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Turn
Campaign:Black Moon
Adventure:The Desolute Void
Send To:Curt Rustle, Dasan Gram, Ianna, Isobella, Jack, Marcello diPietro, Shooter, Tal Everwind
Turn Start Date (ex. 12/31/6565)
Turn Number:6.1
Combat Turn:
Subject:Zardra
Combat
Physical
Energy
Other
Flash
Charges
DEX/EGO
SPD
PD
rPD
Total
ED
rED
Total
Mental
Power
Sight
Sound
???
Curt Rustle
26
5
10
13
23
5
13
18
19
5
0
0
0
Dasan
20
5
4
20
24
4
20
25
6
0
10
0
0
Laser Cannon - 13/16
Flame Thrower - 0/4
Mini-gun - 13/16
Force Field - 0/6
Ianna
35
6
11
15
26
11
15
26
0
5
0
0
0
Isobella
33
5
5
24
29
3
24
27
9
0
10
0
0
Defiance Super Shock - 92/96
Jack Braun
20
5
12
23
35
11
23
34
10
0
2
0
0
Marco diPietro
18/23
4
12
13
25
12
13
25
24
7*
0
0
0
Shooter
20
4
8
31
39
8
31
39
18
10
7
3
0
Manhunter - 11/12
SSR - Normal - 14/16
SSR - AP 16/16
Frag Grenades - 3/6
Tal Everwind
23
5
2
20
22
4
20
24
0
0
0
0
0

REC
BODY
STUN
END
Other
Full
Current
Full
Current
Full
Current
Curt Rustle
10
12
37
40
Dasan
9
14
36
46
Ianna
10
12
37
46
Isobella
5
12
25
30
Jack Braun
12
12
47
76
Marco diPietro
10
10
33
48
Shooter
8
13
32
40
Tal Everwind
9
18
32
36
END Reserve 90/90 (10 REC)



IANNA: As soon as the others let her know the gist of what Zardra said she mentally replies, {We're about done here. Don't tell her more though but don't make it sound like we have any interest in her or the other prisoners. I'll be there in a few minutes to talk to her directly, assuming she sticks around.}

IANNA: As Ianna leads the others back to the pod area, her mind is busy communicating over the mind link, {Well, two very interesting developments in such a short time span. We're going to have to be careful and it looks like we're all going to have to work together if any of us are to get back. As Dark Claw mentioned, it's going to make some strange bedfellows.}

IANNA: {Okay, tell me what Zardra said again.} After hearing the full version the captain replied mentally, {Okay, tell her we're not here to arrest anyone but she's welcome to travel with us as a friend. If she wants more tell her to talk to me.}

IANNA: {Also, I don't think we should even think about taking any prisoners for now. We really need to clear these sort of thoughts from our heads because someone like the Duke will pick that up. Remember the Duke is our primary target and we may have to ally ourselves with the other prisoners to take him down. Once we're safely back in our dimension we can evaluate the best way to achieve the remainder of our mission's objective.}

IANNA: {We may be in a situation where our ruse will not fly. I'd like to try and dodge the ultimate reason we're here but I'm not sure how long we can pull it off. It seems Zardra already has us pegged. Someone like the Duke will likely be able to tell right off the bat. Let's hope not.}

IANNA: {For Zardra, I like her best out of all the prisoner profiles as an ally. In some ways I'm not sure why she's being grouped with them. I know they said it's political which to me means it's probably unjustified. It smacks a bit of what a couple of you encountered at Black Moon. Anyway, she can be really helpful to us and possibly might be a key to defeating the Duke.}



TAL: Lights one of his cigars as Zardra is talking. When she holds out her hands, he replies through an ever growing cloud of blue smoke. "Sure, Missy. Whatever. Consider yourself arrested." He takes no action and his tone is rather strongly sarcastic. "Why don't you try that again an' tell us what really happened?"

ZARDRA: "Absolutely gramps, right after you tell me why you are really here."

TAL: "What I'm really doing here is trying to find a way out. That means finding parts that I can use to fix our ship's engines." He takes a puff on his cigar. "Wouldn't happen to have any spare hyperdrive parts on you?"

ZARDRA: The young woman smiles and replies, "Okay, you've been honest with me so it only fair that I am honest with you. What really happened is that I jumped up onto this wall and saw you guys spying on the pirate."

ZARDRA: "As for hyperdrive parts, I have none."

SHOOTER: {Captain, the pirate is back at the front of his men but is now looking in our direction with some binoculars. I'm fairly certain that he sees us.}

IANNA: {That's to be expected and it's fine that he sees you. Make no moves to hide the fact that you're watching him. He'll likely respect us more for taking precautions and we've got nothing to hide by doing so.}

IANNA: After hearing an update on the Zardra conversation. {Well done Tal. Yeah, let's not ask her for information. She's the one who approached us and we don't need to show any interest in her. We will need to come up with a viable story for her and the others when we encounter them. Suggestions?}

MARCO (OOC): What does Tal's question mean?

MARCO: Waves Tal down again... {Tal, let's try not to give away everything here} ...turns back to Zardra, "We're not here to arrest you but you're welcome to share information with us. Our Captain will return shortly and you can discuss details with her."

TAL: (OOC) Basically, we actually *said* she was under arrest, and kicked back a question to her without giving away anything. We actually are here to arrest her (well, the Duke mostly) and Tal doesn't generally lie - especially if he can say truth in a manner that it won't be believed.

MARCO (OOC): Not sure who "said" she was under arrest...we've only said 3 lines to her. And the "question" basically confirmed everything that she might have suspected not to mention that it <i>did</i> give away everything. TAL asked, "tell us what happened" meaning that a) we are amateurs, and b) we are seeking a truth about her - not a way to get out of here(the ship, the dimension). TAL doesn't need to lie, but I'm not sure why he would just ignore a request for a more measured response with the give-away.

IANNA (OOC): I think it's all good. I wouldn't have played it that way but they're your characters (not Ianna) so I think what happened was perfect. I say have fun with it IC though obviously the two of you should either argue mentally or do so not in the presence of Zardra. :)

TAL: Looks at Marco briefly, then turns to Zardra. "Today is your lucky day. You've got one guy willing to go along with arresting you and one who says we aren't going to. Looks like you get your pick o' the litter. So, what's yer pleasure, Missy? 'Arrested' or 'Not'?" Tal grins at Zardra, and he has a definite twinkle in his eye.

TAL: {Don't get your britches in a knot - I'm not telling her anything, and I'm certainly not giving away even what she's probably already guessed at.}


ZARDRA: Zardra calmly waits for the rest of the group to return.

GM: Unless there is going to be further dialog between Zardra and Marco or Tal, then time passes and the rest of the group returns.

IANNA (OOC): Okay, I'm waiting for others to respond to Ianna's last mental replies. I can just keep going with what Marty thinks but I was hoping other players were help brainstorm how to handle Zardra and a bit more on our strategy going forward now that we know more about what's happened here. Once we've got a bit further in the mental discussions, I'll send a turn with Ianna, Jack, Dasan and Isobella returning to the pod room.

MARCO (OOC): In response to Tal's comments and Ianna's suggestions, I had responded to Zardra under the 6.0 thread.

IANNA (OOC): Sam, that's not what I meant. Ianna asked the group over the mindlink about what sort of story we should tell Zardra. I'll paste it below. I can just come up with something myself but I'd like other players to weigh in at least a bit. It'd also be nice to see some IC interaction too. (hint, hint)

IANNA: After hearing an update on the Zardra conversation. {Well done Tal. Yeah, let's not ask her for information. She's the one who approached us and we don't need to show any interest in her. We will need to come up with a viable story for her and the others when we encounter them. Suggestions?}

SHOOTER: Shooter remains on top of the wall where he continues to watch the pirate lord and his men until they disappear from view. He chimes in, {I'm not real clear on why we need to come up with a story. She already seems to assume that we are who we really are and wants to surrender to us. I know it could be a ruse but why should we hide why we are here? We can take her prisoner or we can make a deal with her.} Shooter mentally shrugs and adds, {I just don't see a reason to come up with a story. We already tried that and she seems to have reason to believe we are lying.}

MARCO: {Agreed, no need for a viable story other than what we've got; characters such as the Duke, the Pirate, and Z- get where they are b/c they can read people like a book from 50 Meters.}

IANNA: {I haven't interacted with her so I'm not sure if she really wants to be arrested or is just trying to flush out the truth. I have thought briefly that maybe we should come clean with her. Striking a deal would be prudent. My overall concern and reason I don't want to knowingly give away the truth is that the Duke would have a higher chance to learn of our intent, especially if she's in his corner. However, I'm not hard to read so I'm sure the Duke could extract it from me. Additionally, we simply may not be able to come up with good enough story that will convince her. Any other thoughts?}

JACK (OOC): Quite simply I don't personally have the conversational skills to banter with her in 'roleplay' mode that Jack would have in character. The first thing out of my mouth would be 'we're not cops, so we don't have to arrest you if you offer to surrender yourself' or something to that effect, pointing out that those kind of technicalities only work in a situation where we're actual law enforcement personnel. To Keith, the truth is a fairly effective tool, and lying is NOT second nature, nor is hiding the truth. To Jack, he is extremely adept at such things, and I have a hard time playing it to the hilt. Zardra seems a very skilled conversationalist, so my hope would be to make an opposed skill roll, not to try to trip Steve up in a conversation where he holds all the cards (sorta).

GM: I am fine doing an opposed Conversation roll. That's why the skill is there. At this point, I am waiting for a turn from Marty saying that Ianna, Jack, Dasan and Isobella have rejoined the others. Once that happens, let me know what Jack wants to accomplish with an opposed Conversation roll and then go ahead and make the roll. If he just wants to show that he is quite good at the verbal sparring that Zardra also seems to be good at, then a simple Conversation roll will accomplish this.

IANNA (OOC): This week is our spring break and I'm not on the computer much so I've been much slower with the turns. I'm planning on doing a turn today or tomorrow for this. I don't mind putting a conversation roll in there alongside my turn. I'm cool with Jack and Ianna coordinating efforts with Zardra but I suspect we won't be adversarial.

IANNA: Ianna, Jack, Isobella and Dasan finally join the rest of the group. Conversations have been had over the mind link but Ianna let's the others introduce her to Zardra the old fashioned way. It was important that the group not give away their ability to communicate mentally to outsiders.

IANNA: "I see you have met my crew while we were speaking with the pirate king. Surprised to see us here?"

ZARDRA: "Not at all. Are you surprised to be here?"

DASAN: Dasan chuckles softly and mumbles to himself "More than you can imagine."

IANNA: "I don't think any of us imagined this place but we didn't know what to expect. As you have already guessed we're not here randomly. We are here for a number of reasons though arresting you is not one of them. Don't get me wrong, the Empire would love nothing more than for all of the prisoners to be returned safely to captivity in the other dimension. However, I don't think that's probable and we're not simple law enforcement agents of the Empire. We're more civilian than military though we are interested in the greater good and we have the freedom to choose how to accomplish our mission."

IANNA: "Though there are many outcomes the Empire would like, I prefer one that sees my crew return safely and the damage minimized. Personally, I don't see why you were grouped with the four others. Seems someone didn't like you a great deal as your 'record' didn't seem to justify it. Actually, it may be something that many of this crew has personally dealt with, mutant bias. I don't really know your story beyond what was on record so perhaps I'm reading too much into it."

IANNA: "Either way, I'm going out on a limb revealing this to you but I figured of all prisoners, you were the one most trustworthy. Are you interested in helping us if we return the favor? Say more than the uneasy deal I've struck with Dark Claw?"

ZARDRA: As Ianna lays her cards on the table, Zardra looks more serious. As Ianna finishes, she replies, "Yes, we can make a deal. I will help you out here and, in return, when we get back to the empire, you will let me go free. Is that acceptable to you?"

IANNA: "Yes. I can't control what the Empire will do but I will do what I can so that they don't come after you after we return."

ZARDRA: Zardra studies Ianna for a moment before replying. "Okay, I can accept that."

ZARDRA: "If you want to tell me what you want to accomplish here, then I can provide what information I have."



DASAN: Dasan will switch to infrared and ultraviolet while Ianna is talking to Zardra to see if anything looks out of place. ie cybernetics, implants, lack of a heat signature. He should be able do this with out her noticing outright.

GM: Dasan does not have Discriminatory or Analyze on either Infrared or Ultraviolet senses so switching to those doesn't tell him anything. Just looking her over, Dasan sees nothing other than the clothing that she is wearing. He sees no gun, no armor, no equipment of any kind except that which she was born with.



IANNA: The captain nods to Zardra, "Sure, our first objective is to find as many salvageable jump drive parts as we can. There are five parts we need. We've already found one and Dark Claw has found another. I doubt we've find many extras but as many as we can get ourselves, the stronger our chances on repairing our ship and returning to normal space. Information that is helpful, beyond knowing where some of these parts might be found, is knowing what is out there in this ship. We've only been here a few hours so we haven't explored much yet."

IANNA: "In terms of dealing with the other four prisoners, knowing what happened and how new alliances were formed would be most beneficial in determining how to approach each prisoner. The highest danger target, that we can tell, is the Duke. If you can share what you've learned about these other prisoners that would also help us be more successful."

ZARDRA: "I know nothing of the internal workings of ships so I can't help at all on finding engine parts but I can most certainly assist with the prisoner issue. You are right to be concerned about the Duke. He is a very ambitious man and plans to use the Charons and their ship to further his own ends. Most of the crews of the Dar Formuth, the Fast Spike and the Claymore are on his side - not a particularly difficult feat considering he executed most of the officers. I'm not sure how Dark Claw managed to steal away some of the crew to form his own crew. Maybe he is working for the duke though I don't think he would do so voluntarily. That's why I was following him. I wanted to see what he was up to. That's also how I managed to bump into your team."

ZARDRA: "Captain Bane Nothos and the assassin droid, EL-434, are firmly on the side of the duke. Most of the rest of the men, the former ship's crews, are with the duke because they don't many other options."

IANNA: Ianna nods as Zardra brings the group up to date. "Interesting, so has the Duke learned how to manipulate or control the Charons? Our experience with them hasn't given us much confidence that they're likely to communicate in a non-violent way. Dark Claw also seemed pretty negative on the chances of cooperation with them. Do you know more about what the Duke is planning?"

IANNA: "How likely will the Duke figure out we're here to stop him? Also, do you know where he's taken up residency? It might be best to avoid him directly, given his abilities. Oh, do you know if the other prisoners have broken their mental blocks on their powers? From what we know of them, we fully expect the Duke to have broken them but we're not sure about the others unless the Duke has assisted them."

IANNA: Turning to the rest of the crew, "Let me introduce you to the team." Ianna goes around briefly introducing each person and their role on the ship.

IANNA: Speaking to the rest of the group Ianna continues, "Much of what we expected. Observations?"

IANNA (OOC): Others are welcome to chime in, in case you have questions you want to ask her.

MARCO (GM): Is this a good time for Mental Radar to determine whether Zardra has broken the limitations?

GM: Even without Mental Radar, Marco would know if she had any mental powers active. As a mentalist, he has Mental Awareness that allows him to see active mental energy. Mental Radar might tell him more if she had some more subtle mental powers running. However, if she is a mentalist, she would also likely note that Marco was using Mental Radar since it is built as an active sense rather than a passive one.



ZARDRA: "I believe that the duke has struck some sort of deal with the leader of the Charons. The deal may be nothing more than mental control of the leader and, through him, all the other Charons but it may be old fashioned deal making as well if both stand something to gain by a partnership."

ZARDRA: "The mental blocks are completely gone from everyone. After we entered this dimension, something happened that destroyed the mental blocks all at once. It was shortly after that when the Charons attacked the Dar Formuth. We worked together to fight them off but then the Duke took over command after the battle. He had the droid execute two of the officers and two of the guards who did not exhibit the proper amount of loyalty to the duke."

ZARDRA: Zardra greets each person in the team as Ianna introduces them.

DASAN: "If you don't mind me asking, sense you and Dark claw are not with the Duke, why are you not like the mentioned officers and guards?

ZARDRA: "It's a fair question. From your perspective, the logical answer is that we are both loyal to the duke. You'll have to decide for yourselves if other answers are probable. My primary goal right now is to return to normal space. If the duke offered the only means of doing so, I would accept that as a temporary price and work to extricate myself from him once my goal was realized. I expect that Dark Claw believes that he can escape from the duke and return to normal space on his own. I would prefer to cast my lot with him than with the duke."

ZARDRA: "That said, however, your team has offered an even better deal. Although I know nothing of ship's engines, I've heard enough from the crews of the ships to know that the same handful of parts seem to have been rendered useless on all ships, and that Dark Claw and his band have found one such part - alien but functional - and have hopes of finding the others. It would be interesting to know whether the part that you found is the same as the part that Dark Claw found."

IANNA: "Interesting, that puts our discovery of the Fast Spike's captain into a different light. If she was executed and then cast off to the Charons that would explain why we found her that way. We feared that the Charons were using humans in some sacrifice to their ship's systems."

IANNA: "As for the parts, you are correct. There are five parts we need. Dark Claw has one, so he says and we have another. That leaves 3 more to find. I'm hoping that between our two groups we can accomplish that. It may mean that we'll have to remove a part from this ship, which could be interesting if it stops the Duke from succeeding with his plans."

IANNA: "Zardra, do you believe Dark Claw suspects as you did that we're here to capture him? I would also guess that the Duke will not take kindly to seeing our group, especially when we don't bend to his will."

IANNA: "It may indeed come down to the Duke and his allies against Dark Claw's group and us. If that were to happen, how large and formidable is the Duke's non Charon group? I suspect the two other prisoners will be quite a handful but I'm not sure about the crew. The Charons do indeed pose quite the problem so a head on encounter would most likely be our undoing."

ZARDRA: "I think it is very likely that the Duke will assume that you are here to capture or kill him. From his perspective, after the empire lost the Dar Formuth, they sent first the Fast Spike and then the Claymore to find us. So either they would give up at that point, or send someone else. A team of mutant bounty hunters is a very likely scenario. If the Duke finds you here, that is what he will assume. He certainly wouldn't believe your story about having stumbled into the anomaly. By now, every deck officer in the Spinward Marches has to know about the anomaly and would be avoiding it like the plague. That's why my response to your story was as it was - you were either unlucky, incompetent or lying, with lying being the most likely."

ZARDRA: "It is very likely that Dark Claw does not believe your story either and probably assumes you are some sort of bounty hunters or maybe an empire-sponsored hunter-killer group sent to kill us bad guys. However, you can probably deal with Dark Claw. I doubt you can work out any sort of deal with the duke."

IANNA: Ianna nods, "That makes sense."

ZARDRA: "The duke has almost the entire crews of the Dar Formuth, the Fast Spike and the Claymore under him. Many, if not most, are probably serving him because they see no alternative. He offers the best chance of returning to normal space. The duke can certainly use his powers to control some of the key people but I doubt he can maintain an iron control on all of the crewmembers. If you can take out the duke and his inner circle, the crews will fall into line behind you."

ZARDRA: "I don't know what kind of deal the duke is working out with the Charons. My experience with them is that they don't even try to deal. They attack and either kill or are killed."

IANNA: "All good information. Thank you."

IANNA: Turning back to the others, "Alright, where do we want to head next?"

TAL: "We should probably get that part we found back to the ship. Don' want it to develop legs and walk off on it's own, ya know."

JACK: Jack shakes his head mildly, "I don't know, I think I'd be more comfortable keeping it with us so we can protect it. We already know

DASAN: Looking up from the bug stick. "I would be more concerned about losing the ship.......If they can get on board to look for parts to steal, then why not just take the ship. I also have a very effective flamethrower to improve and some alien compacitors to add to my shockpulse." that there are at least two other groups of scavengers out to find that part, and willing to do just about anything to get it, do you really think it would be safe on the ship?

IANNA: "I have worried about our ship but given that others have arrived on their own vessels I think our ship is fairly safe. If we put one of the valuable parts on it then I would be very concerned. I'm afraid we'll need to keep each jump drive part with us."

IANNA: "Isobella or Shooter, do either of you have any observations or places you'd like to search next?"


MARCO: "We should probably develop a strategy to undermine the Duke's strength. I suggest some sort of subterfuge to get the crews to turn against him - he's powerful, but he's not omniscient."

IANNA: "Agreed, I welcome any thoughts you or others have on that. Zardra, do you know where they might be so we can avoid that area of the ship until we have to confront them?"

MARCO (GM): Can you provide a description of the scale of this "ship" versus our ship and the other Imperial ship? I'm wondering if this ship is of the size that without intelligence we could wander for years and not encounter the other groups.


GM: The ship is not so big that you could wander for years. It is basically a large rock with a bunch of ships stuck to the outside. The interior of the rock is hollow with a black pillar running from top to bottom. Four or five platforms are attached to the pillar. At the bottom of the ship, a red mist has congregated.

GM: Unless you want to investigate the red mist below the platform you are on now, you will probably want to head up to the next platform. A winding, rocky tube can be seen connecting this platform with the one above. To reach the entrance, you will need to walk/wade through some red mist in a nearby room. Zardra has said that she just came from there and that the red mist sometimes caused her to have visions. Another option might be to climb the central pillar though you had some bad things happen when you got close to the pillar earlier. A third option is for those with flight to carry people up. The next platform is about 150 meters or so above your heads.

SHOOTER: "I'm thinking we had up to the next level via the rocky tube. I can put up a force bubble that people can walk in that will hopefully keep out the red mist."

MARCO: {Captain, I might be able to assist with preventing the visions if we decide to take the rocky tunnel by using my mental shield.}

TAL: {That's assuming the 'visions' are mental rather than just chemical in nature. Personally, I think Shooter has the best idea. I can also make a 'bubble' that might help protect against the fog.}

DASAN:{Why are we hiding our plans from Zardra? My filtration system should keep me clean. Haven't found anything yet that can keep me down with it up and running. It's also great for drinking Tal under the table.}

TAL: {Isn't being under the table the whole point? It's too bad that you miss out on all the fun.}

IANNA: "That sounds like our best option. Shooter, let's go with your force bubble to avoid the visions. Though I'm curious if the visions have any benefit. Zarda, have you had such visions? If so did they provide anything of use?"

ZARDRA: "I never had any useful visions. Just along the lines of seeing things where there was nothing to be seen. I would call them minor hallucinations."

TAL: "Hmm... so the red mist has hallucinatory properties? Fun. Maybe we should do some deep breathing while we walk through it? Seriously, I can bring up a force bubble that ought to keep out the mist. We'll see if it helps with the whole hallucinations thing."

IANNA: {Team, let's minimize discussion over the mindlink while Zardra is with us. Only do so if it's something she shouldn't hear. Otherwise, let's speak normally.}
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