In our last episode, Logan had flown out to the derelict starship that he had promised to explore as part of an agreement with the people of Wayward Landing. However, as they dropped out of the drift within sight of the huge ship, they surprised a lone pirate vessel bearing the emblem of the Red Souls.
With stealth on their side, Logan moved into attack position, which allowed his gunner to hammer the pirates with a barrage of gunfire and obliterate the craft before they could retaliate. That left them free to begin exploring the mysterious and seemingly abandoned ship.
As we circle back around to rendezvous with Blackbird, he comes back over the comm and compliments us on our impressive attack run against the cruiser. He says he’s never actually seen anyone take down a Red Souls ship before. (Apparently, that’s what this pirate faction calls themselves.)
I tell him that this is my second run-in with the Red Souls, although the first time didn’t go nearly as well for me.
“Well, there plenty of those bastards running around this sector, so feel free to kick more pirate ass whenever you have the chance!”, he says.
“Roger,” I reply. “Now how’s about we go check out this ol’ relic that we came for?”
Our two ships maneuver over to the derelict, and we get our first closeup view of this massive interstellar craft. Floating silently, seemingly cold, dark and lifeless, and devoid of any signs of activity, it dwarfs my ship countless times over. It’s main exhaust ports alone could fit ten vessels of this size.
As I had noted before, this hulk appears to have been abandoned for at least a hundred years, if not more. I don’t see any major hull damage, but it’s clearly been battered and pelted by centuries worth of cosmic debris and space dust that has left countless marks, scars and scrapes on its exterior and worn down its once precise detailing.
It’s design is unfamiliar to our eyes, but overall the superstructure appears more human than alien, leading to speculate about its origins.
Did some humans come to The Forge before the Exodus? Or, did the pilot of this ship take an ‘alternate route’ from our home planet and perhaps use some kind of interstellar portal that folds the fabric of space even more dramatically than a typical e-drive? This would, in theory, allow this ship to make the same journey in a fraction of the time.
And if that was indeed the case, what happened to the crew and just how long has it been abandoned? These are interesting questions indeed, and perhaps we will find some answers inside.
Cole and I suit up, donning our full pressurized EVO suits before each outfitting ourselves with a small arsenal of weapons and safety equipment. I don’t want to be unprepared in there, should we encounter any… trouble.
As per our agreement. Blackbird will remain outside, watching over out ship while we’re gone. Judging by the size of the ship, our recon will take a number of hours at the very least, but we’re prepared for much longer.
As I maneuver Broken Sword towards its main landing bay, I do a basic scan of the ship and discover that it’s showing some hazardous readings. The scanner doesn’t identify any major radiation or fuel leaks, so I’m not sure what’s setting it off. I’ll just have to stay alert.
With careful control on the thrusters, I slowly maneuver my ship up onto the enormous landing bay, watching Blackbird disappear from view. It’s just us now.
“Are you ready, my friend?” I ask him, knowing that we could be the first people… the first beings to enter this ship in centuries.
“You know I always am,” he replies with his usual confidence.
“Then let’s do this,” I say, as I lift Broken Sword through the energy barrier to the landing bay, which gives us our first view of the Inside of the ship.
aiartzone
(Are there any other ships docked in here?)
[Ask the Oracle: Yes]
A handful of small snub fighters sit dormant at the far end of the bay, none of them showing any power readings. This is but a tiny fraction of the potential number of fighters this bay could hold at maximum capacity. In its heyday, this craft was mother to a colossal force, but where did they all go?
After parking my ship and shutting her down, I notice sone unstable energy surges emanating from inside the ship. It’s nothing big, but definitely noticeable on the scanner. Something to keep my eye on.
The scanner also shows the air in here is breathable, but that may not be the case on other parts of the ship. To stay on the safe side, Cole and I keep our helmets on as we open the hatch on my ship and step onto the black metal floor of the derelict.
That’s when I see the ship’s name plate. Painted in large blue letters onto a panel inside the landing bay are the words, written in the standard language used by humans, both here in the Forge and, as I understand, back on the old world,
“The Hand of Fate.”
“So it is a human ship,” I say out loud.
“But from where… or when?” Cole ponders.
“I don’t know. Maybe we’ll find out more inside,” I reply. “Let’s go check out those fighters.”
Carefully inspecting the eight small ships, all of which are built with stealth technology, and designs that I’ve never seen before, none of them appear have sustained any visible damage to their main structures.
I briefly consider trying to see if I can get inside one of them, but then decide it’s best to keep moving. We have a lot of ship to explore here, and we can always come back.
Leaving the fighters, we make our way to the main access door to the landing bay. I take a quick look to Cole, and when he nods, I press the large blue button and open the 8-foot wide sliding metal door that reveals a long, wide corridor with an elevator at the far end.
The light inside this hallway is still illuminated, and shining exceptionally bright with a faint bluish hue. The floor is made of grated metal plates, from below as well, also with blue light, although in a deeper shade.
We advance down the hallway to the elevator and press the button. The doors immediately open, and so we step inside. The lift it’s self is large enough to hold 50 men, or a medium sized vehicle. The buttons are unlabeled, so we press the first one. The doors close, and the elevator begins a short journey upwards before stopping. The lift itself makes very little noise, which leads me to believe that it operates within a magnetic field, or by some other silent mechanical means.
[Undertake an Expedition] – Formidable
[Weak Hit: 4 + 2 + 0 = 6 vs 1 | 10]
[Mark Progress]
[Lose -2 Momentum]
After our brief ride up, the lift doors open, and we find ourselves in a what appears to be the main operations command center. This vast area is filled banks of computers, control terminals and numerous admin, conference and storage rooms.
However, the power is failing here, with intermittently flickering light that alternates between bright illumination and total darkness. This makes for challenging, and at times, stressful exploration as we navigate this level of the ship.
jimmyjimjim
[Explore a Waypoint]
[Miss: 2 + 2 + 0 = 4 vs 4 | 6]
[Burn Momentum – Strong Hit]
[Mark Progress and Take +2 Momentum]
We spend at least a couple of hours plodding through most of the rooms and poring over terminals, as we work to ascertain the overall safety of this area and look for anything that might be of value.
The architecture and general styling of the ship’s interior is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Sweeping lines, curves, repeating patterns and organic elements suggest an almost biological feel, as if leaves, flowers and other types of plant life provided inspiration for the construction of this craft. It certainly contrasts heavily with the angular shapes and highly rigid, blocky industrial designs that are often used on larger spacecraft.
Cole handles most of the “peer and clear” operations, while I spend most of my time trying to extract data from the various computers. The operating systems and basic programming on these machines is foreign to me, which limits, but does not entirely prevent me from gaining at least some level of access.
On one terminal, I find a basic map of the ship, as well as a list of Access codes for most areas of the shipment. Both of these will certainly come in handy, not just for our own recon mission, but also for Blackbird and his people. I download the map to my personal device and move on.
When Cole is finished with his own search, we reconvene at the elevator. After consulting the map, we decide to head to the military operations area next.
[Undertake an Expedition]
[Miss: 3 + 2 + 0 = 5 vs 6 | 10]
We take the lift to stop 7B as indicated by the map I obtained, and then travel along a number of long, curving hallways and traverse a series of high catwalks that pass above large open cargo bays, before we finally arrive at a closed panel door.
Not entirely sure which access code I should use, I make a guess and punch one of them in. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work, because the door light remains red, and the door stays shut. I look through the list and try a different one.
Nothing.
I try a third one.
Same.
Frustrated, I study the panel to see if I might be able to hack the door. However, this particular design is completely unfamiliar to me, and I don’t see any possible way to connect my handheld. Nor am I picking up any network signals.
“I don’t see a way to break in,” I say to Cole.
He answers in a deviously hopefully tone, “It would REALLY be nice to get in there and see what weapons we can find.”
“I agree, but I think we’re out of luck on this one… at least for now.”
I can tell that he’s a bit dejected, but he hides it well. “Then we move on,” he says.
Checking the map again, we consider making our way to The Bridge, but instead of wandering in circles around the ship, we return to a more methodical search pattern and move in order.
[Undertake an Expedition]
[Strong Hit: 5 + 2 + 0 = 7 vs 1 | 2]
“Closest area from here is Medical,” I say, as I lead us through a maze of corridors, many of which have sloping, rounded ceilings and intricate designs etched into the floor. Eventually, we arrive at a different elevator, which brings us right to the entrance to medical.
600v
[Explore a Waypoint]
[Weak Hit: 2 + 2 + 0 = 4 vs 3 | 9]
[Take +1 Momentum]
Opening the door, we find ourselves inside a vast, full-featured, high tech hospital. It consists of multiple room and compartments, including surgery, recovery and research areas, all of which are equipped with a diverse array of devices and supplies.
Cole and I move cautiously through each of the different areas, grabbing a few essential items along the way, things like bacta vials, a few cans of medi-spray, bandages, steri-strips and insta-ice packs as we do a full exploration of this part of the ship.
There are plenty of supplies to be had here; enough to keep Blackbird’s people on Nerida healthy for years. I make a prominent reference mark on the map for him as we keep working our way through.
At one point, we come across a section that’s been closed off, and is currently being monitored by a medical bot with long “arms” that appear to be able to able to operate multiple types of instruments and tools at the same time.
From what I know about medical bots, they’re usually programmed to be helpful and informative, so I inquire about the closed room and what’s contained inside.
It answers in an authoritative tone that actually has a surprising level of human inflection programmed into its voice.
“This is a research and containment area that currently houses secure and unsecured specimens of a PREviously unidentified pathogen, which displays highly virulent characteristics and high contagion levels. Only authorized persons who are equipped with proper biohazard protection suits may enter.”
“What do you mean by ‘unsecured’ specimens?” I ask.
The bot replies,
“the term unsecured is used to describe nonliving lifeforms which have previously been infected by the pathogen, and whose bodily systems were unable to effectively fight off its effects.”
“So, you’re saying that there are dead people in there?” I ask.
“Affirmative,”
the bot answers, its signal lights blinking blue.
“Does this mean that a highly contagious pathogen is still on this ship?”
“Affirmative. All known infected subjects are currently contained securely behind this barrier.”
I think for a few seconds and then ask, “You said all known infected subjects. Does that mean there might be other infected subjects still present in other, non secure areas of this ship?”
“The odds are highly unlikely that other crew members from this vessel would still be alive. That does not preclude the possibility that the pathogen itself could still be present in other parts of this ship.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Cole says shooting me an uneasy glance.
“No.., it does not,” I reply, before continuing to address the bot.
“Did the crew evacuate this ship because of his pathogen?,” I ask.
”I am not programmed to speculate as to why the crew abandoned this vessel. My functions are limited to information and administration of medical knowledge and procedures.”
AfterOurLikeness
I know enough about bots to understand that they can only answer questions in the areas of their design and function. It cannot know why everyone left the ship, but maybe it knows when.
“I’ll ask a different question then. When did you discover this pathogen, and when did this medical facility cease functioning with normal human capacity?”
“I successfully isolated pathogen C2b427 exactly 175 standard years and 125 standard days ago. This lab ceased functioning precisely 85 standard years and 103 standard days ago.”
Cole and look at each other. “So, no one else has been on board for 85 years?“ I ask the bot.
“Affirmative. No other humans have been in this lab for the past 85 years and 103 standard days.”
“When did this ship begin its voyage?”
“My memory bank only dates back to my initial operation date, which was 241 Std. years and 64 Std. days ago.”
“You were right,“ Cole tells me. “This ship is hundreds of years old.”
“Where did this ship begin its voyage?” I ask the bot.
“That information is not relevant to my functions.”
Cole addresses the bot directly. “What have you been doing for the past 85 years?”
“My programmed functions are to monitor the lab and ensure that no pathogens are removed from their secure locations, study specimens and maintaining inventory on our supplies.”
“So, you don’t get out much,” Cole adds.
“affirmative. I have not left this location since I arrived on this vessel.”
Having gained an adequate amount of information that we can pass along to Blackbird from this medical bot, who clearly doesn’t have much of a social life, we decide to move on.
[Undertake an Expedition]
[Strong Hit: 4 + 2 + 0 = 6 vs 4 | 4] With a Match!
Next, we head to one of the main engineering zones. We take a lift to the next floor and traverse a few more elegantly decorated curving hallways, until we reach the ships primary systems and engine control bay.
[Explore a Waypoint]
[Weak Hit: 2 + 2 + 0 = 4 vs 10 | 3]
[Take +2 Momentum]
Upon entry, though, we’re hit with an acrid, noxious odor that hangs thickly in the air. Immediately, we see what’s causing this foul stench that almost burns our nostrils. A pronounced leak has leaked from one of the main power cores and spilled into an enormous pool of corrosive liquid. The acid has eaten its way down through parts of the floor, and in the process, has created a few scattered islands of “safe terrain” amidst the destruction.
Caught on one of these islands is a small utility bot that’s only a few feet away from being dissolved by acid. It’s about the size of a medium sized dog with jointed arms and legs that fold in on itself when not in use. It looks like a rather old design, but given the age of this ship, that makes sense.
When it sees us, it begins emitting an excited series of archaic sounding beeps, buzzes and whistles, much like someone would make when trying to imitate an old fashioned robot, which is exactly what this thing is.
“Shit!!! We gotta save that thing!” I shout as I move closer to get a better look.
“It’s too far to jump,” Cole replies. We both survey the area to try and come up with a plan.
This is a multi-level facility with a series of catwalks that crisscross above us, so that seems like the best option for facilitating a rescue.
“Up there!” I shout. “Let’s look for an access!”
[Ask the Oracle: No]
We spend a few minutes scouting the area, but unfortunately, we find no safe way to reach the upper levels; the only access point is blocked by a giant puddle of bubbling acid.
The bot keeps beeping and buzzing.
“Did we remember to bring a rope with us?” I ask.
[Check Your Gear]
[Strong Hit: 3 + 4 + 0 = 7 vs 2 | 5]
[Take +1 Momentum]
“Got one right here,” Cole says,” pulling a 50’ coil from his pack.”
“Bingo! I know you were good for something!” I say. “Now, let’s figure out the best way to do this.”
[Secure an Advantage]
[Weak Hit: 6 + 2 + 0 = 8 vs 10 | 1]
[Take +2 Momentum]
I carefully study and assess the situation, the proverbial wheels whirring inside my brain, as I look around at all of the different possible points for securing the rope. Mentally calculating distances and angles, I ponder whether the plan I’m formulating in my head might actually work.
“Ok,” I say. “I’m going to try and loop the rope over the railing of that catwalk up there, and then we can…”
I continue to outline the details of my plan, which will require a number of different factors to all come together on my part, on Cole’s part, and even on the bot’s part, providing that it can understand what we’re saying.
When we’re ready, I nod to Cole, who I know thinks this is one of the more ridiculous ideas I’ve had during our relatively short time together. He doesn’t say anything; I can just tell. To be honest, it all sounds a little silly to me as well when I play it through in my head.
However, I’ve got to try. I can’t just let that bot slowly drown in a pool of acid. If I were to think too hard about this, I’d probably realize that it has everything to do with my failure in trying to save my brother. I wasn’t able to do that, but I can rescue some poor robot that kind of looks like a dog. And that will make things all better, how exactly?
Either way, I tie my first knot, give Cole the other end of the rope, pay out a few handfuls and make the toss…
[Face Danger] +edge
[Weak Hit: 3 + 3 + 0 = 6 vs 1 | 10]
[Lose -1 Spirit]
I can’t say that it goes perfectly, but our rescue attempt, as crazy as it was, goes better that I had expected it to go. The part where I dangle over the acid as I try to lower a loop down to the bot is a little scary and it rattles me pretty good, especially when I felt my sweaty/handed grip starting to fail as my muscles strain to keep me from falling. Somehow, I manage to keep hold of the rope.
Seeing my efforts, the bot figures out what the heck I’m doing up there, and it does grab the loop with one of its folding limbs. With considerable effort from Cole, we’re able to successfully extract the poor thing from its little island and bring it back down to safety.
Once back on the ground, it lets loose with an enthusiastic flurry of beeps and buzzes. I can’t understand any of it, but my guess is that it’s clearly happy to have been rescued.
Now that I have a closer view of this little bot, it does have a familiar look. It’s definitely a utility unit, equipped with numerous tool attachments, but configured in a rather unusual way. Its main casing is adorned with a few simple, but colorful design aesthetics, not unlike other parts of this ship.
It does appear to have sustained a bit of damage, but nothing serious; just a few bumps and dents.
Inspecting its device plate, I see that it’s auto mechanical utility unit, with identifier DV-08.
“DV-08,” I say. “
The little bit responds with another outburst of beeps and buzzes.”
“What are we gonna do with this thing?” Cole asks.
I turn to the excited little bot and ask it, “what do you say, Devo, you want to come with us?”
It’s clear that the unit understands human speech, and judging by the bright beeps and blinking blue light that it’s wholly onboard with that idea.
“Well, off we go, then! Clearly there’s nothing more to be seen in here.
STARFORGED ADVENTURES 
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