Edge of Space
Setting
This is a TL 9-11 campaign. The year is 21,390,093.
The slave world of Darkard on the edge of known space is owned by the Watari corporation. Dartarous (population 500) is a simple mining colony on this lonely planet, with a thin atmosphere and 150% Earth gravity. The founding leader of the colony is also named Dartarous.
300 people are in the mining crater daily.
With their labor, many of the miners are paying ancestral debts accrued 80 years of war. Peace was achieved in this sector four years ago, but these miners are, in effect, enslaved.
The mining operation has been going smoothly, with refined ores and alloys going to support Watari.
Recently, however, evidence of an ancient civilization has been uncovered, and Watari is sending men and materials to unravel its mysteries.
Character Development
These are 250 point characters with up to 100 points in Disadvantages and up to 100 points in Advantages.
TL9 and TL10 equipment is allowed. TL11 is classified/military only and requires approval of the GM.
You are probably human, but the GM is ready to entertain other sci-fi species, cyborgs, etc. Contact the GM for approval of your concept if you are going a non-human route.
You have been working at the mine for at least two years, and have an ongoing Duty to support your leader Dartarous. You may be paying an ancestral debt accrued in the war, or you may be Watari corporate, or have a military background.
You are required to have some sort of Mining expertise, whether it's Metallurgy or Mechanic or Management, etc.
You are advised to select one or more of Engineering, Pilot, Navigation, Sensors, Military Rank, Leadership.
Characters
- Jasmine, John's synthetic companion
- DeWayne, Jess's mine-mech genius
- Stan, site-security officer
- Pat, Blair's evolved human
What Happened
Prelude
The party wakes up to the alarms going off seismic sensors are going crazy, something just fell out of the sky and crashed in to the dig site, ash and debris is settling as an eerie glow from deep below the cliff side is seen from the pods away from the dig site.
People are running to stations.
Party meets up outside the pods: one medical officer who slept in his suit again and was ready to get out first, a synthetic who doesn't need a suit, and a mine-mech operator that helped open a stuck pod that had no power in below freezing conditions.
The dust settles and forms to the inanimate objects that it lands on - conformed, melded to the surface.
Through Dartarous' help the party finds that it has a crystal structure that can be separated with sound.
Freezing temps cause some NPCs to perish. There's a morale crisis.
The party exits the pod, helps a pod get power up and running.
Jasmine (now wearing baggy coveralls), trying to be helpful, delivers a tool kit outside to DeWayne and Stan as they try to break through a dust-encrusted pod door (the armory).
At dawn, while DeWayne works on the pod, Stan and Jasmine jog to the rim of the crater to see what landed.
But then, the red-brown Mars-like environment adjusts, becoming silvery mist. As they approach the mining pit, the temperature rises. The smell of the air changes - less rust, more water.
Jasmine hears movement in the mists swirling in the mining pit - a collection of bone-scraping, chattering movement sounds.
Into the Pit
Jasmine and Stan, at the edge of the crater, observe movement. Crawling heads are emerging from buildings. Two are on the rim nearby, flopping like beached octopi. After a quick conversation, Stan decides to slay them with his laser pistol and Jasmine carries them back by the nerve-bundle tentacles.
Meanwhile, DeWayne is helping the boss extract the panicked and injured crew members stuck in black-encrusted buildings.
In Stan's infirmary/research lounge, the "heads" are analyzed. Jasmine recognizes them -- they're mine workers' heads. They have some of the black crystalline metal material inside their brains.
DeWayne shows up and is shaken by what he sees. A whiskey helps.
The Big Boss then assigns the trio to go look in the crater and see what happened. Once the lightning storm stops (!), they head to the rim. Mosses and grasses are growing, utterly unknown on this planet. And they're visibly growing, stretching out into larger plants. The floor of the crater is becoming a misty jungle. Someone mutters "terraforming..."
DeWayne goes back to the base to retrieve his mech and new coveralls for the rain-drenched Jasmine and then the team descends the muddy slope into the now-verdant crater floor. Stan and DeWayne wrench open a building to retrieve a roll of cable while Jasmine attempts to communicate with a pair of crawling heads, to no avail. When the follow her, Stan is forced to laser-slay them as well.
As a potential countermeasure/warning, Jasmine picks up a fried head and the team enters the huge sloped mining tunnel, illuminated by DeWayne's floodlights.
After a distance they spot a humanoid. He's a miner, but covered in black, except where flesh has been burned or rotted away, revealing bones. The miner approaches, pick-axe in hand, as Jasmine tries to communicate with him, again to no avail. The creature attacks, and DeWayne thumps him with a mech claw, after which Stan peppers him with bullets.
Moving deeper into the pit, with crawling heads scrabbling around nearby, the team enters a supply/office room with a bizarre object suspended from the ceiling. This, reports Jasmine, is the most likely source of a plaintiff "help me...." that has been registering over comms occasionally. The object pulsates, drips blood, and is mostly encased in black metal. Weird, unfamiliar runes decorate its edges.
Rescuing the Cocoon
As the crew debated whether to do anything with the cocoon, Stan scanned it with his medical equipment for signs of life and sent a comm to his CO about it. DeWayne suggested going deeper down to a nearby power relay station to try and restore power to the mine and restore some sense of sanity to his upturned reality.
As they were about to leave, Stan got a return comm, ordering him to return with the specimen at once to the main loading bay to be loaded onto an incoming company ship. This news seemed odd to Jasmin and DeWayne as they believed company visits to take the better time of a day and usually these visits were forecasted.
DeWayne gathered up a large mining freight cart and positioned it beneath the cocoon, keeping his flood-lights on a mine-shaft where they heard a scraping scrabbling sound approaching. The shaft emitted a half-humanoid zombeast as DeWayne extended his core drill above to free the cocoon from the 20' cavern ceiling.
The beast approached despite Stan's igniting laser fire. Jasmine threw herself at full-speed into the approaching abomination to prevent harm to Stan. She was brushed aside slightly scorched and Stan fired through the creatures neck as it bore down and failed atop him.
Moments later, as Stan and Jasmine brushed off burning zombits and Stan lamented not being able to help her with her wounds, DeWayne lowered the cocoon into the cart. He then began tying the cart to the cable to the surface and rigged some of his flood-lights to shine behind Ol' Gerty as well as ahead. Stan and Jasmine examined the cocoon closer, noting that some of the alien glyphs appeared to be glowing, which Stan noted his CO warned him not to touch.
DeWayne started pushing the cart back up the main tunnel towards the awaiting newly hatched jungle above, while Stan watched another armored zombie-miner approach from behind and Jasmin spoke soothingly to the cocoon which had appeared agitated when the zombeast attacked Stan.
Part way out a number of scrabbling heads were encountered and Stan fried a few away with a volley of laser-fire before one got into the cart with Jasmine and the cocoon. Jasmine had a brief tousle with the head in the cart, aided by DeWayne's water cannon. Stan trained his gaussian rifle on the pursuing zombie and riddled it with a few dozen needles. Jasmine flung the head from gnawing on her synthetic arm, to beneath Ol'Gurty's iron foot where it's second existence was snuffed out.
DeWayne then kicked his rig into agility-limited cruising speed to get out as he'd reached his capacity for the horrors overtaking his mine. The pursuing zombie eventually fell, but not before tagging Stan's armored arm with its laser-crowbar. He then began jogging after the others up the tunnel.
Jostling up the tunnel, Jasmine soothed the cocoon and somehow began to communicate with it. It asked for her help encouraging her to activate the final glyphs. She did so despite DeWayne's protests.
The tunnel was bathed in blinding light pouring from the mining cart.
Good
The light subsides and reveals that the cocoon has melted away into goo, and a strange humanoid rises in its place. Jasminepolitely introduces herself, and with effort, some basic communication is established.
Duty-driven Stan directs DeWayne to close the cart, and Jasmine and "Mr. Good" continue their rudimentary chat in the dark. She believes she understands him to say he is frm Klindar, an unfamiliar star system...
The party steps into a building to raid supplies, and Stan clears the threat of a few crawling heads before ascending through the jungle and out of the pit.
Meanwhile, a Watari destroyer-class vessel with highly advanced weaponry approaches the HQ, causing Stan to up the speed with which the party will deliver the cargo.
Over Mr. Good's vague warnings of "danger", the party approaches HQ and observe Pat and his bodyguards emerge from the Watari vessel.
Datarous himself greets the team on approach and inquires about the cocoon, which of course is now gone. After some discussion, Pat and the rest of the group resolve to help Mr. Good get back into the pit and retrieve some items.
Before departing though, the lightning storm over the pit begins again, and sensors indicate the entire mine area is being covered by some sort of membrane.
Assuming the storm will end soon, the party takes the opportunity to gear up in the armoury.
Back to the Mine
Stan leads the group into the armory to gear up. He finds 3 SkillChips for Jasmine, and even Mr. Good picks up a laser rifle.
The party loads up into a halftrack flatbed and ascends to the rim of the crater, where the storm has ended and the great skeletal infrastructure of a growing cocoon dome over the entire area looms overhead. They descend in a rusty open air cargo elevator, with Stan outside the cab, alert as always.
Upon landing, smoke grenades go off and monstrous humanoids attack before the party's planned inventory raid for explosives can even get started. After Mr. Good dispatches one of the foes, the party bolts, and enters the mine tunnel.
As the tunnel narrows and the party begins planning for continuing on foot, the vehicle chassis comes under attack by two-foot monstrosities with powerful tentacles. Stan jumps down and gets tangled up with one immediately. Jasmine jumps out and is much too weak to help but tries really hard while DeWayne prepares Bertha.
Finally, Mr. Good slays the critters, but Stan's armor is badly damaged before it's over.
Blood Sponge Room
pats shuttle comes in join up approach, spongey blood room, stan wigs out for a bit dewayne shines a light control room approach doors shut -- bodyguards shut out guts recoalesce grenade boom dewayene works on the door stan aims at the critter pat zaps with a telekinetic spear critter attacks good -- ok good has claws! batteries in the electrical closet we have not heard from bodyguards outside
Portal
boot up the sensor panel - blood on finger - an old client mine starts rumbling - uh oh Jasmine - electronics operations, research, medical sensors, body language, diplomacy dewayne shuts down some sectors Jasmine watches Stan fix the security electrocnics crime scene outside the blood sponge room -- creature goo and blaster fire evidence follow the blaster damage, bodyguards are gone into the shaft. deayen rolls a 3 on piloting. portals. land on a slab of rock. stan tests his monowire, prepares for critters, while jasmine looks down the pit and dewayne fires up bertha confrontation with superior life forms mr good exploded, bertha loses retreat, button runes, jasmine pushes both, zapped through a portal! Dewayne saves the day with piloting crashing through a forest - where are we??
Simon Says
toxic environment, acid rain, lush jungle but unfamiliar dewayne: elec op sensors (4!), hazardous materials, mechanic, mech, pilot, recover from hangover stan: diagnosis, search, biological/radioactive, physics, pharmacy jasmine: elec op comm, elec com medical, morse code distress call weird black sand in ship's "air tank" mech unearths the shuttle a village in the trees! and a cave under land in town square. Pat is in a stupor still. Simon the miner - saw him a week ago... but he seems to have aged 15 years Jasmine starts an astrogation scan Jasmine draws runes, simon recognizes some from 'the lizard people' similar to mr good's cousins booze and feast with village people, Dewayne is drunk, Jasmine bunks with teenage Dijah and learns that they have "magic" drunk metaphysics with Simon second village & a city over the mountains exist warnings: huge fleshy flying insects, carnivorous plants the plan is to fly over to the city in the morning and fix ship/learn about portals - first thing in the morning
Jungle
stan: medical, gunner, physics, mathematics dewayne: engineering, pilot, hazardous materials jasmine: body language, elec comms, Dewayne fixes up the ship Dijah joins up and we fly over the mountain to the city -- which is run by the "Minister" Dijah tells us about the "Vecker" (head healer) in the big city to learn about healing and also seek resources for ship-fixing Jasmine chit-chats with Dijah Land outside town Vecker comes out to greet with four guards introductions. Pat detected. in the vicinity of Klindar... share the black sand sample local lizardmen are called the NUA and are not always truthful, some more violent ones, the DRAKINS, live other side of the volcano let's go inside and get some chow the other side of the planet is "corporate" - they come from another world feast. cat-man watching. Jasmine circulates. dewayne the gadgeteer can help the Vecker with the portal generator project BYXANTHIUM the catman says we need crystals beyond the volcano preserve fuel, let's ride the camel-lizards, Jasmine names hers Pookie Jasmine plugs in a chip that's corroded... now has a plant-info screen in her eyes Vecker summons Theodore the problem solver to check out ship Then we depart with catman, avoiding carnivorous plants Buzzing sound.... human-sized bug
Conjunction
Dewayne: Shiphandling, architecture Stan: explosives, saviofaire Pat: Telesend, Mindread Jasmine: Naturalist (chip), body lang, Pat rejoins the group with the ship Camo potions (Jasmine nude, green) approach city, lizard-fest stan makes bombs join the party- skullboy invites us in the CONJUCTION is today - happens every 3k years, wakes up the undead, day of the dead celebration beyond the second gate, a beam into the sky, projecting a field into the sky catman says our camo won't work beyond this gate... Pat and J recognize 'tony' some psionic shenanigans stan gets out some sketchy explosives party moves to observation zone near the river Stan goes in as a 'sacrifice' Jasmine spots a cloaked female step through the wall, headed in Pat infiltrates the mind of the reptile taking Stan into sacrifice Stan goes in as a sacrifice! === The Shattering === <pre> Jasmine: diplomacy, body language Stan: Pat: body lang, detect lies, mindread Dewayne: sacrifice ceremony, Stan is saved by a mysterious woman crystal is revealed, sacrifices are bathed in light and then change into other creatures!? lizard man (DRAKIN) replaces winged man, robot chick (DRAK) replaces flying critter, skeletor (DRAKE) replaces elf chick -- the mr good guy didn't make it the crystal ascends, threatens to... explode? Guards warn us to stay put. sword guards want us to stay.. jasmine finds a data jack Datarious is here! cat man's nervous Jasmine gets zapped by the jack (-5 FP) datarious shoots the crystal - kaboom - light cast everywhere, some transformations begin mind flayers approach Pat and mind flayers converse Jasmine jumps off the wall while catman engages More and more DRAKINS emerge in crowd Jasmine jumps down, approaches Dartarious, D is weird but warns J to run J runs to Stan and drags him out -- while Dewayne flies with Tony with crystal shards Pat and catman deal with mind flayers Pat starts mini-teleporting Stan collects samples of melted people Party reconvenes , Dewayne flying with Tony, -- headed for the ship team follows the water --whitebone lady is following us
Next
Stan: Sensors, Nanowhip Dewayne: spacer, pilot Jasmine: body language Pat: empathy, body language, mind-reading, Reconvened party runs down the ditch, figuring out how to rejoin the ship and gtfo Jasmine helps skeletal "Lacy" get up and come with us after Pat communicates with her Exit the city, total pandemonium behind us, battle and explosions Back to the ship... and it's different. organic fighter ship! surrounded by 'paddleists', reaver scavengers Dewayne vaporizes the bad guys Board the ship, Pat examines Lacy, Stan and Dewayne fly Headed for Vecker village, aided by Jasmine jacking in and sending config preferences to pilots But then.. the ship communicates with the black sand sample... "unlock and open" Vecker helps, Lacy gets healed, Dijah arrives, decides to join us home Dewayne flies us home.. through the wormhole... and passes out Oh shit ... it was all a vid game