Adventure Overview
Players: Rei, Mr. Rhyze, Morton.
Enemies: The Coffee Barons, the Fenixa Infernos.
Started: With the return of the Warden's ship to Epsilon.
Ended: After the away-team departed from Starbase.
This super-sized adventure began as the three pilots were escorting the damaged Spheran prison vessel back to space station Epsilon. The Warden's ship had sustained heavy damage, and could not continue its scheduled voyage back to Sphere. Its systems would require a great deal of repairs, which would unfortunately fall to Falco and Morton for execution. Falco suggested that the janitor should be involved with cleaning up the damaged space ship. For the rest of the trip back, he and Morton contented themselves by commenting on the dent which the battle had given Mr. Rhyze's ship. Rhyze, on the other hand, felt that such a small dent was not worthy of any negative commentaries. For his part, The Warden spoke of the attempted rescue of his model prisoners. He was worried that Mallistayre or Gangster 1 might return for a second attempt. However, the trip back to the station proved uneventful, and the Spheran Starstreak soon landed in Docking Bay 2.
Upon returning to the station, Commander Zaya announced over the intercom that all personnel going on the shore leave would have to sign up for a personal briefing time with her. After several small disturbances involving a blitzball, and Manolo's head, the three heroes managed to sign onto the list. After doing so, Rei asked Mr. Rhyze if he could show her how to play Blitzball. Mr. Rhyze immiediately agreed to this chance to demonstrate his skills. However, upon arriving at the Hydrosphere, the two found it closed with a sign on the door stating that the sphere was currently out of order. Not to be deterred, Rei opened the door anyway, and suddenly found herself face to face with the glowering Shaimus. He explained, while thumping a menacing lead-pipe into one hand, that one of the pipes was broken, and so the Hydrosphere could not be properly filled. Faced with Shaimus' antagonism, the two eventually left without getting a chance to use the sphere. Although disappointed, their spirits were briefly lifted by a meal at Bennigan's, where they were joined by Morton. Shortly after dining, the personal briefings with Commander Zaya were to begin. The first one was for Mr. Rhyze.
In short order, Mr. Rhyze found himself seated in Zaya's office. He was soon informed that he would be leading the Away-Team, and it would be up to him to insure that everything ran smoothly. He would also be placed in charge of the expense account. This account was to be used to fund the basic accomodations and food for the team. After handing over the account card, Zaya warned Rhyze to keep expenses down, and that all of his spending would be audited upon his return to the station. After the complacent Mr. Rhyze had left, now with a mandate, Morton Ragnarson was called into Zaya's office for his personal briefing. Zaya informed the pilot that he was to escort the team's SG-3 to Starbase and then return to Epsilon immiediately. Due to the recent increase in monsters, she did not want to leave the station without half its piloting team. Morton agreed that he would do so, circumstances agreeing. He already planned to insure that the circumstances wouldn't agree. Rei's briefing was only slightly longer. She was instructed to purchase all cleaning supplies necessary, with Manolo footing the bill on his acquisitions account. She was also told to keep the team 'clean' and out of trouble. Rei took the opportunity of this meeting to ask several questions about her paycheck, which she had not yet received. Zaya assured her that it would be forthcoming, but that she would have to get it from the accounting department. Having previously dealt with the bureaucracy, Rei was understandably suspicious, but eventually took her leave.
The next morning came as the people of Epsilon prepared for the departure of the shore-leave team. The team would be gone for four days, and would take one of the Falcon fighters and the SG-3 transport. Picard was there to send the team off, and to direct several stern glances at pretty much everyone. He had previously certified Mr. Rhyze to fly transport ships, and the latter soon found himself at the helm of the clunky SG-3. Rei definitely had it worse; she was crowded into the back with ten technicians, Keepa and Manolo, who was already demanding to see an in-flight movie. Her Squirttle was a last minute addition to the team, and apparently wanted to see Blitzball firsthand. Morton would be bending his piloting expertise towards the Falcon. Before the trip began, Rei decided to bring her TV onboard, to placate both Squirttle and Manolo. Soon, the crew in the back were fixed on the drama of Pokemon, with the exception of Keepa, who was busy bouncing his Blitzball against the sides of the ship. Manolo stated his opinion that he thought this Pokemon show might catch on someday with kids, if it was marketed properly. On a signal from the bridge, the bay doors opened and the two ships zoomed out into space. Well, the SG-3 did more puttering then zooming, but it was soon plotting a course for distant Starbase.
Mini-Objectives:
-Convince the group to stay in a high-class, and CLEAN, hotel.
-Get Mr. Rhyze to show you how to play Blitzball.
Personal Notes:
-You are in charge of the team's expense account. This fund is to be used for such things as the group's accomodations and perhaps some meals. Manolo has been granted the funds to be used of purchasing equipment. Commander Zaya will doubtless be monitoring your expense claims afterwards, so you intend to keep the costs down.
Mini-Objectives:
-Keep the expenses down, without shirking your responsibilities.
Personal Notes:
-It already feels good to be on shore leave, and you haven't even reached Starbase yet. Apparently, the Commander has even granted the team an expense account for this vacation. You intend it to be mostly spent on food and booze, the two basic essentials. Accomodations really don't concern you; you're used to slumming it.
-Manolo has been placed in charge of acquisitions, but you intend to make sure that he purchases the correct military supplies. Namely, missiles. And lots of them.
Mini-Objectives:
-Convince the group to stay in a cheap hotel so more money can be spend on F&B.
-Encourage Manolo to pick up as many Falcon missiles as possible.
Although the distance to Starbase was not inconsiderable, the time required for the journey was greatly amplified by the SG-3's lack of speed. Morton was forced to really slow down in order to keep pace with the transport. During this slow trip, he had more than enough time to read several long books. Mr. Rhyze spent the first two hours of the trip engaged in Free-cell on his dashboard computer. The back was still occupied by Pokemon, although Manolo had been demanding refreshments. However, the journey was about to be delayed further. The two ships were suddenly pulled out of LSD (long-range space drive). At the same time, Morton's scanners picked up several readings approaching. They weren't moving overly fast, but certainly quicker than an SG-3. Morton tried to hail the approaching objects, and sent several greeting messages. There was no response. By this point, the scanners on the SG-3 had also picked up the approaching signals. Mr. Rhyze quickly sent a message back to Epsilon. However, Zaya informed him that no Deksiilan ships were within an hour of the encounter. She promised to relay the situation to all other ships that might be in the area. Meanwhile, Morton's Falcon was now close enough to identify the approaching enemies. The computer described them as Space Rays, the same type of monster which the pilot had faced in the second adventure. Fairly hefty monsters which can launch electric charges from their tails. And there were four of them.
Four against one are bad odds in anyone's book. However, Morton figured that four against four missiles aren't nearly such a poor prospect. His first two missiles exploded among the Rays, damaging two of them badly. It was up to his lasers to finish them off. However, during this laser combat, Morton's shields took several heavy blows from the Rays' electric blasts. By the time he had blown the second one out of commission, the shields on his Falcons had been taken out. With survival the better part of valor, Morton spun his ship around and soared away from his opponents. The Rays did not have the speed to pursue, so they instead chose a much slower target. Mr. Rhyze desperately attempted to maneuver in the SG-3, and though he once managed to get a jerky swing going, the transport took several powerful hits. The ship's hull was heavily damaged, and the LSD drive was rendered inoperative. Rei quickly lept to fix the damage while most of the other passengers panicked. Seeing the SG-3 in such poor condition, Morton spun around to launch another volley of missiles. However, he was soon faced with both Rays and no shields. At this point, his scanner suddenly picked up another reading staying well back from the field of combat. His systems identified it as a Thunderer space fighter, and true to its reputation, the Thunderer launched a pair of Storm missiles. These powerful weapons tore the Space Rays into thousands of pieces, and ended the space battle. Morton was quick to thank the Thunderer for its assistance. In response, the face of a young Electran military pilot appeared on his viewscreen. The Electran stated that the Thunderer was on a wide patrol from Steel Star, the Electran research station. After warning the Deksiilans to be careful in these dangerous sectors of space, the Thunderer swooped away to continue its duties.
The rest of the journey proved uneventful. Two hours later, the Epsilon Away-Team found itself in the midst of the space traffic headed for the Starbase station. The depths of space were illuminated by the large neon signs covering Starbase. This large station featured no less than ten docking bays. The signs on the side of the station proclaimed several of the intergalactic sponsors, including Coca-cola. However, unlike station Epsilon, Starbase did not appear to be sponsored by the Daikon corporation. Mr. Rhyze carefully maneuvered the SG-3 through the crowd of ships, cutting off several other large, brown space freighters. Moments later, he received an indignant transmission from these ships, stating only 'Houdidi!' Apparently, the Jawas did not like being cut off. Not really knowing what to say, Mr. Rhyze cut off the communication without another word. In his smaller Falcon, Morton was having no problems flying between the ships. Before long, the Away-Team was granted permission to dock in Space Bay 8. After landing, the group was forced to go through a very crowded security station. Apparently, the station was innondated with people due to the upcoming Blitzball match between the Deksiil Crescent Moons and the Fenixa Infernos. Manolo did not need to pass through this security checkpoint; apparently, his degree allowed him to fast-track the customs process.
Once the entire group had been checked into the station, Mr. Rhyze that the first step was to find a hotel where they would spend the next three nights. Upon checking a nearby station directory, the group found that there were no less than four hotels on Starbase. This list included The Palaso, The Blitz-Club, the Holiday Inn and Chevrignon. Morton immiediately liked the idea of the Holiday Inn, but Mr. Rhyze and Keepa favored the idea of the Blitz-Club. As such, the latter proved to be the group's first destination. The Blitz-Club turned out to be a very high-tech hotel, with a waterfall running through the lobby. A statue had been erected over the waterfall, featuring a bare-chested man kicking a Blitzball. Keepa identified him as Jecht, the most famous Blitzball player of all time. Any notions of staying at this establishment vanished when the clerk told them that the Blitz-Club had been booked solid by the visiting Blitzball teams. Mr. Rhyze tried to use Keepa's status as a replacement for the Crescent Moons to get them in, but this proved futile.
Disappointed, Mr. Rhyze led the group next to the Holiday Inn. This proved to be a more middle-class hotel, which claimed as its main feature a swimming pool. The price per room was set at 30 marks. However, Rei had her doubts about the cleanliness of the hotel, and Manolo thought it a bit too cheap. Mr. Rhyze agreed that all hotels should be investigated before making a choice, and led them next to the Chevrignon. This was a very high-class hotel with a uniformed bellboy and crystal chandeliers. The snooty clerk informed them that a top quality room here would cost 50 marks per night. Although Chevrignon did not have a swimming pool, each room had a hottub. Rei announced that this was certainly the hotel to frequent, as did Manolo. Morton disagreed, and stated that the luxury was useless and expensive. In short order, the group found itself checking the last hotel on the list: The Palaso. Despite the name, this turned out to be a cheap, flea-ridden hotel in the dingier section of the station. Morton instantly favored it, and talking to the disreputable man behind the desk only reinforced his opinion. The price at the Palaso was 10 marks a night, which Rei deemed to be far more than it was worth.
This left Mr. Rhyze with a difficult choice. Rei and Manolo were lobbying hard for a room at Chevrignon. Admittedly, the prospect of a hottub was appealing. On the other end of the scale, Morton argued for the thriftiness of the Palaso. In the end, the even-minded Mr. Rhyze elected to get rooms at the Holiday Inn. As could be expected, this compromise annoyed almost everyone. On their way back to the Holiday Inn, the group spotted a number of men in coffee-brown suits headed into Slick's Coffeehouse, a very presumptious establishment. Due to their resemblance to Senor Nabob, Rei decided to speak to the nearest of these men. The fellow quickly identified himself as a coffee-baron, and upon hearing that Rei knew Senor Nabob, he invited her to seat herself in the Coffeehouse. In moments, she had been served a tiny cup of coffee and was speaking to a swarthy fellow in a brown fedorah who identified himself as Espresso. Espresso was extremely interested in Nabob, and wanted to know if Rei worked for him. Eventually Rei convinced the fellow that she really didn't know Nabob very well, and stood to take her leave. Before she could exit the coffeehouse, Espresso invited her to come back later with any other acquaintences of Senor Nabob for further discussions.
Once the group had rented five rooms at the Holiday Inn, they all split up to go about their business. Keepa departed for the Blitz-club, where he intended to visit the Deksiil Crescent Moons. Rei wanted to purchase the cleaning supplies she needed at the station. However, when she approached Manolo about this task, he informed her that his expense account was only for missiles and his own personal benefit. As such, Rei would have to bring Mr. Rhyze along and use his expense account. During this time, Morton treated Manolo to more than a few drinks at Labatt's bar. The acquisitions officer couldn't refuse anything paid for by anyone else, and Morton soon had him drunk. Morton figured it would make him easier to manipulate, and thus easier to obtain many missiles. Later, the two stumbled from the bar and headed for Crazy Sam's Surpluse Weaponry. Sam turned out to be a guy in charred suit with wild white hair. He was willing to sell them thirty Falcon missiles, only slightly used, at a very cheap price. Sensing a bargain, Manolo was willing to accept this offer. Before any deal was sealed, Morton wanted to inspect the missiles. From a sample space of two, he determined that they were of fine quality. After receiving his payment, Crazy Sam vowed that he would load the missiles onto their ship by the next morning.
Rei and Mr. Rhyze were already mired in their search for cleaning supplies. Their first step was to consult a map of Starbase. This posting showed all the businesses registered at the base. One name immiediately attracted their attention: Spatula City. Without hesitation, they decided to search for this store. However, following the map to the marked location led only to a blank wall. Questioning the nearby crowds of shoppers also proved fruitless, as none knew where Spatula City could be found. Their next investigative approach was to ask the Coffeebarons. Rei found Espresso seated at the same table where she had left him in Slick's Coffeehouse. After introducing him to Mr. Rhyze, she asked him where Spatula City could be found. Espresso said that he could answer her question, but in return they would have to consider a proposition. After leading them into a backroom, Espresso introduced them to two of his associates. One was a big Loracian with suspenders named Mocha, and the other was an Electran in a white suit who called himself Latte. Espresso went on to explain that Spatula City didn't really exist, but was merely a joke which the station officials liked to pull on tourists. After all, how could a shop exist that only sold spatulas? The coffee-baron's proposal did not prove so innocent. They wanted very much to speak with Senor Nabob. They told the two heroes that it would be worth their while if they could kidnap Nabob and bring him back to Starbase as soon as possible. While Rei considered this, Mr. Rhyze stated that it simply wasn't possible given their line of duty. The coffee-barons did not like being refused, and stated that they had their own methods of persuasion. With only that warning, Espresso pulled a melee dagger from his belt and attacked. Mocha closed for street brawl, and Latte brought forth psychic energy. However, it proved no match for Mr. Rhyze's psi-fire and Rei's martial arts. Within two minutes, all the barons were down and the two officers had made a hasty departure.
At this point, the three player characters coincidently happened to meet up at the hotel. It was time to eat, but before the group went in search of a restaurant, Mr. Rhyze decided he had to arrange several things in the hotel first. When he went to speak with the clerk, he found that a message had been left for him. Pausing only to read it, Mr. Rhyze went on to bar any room service and cable TV from their rooms. However, he was too late to stop the All-Pokemon channel from having been ordered in the Squirttle's room. Moments after Rhyze left to lead the others to dinner, Morton brought forth his intimidating presence and a considerable tip to convince the clerk to send room service to his room. He was soon seated with the Squirttle. The two watched Pokemon as they munched on a large ham, which would be placed on the team's bill. Meanwhile, Mr. Rhyze had selected Papa Rigatoni's pasta as the group's restaurant, and the team had soon dined on the reasonably priced pasta. Afterwards, Rei asked to be taught the game of Blitzball. Mr. Rhyze was happy to oblige, and the two soon found themselves in the Hydrosphere, ready to practice. Rhyze's explaination of the rules was brief: someone passes the ball to him, and he scores. As such, Rei's role in this practice seemed to consist mostly of passing the ball to him. She seemed to be quite skilled at this, and even managed to tackle her instructor to the ground in the last minute of their practice. The two wet heroes then returned to the hotel, where Rei joined Morton in watching Pokemon. They eventually fell asleep during the season of episodes which did not include Brock.
The group was awakened the next morning by Keepa's banging. He told them that the big Blitzball game would be starting soon, and he could get them into front row seats. The three heroes were eager to watch the game, and so was the Squirttle. Keepa led them through the crowds surrounding the giant Blitzball stadium, and eventually gained them entrance to the inner corridors. They were greeted by the coach of the Deksiil Blitzball team, who was more than happy to allow fans to meet his players before the game.
Mr. Rithos Mr. Rithos directed the group to the Deksiil locker room. Upon stepping inside, they were greeted by the Deksiil Crescent Moons. At least, three of them. Their fourth member and goaltender, Julio, had yet to arrive at the stadium. Understandably, this was causing Mr. Rithos considerable concern.
Graav Dyela Tyrus After introductions were complete, a worried Mr. Rithos returned to the room. Julio still had not made an appearance, and the game was set to begin soon. Although Keepa was eager to be sent into action, the other players were understandably hoping that their normal goalie would be there for this important game. The team was staying at the Blitz-club. Mr. Rithos asked the three characters if they could go down there and look for Julio before the game began. Thus started the search for Julio, a mystery which could only be resolved through following a set of clues scattered throughout the space station. This trail took the group through such locations as Lin Ye Tang's laundy (where Ninjas would beat the clothes clean) and Radio Shack, where the digital cameras are always running. During this process, Mr. Rhyze ended up training in the Hydrosphere with a wandering blitzball player who seemed vaguely familiar. Only after the player performed the rare sphere-shot, which put his shooting power off the record, did the team realise the man's identity.
Jecht After spending a few minutes more speaking with Jecht, the group resumed their search for Julio. They eventually discovered that a group of Fenixans disguised as Laundry men had sacked the Deksiilan goalie and store him in one of the station's docking bays. The heroes encountered no resistance when rescuing Julio from his laundy sack, but arrived back at the stadium too late to get him into the sphere for the first half. The two teams had already entered, and were being introduced by the commentator, Don Cherry. However, before announcing the teams, this loud-mouthed journalist introduced one of the game's sponsors, Daikon-7. The spotlight moved to the head of the Daikon corporation, who made a short address to the crowd before urging the game to begin. With this encouragement from a sponsor, Don Cherry introduced first the home team, the Deksiil Crescent Moons, and then the Fenixa Infernos.
Please proceed to Section Two of this adventure for details on the Fenixa Infernos, and the rest of the Adventure.
Race: Deksiilan
Occupation: Coach of the Deksiil Crescent Moons.
A former Blitzball player himself, Mr. Rithos played on the Deksiilan team back when its roster still included the famous Jecht. After his friend left the team, Mr. Rithos decided to become a coach, and use his Blitzball knowledge to lead the Crescent Moons to more victories. Indeed, his work has led the Deksiilan team to win the Galactic Cup on several occaisons. A well-dressed man, Mr. Rithos usually wears an immaculately tailored blue suit with an official Blitzball tie. His blond hair is pulled back in a ponytail, and his eyes are covered by blue-tinted sunglasses. Friendly and resourceful, he can most often be found jotting down strategy notes on his ever-present clipboard.
Race: Deksiilan
Occupation: Captain of the Deksiil Crescent Moons
Graav is the stable core of the Deksiil Blitzball team. A fair and honorable player, he has more experience than any other member of his team. Graav is a strongly built man with brown hair in a bowl cut who wears gold and blue Zelzakian armor, even while underwater. This armor is perhaps one of the factors which contributes to his high endurance. Graav can often take the heaviest blows his opponents have to offer without even a flinch.
Race: Deksiilan
Occupation: Defense of the Deksiil Crescent Moons
Although she is small in stature, Dyela can pack a very significant punch. As the key defense player for the Deksiilan Blitzball team, it is her job to get the ball away from opposing players. This often means tackling them, something she has become very good at. Dyela has long brown hair, streaked with green, and wears gold and blue clothing along with strap armor of the same color. She generally appears to have a sense of humour, and never takes the game too seriously. She was quite impressed by the hitting power demonstrated by Morton Ragnarson upon the unsuspecting Mr. Rhyze.
Race: Deksiilan
Occupation: The Top Scorer on the Deksiil Crescent Moons
Tyrus certainly considers himself the star player on the team, although others might disagree. He is a known ball-hog who never passes but always goes for the shots. And according to his own words, always scores too. Tyrus has dyed blond hair, a major attitude, and wears a yellow t-shirt and blue pants. He also has a metal gauntlet strapped to his left wrist. Mr. Rhyze has found that Tyrus' philosophy on Blitzball to be decidedly similar to his own.
Race: Zelzakian
Occupation: Legendary Blitzball player and wanderer.
Everyone who knows anything about Blitzball has seen the status of Jecht spread about the galaxy. A tall, powerfully built man with long, messy brown hair held back by a red headband. He never wears a shirt, and his red pants are assymetrical, with one leg longer than the other. His only other clothing consists of the pair of steel bracers he wears over his wrists. This blunt and caustic wanderer was once the most famous Blitzball player in the galaxy. He led the Deksiil Crescent Moons to many great victories, and his Sublime Jecht Shot Mark Three has yet to be performed by any other player, and not from lack of trying. Jecht quit playing Blitzball some years back for reasons unknown, and has since disappeared from the public spotlight. He seemed to see something interesting in Mr. Rhyze, and taught him the Sphere Shot. Or maybe he was just bored.
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