Tag: Kiln

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Story 99

They look like scales

You muse aloud, “The Drift System is a dangerous place, any kind of improvement to our hull might make a big difference.”

The merchant pulls out his communicator and starts yelling at someone on the other end, “Look K-2, none of your attitude — bring me a pallet of duranium plates.” The merchant cranes his head around to look at the numbered designation on the wall, “Haul them to docking bay 69.”

He turns his attention back to your engineer, “While we wait, how about getting me another beer.”

Reluctantly, your engineer steps away to oblige, clearly unwilling to ruin this merchant’s rare generosity.

Moments later, you emerge onto the docking platform to find the merchant sipping a frothy ale. A tall, black-and-gray droid pushes in a grav-sled piled high with gleaming duranium plates. Without hesitation, the merchant and droid begin tack-welding the plates in a tight pattern that looks for all the world like fish scales. In no time at all, your ship’s sides are completely sheathed in the new armor.

The merchant wipes his hands on his coat and calls to your engineer, “Next step: we’ve got to tweak your electrostatic barrier from inside.”

Your engineer motions you aboard via the ramp. “Right this way.”

You follow along, bringing up the rear, feeling like a spectator onboard your own ship.

Inside engineering, the merchant directs the droid: “K-2, trace the barrier’s power couplings and install a bridge-accessible polarity toggle switch.”

Within minutes, K-2 announces, “Task completed,” as it snaps the tactical console back together.

The merchant strides over, flips the electrostatic barrier on, then off again. “I’ve magnetized those duranium plates to the hull. The magnetic field holds them tighter than tack welds ever could. If you don’t want to burn through shields when something’s closing fast, just reverse the barrier’s polarity with this switch. It’ll fling the plates away from the hull, taking the hit for you. Just remember, it’s a one-time deal.”

Place the Modification: Hull Plates hex next to your ship mat. As long as you continue to use this specific ship, you’ll have the one time option to block all damage from an attack by launching the plates off your ship.

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Story 98

Re-arranging the deck plates

You admit, loud enough for the merchant to hear you, “We’re always tight on space, a little more storage could make a big difference for this operation.”

The merchant turns to your engineer, “I’ll need you to get some tools for me: a hammer drill, a plasma torch, a spanner, and several magnetic clamps. If you don’t have any on hand, I’ll need you to print some self-sealing stem bolts, and grab me another beer.”

Soon, the merchant is working with a torch in one hand and a beer in the other. Before long, he’s shifting floor plates and rearranging various conduits. Eventually, he’s using one last self-sealing stem bolt to secure the final deck plate in place.

Place both of the Modification: Storage hexes next to your ship mat. As long as you continue to use this specific ship, you’ll have two extra non-contiguous storage spaces. These spaces may be used to transport or install anything. These storage spaces can not hold damage.

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Story 97

Building a better engine

All of those options sound enticing, yet… “What this ship could truly use is greater speed.”

As soon as you convey this wish to your unexpected benefactor, he immediately yanks his communicator out and starts barking orders into it, “Okay K-2 grab some nano bots along with some ceramic slip and meet in the launch bay.” His eyes wander around until he sees the location ID. “I’m in bay 69.”

As the merchant puts his communicator away and looks at your engineer. “Grab me another beer while we wait for my android to show up with everything.”

Soon, you join everyone in engineering where there is a flurry of activity. A large two meter tall black and gray robot named K-2 is pouring a gray ceramic slip into an engine manifold along with an open vial of nanobots beside it. Meanwhile your engineer is attaching additional duct work to the plasma chamber and clearly the merchant himself is reprogramming the fuel intermix. The activity is accompanied by the sound of clanging metal, the distinct smell of energy rods, and the metallic tang of solder.

Soon, you possess an engine that’s finely tuned and primed to deliver the swiftness you’ve longed for.

Place the Modification: Engine Hex next to your ship mat. As long as you continue to use this specific ship, you’ll have an extra 1d4 every time it’s activated. The extra 1d4 can go above the engine’s originally intended maximum speed and will work with a GTS mod. The GTS mod may now also take your ship’s engine over its intended maximum. This bonus only works as long as you’ve got this engine on this ship. As soon as either is upgraded, this bonus goes away.

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Story 96

Merchant

You can feel the mechanical rumbling of the hydraulics on the boarding ramp as it descends. You glance at the monitor, which reveals two people slowly making their way up the ramp. Your ship’s engineer had disembarked from your vessel a couple of hours ago to go get a raktajino and some relaxation, ‘R&R’ as he was calling it. He’s come back to the ship, but he isn’t alone. The other person with him is swaying slightly with the all too familiar gait of one who is inebriated.

You open a comm channel to find out what’s going on.

“Hey Chief, any luck finding a decent raktajino?” you inquire, your voice crackling through the ship’s intercom.

“Aye Captain, apparently they serve them in the bar down in the casino. While I was there though, I ran into someone you might know.”

Recognition dawns on you as you squint at the monitor. You recognize the drunken individual from his bald pate. He’s the merchant that runs Gadgets N’ Outfits.

Continuing, your engineer explains, “He’d been there for quite a while, and, well, he believes that I may have tipped him off on his last hand of cards while I was walking past the card table. Afterwards, I might also have bought him a couple more drinks. He started raving about all these simple enhancements spacers could make to their ships but never bother to.”

“It’s ridiculous,” the merchant slurs, his speech thick with the effects of alcohol. “Spacers just don’t have a clue how to use their stuff e-fish…e-fish-ent…efficiently.” It takes him three tries to complete that last word, which detracts somewhat from his bluster.

“So Captain, when I was telling our local merchant about our ship he had all kinds of ideas on how to improve it, but I don’t think we should push our luck too much on his generosity.” The engineer leans in closer to the comms, his voice dropping to a near whisper, “Also, I doubt he’ll stay upright long enough to help us with more than one of his brilliant suggestions.”

You quietly ask your engineer, “Do you really think this is a good idea?”

Continuing to whisper, your engineer responds, “He might be a conceited drunk, but he’s also a genius. I’ll check his work to make sure that we don’t end up regretting his assistance.”

Understanding the situation, but also wanting to know your options, you raise your voice, ensuring the merchant can hear you clearly. “What kind of improvements are we discussing here?”

With a slightly exaggerated gesture, the merchant squints at the ship and begins to list his offer. “Well, I could improve your FTL drive. I could get you a little more storage space on this tin can. I could even reinforce your hull for the next time you find yourself in a scrum.”

Your engineer asks, “So Captain, what do you think?”

If you choose to not accept any help at all and send the merchant home to sleep it off, the story  ends here and you may continue your turn.

If you want to improve your engines, listen to/read Story 97.

If you want to gain some extra storage, listen to/read Story 98.

If you want to improve your ship’s hull, listen to/read Story 99.

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Story 94

The Atomizer

As your favorite omni broadcast cuts to a commercial, you notice a familiar short man with a bald pate, a constant smirk, and a puffy green shirt. Observing his bald head—with a fringe of dark hair still framing the sides—you can’t help but wonder, “What kind of universe lets us replace an artificial heart for someone named Picard, yet can’t cure male pattern baldness?”

The man begins, “You may have noticed that many spacers are dying in inconvenient locations, making it increasingly difficult to safely navigate the drift system.”

The scene shifts to a family aboard a starship. They gaze out an observation window at a sprawling debris field as a voice comes over the ship’s comm system: “Attention all passengers, we have encountered an unexpected debris field. If we detour around it, you’ll be late for the spacers’ fair. Should we try to go through it, there’s a 15% chance we’ll blow up and completely miss the fair. We are currently reviewing options on the bridge.”

The child looks sadly at his parents before whining, “But…I was really hoping to get some funnel cake.”

We cut back to the familiar bald man, who continues, “If you’re a spacer, you might have thought it was INCONCEIVABLE that no one tackled this problem sooner. Fear not, my spacefaring friends, for I’ve developed a blaster mod available exclusively at Gadgets N’ Outfits on the Kiln. For just 1,000 credits, you can purchase the Atomizer (trademark pending) and use it to clear debris fields.”

The scene returns to the child, now clearly at the spacers’ fair enjoying a funnel cake, as a voiceover adds, “Act quickly, and Gadgets N’ Outfits will throw in a free lavender essential oil with the purchase of an Atomizer. Let’s face it, spacers, even sonic showers can leave you less than fresh—a touch of lavender will make your ship that much more livable.”

Once again, the screen cuts back to the familiar bald man, who announces, “Now back to that drivel you were watching. I like to think of it as chewing gum for the eyes.”

Your favorite omni broadcast resumes.

The Atomizer counts as both a gadget and a mod and must be placed on an activation spot on a blaster that has no other mods. When activated, you may choose to use it either as a blaster or to clear a debris field. Clearing the debris field happens automatically. If the debris was created by the destruction of a ship, you simply remove it from the tile. If it was a pre-existing debris field, you cover it with an empty space hex. Note that any resources within a debris field are destroyed by the Atomizer. Additionally, if a ship is in the targeted debris field, the Atomizer will not function. Every two debris fields removed by a player earns them 1 Fame Point.

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Story 92

A gift for the man with everything

You arrive at the Kiln and find that the bald man is in his office in the rear of the Loan Shark’s business front. While waiting for admittance to his office, the crew that you know flies the Rep Omen are dragging a man with a disheveled and forlorn look. 

The door you’ve been standing outside of buzzes and softly clicks open. The bald man calls to your crew, “Enter.”

You walk in and see an impeccably dressed, broad shouldered, bald man sitting behind a beautiful carved wooden desk while scanning something on his tablet. As everyone from your crew finishes entering the office along with a small grav-sled holding a medium sized tree. The bald man sets down his tablet, “What can I help such renowned spacers as yourselves with?”

You nervously clear your throat, “Actually we came to make a tribute. We were on Aeon Station and saw something that you might appreciate and occasionally find useful.” You motion to the tree. “This is a carnivorous tree from a neighboring solar system.”

“Carnivorous?”, is his one word question.

“From what we understand, it is capable of eating a human sized creature but we’ve kept an electrostatic barrier around it to ensure that we didn’t test its ability.”

“That is a thoughtful gift”

You earn 2 fame points. Continue the rest of your turn.

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Story 90

Union Negotiations

As your ship approaches the Kiln, you receive a hale. Your comm officer opens the channel and on your screen appears the notorious thick necked bald man.

“Welcome to the Kiln, I’ve been expecting your arrival. Meet me in my private office on the lower deck as soon as you dock.”

—

As you enter his office, you notice a nice topiary in the corner. You turn to greet your host, but he looks right past you and your crew.

“Welcome, Dr Truman. It’s good to see that your experiment was a success.”

The robotic version of Dr Truman enters the room and shakes his hand, “We’ve spoken before, or at least my biological counterpart and you have, but it’s nice to finally meet in person, or maybe that’s person to robot.”

“Agreed, but I would like to get down to brass tacks and start our negotiations for manufacturing and labor.”

As they start negotiating in earnest, you realize your part is done. Place the union game token on your Goal card for the Trans-Human Project. Earn the fame points from your card and draw three mission cards to see what you get paid for completing this goal.

0 blue mission cards, you earn 5,000 credits

1 blue mission card, you earn 6,000 credits

2 blue mission cards, you earn 7,000 credits

3 blue mission cards, you earn 9,000 credits

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Story 32

Trans-Human Project, part II

“Now, on Xia Galactic News, our top story focuses on Azure,” announces the news anchor. The scene switches to a crowded hospital ward with numerous patients restrained by medical equipment. “With a population of over 6 billion, Azure was on the brink of disaster until a cure for SARS-39 was discovered. However, the planet now faces a new challenge as nearly five percent of its citizens have developed a condition being referred to as lock-in after exposure to the virus. This new ailment causes irreversible paralysis of all voluntary muscles, though brain scans show that these individuals are still mentally active. Researchers are desperately searching for a solution to this issue.”

The scene then shifts to a researcher in a white lab coat, who explains, “Those affected by lock-in remain fully conscious but unable to move or react to external stimuli.”

As the newsroom segment returns, the anchor mentions, “We’ll be taking a brief pause for our sponsors, but stay tuned to hear the Super Class Glocken scores when we come back from break.”

Before the commercial rolls, you turn off the holo projector. As you ponder why this problem seems specific to Azure, Charles Truman from the Trans-Human Project contacts you through a tight beam communication.

“Based on my current line of work, I may have a potential solution to assist the countless individuals struggling with Lock-in. My research aims to transfer human consciousness into a crystalline matrix and create a mechanical body for it. While my progress in transferring thoughts and memories to the matrix has been promising, I still have years of development left before the matrix can fully integrate with a chassis. In my original timeline, this was not an urgent issue, but circumstances have changed and I must accept that there are others with more experience in high-end robotics. I have reached out to Dr. Merv Arken, who has successfully created various robotic minions, but we both agree that something crucial is missing – an interface that allows the matrix to control the physical actions of the chassis. This task is far more complicated than our animal trials thus far. We need an advanced AI to bridge the gap between the brain’s desires when contained in a crystal matrix and the actions of the chassis being developed by Dr. Arken based on my research. There used to be a company called HAL, which focused on advanced AI for robotics and starships. Unfortunately, they went defunct years ago and their owners and researchers seem to have disappeared. However, we suspect that much of their valuable research is buried in archives on Lunari. We need you to retrieve this data while I work on etching a consciousness onto a crystal matrix. Once you have both the crystal matrix and the AI data, take them to either Merv’s Missiles or Arken’s Arsenal for integration into the chassis. Then, we will need to quickly increase production capacity beyond what Dr. Arken and I are capable of handling alone. This will involve negotiating with a manufacturing union, so we would like you to go to the Kiln and help us facilitate these discussions with a union boss.”

If the active player accepts this task (and yes, they could be any species) hand them a new [Goal] card titled Trans-Human Project for them to track their progress. The first location they need to travel to in order to accomplish this goal is the Mission Point on Lunari.

Upon arriving at the mission Point on Lunari, read/ listen to Story 87.

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Story 28

Brobdingnagian

The emergency function on every ship’s communication system activates with three quick beeps, followed by three long beeps, and another three quick beeps. This sequence repeats itself three times as an urgent message is broadcasted to all vessels in space.

“I am Captain Gormley of the Cruise Ship Brobdingnagian. Our ship has collided with an ice asteroid in the Blench and we are experiencing multiple system failures. The most critical being our emergency displacement system. If our situation continues to deteriorate, not only will we lose the ship, but all passengers on board as well. Our impulse engines are also non-functional. We plead for help from the spacers of the Drift System to rescue us. Our estimated time before complete failure is three strands. Captain Gormley out.”

As you try to process this distressing information, a system-wide message from the Kiln interrupts.

“I regret to hear about the on-going tragedy of the Brobdingnagian cruise ship. I had expressed concerns to the owners about their decision to use non-union workers during construction. I would like to showcase the superiority of union workers by bringing the Brobdingnagian to the Kiln, where I can personally oversee repairs and provide a safe haven for its passengers. In return, I will reward all ships that assist with an additional 2,000 credits. Thank you for your aid.”

Place the Brobdingnagian game piece on the Mission Point located on the Blench [ice asteroid] sector. All ships that help with towing the Brobdingnagian to a living planet or the Aether Processing Station will receive 1,000 credits and a fame point, or if it is towed to the Kiln, all parties that help will receive 3,000 credits but no fame points. There are three rounds till the Brobdingnagian has catastrophic failure and is destroyed. When towing another ship, cut movement in half rounded down, and the ship being towed is in an adjacent space to your ship.

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Story 27

Bring me a dragon

Several spacers receive a video transmission from the Kiln, showing a large bald man with no neck, dressed in a tailored white suit.

“A new and hostile inhabitant of the Drift System has appeared in the Rivening. Scientists have tried to give it some foolish name calling it an astral volucrum reptilium, but what I see is the fuel of nightmares and mythology. I see a dragon. For the safety of the Drift System, I am offering 10,000 credits for someone to kill and haul the carcass of this creature to the Kiln where I may employ others to study this creature. If you choose to work in groups, I will leave it to you to determine how to share this haul.”

The Dragon’s spawn point is on Rivening between the Quarry and the Excavation spaces. The dragon can take 50 damage, fly 12 spaces, has a resilient hide that can absorb [d12] damage from an attack, and and use a plasma breath that can attack twice each round causing [d12] damage at a range of 1-8 spaces provided it has line of sight. If the dragon is attacked it will retaliate on its turn provided you are within range, otherwise it will return to its position on Rivening. If it finishes its turn on Rivening it will heal [d12] per round. Once it is killed, you may haul it to the Kiln. When towing the carcass, cut movement in half rounded down, and the carcass is in an adjacent space to your ship.