Campaign Turn 18 – Marduk Station – The Ghost Ship
"Well, kids, we got the salvage license. Finish what you're doing - I want to get to the so-called "ghost ship" and back before we need to do that job for Ms. O'Keefe."
"Why risk it, Jaxx? You've heard the rumors. Void rippers, converted, eldrich horrors......"
"Because, Ginerva, there's money to be made."
"And", Vonthos chimed in, "Think of the adventure! An enormous mystery ship, never seen before, suddenly appearing by Marduk Station, which is a mystery unto itself! There's no telling what we can find!"
Ginverva signed. "Ok, ok.... But if we're all consumed by interdimensional plague demons, don't say I didn't warn you."
"Don't worry, Ginny - We're going in, moving fast, picking up what we can, and getting out. Those interdimensional plague demons will have to run pretty fast on their comically short legs to catch us!"
"How do you know they have comically short legs?"
"Well, since they don't exist, I can make up anything. We're taking the RenPig, since Jim is still getting worked on, and we're leaving in four hours."
The crew went about their routine. Miak wheeled and dealed, and was able to trade some scraps they had picked up earlier for a Military Fuel Cell. "It was one of those squid heads, Cap - they thought they were getting a fantastic deal!"
"I really don't trust those aliens" Jaxx responded. "We don't really know anything about them - and almost everyone we've talked to about them don't even know what we're talking about. One can walk right by them, and they only see a human. Sometimes it makes me think we're the mad ones."
"I'm thinking they just have to be psionic" Ginny said. "Clouding the minds of those around them."
"You read too many space pulps, Ginny", Selene replied. "But, you could be right. And even if we vivisected one, you can't see psionic ability."
"Well, crew, enough chatter about psionic squid heads. Time to go."
Kazi piloted the Renegade Pigeon on an intercept course with the so-called ghost ship. As usual for docking, the crew radioed out "Tracked Interplanetary Object Delta Sixer Two Charlie, approaching for docking."
The RenPig docked, and after spending some time figuring out just how to manually open the docking port on the ghost ship, the crew, minus Kazi (who remained on the RenPig), boarded the ship.
Jaxx sent Selene, Vonthos and Ginerva off to the left flank. "Move quickly - the bay we docked at is huge, but we just want to check it out, grab what we can, and get out safely. And avoid both psionic squid-headed aliens and interdimensional plague demons."
As They started to move in, Miak pointed to a number of humanoid shapes that were concealed by a large rectangular object. "Jaxx - those look like people, but they ain't moving, and they ain't lying down."
"Cover me. I'll take a look."
Jaxx approached the humanoid figures, with Vilem and Miak providing cover. His curses rang loud and clear over the radio. "Jaxx - what's up?" Kazi called out. "This is too strange. These 'humanoids' are made of metal. Hang on - scanning."
Jaxx pulled out his hand scanner and ran an analysis. "100% metal - tin, lead, some copper. But damn, they are detailed. I've never seen an alien quite like these, but the sculptures are so detailed, I can see something that looks like pores."
"I told you there would be weird things, Jaxx"
"You said interdimensional plague demons. Not incredibly lifelike metal statues."
"Maybe they are interdimensional plague demons."
"Their legs are too long"
"Screw you, Jaxx!"
Jaxx laughed, although he could tell the whole team was anxious. "Keep moving. Don't worry about the things that don't move, unless they can be grabbed and taken with us."
"Jaxx, did you notice that the architecture here looks a lot like Marduk Station?" "Yes... Not a surprise. Marduk was added on for thousands of years. The sentients that built this ship probably had a base in the station at one time."
The crew continued their exploration. Miak picked up some gear he found, nicely packaged already. As he picked it up, his motion detector chirped. "Captain!" "I hear it, Miak. High alert. Repeat. High alert. Selene, how is your team?"
"Right as rain, boss. Vonthos is just about to finish the first leg of our sweep."
"Gods of the night sky!" Vonthos yelped as he jumped back. As he was checking out an interesting spot, a Viontian Sand Runner!"
The creature walked towards Vonthos, slightly wobbly on its legs. It looked weak. "Here buddy", Vonthos said, as he tossed some of his 'snacks' towards it. "You look hungry. How long have you been on board?"
The creature devoured the food that Vonthos offered, and then moved closer, its eyes checking out Vonthos, Selene and Ginerva. "Ok, ok", Vonthos said, "You can have more." He tossed the rest of his snacks towards the creature, who ate them as quickly as the first batch. "How much food do you pack on these missions?" Selene asked. "Never enough." Vonthos replied, as the Sand runner slowly approached him.
Standing still, but at the ready, Vonthos waited. The Sand Runner moved up to Vonthos, then rubbed its bristley head against his leg in a gesture that seemed friendly. "Aw, aren't you a cutey!" Vonthos said to the eight-legged creature, as he gently patted its head (being careful to avoid the crown of eyes). The creature made an odd, highly pitched cooing sound, then skittered around in a way that made Vonthos laugh. "C'mon boy.... girl.... uh, hmm..... I know, I'll call you 'Sandy'. C'mon Sandy!" Vonthos said, as that team continued its sweep. As they moved, the Sand Runner followed along, never straying far from Vonthos' side.
"Hey Cap, Vonthos has another girlfriend!" Selene quipped. "Knock it off - we have pings." 
"Shit...."
Vonthos, Selene and Ginny picked up the pace, while Miak carefully moved to get a closer look at where the motion detector said there was movement. Nothing. But the motion tracker now was picking up two pings. "Cap - Movement all over the place here."
"Keep moving!" Jaxx said, as he moved to, and picked up a tasty piece of salvage. 
Miak and Vilem moved to complete cover, making sure that the 'pings' could not find them easily. Selene's team continued their rapid pace, Vilem scooping up a chunk of interesting gear.
The 'pings' continued to move closer to Jaxx and his team. They came into view. Two Hulkers - large, genetically altered humanoids, more muscle and violence than brains. They were carrying small pistols. "Target Practice!" Miak shouted as he opened fire with his rattle gun. The flurry of bullets ripped through one of the two Hulkers, killing it, while the other was only lightly wounded. The second Hulker was quickly dropped by Vilem. 
"Selene, Ginny, Vonthos - keep your eyes peeled. We had Hulkers."
"Need an assist boss?"
"I did say 'had'. We're good. For now."
The team continued their mission. But it wasn't long - mere moments, really - until their motion sensors started to wail again. This time, though, the alarm was different. Louder, more frentic.
"Crap.. crap... Crap! We have Converted! And they're between us and the RenPig. We'll engage; Selene, you and your team come join us. We'll hit 'em in a pincer."
"Copy that, Captain."
Jaxx radioed Marduk Station on the emergency chennel. "Jaxx Pearsall to Marduk Station.... Jaxx Pearsall to Marduk Station. I am on Tracked Interplanetary Object Delta Sixer Two Charlie - the Ghost Ship. Confirming presence of Converted. Repeat.... Confirming presence of Converted. We are evacuating at top speed."
Without waiting for the confirmation, the team started to move back. As Vonthos, Selene, Ginny and now Sandy continued to move towards the RenPig, their trackers started to pick up movement all over the place. "Move faster, team!" Selene called out.
The converted appeared, staying within partial cover, and they opened fire. Vilem went down right away, the Converted's rifle's barking covering up his wail of pain. A second converted fired on Miak, striking him hard. He would have also gone down, but his Stim-Pak injector triggered, keeping him up. For a while.
On the other side, Sandy was leading the charge - how the Sand Runner knew the way to run was a mystery to the team (it was probably random, and just coincidence that it moved the correct way). Suddenly, three more Hulkers appeared. Selene's Fury Rifle barked immediately, killing one before it could even growl at the crew. Vonthos fired at the Hulkers, killing one, as he grabbed some especially valuable looking loot.
One of the Hulkers moved up to Vonthos, hitting him hard - not hard enough to take him out, but Vonthos was shaken.
Miak gunned down one of the Converted, but was hit again, and this time he was taken down. Ginny dashed to cover Jaxx' retreat, as Jaxx fired, killing a third Converted.
"Sandy", the Sand Runner that adopted Vonthos, charged at one of the Hulkers, but the Hulker smacked the poor beast, shaking it up. Vonthos cried "Sandy!" as he shot at the Hulker, stunning it. Selene also fired at the Hulker, and her fury rifle claimed another victim.
On the other side, Jaxx and Ginny exchanged fire with the Converted as they continued to move towards the exit. Jaxx and Ginny each killed one of the Converted, but even more Hulkers appeared right by Ginny.
"Ginny - Go!" Jaxx called. Ginny ran full speed toward the exit while Jaxx maneuvered. 
As the rest of his crew made it to the exit, two Hulkers caught up with Jaxx. As they charged him with ferocious blades, Jaxx fired two quick shots from his blast pistol, dropping both of them. However, Jaxx' luck had run out as the final Hulker was able to drop him.
Jaxx woke up an indeterminate time later, his blurry eyes expecting to see a group of Converted about to vivisect him. Instead, he looked up to Kazi and Selene moving around the small medbay on the RenPig.
"What happened?"
Selene looked at Jaxx. "You wouldn't believe it if we told you. So we're going to show you." Selene moved the display so that Jaxx could see it, and after typing out a few commands, a video feed from Jaxx' suit came up. The angle wasn't great, because Jaxx was being dragged by the Converted leader. Suddenly, the Converted let go of him, and readied its weapon. A blaze of shots rang out, and the Converted was blown to pieces. A few moments later, one of the squid-headed aliens they had seen around Marduk station lately came into view - the aliens that were not in any database. The aliens that no one seemed to be able to remember seeing. No one, that is, except for Jaxx and his team. The alien looked at Jaxx, shook its tentacles, and then turned to leave. A few minutes later, Selene and Vonthos arrived to help bring Jaxx, Vilem and Miak back to the ship.
"The funny thing is - when we went for recovery, those metal statues were gone."
"Those things were solid metal. They must have weighed a ton."
"Yeah. It worries me."
"How are Vilem and Miak?"
"Miak shook it off like it was nothing. Vilem got hit hard - he'll be in sick bay a while. And you, Jaxx - you're fine. Bit of head trauma, concussion, the works, but the Celeste-X infusion took care of the swelling so no permanent damage. In a couple of hours, you won't even know you got hit."
"Oh, Miranda called. Her job became more urgent. We're almost docked at Marduk Station, then we're going to go meet with her."
"What of the ghost ship?"
"Marduk Station launched torpedoes. We barely made it clear of the blast zone. There's nothing left."
"And there's one more thing." Selene said. "Vonthos has decided to keep that sand runner as a pet."
"First a girlfriend, and now a pet.... Is he nesting?"
Selene and Kazi both burst out laughing. "You certainly did get some head trauma, Jaxx. Old you would have been up to confront him about 'menacing beasts on your ship'."
"Well, there's a first for everything. How's our salvage?"
"Modest. Nothing of real note. We already radioed ahead, and there's nothing good on the salvage exchange."
"Well, that's OK. I was thinking. We've been cramped in here for a while. It's time to upgrade our living quarters. Give us a bit more room to stretch out."
With a sparkle in her eye, Selene glanced at Kazi. "Definitely head trauma. He's spending money."
Kazi laughed again, and Jaxx joined her.
Turn Report
Turn 4
Step 1
1. Flee Invasion - N/A
2. Decide whether to travel - No
3. Starship travel event - N/A
4. New world arrival steps - N/A
1. Check for Rivals - N/A
2. Dismiss Patrons - N/A
3 - License paid
4 - world characteristics - Alien Species Restricted (Precursors) - Precursors can not be hired here or go on crew missions, but they may partake in battles. No invasion
Step 2
1. Upkeep and ship repairs. 2cr (paid)
Pay for Medical Care: n/a
2. Assign and resolve crew tasks
Jaxx - Repair Flak Screen - Success
Kazi - Repair Needler Rifle - Fail
Selene - Decoy
Villem - Decoy
Miak - Trade - Military Fuel Cell
Vonthos - Explore - Offered a reward - When fighting this campaign turn, select a random terrain feature. If a crew member moves into contact and spends a Combat Action, you can retrieve a package and earn 2 credits.
Ginerva - Trade - A chance to offload some stuff - no
3. Determine Job Offers
Patron job - Wealthy Individual (Wealthy Individual (Miranda O'keefe))
Danger Pay: +1 Cr
Timeframe: This or the following 1 campaign turns
Benefits: Connections - Gain a Rumor
Hazards: n/a
Conditions: n/a
Salvage Job - 2 Cr license cost
== 57Cr after buying salvage license ==
4. Assign Equipment -
5. Resolve Rumors: -
6. Choose Battle - Salvage Mission
6.5 Check Rivals - none tracked us down.
Setup: 4 Salvage markers
Readying for Battle -
ELITE on 3+ - n/a
DIFFICULTY SETTINGS:
World Settings -
1. Deployment Condition -
1. Notable Sight -
2. Objective -
4. Opponent Type -
Difficulty - Strength 3 - add 2 basic and 1 lieutenant
Respawn 4
Normal
Panic ; Speed ; CS ; Tough ; AI: ; Weapons
Specialist x
Panic ; Speed ; CS ; Tough ; AI: ;; Weapons
Lieutenant x
Panic ; Speed ; CS ; Tough ; AI: ;; Weapons
UNIQUE INDIVIDUAL - No
Speed ; CS ; Tough ; AI ; Luck ;
4. Set up the battlefield -
---
Fight!
Seize The Initiative:
12 turns, fought Hulkers and elite Converted Acquisition team
Won mission
Gained 5 salvage
Gained bonus 2 Cr
4 points of interest: Just space junk, Just space junk, Discovery, Salvage
Discovery (12) Found something that might be valuable with some restoration - roll once on LOOT table
Post-Battle
1. Rivals - n/a
2. Patron - n/a
3. Quest Progress - n/a
4. Get Paid - n/a
5. Battlefield Finds - n/a
6. Check for Invasion - n/a
7. Gather Loot - (76) - Odds & Ends - (16) - Consumables - Stim-Pak x 2! Woot!
Salvage
LR 1 97 (rewards) - Rare substance 5Salvage
LR 2 41 (damaged gear) stabilizer and unity battle sight (both damaged) 3 salvage
LR 3 49 - gear - hot shot pack 2 salvage
Decided to hang on to salvage
8. Injuries & Recovery -
Jaxx - Knocked out - no long-term effect
Vilem - Minor Injuries - 1 turn in sick bay
Miak - Skips injury roll due to character event
9. Experience:
Jaxx 1
Selene 3
Vilem 1
Miak 2
Vonthos 3
Ginerva 3
Kazi - 0
10. Invest in Advanced Training: n/a
11. Purchase Items: n/a
12. Campaign Event: 45 - Equipment Malfunction - the frag vest we just fixed broke again. Sad!
13. Character Event: Jaxx - 86 - you've put in a lot of hard work. repair one item. Re-repaired frag vest.
Paid 1 Story Point to keep Sand Runner as Vonthos' Animal Companion.
Spent 5 units of salvage and 10 Cr to add Living Space to ship.
