Society of Spherus) programming contest. This annual event will pit some of the most prestigious universities against each other in a grueling programming contest. More interesting still is the large cash grant promised to the winner of the contest. According to the CSSS website, there's still time to register new teams.
Outgoing Transmissions:
-Long distance communications still seem a bit buggy. Commander Zaya has ordered you to contact the Electran Steel Star Station several times, but there never seems to be any sort of response.
Personal Notes:
-The CSSS contest promises a cash grant for the winner of their programming contest. The rules on their website state that teams of two can participate for a minimal entrance fee, and need not necessarily represent any academic institution. With your computer skills, you have no doubt that you can take home the cash prize. Now you just need a partner to share in your victory�
Mini-Objective:
-Win the CSSS programming contest.
Work Log: The latest encounter with Star Wolf gave you a great chance to test the Vesper in actual combat. You weren't disappointed with the results. However, it's going to take a while before the ship is in condition for a rematch. And that's not counting all the repairs to the other vessels in the Epsilon fleet.
Space Fleet Status:
-1 Falcon Fighter belonging to Falco Lombardo. Or so you claim.
-1 Silver Dust transport, minus its refrigerator.
-1 Falcon-X known as the Vesper.
-1 Thunderer, belonging to Fayde.
-An APC known as The Buick, currently in great need of repair.
-A custom Falcon belonging to Johnny, in perfect condition.
Military Supplies:
-11 'slightly-used' Falcon missiles purchased from Crazy Sam.
-8 Heatwave missiles purchased from the GAP.
-3 Space-suits complete with oxygen tanks providing fourty minutes of breathable air. One of these was ripped apart by the Death Grobus.
Docked Flights:
-The battered transport ship known as The Potato is still docked in Space Bay Two. The Denchulli who own this ship are still recovering from the lively Irish Celebration, and have yet to depart the station in their vegetable-laden vessel.
-A luxury liner known as The Milk Chocolate has arrived in Docking Bay One. You've heard it's owned by some incredibly wealthy businessman, but you don't know who they are or why they would come to this station.
-Space Bay One contains a second mysterious ship at the moment. It's a small transport ship called The Blue Chip. Its design is rather unique; the exterior walls are panelled with view screens showing the current state of the stock market. Whoever flies in this ship must know a great deal about financial markets, unlike you.
Personal Notes:
-You're used to repairing your damaged ships. But this is the first time you've had to fix a Falcon-X, and you have found yourself lacking some of the necessary parts to do so. In particular, you need a new engine valve and LSD drive. Until you get these critical parts, your Falcon-X won't be ready to fly.
-As Mean Gene would say, it's UNBELIEVABLE that Johnny could resist your powerful tackle! Clearly, you've gotta practice your hits in order to wipe the smug grin off The Man's face. As far as you're concerned, anyone with a ball is fair game for some spontaneous tackling practice.
Mini-Objective:
-Fix your Falcon-X.
-Tackle anyone who has a ball of any sort.
As always, the action resumed as the protagonists made their way to Bennigan's for the afternoon meal. In this case, the term protagonists included Tripp McIntyre. The potential pilot had been asleep in his ship during the eventful space battle, but was now ready for action. And potential profit. Of course, some would argue that it was no coincidence that Tripp had only emerged once the space combat was over. An accusation he would later deny. However, the resourceful pilot would soon find himself facing tougher questions from one of the new arrivals on the station, who was making their first entrance into Bennigan's, and its associated world of Irish cuisine.
Moritus At the moment, the pub was still crowded with the Irish, recovering from their rowdy celebration. Quite literally. McGuire still had bandages wrapped around his head from his violent encounter with Shaimus. Most of this recovery seemed to involve heavy drinking, but Jamal found it far preferable to any sort of fiddling. As the heroes entered the establishment, Lucky rushed over to greet them, and to introduce himself to Moritus. Though he quickly grew too afraid to do so. Moritus tried to calm Lucky's fears by explaining that he was with security. This caused Lucky to wonder aloud whether Bennigan's had acquired another permanent security officer while shooting sidelong glances at Jamal. Although he didn't seem to notice these glances, Jamal did hear Moritus' introduction, and expressed his pleasure at the arrival of another security officer. He would have shaken hands, but such an act would require rising from his chair, something he had not done in a long time. As Moritus took a seat at his table, Jamal added that it would be great to have someone to bring him donuts. By this point, Tripp, Mr. Rhyze and Falco had also taken seats at the table. Morton declined to do so, and instead rushed from the pub moments after entering it. After some general inquries, it was discovered that Moritus had just recently arrived on the station, but had already received a tour from Jean-Luc Picard. In addition, he was scheduled to meet with Blank regarding his future duties. But before any such meeting, he had time for a quick meal.
As Lucky came to take orders, Mr. Rhyze decided to offer some advice with ordering. Partially at his urging, the new security officer ended up with Lucky's house special, which turned out to be a rather green, raw potato that Lucky proudly proclaimed had been grown in the basement of Bennigan's. Noting Moritus' lack of appetite, Mr. Rhyze suggested getting some milk to wash down the potato. Tripp also thought this was a good idea, although Moritus seemed to distrust this advice almost instinctively. In the end, Mr. Rhyze ordered the milk on his behalf, and proudly presented the fresh milk after the obligatory cow sounds. Not surprisingly, no one seemed eager to drink this beverage. On another note entirely, Falco idly questioned where Tripp had been during the space battle, not that his help had been required. Tripp's excuses seemed to hold little weight with Moritus, who found his lack of participation in the defense of the station suspicious. McIntyre finally got off the hook (temporarily, at least) by noting that someone had to guard the ship bays, just in case the enemy launched a surprise attack from within. Without waiting for much argument, he quickly took his leave. The others followed soon after, with the obvious exception of Jamal.
Race: Armorian
Occupation: Station Security
Moritus was the most recent addition to Epsilon's stretched security department, and also the station's second Armorian. His appearance fit the stereotype of his race, with long blond hair, the Armorian mask and a height that dwarfed even that of Mr. Rhyze. In fact, Moritus often uses this intimidating height in his efforts to keep order on the station. And considering the state of the station's Red-Shirts, he will need all the tools at his disposal. Still, Moritus remains something of an idealist, claiming that the Red-Shirts can eventually be trained into an effective fighting force. Though others are sceptical of this notion, none doubt that Moritus possesses the determination to attempt such a plan. In combat, his biggest advantage would surely be his Armorian armor. Although at the moment, due to weight constraints, Moritus only wears half-Armorian armor. His inability to move in the full armor might have something to do with this decision.
While the others ate, Morton was on the move. And that was fine with him, since his actions couldn't really be considered entirely above the board. He was scavenging for an LSD drive and an engine valve, and he knew of several ships that might have such parts. His first stop was in Space Bay Two, where he decided to check out the Potato. The Denchulli transport didn't look like incorporated anything even near the latest in technology, but Morton decided to open it up anyway. It didn't take him long to find the LSD drive, or to pull it out. Upon doing so, he noticed that the drive seemed to be smeared with potatos, and that certain parts of it were actually held together by mashed potatos. It was at this moment that O'Malley arrived on the scene, asking the pilot what he was doing with the drive. And more importantly, its potato components. Thinking fast, Morton declared that he was doing some maintenance, but was now finished. Since this LSD drive didn't seem likely to operate anyway, Morton decided to put it back in its place. This took some doing, and the use of several more potatos and Guiness, both of which were cheerfully supplied by O'Malley, who claimed they made the ship run more smoothly. Once this was done, Morton decided to head over to Space Bay 1 to check out the ships there. He was disappointed to find that neither of the two ships in that docking bay was likely to have compatible parts with his Falcon-X. The Milk Chocolate was a fairly large luxury liner, much bigger than a one-man space fighter. And the Blue-Chip was a bit too small. Although it did appear fairly advanced, with reports of the stock market endlessly scrolling along its sides. As Morton watched in amazement, he barely noticed the hatch on the side of the ship opening, paving the way for the arrival of a new character.
The Broker The Broker emerged from the ship on his scooter, and was quick to greet Morton in a most friendly manner. When the pilot mentioned his need for an LSD drive, the Broker claimed he had come to the right man. In fact, coincidently enough, the Broker was having a special on LSD drives that could see them sold at insanely low prices. And there was more! He was also willing to throw in a free hammer to sweeten the deal. Morton wasn't about to taken in without the provision that the drive be delivered before any payment was made. Unfortuantely, The Broker claimed that this would be impossible, as he needed some sort of financial commitment to ensure that Morton wouldn't back out on the deal. As such, he declared that half the payment should be made up front, while the other half would be delivered later. Morton still wasn't willing to make any deal until he got a look at the goods, no matter how many hammers The Broker promised to throw into the deal. With his proposal currently rejected, The Broker declared that he would return before literally scooting from them. And declaring that he could not be caught.
Somewhat disappointed with the results of this financial transaction, Morton decided to go visit Sam. His motives for this action likely involved the fact that he was still badly wounded. When he arrived at Sickbay, he found that Sam already had company. Tripp McIntyre and Sam were already in a discussion about how Sam always knew whent he coffee was ready. As such, Tripp felt that Sam was the perfect one to purchase his coffeepot. After all, with two pots, Sam would know that the coffee was ready twice as often! Although Sam wasn't sure that he really needed more than one pot, he was still cheerfully willing to purchase Tripp's item. Sam next spent a few moments fixing Morton's wounds, while Morton himself marvelled at the price Sam had agreed to pay for the pot. Once the medical work had been completed, Morton was about to resume his search for the proper engine parts. However, Tripp sensed an opportunity for potential profit, and stopped the pilot. He pointed out that he just happened to have an engine valve, and that Morton could purchase it for a low, low price. This price turned out to not be too low, but Morton was nonetheless still willing to pay. However, this financial transaction had apparently served as a summons for The Broker, who arrived moments later. This also served as a dismissal for Morton, who made a quick escape. Tripp was not so lucky, and was soon involved in a discussion about investments in a hardware company. The Broker claimed that now was the time to buy, right on the bottom floor, and even offered to throw in some hammers as extra incentive. Tripp had a counter-offer, that involved taking the hammers and letting The Broker keep the shares in the company that Tripp hadn't yet bought. Conceding that Tripp was 'good', The Broker lept on his scooter for a quick escape, proclaiming that he couldn't be caught. Fortunately, no one wanted to test that claim.
Race: Deksiilan
Occupation: Financial Advisor
The Broker has often been compared to some sort of lesser Batman villain, although he would claim that such allegations are clearly incorrect. His appearance was as slick as could be possibly arranged, and included professional brown hair, a blue suit and a tie with a bunch of dollar signs. His mode of transportation was a small scooter, and he claimed that no one could catch him while he was riding it. His financial offers were often as ridiculous as this claim. He was willing to sell anything at any price, provided he didn't actually have to provide it. Furthermore, he was always willing to offer more with his deals. And as far as he was concerned, 'more' involved only a free hammer. Or perhaps two. If anyone pointed out that his offers were clearly a rip-off, The Broker would not hesitate to make a quick exit on his scooter, while claiming that he would never be caught.
During all this wheeling and dealing, Moritus had decided to report to his superior. He found Blank propped in his usual chair in the security center. The room was also occupied by a pair of slack-jawed Red-Shirts. Blank was pleased to meet the new security officer, and speculated that some actually competent help would be greatly appreciated. Moritus had to agree that the security he had seen thus far was somewhat lacking. In particular, he felt that there were several suspicious and untrustworthy characters on the station that merited security's attention. In particular, he felt that Tripp McIntyre was not to be trusted. Blank replied that security did have lots of work to do on the station. But considering the packed status of the brig, he added that they really couldn't detain anyone unless sufficient evidence was found to prove their guilt in some sort of crime. Moritus currently had no such evidence, but did possess a strong hunch that Tripp was not on the level. Blank invited him to look into the matter personally, and bring any information found back to the security center. Moritus also felt that the station's Red-Shirts needed to go through some sort of basic training to increase their chances of survival. Blank seemed shocked by this notion, and noted that the number of Red-Shirts that would die in such training would be huge. Nevertheless, Moritus was determined that doing so would greatly increase the effectiveness of any Red-Shirts who survived the boot-camp. At all this mention of target practice, the two Red-Shirts in the room obediently drew out their guns. Unfortunately, this caused one to accidently shoot the other. But he was pleased that he had hit something. Moritus noted that it was a start, and decided that he would train the Red-Shirts individually, to avoid further such mishaps.
Leading the 'accurate' Red-Shirt from the room, Moritus went looking for proper training facilities. Unfortunately, such proved difficult to find. Though not as difficult as assigning a name to the Red-Shirt, who claimed that no one had ever asked for his name before. Their progress was further slowed when the Red-Shirt fired off another random shot, almost hitting his superior officer. As such, Moritus decided to confiscate his gun and arm him instead with a pair of safety scissors. Even this weapon proved hazardous in the hands of the Red-Shirt. Moments later, while running, the Red-Shirt tripped and ended up stabbing himself. Deciding to postpone training in favor of medical attention, Moritus brought the bleeding Red-Shirt up to see Sam. The medical officer was pleased to meet the station's second Armorian, and offered his aid if ever it was needed by the security department. Moritus was curious about any suspicious people Sam might have seen on the station. Of course, the cheerful medical officer claimed that everyone seemed trustworthy as far as he could tell. When Moritus changed the question to inquire if anyone else had come to visit recently, Sam readily admitted that both Tripp and Morton had been in Sick Bay not long ago. With his suspicions rekindled, Moritus asked what Tripp had been up to. Same replied that he had sold a coffeepot, and speaking of which, Sam believed was now ready and offered it to his visitor. Moritus was more interested in determining if the coffeepot had been legally obtained. Sam had no answer to this question. Deciding to continue his investigations, Moritus went looking for McIntyre to get some more answers.
Mr. Rhyze was also looking for someone, although it wasn't Tripp McIntyre. The communications officer was seeking a partner for the CSSS programming competition, and thought that Vance would be the perfect choice. He found the science officer, predictably enough, in the science lab. Vance was initially dubious about such a competition. He claimed to have done such competitions in the past, and they weren't much of a challenge at all. In addition, Vance noted that the CSSS was almost entirely compose of University Students, and most of their events involved pubcrawls and gaming sessions that inevitably lost money. He didn't consider it a group with a very high profile. However, Mr. Rhyze eventually won him over by noting that it would be a great learning experience for him to code with a computer genius like Vance. In the name of improving the computer skills of his colleague, Vance agreed to participate in the competition. He speculated that the winning grant could also prove useful for research. Before long, the two had retired to the computer lab to webcast their team application to the CSSS headquarters. Diego Zapata was also in the lab, and ready to offer the assistance of his diagrams to their programming tasks. In moments, the two were speaking live with the 'esteemed' president of the CSSS.
Allen With an overabundance of the word Dude, Allen gladly signed up this latest team to the competition. Apparently, they had just made the deadline to apply. Thus, Allen was pleased to put Team Epsilon down with the other five teams that had made the cut.
The programming contest begins on page two of this adventure.
Race: Deksiilan
Occupation: Computer Science Student and President of the CSSS
Allen looked the part of a computer science student, with shoulder-length brown hair, a black trenchcoat, a blue shirt and jeans. As the president of the CSSS, he has the authority to plan all that group's events. And that means a constant stream of pubcrawls and LAN parties. Allen seems particularly unaware of the notions of economics, and thus doesn't seem worried about the fact that the CSSS loses lots of money on all these pubcrawls. Some have noted that this might be due to the fact that it's an intergalactic organization, yet the pubcrawls all visit locations around the University of Deksiil campus, which is coincidently enough the institution that Allen attends. His other main characteristic seemed to include a great lack of understanding about anything related to a computer.
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