Deepnight Revelation #14

Captain's Log - T345

Deepnight Revelation avoided a disaster today, yet despite my relief I make this log entry with a heavy heart.

While Deepnight was refueling at the gas giant, the Amelia Earhart, under command of Chief Operations Officer Lieutenant Sequera, traveled to Prospect to prepare a camp for shore leave for the crew. With just two weeks before we reach the wormhole, I had expected it to be a time for the crew to celebrate our mission and reflect on our time together in the past year, but...

Lieutenant Sequera sent Dr Balilaika, Sergeant Ahab, and crewman Ajax on a shuttle to scout out a plateau near the landing zone as a potential site for a camp, but this turned out to be a ruse. Some 40km from the landing zone the crew received a transmission from Corpsman Wootue urging them to land the shuttle immediately. The crew did, and the engine exploded shortly after.

Corpsman Wootue explained that he, Lieutenant Sequera, and the members of Engineering team Six had decided to stop Deepnight Revelation from returning to our galaxy by destroying her and her entire crew along with her. They had taken this course of action as they believed that Deepnight's return, along with the news of the relatively lower technology of the species in this galaxy will lead to an invasion by the United Confederation, the Tazanian Empire, or both. But before that could happen, there would have to be a war for control of the wormhole. The consequence of our return, they believed, would be war that will result in millions of deaths across two galaxies.

On account of their friendship, Wootue had decided to spare Dr Balilaika and crewman Ajax, but the mutineers had taken Lieutenant Xebec (the pilot) and Technician Talon-Var, who were not party to their plot, as hostages, and they warned the crew of the shuttle to not return to the Amelia Earhart or attempt to stop them. They then cut off the crew's communication links.

Based on the information they had, the crew surmised that the mutineers were planning to disable the safety features on the Jump drive of Amelia Earhart and turn her into a nuclear bomb. This task would take many hours, which meant that the mutineers would most likely not change their location in the 16 hours before Deepnight would make rendezvous. The crew decided to travel back to the landing zone and retake the ship.

Utilising the survival equipment on the shuttle, the crew traveled through the night on the river that led to the edge of the plateau on the emergency life raft, and then improvised a balloon-glider using the life raft, hydrogen from a fuel tank, and a survival tent to make the descent.

It was dawn when they neared the landing zone, and when they encountered a spider-drone used by the mutineers as a sentry. Through the drone Corpsman Wootue once more warned the crew not to intervene, or he would kill the hostages if they approached any closer.

The crew arrived at the landing zone to find it guarded by more spider-drones. Using his psychic abilities crewman Ajax caused a herd of the native large herbivore to stampede into the landing zone, and when two of the mutineers disembarked to investigate the crew sneaked onboard and overcame the mutineers. Technicians Trevor Beal and Scott Zane and Utility Droid HE-54 were killed during the action.

The crew confronted Lieutenant Sequera and Corpsman Wootue at the bridge, and were able to persuade them to release the hostage and surrender, on the promise that they would help them receive a pardon. They did so, and then Sergeant Ahab shot and killed them both.

The Amelia Earhart had been made safe and had been recovered. Mutineers Petty Officer Milo Deems and Technician Lydia Torrent, as well as Sergeant Ahab are now under custody, pending court martial.

The command team and I now have the delicate task of dispensing justice and maintaining morale and indeed control over the crew in the final days before we reach the wormhole.

Prepping and Running the Game

The final session of the campaign was based on the classic Star Frontiers module 'Mutiny on the Eleanor Moraes' - I had planned this months in advance, and had named one of the scout-ships Amelia Earhart in preparation for this.

As I mentioned before, I intended for the session to serve as a bridge to the Season 4 of the campaign, which I have tentatively named The Wormhole Wars. It seems pretty obvious that the return of Deepnight Revelation to our own galaxy will tempt the superpowers to try to establish a foothold if not a new empire in the new galaxy, if only to prevent the other side from doing so. Will the stakes be high enough for either side to break the peace and invade the Neutral Zone, where the wormhole is located? I think we all know the answer.

In a couple of weeks we will begin our next campaign using The Art of Wuxia rules. Stay tuned for a post about that soon.

Deepnight Revelation #13

Captain's Log - T283

We have made rendezvous with Commander Khomen and his team. Our mission has been successful, but it came at a cost I am not sure we ever imagined would be exacted.

Mr Khan and crewman Ajax and a small team had traveled to the city on Terminus where, crewman Ajax, following the call from the K'ul, they entered the largest of the pyramids east of the city. Here, descending to the core of the pyramid, they came upon a large chamber whose floor was covered with Gren biomass.

The Gren entity then communicated with the team telepathically, through crewman Ajax. The entity gave an account of itself as a benevolent protector of the planet and its people. When confronted with the fact that members of its species had consumed several systems in this galaxy, and had invaded our own, the entity admitted that once it too was an unthinking, all-consuming being, but had over the millions of years of its existence had learned to control its hunger and create a harmonious ecosystem that benefited all lifeforms on its planet. When told about the infected specimen of the space creatures we encountered, it offered a solution: that it, or rather a part of it, be brought into proximity with a specimen, with the hope that it can then attempt to use its psychic powers to bring it under control. The team was naturally skeptical of its offer, although professor Tsoukalos was enthusiastic about the prospects.

The team returned to Deepnight where the Mission Command Team met to discuss our next move, while we sent Commander Khomen and a team to take a scoutship to the edge of the system and await our instructions, in case Deepnight did not survive our upcoming confrontation with the entity. But our deliberations were cut short by news of a brawl having broken out in the mess area. Professor Tsoukalos had told some of the crew about the entity's offer, and while some agreed with his point of view, the Rakashans among the crew were derisive of the idea, and a fight broke out.

While some members of the command team went to break up the fight, we were informed by Helm of an unauthorised shuttle launch. Dr Cho Sen Wan and Lieutenant Nidesh had taken one of the boats and were headed for the city. Mr Johnson, Dr Balilaika and Trooper Blick took another boat in pursuit. I ordered Helm to take Deepnight out of orbit but found that the ship appeared to be held in place by some gravitic force.

On the planet, Dr Balilaika and Trooper Blick pursued Dr Cho into the pyramid. Mr Johnson attempted to gain control of the boat, but was attacked by Lieutenant Nidesh and unfortunately had to defend himself by killing him.

Inside the pyramid, Dr Balilaika and Trooper Blick were able to stop Dr Cho from reaching the core by shooting him in the leg, but before they could exit the pyramid they were attacked by what appeared to be infected specimens of the local deer. Dr Balilaika was able to carry Dr Cho out while Trooper Blick held off the attack.

Once they were outside the pyramid, the team prepared to return to the ship. With only one pilot among them, they were unable to recover both boats and Mr Johnson made the decision to set the remaining one on self-destruct. As they were taking off the team noticed that the populace were approaching the pyramid en masse.

At the same time, sensors on Deepnight revealed that massive swathes of forests were turning sickly and herds of animals were rushing to these diseased areas, and the populace of all the villages were also heading for the forests.

Surmising that the entity was consuming the lifeforms to generate more psychic power, Mission Command team decided to launch a nuclear strike on the planet. A 1 kt device was detonated over the pyramid and then ten other sites where the feeding was seen to be taking place. Then a 10 Mt device was launched into the crater where the pyramid once stood.

The attack seemed to weaken the entity, as it allowed Deepnight to break orbit and also dodge an asteroid flung at us. The nuclear explosions were insufficient to create a nuclear winter that will ensure the entity's extinction, so we further drove an asteroid into collision with the planet.

During the time we were traveling to meet Commander Khomen we were able to learn that Dr Cho, Professor Tsoukalos, and many of the crew members were in fact under the influence of the entity when they acted in the uncharacteristic manner.

Mr Ajax tells us that he is no longer sensing the entity now, and our sensors likewise do not detect any psychic emanations from the planet. The surface of the planet is still too hot for us to make a landing and determine if any of the entity survived; even if it did, it will have nothing to feed upon and it will not be a threat again for perhaps millions of years. Mission Command is satisfied that our mission is completed, and I agree with the view.

Prepping and Running the Game

After more than six months, our campaign has come to an end. Well, there is still an epilogue session to be played, but the main mission has been completed.

Due to covid restrictions, Ajax's player attended this session via zoom, which was not optimal, but I am glad everyone was able to be in the session.

Again, most of the session was role-playing, with the first hour spent making contingency plans before the crew went to meet the entity, and the second hour spent talking to the entity and then discussing with the mission command team. It was a difficult role-play for me, as I had to make the players think that I am a benevolent entity with the best of intentions - I am not sure I managed to keep a poker face when I asked them to take part of the entity to their ship. 

Much of the discussion was between the players as they tried to figure out the true nature and intentions of the entity. While a couple of players started out thinking it could be a benevolent being that has learned to curb its instincts, eventually they all agreed that it could not be trusted, The discussion then turned to how to destroy it without killing the other inhabitants of the planet. For a long time they were unable to come up with a solution, so I set in motion the events that would simultaneously cause chaos onboard the ship and force their hand.

Over all I am happy with the way the campaign went and ended. It was a difficult decision to make, and I think in the lead-up to the final confrontation I have managed to have the players see and interact enough with the people of Terminus to give a face to the decision.

I think there is still enough leg in this setting for us to play another season/campaign, and the next session will be a sort of a teaser to what it may be about. Stay tuned.

Deepnight Revelation #12

Meeting the natives of Terminus

Captains Log - T277

The Medical Division has completed their analysis of the creature that attacked our ship during the refueling operation two days ago. Our initial suspicion of the creature being an infected specimen of the same species which we encountered at DSA-1 was proven correct. The tissue specimens acquired from the dead creature and its juveniles will allow Medical Division to conduct further tests on the experimental counter-agent which they have derived from the Biologics.

That the Gren are capable of infecting a space-faring creature is indeed a worrying thought. This means that even if we are able to locate the homeworld of the Gren and destroy it, there may already be any number of creatures carrying its spores throughout this galaxy.

Captain's Log - T278

We have arrived at the system where the sensors and Mr Ajax have both identified as the source of the Gren psychic emanations, which Astrography had optimistically named Terminus.

Initial scans of the system showed only one planet capable of supporting life. Indeed with the exception of the polar regions, the planet's continents and islands and its oceans are teeming with life, although there are regions where the vegetation appear to be sickly, and some which are barren of all life. There are many settlements spread throughout the continents, with one large settlement on the main continent, and one on the polar continent.

In view of the possibility of infection by Gren spores, Mission Command has decided to minimise exposure to the crew by sending just one small team to the surface. I have asked Mr Khan to lead the missions.

Captain's Log - T282

Mr Khan's mission had given us a lot of information about the planet and its people.

The dominant species of the planet are a sentient humanoid species that calls themselves simply "the people" in their own language.

Our team made contact with two separate populations, the first of which lived in a port city in the polar continent which is now in ruins. It appears that this was once a thriving port city with a mid-level technology, but now the city is in ruins and its populace consist of rival bands of scavengers. Mr Black was able to make contact with one of these bands and trade some oil for food and furs, and from this contact they were able begin analysing the language of these people using the software from the Haix.

The second contact the team made was with one of the settlements on the main continent. This was a farming community whose people spoke a language related to those in the polar continent. Curiously, the people here were not surprised by the team's arrival, even though it was obvious they had a pre-industrial level of technology and had never had contact with an alien species.

The people were friendly and welcomed our team to their village. Here the team were able to learn a lot about their civilisation. It appears that long ago the people did possess an industrial level of technology, but had given that up to return to a agrarian lifestyle. The lands are fertile and the climate stable and the people had no difficulty growing enough food and keeping enough animals to feed themselves. The attribute all this to the K'ul, which seems to be a benign force which protects and looks after their people, and also tells them how to live their lives.

Consequently they have little desire in material goods beyond what they need for their work and lives. Everyone partakes in the work needed in the community, each doing what he is best at. They have no money, and those with surplus of food and goods merely bring them to the marketplace where others can freely take what they need. They do however wear jewelry, which they do not buy for themselves, but which are gifted to them by others as a sign of esteem.

Mr Ajax was able to discern that the people are receptive to psychic energy, although they themselves do not emit any. Here in the village he felt a call for him to visit the main city, although the suggestion came not in the form of words, but in vision and intuition.

Mr Khan's team also investigated the regions where the vegetation are sickly, and also those regions which are barren. In the former the team found that the ground was overgrown with what can only be described as Gren "vegetation" which are consuming the plants, while in the latter the ground was devoid of all biological material.

The team also discovered several abandoned cities on the main continent which have been overtaken by forests.

At the same time, Life Sciences and Geology Divisions have reported phenomena that corroborated the people's account that the K'ul takes care of them: the planet has an absence of seismic and volcanic activity, and its weather systems are unusually mild and not in keeping with what is expected based on our simulations. At the same time, plant and animal growth on land and in the oceans are at a much higher rate than expected, yet in most regions the ecology seem to be in balance.

More disturbingly, Astrography reported that an asteroid that had been on a collision course with the planet had deviated from its trajectory just enough to avoid striking the planet.

I will be meeting with Mission Command Team to discuss our next step.

Prepping and Running the Game

After some six months and 12 sessions, we have finally arrived at the last planet in the campaign.

Except for the first part of the session where the crew fought an infected "space whale", the whole session was just role-playing and exploration, with the PCs making first contact (twice) and slowly trying to piece together what the planet was all about. At the same time, I fed them information which the other Divisions have learned,

At the end of the session they had some idea of what they are facing. Deliciously, some of the players are entertaining the idea that this particular Gren might indeed be a benign entity and that its destruction may not be the only solution. This will make the finale session a lot more interesting.

The next session will see the crew traveling to the main city and meeting the Entity. I am a little nervous about role-playing the Entity, since it will be a delicate balance of trying to appear like the good guy while trying to gain information from the crew, while at the same time giving off enough creepiness for them to realise that something is off. I also have no real plan of how I can make use of the crew to get myself off the planet, so that is something that I will have to 'wing'.

Crucially, the players have made sure that they have some sort of protection against infection from the Gren, even if this only lasts 12 hours or so; but the Gren does not know that, so that adds another aspect to this whole encounter.

The finale session will be in a week - hopefully restrictions are eased by then and I can have all five players at the table.

Deepnight Revelation #11

 

Captain's Log - T258

Mr Khan's team had been recovered and are now onboard the Deepnigh Revelation. Unfortunately, we have lost three more crew members in the mission, and Lieutenant Nidesh has suffered a spinal injury, although Dr Cho assures me that he will make a full recovery.

The first sign that the mission was going to be more difficult than we had anticipated was when scans revealed that the asteroid had in fact been modified extensively to become effectively a 2km long starship. When the Amelia Earhart attempted to land on its surface, several metallic panels on its sides opened up, revealing themselves to be in fact weapon ports. Deepnight Revelation was forced to withdraw from its shadowing position from the mass-driver weapons, and the Amelia Earhart suffered damage to one of her wings, causing her to crash onto the surface of the asteroid; it was during this that Lieutenant Nidesh suffered his injuty.

Mr Khan led the team onto the surface to try to find a way inside the asteroid-ship to either override its controls or to plant the nuclear charge. Here they were attacked by more of the spider droids which they have previously encountered on the surface of Claimed-in-Hope. The team were outnumbered and surrounded, but managed to make it to one of the hatches that led into the ship, but we lost Troopers Trokh and Kaylan, and Nuclear Technician Feldmann in the running battle.

Once inside the ship, the crew had to overcome more spider droids, but they were able to make it to the command room of the asteroid, where Ensign Soong Jahangir was able to hack into the mainframe and disable it.

Captain's Log - T263

We are scheduled to depart Sovereign tomorrow.

The Erlines have helped us repair the damage to the Amelia Earhart. At Mission Command's recommendation, we have taken into our inventory 43 spider droids found on the asteroid-ship, which the Erlines have helped us to convert to remote-control mode. Our Draysirvian crew have been training with the Erlines on how to operate the controls - these droids will no doubt give us more tactical flexibility and reduce the risk to our crew in future missions.

With the information downloaded from the asteroid-ship, we were able to reconstruct what had happened to the Erline Homeworld. 

The asteroid-ship, named Guardian by the Erlines, was originally constructed by the Erlines to help them fend off threats to their civilisation. It possessed an Artificial Intelligence that had enormous computing powers and was linked to the Erlines' databases. It also possessed construction capabilities that allowed it mine raw materials from asteroids, manufacture spider droids and smaller craft, and eventually to create copies of itself. 

It seemed that a century ago, one of their ships became contaminated by Gren spores and unknowingly carried it back to their Homeworld. The Gren infestation spread, but the Erlines were eventually able to contain and destroy the threat. However, the Guardian regarded the threat of spread to the other Erline colonies to be unacceptable, and decided to not only eradicate all life on the Erline Homeworld, but also send copies of itself to other Erline colonies that were possibly exposed to the spores.

Fortunately for the Erlines, the Guardian and its copies did not possess the capability to create the Jump drive, so it had taken a century before one of them had reached Sovereign.

The Erlines now plan to retrofit the captured Guardian with a Jump drive, and using the information collected from it reach their other colonies and warn them of the threat, and to help neutralise them.

Prepping and Running the Game

I have been lagging in the writing of the game reports, to the extent that the two previous reports did not have a "Prepping and Running" section. I apologise for that.

The plant/biologic and the Erline arcs of the campaign went pretty much as per the modules. What I did not expect (but should have) was the players' request to take over the spider-droids remaining on the asteroid-ship. Since these were of Erline design, I found it a reasonable request, and given that the Amelia Earhart had to be repaired, they would have ample time to make the necessary modifications.

With the biologic and Erline arcs completed, we are now into the final arc and the finale of the campaign, which we will play in the new year.

Deepnight Revelation #10

Captain's Log - T188

We have detected radio signals in the Erline language during our latest refueling stop, and Mission Command had decided that we will head towards the source of the signal and hopefully make contact with the species.

Separately, I have promoted Ensign Nidesh to the rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade, for his performance on the mission so far.

Captain's Log - T196

We are still in orbit above the Erline world, which they call Sovereign. Sovereign is not the home planet for the Erline species. According to Minister Chazik, the Erlines civilisation once spanned many star systems, but about a hundred years ago the colony of Sovereign lost contact with the home planet and the other colonies. It was only in the past thirty years that Sovereign had managed to build up the industrial capacity to produce jump-capable ships. Since then they have managed to colonise a planet in a nearby system, but they have yet to make contact with their home world or any other Erline colony.

However, they lost contact with the colony, named Claimed-in-Hope, about six weeks ago, and all the ships they have sent since have failed to return.

Minister Chazik had been most welcoming and helpful to us, and in return for their hospitality Mr Stamper has agreed to take the Amelia Earhart to Claimed-in-Hope to re-establish contact with the colonists there and find out what happened to the ships.

Captain's Log - T223

Mr Stamper has returned and debriefed the Mission Command team on what the crew encountered on Claimed-in-Hope.

When they arrived at the system they found debris consistent with Erline ships in the asteroid belt surrounding the planet. Crewman Ajax was sensed a presence in the asteroid field, and a focused scan revealed a craft of Erline design hiding in the asteroid field.

Mr Stamper ordered the Amelia Earhart to intercept the craft, which tried to to evade their pursuit. When the Amelia Earhart got close enough to the craft, Dr Belilaika was able to hack into its computer and order it to stop. It turned out that the craft was an unmanned vessel with the command to destroy all ships which attempt to leave the system.

The crew then approached the planet, where they learned that the city of Claimed-in-Hope had been destroyed in what appears to be an asteroid strike. There were no survivors in the city.

Mr Stamper then sent a team to one of the fishing settlements outside the city. Here the crew were attacked by droids of Erline design, and Trooper Garger was killed in the ensuing fight. The crew found the populace of the settlement had all been killed by the droids, and the same was true in all the other settlements on Claimed-in-Hope. All told, some 20,000 Erline settlers have been lost, plus the crew of the ships that have been destroyed by the craft.

Mr Stamper now proposes a mission to the Erline Homeworld, to see if a similar fate had befallen them.

Captain's Log - T246

Mr Stamper has reported that the Erline Homeworld appears to have been completely devastated by a series of asteroid attacks, which explains why the Erlines have lost contact with it suddenly a century ago.

Rather ominously, the comet which Astrography detected last week continues to approach Sovereign. It is now close enough for Astrography to detect that it had been making minute course corrections. We have yet to inform the Erline about our latest findings. I shall be meeting with the Mission Command team to discuss what to do with the situation.

Deepnight Revelation #9

Captain's Log - T155

Our refueling operation at the last system was interrupted when sensors detected a large object headed for Deepnight Revelation. The object had a non-metallic "body" of low density, and a dense "tail" which emitted a signature consistent with a conventional gravitic drive. Based on the sensor readings, the Mission Command team surmised that this could be the same type of bioship which they have encountered on Wildwood.

The team decided that Deepnight Revelation would move to the edge of the system's gravity well in case there was a need to depart the system rapidly, while Mr Khan took the Amelia Earhart to investigate.

When it detected the Amelia Earhart, the bioship altered course to intercept, and when it was near enough, it launched a large spike from its hull, which struck the Amelia Earhart on its starboard side. The spike tore a hole in the hull some 2 metres across. The crew was able to seal the breach between the hull and the spike, but once cabin pressure had been restored the tip of the spike split open, and from within it two humanoid forms similar to those encountered on Wildwood emerged and began to attack the crew.

Mr Khan gave orders for the Amelia Earhart to reverse course and head back to Deepnight, but as it turned it was struck on the port side with another pike. The crew neutralised the two humanoids, and then retreated into the bridge and sealed it from the rest of the craft. Through the security camera they were able to see the other spike split open and disgorge two more humanoids. Mr Khan ordered the craft to be depressurised, and the two humanoids were vented into space.

The bioship continued to move towards the Amelia Earhart, but it appears that its acceleration could not match that our ours. Deepnight was able to recover the Amelia Earhart and enter hyperspace.

The Amelia Earhart is now under quarantine in the hangar. I have asked Life Sciences to remove and analyse the spikes to learn more about our attacker once it is certain that it is no longer active.

Captain's Log - T157

Life Sciences and Astrography has presented their analysis of the spikes from the bioship and the probable origin of the plant-based species. We have set a course for the cluster of systems which Astrography has designated as Probably Point of Biologic Origin, and plan to perform a systematic sweep of the systems once we arrive.

Captain's Log - T 180

Mr Khan as returned from the mission on PPBO Delta 3 with 58 of the inhabitants, from whom we learned that their name for the planet is Draytsirv.

Initial survey of the planet revealed a global civilisation that has been completely taken over by growth of the Biologic species. The away team was able to identify the ruins of a large city, where the only large areas not covered by the plant growth were the erstwhile starport and seaport. Concentric rings of defence could be made out, centred on the seaport. Several areas in the city were perhaps deliberately contaminated with chemicals - on these areas there were no plant growth.

The team landed at the spaceport and explored the terminal building, but found no survivors. Upon returning to the pinnace they found that the plant growth had begun to creep towards the craft. Mr Khan ordered the crew to return to the craft and depart the planet, but as they passed over the city they detected a radio signal consistent with the recorded distress signal we detected from the crashed craft on PPBO Beta 3, but this was a "live" signal.

Ensign Nidesh was able to localise the source of the signal to the seaport. Mr Khan ordered the craft to be set down at the seaport, and from there the crew made their way to a warehouse building, where they made contact with the a party of five of the local inhabitants.

The Draytsirvians are a humanoid species, and the party which the crew had made contact with appeared to be hiding from something or someone. The source of their apprehension soon became clear as Ensign Nidesh noticed many plant-like humanoids emerge from the vegetation bordering the spaceport and began to approach the craft.

Mr Khan once more gave the order to embark the craft, this time with the Draysirvians, but as they exited the warehouse the ground before them cracked and a large plant emerged from the earth beneath, blocking their path. The organism then proceeded to attack the crew with it tendrils. The crew and the Draytsirvians retaliated with their blasters and hand weapons, but the plant seemed invulnerable to their attacks.

Meanwhile, Ensign Nidesh had to take off as the ground became overruned with the plant humanoids, which were headed to the warehouse where our crew were trapped.

Mr Khan ordered the crew to retreat into the warehouse, and from there the party ascended to the upper level of the warehouse, from where they exited through the windows and accessed the rooftop, where Ensign Nidesh was able to retrieve them.

Captain's Log - T182

We have successfully evacuated all 58 of the residents of the Draytsirvian settlement. Through the translation software, we have pieced together the recent history of their people.

It appears that some 30 years ago the Draytsirvians came across a plant species on PPBO Zeta 2 that was especially efficient in producing energy through photosynthesis. The species also possessed a form of neural tissue which allowed the scientists to integrate it with the energy system the Draytsirvians were using, essentially converting sunlight into electrical energy at an efficiency that rivalled that of any solar power they had.

In an effort to provide clean energy to their cities, the Draytsirvians introduced the plants into all their settlements, and converted all their power generators to the plant-based system, eventually also using them to power their starships.

However, some 20 years ago it became clear that some of the plants have escaped containment and developed locomotion. These escaped plants displace the local plant life and even attack animals that started to feed on them. When the Draytsirvians tried to eliminate these plants the plants fought back, sending out humanoid and giant plants similar to those our crew have encountered. It seemed that their neural tissues allowed them to develop a sort of hive mind which made it possible for them to attack the Draytsirvians in a co-ordinated fashion.

The Draysirvians had some initial success in halting the attacks, but the plants began to reproduce and create more mobile specimens, and those used by the Draytsirvians for energy production began to die off. It was then a matter of time before one city began to fall after another.

The settlement which we have evacuated was one of several which fled the cities and escaped to biomes which the plants could not reach: deserts, the frozen polar regions, alpine heights. These settlements managed to survive by returning periodically to the ruins of the cities to scavenge for food and resources; they had kept in contact with each other by radio, which the plants did not seem to be able to detect, but by the time Deepnight arrived at the system all the other settlements have been silent for months, and our scan of the planet did not reveal other survivors.

We must now help the Draytsirvians to find a new home.

One good thing that has come out of this tragedy is that Dr Balilaika has reported that the plant produces a natural antifungal chemical, which he believes may prove useful against the Gren. Initial tests are promising, but we will need to obtain a sample of Gren tissue to confirm this finding.

Deepnight Revelation #8

Captain's Log - T122

It's been two weeks since Syndic Feisler has agreed to allow our crew to go on shore leave on the planet below Tradeport, and today I learned that his decision may have been motivated by something other than generosity of spirit. He has asked for our help to find the source of an alien craft that he had obtained from salvagers some six years ago.

The salvagers have refused to reveal where they had found the craft. Syndic Feisler offered to buy any further craft they could find, but the crew never returned. While Syndic Feisler was able to make an educated guess of the likely system where the salvagers have found the craft, mainly by a process of elimination, its location was beyond the range of the Haix ship, but not ours.

I have asked Mr Johnson to lead a team on the Amelia Earhart to the system to see if he can learn more about the origin of the craft, and perhaps make contact with the species that built it.

Captain's Log - T138

Mr Johnson and his team have returned to Tradeport this morning.

Arriving at the Candlass system, they detected a metal signature on the forested moon of the second planet, which led them to a clearing in the forest. In the middle of the clearing were two craft, of a similar design to that in Syndic Feisler's possession, and next to the clearing, partly covered by trees, was a Haix ship.

A team was despatched to the surface on a boat to investigate, but as the boat approached the clearing to land it was struck by an electromagnetic pulse which caused the ship's systems to shut down. Sergeant Ahab, who was piloting the boat, was able to bring it to a controlled crash into the forest.

While the crew worked to reboot the systems on the boat, they came under attack by the inhabitants of the moon: short, green-skinned humanoids. The initial attacks came in the form of arrows, which our boat was proof against, but soon the aliens began burning through the hull of the boat using some form of primitive blowtorch. The crew disembarked and attempted to fight them off, but were at a disadvantage as their weapons were likewise disabled by the EMP, and they were heavily outnumbered. Fortunately Mr Goldfone managed to get the communications system online and called for help. Mr Johnson brought the Amelia Earhart into the atmosphere and conducted a strafing run, which caused the aliens to flee.

After Dr Belilaika tended to the wounded, the crew made their way back to the clearing, and explored the Haix ship and the two alien craft on the clearing. Nearby, they found a mass grave which contained the remains of what were later ascertained to be Haix.

It appeared that the aliens had occupied the Haix ship and turned it into their homes. Inside one of the alien craft the crew found an induction coil and a primitive cannon - it appeared that the aliens had used the cannon to propel a ball of iron through the induction coil to generate the EMP that disabled our boat. Within the cargo bays of the other craft the crew found paintings on the bulkheads, describing how an insectoid alien species had arrived on the moon in the craft, exchanging technology for food with the locals. There was however no trace of the insectoid aliens other than their abandoned craft.

Professor Tsoukalos is of the opinion that the locals had developed a form of "cargo cult" after their contact with the insectoid aliens, and had converted the craft left behind on their world into some sort of temple for their gods.

The crew recovered the computers from aboard these craft, and the Haix are working on deciphering their language, and they have agreed to share their findings with us. As soon as that is done I will recommend to the Mission Command team to continue our journey.

Prepping and Running the Game

This was the first session we have played in over two months due to the lockdown.

It was quite an effort to get back into the saddle, and I deliberately kept the scenario short so as not to tax myself. Still, it was quite an enjoyable session as the players were all cool with their modern weapons being rendered useless by "primitives". Two characters actually went down during the fight, and we were looking at a TPK; fortunately Ippy Goldone had the presence of mind to restore their communications first, which allowed them to call for help, giving me an 'out'.

It was good to finally be able to gather around a table again - hopefully we will be able to advance the campaign by a bit before the next round of lockdown.

Deepnight Revelation #7

Captain’s Log – T103

Fabrication of the necessary parts for the repair of the drive have begun. As the Mission Command team have decided against a complete shut-down of the ship, repairs will take a minimum of three weeks.

Syndic Feisler continues to refuse our request for shore leave on the Dwadaella homeworld, on the account that the permission was not the Haix’s to grant. While I agree with Mr Johnson that that also means permission is not theirs to deny, it would not be diplomatic to press the issue.

Syndic Feisler did offer an alternative: a forest moon orbiting the local gas giant called Wildwood, where the Haix maintain a logging camp and a furniture factory. I have asked Mr Stamper to lead a team to investigate the moon to see if it will be suitable.

Captain’s Log – T108

Mr Stamper’s team has returned to Tradeport, but sadly, with one crew fewer. Trooper Velok had died in the line of duty while on Wildwood. His death will no doubt cause a further deterioration in the morale of the crew.

According to Mr Stamper’s report, the team arrived at Entolere, the Haix base on Wildwood, to learn that contact with the logging camp has been lost three weeks prior. The loggers have been reporting sightings of unfamiliar creatures in the woods for several months by then, and then three months before the team’s arrival loggers started disappearing one by one. Most of the loggers then returned to Entolere, but some 20 remained by the time contact was lost.

A team of armed men were sent to investigate, traveling by the railway that led to the camp, but two miles away from the camp they found the tracks blocked by fallen trees, and when the men dismounted to clear the trees they were attacked by “moving trees”. The apprentice engineer was the only survivor of the attack.

The terrain being unsuitable for the landing of the scoutship, Mr Stamper secured the use of the train and the services of the apprentice engineer Stevin. The team traveled as far as the location of the fallen trees, where they discovered that the trees had been deliberately uprooted and used to block the tracks. It being impractical to remove the fallen trees, the team decided to carry on on foot, while Mr Stamper, unable to cross the rough terrain due to his old leg injury, returned to Entolere on the train.

The team arrived at the logging camp to find it in disarray. The hab-blocks had been torn into, and there were blood splatter and blaster marks which suggested that there was a skirmish, but there were no bodies found. A wide trail led from the campsite to the east, while drag marks on the trail suggested that the bodies of the loggers and any survivors had been taken away by the attackers.

The team followed the trail, and after a hour’s travel they lost communications link with Mr Stamper, likely on account of the thick forest canopy. Corpsman Wootue reported a sense of unease from the way the leaves of the plants “looked wrong”. Shortly afterwards the team was attacked by spines ejected from what appeared to be seed pods that grew on certain vines that grew on the trees. Several of the team members were wounded, and Trooper Velok lost his life during this attack, depsite Corpsman Wootue’s efforts to revive him. On Sergeant Ahab’s recommendation, his body was cremated using the

flamethrower the team carried, in accordance to Rakashan customs. Examination of the spines showed that they resembled those found on the bodies of the Haix which we found in the wrecked ship earlier.

Continue on the trail, the team arrived at a large clearing covered by ferns. In the middle of the clearing was a large mount, some 100 yards across and 30 yards high. At the top of the mound was a clump of vegetation, and at its base was what appeared to be a cave opening, and the trail led to that opening.

As the team started to cross the clearing towards the mound, humanoid forms rose from the ground and began to attack them by shooting spines at them from their appendages. At the same time, screams could be heard issuing from the cave opening.

The team fought their way towards the cave, but in the chaos of battle Stevin and Corpsman Wootue became separated from the rest of the team, and fell back into the woods – they would be recovered the next day at the railway.

The team were able to neutralise many of the creatures with blaster fire and flamethrower, but more kept rising from the vegetation. Sergeant Ahab led the team into the cave. Inside, they learned that the “cave” appeared to be organic in nature, with its interior separated into many corridors and chambers by wooden walls. Following the screams, the team came into a larger chamber, where there were confronted by another one of the creatures, this one larger than the rest. The team destroyed this larger creature by surrounding it and attacking it with the flamethrower and grenades. In the chambers beyond, they found some of the loggers from the camp – it seemed that when the team arrived, the creatures began killing the loggers they had held prisoners. Several of the loggers had been killed in the initial attack on their camp, while others had been taken by the creatures and killed in a gruesome fashion, in what the survivors described as “dissection”.

Unable to exit the cave via the opening due to the large number of creatures on the outside, the team began to explore the “cave”. In one end of the complex, they found Jump and manoeuvre Drives of an unknown origin, seemingly integrated into the material of the cave. The team surmised that the “cave” was in fact some form of a ship with both organic and mechanical components.

Exploring further, they came into a large domed chamber which they believed was the middle of the mound. Petty Officer Jet Black had the idea that the vines and creatures that attacked them and the loggers were some form of alien plant life, which were controlled by some form of plant “super-mind” which was represented by the clump of vines which was atop the mound. Based on this theory, the team blew out the top of the dome with grenades, which collapsed and caused the vines to fall to the ground below.

Examining the vines, they found a globular structure, pale-yellow in colour, which was integrated into the root system of the vines. The team severed the globe from the vines, and set the vines alight. The hole in the dome also allowed Mr Goldfone to re-establish communications with Mr Stamper, who was able to evacuated the team via winching. The team then destroyed the mound and the creatures surrounding it with an improvised air-fuel explosive.

The globe is currently being studied by the Science department, but it is clear that Wildwood is not a suitable venue for our shore leave. The globe and the alien plant life have a connection with the wrecked Haix ship which we found; hopefully our analysis of the globe will give us more information on whatever attacked the ship, which will give us some leverage in our further negotiations with the Haix.

Prepping and Running the Game

This scenario was runned pretty much 'as is', except that I moved Wildwood from a planet in another system to a moon in the local system.

The frequent lockdowns had disrupted our gaming schedule, and also dulled my GMing instincts. I tried to compensate by putting more prep time into this session, but I still missed out a couple of things I had planned to incorporate into the session to make it more interesting.

We are in another lockdown again, so there will be no RPG for four weeks. This will give me more time to work on wargaming, so look out for more posts in the future.

Deepnight Revelation #6

Captain's Log - T081

We arrived at the source of the radio signals we detected yesterday, and were able to ascertain that they originated from a space station in orbit of a habitable planet in the system. We were able to establish visual and audio contact with the operators of the station by reverse engineering of the electronic devices we recovered from the ship. The operators were of the same species as those in the wrecked ship we came across, and while surprised by our presence, were thankfully non-hostile. We were escorted to the station, which was not able to accommodate a ship of our size, but we were able to transfer to the station via shuttle, thanks to the attachments to our airlocks fabricated by Engineering based on the specifications of the wrecked ship.

While we are still unable to communicate verbally with these people, we were able to make them understand that we had come across one of the ships. On their part they expressed that they will provide us with food and water, in return for those wares which we have recovered from the wreck, as well as the location of the wreck. They also asked for a database of our language, which I have asked Commander Zruke to furnish them with. Hopefully this can be the beginning of a mutually-beneficial partnership.

Captain's Log - T084

It took only two days after receiving our database for our hosts the Haix to create a translator app for our language, and we were finally able to enter into negotiations for the repair of Deepnight Revelation. While their jump drive and weapons technology do not seem to be comparable to ours, their translation matrix certainly are superior.

It appears that the Haix are the only spacefaring civilisation in the sector, and they are engaged in trading with a dozen non-spacefaring civilisations. They have not encountered the Grens, nor do they know who or what might have attacked and destroyed the ship we encountered.

Engineering had provided a list of the items required for our repairs, and unfortunately the required rare earth minerals that the Haix were expecting from their mining colony had been delayed, and a delegation sent to investigate had likewise not returned as anticipated. Syndic Feisler had offered us a deal: if our crew will travel to Grit (the name of the planet - the Haix are rather literal in the way they name their colonies, we have learned) and learn and resolve the cause of the delay, they will provide the minerals to us at no costs. I have asked Mr Johnson to form a team and take the Scout 'Amelia Earhart' to perform this mission.

Separately, we tried to but were unsuccessful in asking the Haix for permission for our crew to go on shore leave on the planet below the station. So far we have learned that the indigenous people of the planet are called the Dwedalla, and that they supply the Haix with food and water, in return for electronic appliances for their city, as well as the electricity to run them. I will revisit this issue with Syndic Feisler again, as I believe our crew need the morale boost.

Captain's Log - T102

Mr Johnson and his team had debriefed me on his mission to the colony on Grit.

The mining colony, which is based on a mobile extraction platform the size of a small town (and given the imaginative name of Extraction One), is owned by the Haix Syndicate, but operated by staff gathered from the planets who the Haix trade with. The colony operates as a form of a co-operative, where the minerals mined are sold to the Haix, who pay the colonists in food, water, spare parts, as well as electronic credits.

Three months prior to our arrival, the antiquated ventilation system in one of the residential sections broke down during the night, the result of which was the toxic gases from the atmosphere outside the platform leaked into the residential section and killed more than a hundred colonists and their families in their sleep.

The colonists petitioned for the Haix to provide new ventilation systems, but were instead given new excavation equipment, on the basis that the increased rate of extraction of ores provided by these equipment will allow them to make more money, which could then be used to purchase the new ventilation system.

This mercenary response provoked an uprising in the colony, based chiefly among the miners, who went on strike and demanded better terms, or even outright independence from the Haix. This in turn resulted in the formation of a pro-status quo faction, comprised mainly of the administrative staff, who argued that the colony could not afford to antagonise the Haix.

The two factions came to blows, but Manager Corvalis was able to prevent escalation of violence by detaining the Haix representatives, as well as the leaders of both factions.

Mr Johnson was able to convince the leader of the miner faction that a strike was not in the best interest of the colonists, as they relied on the Haix more than the Haix did on them. At the same time, crewman Jet Black was able to convince the Haix on Grit to give up the back-up ventilation systems at their base to the colonists as a sign of good will.

The leader of the miners was prepared to ask his men to stand down, but an extremist faction led by an engineer who had lost his family in the ventilation system failure took control of the power system of the platform, and stranded the platform in soft ground.

While Manager Corvalis kept the extremists distracted with negotiation, Sergeant Ahab led the team on an assault of the drive section which the extremists were holed up. The team was able to neutralise the extremists with no fatalities, and restart the engine before the platform became permanently stuck.

Our crew was able to return with the required minerals, and fabrication of the replacement parts can finally begin. I am, however, disturbed by the practices of the Haix. Still, dealing with them is the only viable option we have at the current moment, and perhaps I can take comfort in the fact that the situation may have ended in a worse way had it not been our crew.

Prepping and Running the Game

This session was almost entirely role-playing, with a very short, rather easy combat encounter at the end. I think some of the players were bored, and I cannot blame them.

The first part of the session was a lot of miming - we became quite aware of how difficult it must be to communicate with a totally different species - small things like a nod or the raise of an eyebrow may not convey the same meaning in an alien culture, but it was still difficult to not do them even when I am supposedly playing an alien.

Things became easier once I introduced a translator, but what followed for most of the rest of the evening were a series of role-playing with NPCs who represented different factions. The players were able to take control of the situation, and resolve the conflict presented in this scenario with minimal violence. It felt like an episode of Star Trek: Voyager to me, which of course is more fun to watch than to play it.

This session was a more classic 'fetch quest' than the previous one; in the last session I gave the players a choice to whether they will engage with the hook I presented - they refused both hooks, and we ended up with a short session.

The next scenario will be a similar 'fetch quest', but hopefully there will be more combat for those players who prefer action to talk.

Deepnight Revelation #5

Captain's Log - T046

The parade the Alikaia held in our honour was interrupted by a sudden and unprovoked attacked, which we subsequently learned was launched by the Kadiaz faction. The main party were able to make our way to the airport and take the shuttles back to our ship - we were not the primary targets for the Kadiaz faction; the admin party comprising of Mr Goldfone, Dr Balikaikam, Corpsman Wootue, Trooper Blick and Mr Ajax were unable to make it to the airport in their vehicle, and were forced to abandon it and their communications equipment and proceed on foot. During they journey they were attacked by soldiers from the Kadiaz faction, but they were able to overcome the opposition and reach the last shuttle off the surface.

Once back onboard we were able to determine that the attack on the city had arrived on three main prongs, and seemed to be aimed at capturing the leaders of the various cities. Simultaneously, mobile columns were launched from various locations from within the Kadiaz territories, heading for the other free cities.

Deepnight Revelation was contacted by the various factions on the planet, with the Kadiaz faction warning us against interfering, while the other factions begged us to help them fend off the attack. After a conference with the Mission Command team, we made the difficult decision to not intervene in the conflict, and left orbit.

While I understand the decision was made in the best interest of the mission, we were unable to resupply our ship as we had planned, and the crew are no doubt disappointed by the turn of events. I can only hope that our next contact with a civilisation in the galaxy will turn out better.

Captain's Log - T053

Upon arrival at the system Astrography had named Entrata, sensors detected a debris field near the gas giant we had planned to conduct refuelling operations.

We were able to determine that the debris was the wreckage of a starship of approximately 15,000 tons in displacement. The ship was shaped like a round hut. A large breach was noted on the side hull, and the "bottom" of the ship, where the drive section would have been, had been completely sheared off. Adrift in the space around the ship were humanoid bodies, some in vac-suits, some not.

An away team was sent to investigate the wreckage, and found that the bodies belonged to a single species of humanoid with facial features resembling a possum. Some had died from exposure, no doubt ejected from the ship when the breach was made in the hull, and others were killed by fusiform missiles, which Dr Balilaika was later able to determine to be organic in nature; he was unable to detect any form of known toxin or chemicals which might indicate some sort of propellant on them.

Within the ship the team found signs of battle, with impact marks on the bulkheads made by the energy weapons used by the crew. There were no signs of the body of the attackers who had used the missiles.

The breach in the hull appeared to have been made by physical impact, and no energy residue or burn marks were detected. The same was also found to be the case for the lower section of the ship - it appeared that the whole drive section had been torn off by brute force.

As for the nature of the vessel, the crew found that it appeared to be a commercial vessel, carrying chiefly consumer electronics such as music players, televisions, cameras, washing machines, cooking appliances, as well as small generators meant to power them. At the main deck of the ship were what were unmistakably store fronts and workshops or service centres.

The away team was able to retrieve the computer from the ship's bridge, but despite our attempts to access it, the display showed the same script, which we interpreted to be an error message.

I have ordered the crew to salvage some of the electronics for research purposes, and to catalogue the dead, so that we might pass the information on to their people when we encounter this species in the future.

Captain's Log - T056

The away teams sent to Entrata-3 had returned to report that the world is inhabited by a species of humanoid who appear to have a Bronze Age level of civilisation. They look like humans, but are shorter in stature. There is no evidence that the species from the commercial vessel we found had made contact with the inhabitants.

They practised farming and animal husbandry, and the possibility of obtaining supplies from them was discussed, but rejected by the Mission Command team.

While we do still have sufficient supplies, most of the crew had not left the ship for a month, and the events of the past couple of weeks have not helped morale.

Captain's Log - T066

Engineering has informed me that the damage Deepnight had sustained from our exposure to the gas plume at proto-gas giant QQ-784 had damaged the Jump drive, which reduced our effective speed by around 50%.

Effecting repair will require access to a space dock, or a planetoid without an atmosphere, but in the latter instance it will take considerable time to set up equipment and gather the resources required.

The Mission Command team was able to come up with the idea of scanning for transmissions based on the frequencies used by the commercial vessel we came across, and we were able to locate a source in a nearby system.

We had not had any luck with accessing the computer we recovered from their bridge, but attempts to access the personal devices on the dead crew were more successful, and Mr Ajax was able to learn the phonology of their script based on the displays on their music players and the lyrics of the songs, and infer a few words of their language based on the songs. From the photos and translation programmes he found in the devices it appears that the species had contact with several other species - perhaps they are interstellar traders.

I have ordered a course to be set for the source of the transmission - hopefully we will be able to find what we need.

Prepping and Running the Game

The first part of the report was actually played during our previous session, before the lockdown. I had decided to report it in this post for continuity, as I had expected the players to intervene in the Alikaia civil war on the side of the free cities. Unfortunately for me (and the Alikaia) they decided that they could not risk the losses they might suffer from intervening. While I agree with them, it was still a little disappointing. As you can see from the photo, I had in fact purchased 2D flats miniatures to represent the Alikaia - they did not arrive in time for the combat we played last session, and I posed them for this report. Perhaps I will recycle them as another alien species later in the campaign.

The second encounter was a minor plot point to foreshadow an arc later in the campaign, but it turned out to be rather interesting. The original wreck was supposed to be a battlecruiser from a civilisation in the module which I decided to leave out. In its place I substituted a commercial vessel of a species which I plan to feature quite a bit for the next few sessions. Exploring the vessel, wondering about the identity of the attackers, as well as determining the nature of the vessel took a large part of the session. What was fun was how the players and I tried to figure out what they can learn about the species from their commercial electronics - in a way it is asking: if an alien found our smartphone, what will they learn about us?

We decided that it was able to reconstruct the script and the phonology from the devices, without necessarily understanding what a particular word meant. It was also possible to determine words like "hello", "thank you", and "goodbye" from watching videos of people interacting.

The best moment came when they made radio contact with the species towards the end of the session (which I will report on in the next post) and were trying to establish a visual with them: we realised that they could transmit and receive visuals by using the data format of camcorders and television sets!

The crippling of Deepnight Revelation by fiat and forcing it to dock sets up the next arc of the campaign, where the crew will be limited to scoutship-based missions which they will perform for the aliens to pay for the repair of their ship. The missions are more traditional in format, which hopefully mean they will be easier to prep for and run.

Deepnight Revelation #4

An Alikaia "mother"
Art from artist's website

Captain's Log - T036

Upon exiting hyperspace at DNS-AQ-406 Beta we immediately received what we soon determined to be a distress call from an Alikaia colony ship; as the Alikaia were until then unaware of the existence of any alien species, I can only imagine that they had sent out the call out of desperation, or in the hope that there was an Alikaia exploration vessel within range.

With Akranika's help, we were able to learn that the colony ship, carrying some 600 colonists from three different communities, were performing a refueling operation at the gas giant, while heading for the terrestrial planet which they had planned to colonise. Their drive had suffered a failure, and the ship was in a decaying orbit which would plunge it into the gas giant's atmosphere in fewer than 90 minutes.

I ordered the ship to proceed at full speed to the colony ship and put the entire flight wing on standby to perform rescue operation, and called the command team to devise a plan - we were at that point still an hour away.

As our docking ports were not compatible with those of the Alikaia, it was not possible to perform a direct transfer of the colonists. Transfer of the colonists via small craft was possible, but would not have been sufficient to evacuate all colonists as they only possessed some 40 vac-suits among them. The Alikaia were adamant that we evacuated their "mothers", not caring for their own lives, but my crew and I wanted to save every one of them if there was reasonable chance we could do so.

Performing a tether was not an option, as the combined effect of the ship's mass and the gravity at that distance to the gas giant would have risked Deepnight Revelation being unable to extricate itself. Then, seeing the trimaran configuration of the colony ship, Engineering proposed that we made all the colonists move into one of the lateral hulls, and then detach it from the rest of the ship with explosive charges.

We proposed the plan to the Alikaia, who were agreeable on the condition that we first removed their mothers via small craft, which we did, even though one of the distraught mothers had to be first sedated by a drug developed by Dr Balilaika, delivered via a dart gun.

Under the advice of Mr Stamper the Engineering Division was able to place the charges and attach the tethers, and we were able to pull the lateral hull a distance from the gas giant, where we were able to perform the transfer of the colonists via small craft in relative safety.

Chief Steward Patrick Hewes had been placed in charge of settling the colonists in the cargo bay and their provisioning, and after a discussion with their leaders we have decided to return them to the Aliakaia home system, which we expect to reach in two days.

Captain's Log - T045

Mr Johnson had returned from his visit to the city of Kadiaz, where he and his team met with the representative Irldzin of the faction. He reported that, unlike the rest of the Alikaia cities, which seem loosely organised by our standards, the faction seemed to have a more developed structure, and a higher proportion of warriors among their numbers - whether this was a true reflection of their society or a show for us foreigners he was unable to determine.

Irldzin and his team were curious about our technology, particularly about our weapons technology, and expressed an interest to trade with us, promising us a better deal than that which could be offered by the other cities.

I will have to meet with Irldzin soon, perhaps after the parade to honour our crew to be held in Dari-Alkin tomorrow; Mr Goldfone had been working with the city authorities on the programme, and he promised me it will be a spectacle.

On advice of the Mission Command Team I have decided that Commander Zruke will remain onboard Deepnight Revelation, while Commander Khomen will attend the parade along with representatives from each of the Divisions.

Prepping and Running the Game

This report omits the last part of the session, which I plan to report in the next post, after the next session.

The first "encounter" of the session was again a non-combat one. The situation as presented in the module was such that it was not possible to rescue all of the colonists. I reviewed the parameters, and was pretty sure that I had sufficient reasons to make the case that it was not possible to do so, even finding out the relative gravity at the surface of Jupiter to determine whether it was possible for Deepnight Revelation to pull the colony ship to safety.

I had prepared for the players to perform a rescue by small craft, which would have meant that most of the colonists would probably not be rescued, but when my players saw the picture of the colony ship, they came up with the idea of detaching one part of the ship from the main body, which made it mathematically possible for Deepnight to pull it free. As the colony ship was an atmosphere-capable ship, I decided that it should be able to withstand the stress of being pulled, especially since the whole section was essentially a cylinder, which is a strong shape.

As they were able to come up with a coherent plan and they rolled well, I ruled that their plan succeeded.

After the rescue we played out the arrival of Deepnight at the Alikaia system and their reception as heroes at their homeworld, with more detailed role-playing on their meeting with the "faction". Based on the information they have learned about the Alikaia until them, they rightly became suspicious of the faction, and started to call them the "space Hitler" faction.

Deepnight Revelation #3

Captain's Log - T028

Preliminary scouting having been completed on the uninhabited planet Astrography named Prospect, an advance party was sent to the surface to establish a campsite at the selected location, where we planned to allow the crew some R&R on the first habitable planet we have come across since our transition through the wormhole.

During their journey to the river to set up a pump station and sewage processing plant, however, the vehicles Tech Team 6 were traveling in attracted the attention of the large birds encounter by the scouting teams earlier. The team broadcasted a loud noise from the sound system on the vehicles, which repelled the birds. Unfortunately, the same noise appeared to have attracted the ire of a herd of the large herbivore also reported by the scouting team. As the lead vehicle crested a rise, it came into close proximity with a large male, which rammed the vehicle and caused it to overturn and roll downwards, eventually settling on its side at the edge of a cliff overlooking the river.

The other vehicle was able to withdraw to a safe distance away, and from there team leader Petty Officer Milo Deems sent out a call for help to the team at base camp. Upon receiving the call for help Lieutenant Xebac took off in the pinnace alone and headed for the team's location, but was ordered back by Lieutenant (Dr) Balilaika, the commander for the mission, to return and pick up the rest of the team.

When they arrived at the site, the team found the herd of some 40 animals stood between them and the first vehicle. The team were unable to get a respond from Crewman Lydia Torrent or Crewman Scott Zane, who were in the vehicle, and it was assumed that they sustained injuries which incapacitated them. The male animal which had rammed the vehicle was next to it, and appeared wounded and agitated. Dr Balilaika determined that moving the second vehicle into the herd might have caused a stampede and result in the first vehicle being pushed over the cliff in the confusion, but the urgency of the injuries likely sustained by the crew made waiting for the herd to eventually wander off a non-viable option.

The teams on the ground decided to resolve the situation in a two-pronged approach. One team, led by Sergeant Ahab, took the second vehicle and reached the opposite bank of the river, from where they would be hidden from the view of the herd. There, Sergeant Ahab, Trooper Iaqta, and Crewman Talon Var scaled the cliff and entered the vehicle, while Mr Ajax and Dr Balilaika approached the male animal on foot, the former using his psionic ability to calm the beast, while the latter stood by with a dart-gun loaded with a tranquiliser he had created based on the tissue samples of one of the bird he had obtained earlier. The duo were successful in their mission, and the first team were able to secure Crewmen Torrent and Zane and lower them to the team below - Crewman Torrent had sustained an open fracture of her femur and had lost consciousness from blood-loss, while Crewman Zane had sustained head injury. They two casualties were conveyed by vehicle to the pinnace, where they were stabilised by Dr Balilaika and then returned to the ship by Lieutenant Xebac.

Supplemental: Commander Khomen had completed his investigation on the matter of Lieutenant Xebac's second instance of reckless action in our mission thus far. It turned out that it was no coincidence that both incidents involved Crewman Torrent - the two are involved romantically, and his concern for her well-being led him to react impetuously on both occasions. I have adopted Commander Khomen's recommendations as Chief Flight Officer that Lieutenant Xebacbe grounded and restricted to administrative and maintenance duties until further review.

Captain's Log - T033

The landing team despatched to the surface of planet DNS-AQ-306 to investigate the magnetic anomaly returned with our first "first contact" with a sentient species in this galaxy.

The magnetic anomaly was in fact the wreck of a spacecraft with a primitive hyperspace drive which had crash-landed on the uninhabited planet some 12 standard years prior. The lone survivor of the crew was a scientist called Akranika. With the help of Mr Ajax, Mr Goldfone, and Dr Tsoukalos, we were able to learn that he and his crew called their own species Alikaia, and they came from a system a little over a parsec away. The Alikaia had never before encountered another starfaring species, and it must have been overwhelming for Akranika to not only make first contact for his people, but first contact with some many alien species at once.

Illustration of Akranika from the module, from the artist's website

Work on creating a database for our auto-translator is ongoing, but so far what we have learned about the Alikaia's social structure is fascinating. Their species is divided into four classes, which translate loosely to: the Mothers (who are female), and the Thinkers, the Warriors, and the Workers (who are all male). The Mothers are not verbally communicative as the rest of the species, but are able to communicate their desires and intentions by other means not yet understood by us. They are considered the leaders of their communities, and are held in a position of great respect by them. They also hold the decision on which members of their communities may fertilise her eggs; individuals who are rejected by her are called "rejectees", and become in a fashion outcasts from their communities, and must live apart from the main communities, though the vast majority of them continue to serve their communities - warriors, for example, form warrior enclaves on the periphery of their communities, where they look after the defence of the communities, while rejectee scientists take to exploration, as Akranika had. Some individuals voluntarily become rejectees to pursue the profession, and these are viewed as self-less members of their communities; as we are all volunteers on Deepnight Revelation, this has resulted in Akranika viewing all of us as some sort of heroes.

The Alikaia's hyperspace technology seems to be primitive, and their extra-terrestrial colonies are so far limited to planets and moons within their own system; Akranika's mission was one of the species' first foray outside their home system. He is of course reluctant to reveal too much about his homeworld and their technology to strangers, heroic or no, and I have likewise advised my crew to be circumspect about the amount of information on our mission we give to our guest. I have, however, agreed to give Akranika a ride home, and see if we can make a new friend and ally in this galaxy.

Our next destination will be the system DNS-AQ-406, where we plan to make a refueling stop, before continuing to Akranika's home system.

Prepping and Running the Game

The two main encounters in this session both come from Book 1 of the module.

The first encounter was once again a non-combat one. I find non-combat obstacle/encounters a good way to introduce players to a setting or a set of rules, as the encourage players to interact with the setting first, and then see how I resolve their actions using the rules (or not, as may be the case).

The members of Tech Team 6 are created by a fellow-forumer on an RPG forum I frequent. I had the idea that they are specialists in airlocks, and told my players that they were the team that converted one of the missile bays to a special laboratory for researching on samples of the Entity which they plan to obtain, and that because of their expertise they are given the nickname of Seal-Team 6.

Hey, a GM is allowed to have fun.

I did not have a chance to roleplay all the members of Tech Team 6 to their full potential, but I will likely try to use the characters in future scenarios involving tech personnel and build them up as we go along.

One of the players picked up on the potential for Prospect to be colonised later, which was something that I had planned to address much later on in the campaign. I am planning to have the Tadpole Galaxy be sparsely populated, and for most of the species here to have a lower level of technology than the United Confederation or the Tazanian Empire; this makes the whole galaxy ripe for colonisation by either polity. Once the news that a stable wormhole exists between our own galaxy and this one reaches home, it will likely start a land-grab and trigger a third interstellar war...

The second encounter is the start of another lore dump, which unfortunately will be a feature of this kind of campaign. The Alikaia are the first of a number of scripted major arcs for the campaign, and next session will hopefully see more role-playing, and some combat.

Deepnight Revelation #2

Captain's Log - T018

Mr Stamper had just completed his debrief to Mission Command on the exploration of HNP-B 1.

The team had been sent to investigate a psionic emanation from the planet, while the ship was conducting refueling mission at HNP-B 2. Upon arrival at the system, the team found remnants of a pre-hyperspace civilisation on the planet, but no sign of any organic life despite the presence of water and an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere. They also discovered that the source of the psionic emanation was from the planet's only moon.

Mr Stamper ordered the pinnace to land on the moon, and a team comprising of Dr Tsoukalos, Dr Balilaika, Sergeant Ahab, three troopers, and Crewman Ajax were sent to investigate the source. They found a metal door built into the side of a rise, which opened automatically when they approached.

The door opened to a corridor shaped from the stone of the moon, which descended into the depths of the moon. The outer corridor was separated from the inner corridor by a set of airlock, which was still functional, which irradiated the occupants with ultra-violet light and cycled the air within.

The team passed through the airlock and reached the doors at the end of the corridor, which stretched close to a kilometer and descended close to 200 metres from the surface. Beyond the door they came into a round, domed chamber some 1400m in diameter. Within the chamber were four smaller, oval, transparent-walled domed enclosures, each measuring 600m x 400m and more than 100m in height - the precise measurements of the chamber and domes were not available at the surveying equipment brought by Dr Tsoukalos had to be abandoned due to subsequent events.

The team observed that the chamber was lit by a low green light on the floor. The smaller enclosures were lit from the top of the domes by some unknown source; within each enclosure were trees and other plants, and unidentified animals. In one of the enclosures the plants were thriving, but in two other they were in a stated of decay, and in the last they were all dead.

In the centre of the chamber was a plinth, upon which was a man-sized, transparent-walled chamber, within which was a sickly-looking Gren.

The Gren was able to communicate with Crewman Ajax telepathically, and after transferring a vast amount of information to him, warned him to flee the chamber. The team fled the chamber as they were urged to, and at the same time the floor of the chamber burst open with several plant-like tendrils emerging to try to seize them. As they entered the corridor leading to the surface, the walls of the smaller enclosures broke, and various creatures, with tentacled appendages and maws filled with sharp teeth, emerged from within and pursued them.

Sergeant Ahab and his troopers covered the retreat of the rest of the team, through a tactical use of grenades and blaster fire. He had the clarity of mind to collect a sample of the plant tendril which sought to seize him, but the sample disintegrated when exposed to the ultraviolet light in the airlock.

The creatures did not pursue the team beyond the airlock. The team made it safely to the pinnace, and during the return journey Crewman Ajax related what the Gren had "told" him.

The Gren, whose name was Tyovask, was a scientist on the planet that the moon orbited. Some 30,000 years ago, an asteroid bearing what the people later named the Entity landed on one of the smaller continents of that world. The Entity, a fungal-like organism, began consuming all organic matter it came into contact with, and when its spores infected the Grens, it took over their nervous system and were able to exercise a degree of control over them, until the bodies were eventually consumed too. While the Entity and its spores were susceptible to high temperature and ionising radiation, it proved impossible to eradicate once it has established itself on the continent. The Grens eventually made the decision to perform a thorough nuclear strike on the continent, and for a while it seemed that they succeeded - but it was later found that the Entity had infiltrated the seas around the continent.

Tyovask, a leading biologist, volunteered to study the Entity and the effect of its infection on Grens, and a laboratory was built on the moon, where the risk of a laboratory leak would be minimised, for this purpose. Tyovask had four bio-domes created, which he filled with plants and animals from their world. Then, he infected himself with the Entity, and sealed himself in, and waited for his people to come back for him. Unfortunately, the Grens lost their battle against the Entity, and all organic life on the planet were consumed, and the Entity, barring those on the moon, starved itself into extinction.

In his lab, Tyovask's mind merged with that of the remaining Entity, and he learned that while it was a fungal-like organism, when it has reached a certain size it attained a measure of intelligence and sentience. In their new form the symbiotic organism that was Tyovask and the Entity learned to control its instinct, and instead of consuming all of the organic life within the domes, practised a form of rationing that allowed it to survive for the millennia.

The teams arrival and its telepathic communications with Crewman Ajax allowed Tyovask to learn of what happened to his home planet, and in its grief Tyovask's control over the Entity was weakened, and the Entity, sensing a chance to leave the confines of the moon, consumed the last of tis food source and tried to seize and infect our crew.

After conference with the Mission Command Team, I made the decision to bring the ship to the moon and launch a nuclear strike on the laboratory from orbit. Our sensors confirmed that there were no remnant psionic emanations from the moon after the strike.

Based on the information we have learned, I have ordered a revision of the decontamination protocol for away teams. Further, I have instructed Lieutenant Slater to come up with operating procedures for the tactical teams in future scenarios where an encounter with the Entity would be likely. Chief Medical Officer Cho had also been tasked to set up an isolation facility where samples of the Entity, when we are able to obtain some, may be studied in relative safety.

While the origins of the Grens and their relationship with the fungal Entity are now known, Mission Command Team resolved to continue the mission to seek the source of this Entity and determine if it still poses a threat to our galaxy.

Our next waypoint is a cluster of seven stars some 5000 parsecs away, which Astrography has named Point Grainger. We will however make a pit-stop at a nearby gravitational anomaly at the request of Space Sciences Department before proceeding to Point Grainger.

Supplemental: At Dr Tsoukalos' recommendation, I have offered Crew Ajax a transfer to Social Sciences Department, with the designation of Social Scientist.

Captain's Log - T020

The gravitational anomaly, which Astrography named DSA-1, turned out to be a "frozen star" with impossibly low surface temperature. A closer survey of the frozen star revealed surface fluctuations in temperature and gravitation.

The source of these fluctuations were soon revealed when a large shape some 300 metres in length detached itself from the surface and approached us at high acceleration. We initially identified the shape as a Gren bioship based on its size, shape, and high acceleration and I placed the ship on red alert as we prepared for battle - it being impossible to outrun the bioship. Mr Stamper and Mr Ka'an, however, observed that while the creature approaching us bore some similarities to Gren bioships, it had a number of features that were different. Dr Tsoukalos was consulted, and his opinion was that the creature likely considered our ship either food, or a mate; and there being no discernable mouth or alimentary canal on the creature, it more likely considered us a mate on account of our size, shape, and our propulsion ability. I ordered the ship to reverse course, but the creature increased its acceleration to match, and two more of the creatures, smaller at around 50 metres each, detached themselves from the star and joined in.

The three creatures eventually caught up with us. The larger creature seemed to regard us with some interest, while the smaller ones seemed to invite us to play in a game of chase. As we did not indulge them, they all lost interest after a while, and returned to the surface of the sun.

I have instructed Life Sciences Department to study the sensor data on the creatures, and determine if they are the same creatures which were infected by the Entity and turned into bioships for the Grens. If indeed this is the case, then it proves that the Entity has the ability to construct complex plans, and may prove a far deadlier opponent that we have so far imagined.

Prepping and Running the Game

The encounters in this session came from books 1 and 3 of the campaign series. As with the previous session, there was little action, and a lot of lore dump.

The action, however, was interesting. I decided to use the chase rules from Savage Worlds to run the, well, chase. I have deliberately given the monsters relatively weak stats because I did not want a TPK, but when the players saw the sheer number of models I placed on the map, they decided to run even before they have found out how deadly the monsters were.

The chase would have been relatively boring had not Dr Balilaika's player forgotten (?) about the airlock and rushed in before the rest of the crew had caught up - he ran into the airlock first, which closed and began its two-minute cycle, leaving the rest of the crew stuck on the side with all the monsters.

While the action scene was straightforward, I think the players enjoyed making up plans and protocols for future encounters. This will certainly work to my advantage, as it aids immersion, and takes a lot of work off me.

The second encounter was taken from book 3. I placed it here, early in the campaign, as I wanted to complete the lore dump and solve the mystery of the origin of the Grens and their bioships - I worry that if I left it to a later session the players may not connect the dots. It also allows me to throw in a new element to the campaign: some of the crew may consider the mission accomplished now that the origin of the Grens had been discovered and that they are no longer a threat. These crew members may later become disgruntled as the voyage drags on, and agitate for return to our own galaxy.

Deepnight Revelation #1

Captain's Log, T001*

Upon exiting the wormhole our ship was right away shaken by a series of impact, which we were able to determine to be from a drifting field of debris, consisting of ice and what appeared to be planetary fragments. As the debris were numerous and of mixed composition and scattered electromagnetic waves in a non-uniform fashion, we were unable to navigate through the debris field safely.

On Mr Stamper's advice I order boats to be launched from the ship to determine a safe path through the debris field and for crew upon them to place demolition charges to clear the larger pieces of debris. Due to the density of the debris, the operation necessitated the deployment of a broadcast relay boat to maintain communications between the ship and the boats.

Two hours into the operation, a demolition charge being placed by the crew on Boat 13 went off prematurely, causing the boat to lose power and spin out of control with three of the crew still tethered to its hull.

Before a rescue boat could be organised, the pilot of Boat 01 (which was serving as the broadcast relay and safety boat) Lieutenant Xebac disobeyed orders and started off to intercept Boat 13. Boat 01 was struck by a debris and Lieutenant Xebac was rendered unconscious, and the cockpit began to depressurise.

The remaining crew on Boat 01 responded to this unexpected series of events admirably: Crewman (Probationary) Ajax (of the Deck Department) sealed the breach in the cockpit, while Sergeant Ahab (of the Security Department) took control of the boat.

With the communication to the ship lost due to their movement, the crew of Boat 01 decided to continue the rescue effort on their own. Social Scientist Goldfone was able to located Boat 13, and Sergeant Ahab piloted the boat expertly, matching the spin of Boat 13 perfectly as he moved the two boats into contact and then gradually reduce the momentum to wind the tethers around the hulls of both boats. Scout Trooper Blake, Mr Ajax, and Mr Goldfone were then able to recover the crew of Boat 13 into Boat 01, where they were given medical aid by Corpsman Wootue.

The crew of Boat 01 - excepting Lieutenant Xebac -were given commendations for their action, and Mr Ajax was formally inducted to the crew of the ship and was granted full crew privileges. Lieutenant Xebac was put on report for his actions.

Having cleared the debris field, Astrography was able to determine that we were in the Tadpole Galaxy, having emerged at the end of the shorter spiral arm, and that the transit, while it took merely two minutes for us, had in fact taken 294 days.

Tadpole Galaxy, some 420 million light years from our galaxy

It was further determined that there were multiple sources of psionic emanations from many parts of the galaxy, with the most prominent coming from the 'tail' end of the galaxy. While the journey to the tail end could be made in 10 weeks at maximum speed, after conferring with the Mission Command team, the decision was taken to take the safer course and to travel to the main body of the galaxy in short jumps, and to gather intelligence and replenish our fuel, water, and food as the opportunities presented themselves.

At Astrography's recommendation, our next waypoint will be a strong radio signal 50 parsecs from our current location, which they have named Radio Source Vilaakasii.

Captain's Log, T010

We completed our survey of the Vilaakasii region today, and are making preparations to jump to our next waypoint. Exploration of the systems QVS-88 and QVS-122 had revealed two terrestrial planets that once supported life - in the case of QVS-122 a pre-hyperspace civilisation - and which should by all accounts still support life. While the mass extinction of life on the two planets can be explained by the supernova event that resulted in the Vilaakasii black hole, Life Sciences Department cannot explain why life had not re-emerged on these planets after 800,000 years. We are awaiting the results of Social Sciences Officer Dr Gregrorio Tsoukalos' field-survey.

* - for this series I will employ this dating convention to indicate days after the transit through the wormhole.

Prepping and Running the Game

The start of a new campaign is always exciting for me as a GM, although my first sessions are usually a little stilted as I try to get back into rhythm.

I was aware that the first session would be a lot of talking and a little playing, as there was a lot of scene-setting and plot exposition to be done, plus a player who is new to both the backstory and the Savage Worlds system.

My general plan is to run the campaign more or less in the order of the module, but to fit my backstory, I had to make the part of the galaxy that the ship first pass through a dead zone. This meant no discovery of alien species, and of course no interaction or combat with them. To inject some action into the session, I lifted an incident from Book 3 and used it as my first action scene.

I am gratified that the players responded admirably, and took the opportunity to roleplay their new characters: Ajax being super-eager to prove himself a useful member of the crew, Goldfone making wisecracks, and Ahab taking command of the situation like a marine sergeant - the boat rescue episode will remain one of the memorable stories in my career as a GM.

I had the opportunity to introduce quite a few NPC crew members this session, some of whom were created by friends and fellow forummers. I expect that over the next few session a few of them will become "crowd favourites" and recurring NPCs.