Episode 6: The Cortosis Shipment
While the Kaki Usyk was under repair, after a memorable out-burst of intense rage by Commander Foxwell, Undrake was pulling all of the string that he could to find the one mission, that could lead to acquiring Cortosis.
The PCs headed to Utopia, the underground party and business neutral space station, to meat with Administrator Blinn. With no underground reputation, the PCs landed in the lower-docks and had to reach the richer side of the complex on foot, seeing several unforgettable sights of lowness. Administrator Blinn then presented them to Jeffry Coley, the explorer that found the possible deal.
Once everyone agreed on the terms, they started a series of secret hyperspace jumps, on board the Alpoca, to reach an asteroid mining colony in the Unknown Regions. The Alpoca was scheduled to deliver a shipment of supplies to the nearby (only) town, opening a window of ±5 days to land, steal the Cortosis, and leave. The most apparent problem was that the mines was heavily guarded by a Mercenary Group named the Dragonflies. The second problem, less apparent at the time, was the alignment of the three suns with a moon-like asteroid.
On the asteroid, everything started with the PCs making some friends at a local miners bar, where Paolina Bjurstrom, Humphrey Haray, and Kendrick Willburn talked to Kaine as friendly drunk buddies. Willburn became very friendly and explained many security aspect of the mine, including patrols routes. During that first day, they (Undrake?) also found a very old building, primarily ruins, that seemed to be dating from an old civilization.
On the next day, Coley and Akara, investigated that old intriging building. Meanwhile the PCs disguised themselves as miners, jumped into the miner transport and entered the mines. They travelled to the secure depot, killed two guards, but got spotted by a merc posted in a mirador; he sounded the alarm and blaster shots began to fly! Worms were starting to invade the perimeter, so the guards decided to shot at the worms that were between them and the PCs first!
At this point, Coley’s and Akara’s research lead them to belive that the old structure was built by and ancient civilization that seems to have been wiped out by some creatures. At this point, there was also an increase in worm activity in town. People were starting to panic, especially due to Dargon’s droid running around with a worm, creating more chaos! From there, the PCs stole a speeder-lift from the secure storage, they filled it with explosives and tools, and they welded a dura-steel plate as a protection on one side. They used that protection to move around without getting shot at too much. Dargon hacked an anti-air laser-canon turret, while they were fighting more worms, creating Versmic’el, the elite worm!
The PCs then fought along Captain Ardis of the Fireflies and his squad of crazies, composed of Sergent Haray, Lorme, Archer, Virginie (a.k.a. Virgin), and Walden. Lorme and Walden died, while Archer was injured. The PCs encountered Versmic’el again, but killed it this time! Ardis and the PCs parted way close to the landing plateform, where the PCs noticed the involvment of yet again Juno Eclipse, leaving on board of her X-Wing.
With most anti-air defences disabled, Coley was willing to come and pick the PCs up, as well as the Cortosis shipment. They reached Utopia in one piece, got their share of the deal, and both sides went their own ways.
Chapters
The first sun
When arriving, one of the suns is beginning to align with an asteroid, gravitationally behaving like a moon, and flowers are booming red (which is weird on a dead rock).
An old crazy woman repeats the following:
When the three suns align
Followed by the red blooming;
The terror within,
Will rise above!
French version:
Lorsque les trois soleils s'aligneront
Suivi de la rouge floraison;
La terreur intérieure,
S’élèvera!
The second sun
When the second sun begins to align itself with the other, the inhabitant starts to experience the first signs of the invasion; unknown worms starts to emerge to the surface, attacking, paralyzing, and eating people.
The third sun
The more the third sun gets aligned, the more worms that emerge, and the bigger they become. Their numbers grow exponentially leading to an uncontrollable situation. Finally, the Worm Queen show up to wipe out the colony!