White Star: Star Rogues campaign ep. 2

 Episode 2: Extraction from Mining Base B-49

Players:

Steven - Argenti Root - Bounty Hunter Class 1

Josh - Dame Judy Dench - Alien Mystic

Will - E51588 "Mr. Gutsy" - Combat-Bot

Sal - Silas Bucckeri - Mercenary

Joe P. - Zorn - Alien Brute

NPC - Spicolli - Pilot

A crew has been put together by Kellic Van and tasked with the following mission:

Travel to the Brinn system and extract Administrator Grinn Talek from Mining Base B-49 in the asteroid ring surrounding the gas giant Brinn Prime. If Mr. Talek cannot be extracted then retrieve the Data he is in possession of. Avoid contact with any Galactic Consortium forces at all costs.

The crew

Spicolli's ship: The Tasty Wave [art by Jake Parker]

Location:

Red Shift - Kelron Sector - Brinn System - Vector 14/29

The Tasty Wave sets down in the landing bay of asteroid B-49. A pair of mining tugs and a small transport are the only other ships here. At the far end of the bay the crew see the entry into the base.

Spicolli: Okay bro's, this is all you guys. I'll wait here keeping the engines, and myself toasty!"

Silas: [Grunting as he unstraps the safety harness] Reminds me of that time we dropped in hot on Tannoa to put down that miner's strike, more shooting though.

As the crew moved across the bay, they were alerted to life form movement by the combat-bot, and took out a handful of mynoks before they could attach themselves to the Tasty Wave.

Mr. Gutsy is able to override the door protocol and get the crew in the base itself. The first chamber is a garage bay for large mining bots and other equipment. Silas takes point leading the crew towards a doorway on the far side of the room. Just then a mining bot rises up and lumbers towards the party brandishing a spinning drill arm, it's eye lenses glowing red in the dim light.

The mining bot is defeated handily by the skilled crew, and Mr. Gutsy attempts a data recovery on the now defunct bot. Silas however makes a grim discovery.

Mr. Gutsy: 01-00-11-01-10 Mining bot has been recently reprogrammed to attack. This was a hack-job.

Argenti: Someone got here before us, or the base workers did this. I wonder why?

Zorn: Who cares, I'll fight anything that gets in our way.

Dame Judy: There is an odd aura here, something feels off...

Silas: [Looking in the window of a Decon-chamber] There's a couple bodies in here, or what's left of them at least. That kind of a mess isn't from a decompression accident either... I got a bad feeling.

Zorn searches through the remains and finds a couple of ID badges belonging to mining staff. The crew determine the mining bot did not do this, but they don't know what killed the staff. Leaving the garage bay the crew head into the facility. They are ambushed by a laser defense system and through teamwork are able to deactivate this and enter the Mine Staff prep-station. They are confronted with a horrible sight.

Blood and gore fill this room, a terrible hand to hand battle was fought here. Hacked off limbs, and other biological remains are scattered about.

Even though five life forms are detected in an adjoining chamber the crew elect to ignore them and move deeper into the base. Finding their target and the data are deemed priority!

At last they locate the Administrators office and adjoining living quarters, gaining entry they are attacked by blood-covered mining staff raving and muttering like madmen!

Space madness?

Once the crazed staff are put down in a hail of laser fire, and brutal physical combat, the crew are able to search the office. Dame Judy senses a mystical power source very close and discovers a hidden wall safe. The cosmic energies emanating from within. Silas uses an old Merc. trick to reveal the buttons most used on the keypad and tries a series of numbers.

Silas: Only so many combinations, let's see if I can get lucky, like that time on Porfos 4.

The keypad beeps and a blast of energy throws Silas across the office, where the fried mercenary hits the floor smoking.

Zorn: I'll carry him back to that medical room we passed.  You guys figure out that lock.

After getting healed in the medical bay Silas and Zorn return to find that the crew have opened the safe and found a fancy laser pistol, a Channeling stone, and an ancient bottle of wine.

There is also a private Decon-room adjoining the office and inside they discover the body of Grinn Talek the Base Administrator. He killed himself with a small holdout laser. Silas puts the small pistol in his boot and dons the finely crafted jacket hanging on a rack.

Argenti: [at the comp terminal on the admins desk] Looks like he uploaded the data to a secure file in the station Data Center. We need to go there to get the info.

Locating the Data Center the crew is stopped by Voice-encoded security protocols and Mr. Gutsy gets his circuits fried attempting to override the system. They need a vocal match to bypass the locks, but the Admin is dead. As they ponder what to do Zorn volunteers to drag the combat-bot back to a Bot-repair bay they passed earlier when searching for the Data Center. It is here that Zorn encounters a rival crew also searching the base for the same prize.

The rival crew

A deal is reached and the rival crews will work together to get the Data. Argenti, Dame Judy along with Garak and two of his men will return to the Admin's office where the terminal can be used to listen to audio of the deceased admin. Garak can use his ability to mimic the admin so they can bypass the Data Center security. Meanwhile Silas, Zorn, and two more of Garak's men will help take Mr. Gutsy to be repaired.

Garak and his crew work for the Ice Pirate King and were sent to get the same Data the Players are after before it falls into the hands of the Consortium.

The Robot Repair bay turns into a battleground when the a pair of Security-bots attack the group with the non-functioning Mr. Gutsy!

Robot Battle!

The fight goes poorly for the crew as one of the Ice pirates is atomized, Zorn is being choked out, and Silas is reeling under the assault from the security-bot targeting him. Suddenly his luck turns and Silas blasts the the bot while screaming:

Silas: You bastards didn't get me on Taklon II, and you sure as shit ain't gettin me NOW!

The second half of the crew burst in and lay down suppresive fire, giving Zorn the chance to tear the head off the final Security-bot. Mr.Gutsy is brought back on-line and the combined groups return to the Data Center.

With their combined talents the crew's are able to get the Data and make a copy for each team. Together they return to the Landing bay and Garak and his men bid them farewell.

Silas and Argenti reenter the base and deactivate the life-support machinery, meanwhile Zorn and Mr.Gutsy contemplate attacking the Ice Pirates as they power up their ship.

Our crew board the Tasty Wave, and Mr. Gutsy tells a very stoned Spicolli that the pirate crew are NARCS going to rat him out to the Consortium! We roll a Saving throw for the Pilot which he fails by a considerable margin, and he loses his shit!

Silas and Argenti barely make it back on board as the Tasty Wave turbo-boosts outof the asteroid base in hot pursuit of the Ice Pirate transport.

Spicolli: Bro, anybody got eyes on these narc dudes? Mr. Gutsy power up the lasers, we can't let them get away!

Zorn: I see them, 3 o'clock starboard side, they just ducked behind that asteroid!

A wild chase through the asteroid ring ensues and the Ice pirate transport is severely damaged while fighting back against our crew. as both ships exit the ring they see a Pirate cruiser in combat with a Galactic Consortium cruiser!! This sends Spicolli over the edge and he boost the Tasty Wave into range of the pirate transport where Mr. Gutsy delivers the fatal blow! 

The Crew were able to return to Kellic, deliver the Data and get paid.

Stay tuned for more.....