Supplement Four
SOC-14 5K
Whelp, I finished game session IV tonight. Not many in my group (actually, no one) has a lot of time away from RL to put to our favorite hobby, so we play once a month.
But, it's consistent. And, it's damn fun.
I can't believe my players. I can't. They really pulled it out of their butts tonight.
Amazing play.
Totally unexpected.
As GM, I had to wing the entire game session, and I got to implement exactly zero of the detailed forward progression of the story I had planned for tonight's game. Heck, given what they did, I don't even know if things will turn out the way I had planned.
Right now, it's not looking that way.
The Baron of Natoko, Baron Terran Tukera, is also the Marquis (co-Marquis, actually, with Leonard Bolden-Tukera) of Aramis.
I've got a strong political theme in my game. Noblemen and noble men. The Baron of Lewis, Lady Arianne Tukera, is married to the Marquis of Aramis, Leonard Bolden-Tukera.
Lady Arianne's cousin, Terran Tukera (the Baron of Natoko), has been granted the current title of Marquis of Aramis, but this title is only for the life of Terran Tukera--it is not a hereditary title (as is the Barony of Natoko).
Lady Arianne has troubles on her world on Lewis. The colonists there have taken root, and she's striving to re-take Lewis, in its entirety, for the Tukera family.
Leonard Bolden-Tukera (the Bolden's have wed the Tukeras before, thus the hyphen) is Marquis of a fief that is somewhat floundering under his leadership, and the Bolden elders have urged him to agree to the marriage with Lady Arianne, bolstering House Bolden's political clout through it's association with one of the most powerful noble families in the empire, House Tukera.
And, Baron Terran Tukera is lord of an undeveloped, sandy rock with only a few thousand people, a starport, and a Naval base.
Lady Arianne used the combined influence of both Tukera Houses (the baronies of Natoko and Lewis) to put pressure on House Bolden for the marriage. House Bolden welcomed the merging of power bases, but are leery of the Tukera's intent. Aramis is the highest TL world in the subsector, subsector capitol, and the hub of power in this fringe county of the Duke of Rhylanor's territory. So, the Bolden's have limited Marquis Terran Tukera's power, granting his title on Aramis for his lifetime only.
For the first time in history, Aramis has two Marquis.
This all happened three-to-five years ago.
Today, the Marquis Terran Tukera of Aramis, along with Lady Arianne, pretty much run the subsector, even though, in title, Marquis Lenoard Bolden-Tukera is the leading noble.
It's a puppet government, the Great OZ, behind the curtain, being the player character Terran Tukera.
That's convoluted, I know. But, this is a political story. Plots. Intrigue. Wheels within wheels.
Sternmetal is attempting to wrest control of the balkanized world of Aramanx. They're a disrupting influence on the subsector.
The Marquis Terran Tukera has sent many envoys to Aramanx to speak with Sternmetal representatives, but these efforts have met with little but lip service. Sternmetal moves on, focussing it's power as a megacorporation on the little TL 6 world with great, unrealized, potential.
Terran is, obviously, concerned about this--not only from his governmental position as the Marquis of Aramis, but also as the reigning head of the Tukera Family in this subsector. Tukera wants this fringe subsector for itself, having built an entire fleet for it's wholly-owned subsector-wide line called Akerut.
So, Terran sees a plan. He charters a tramp freighter to Aramanx, his intention being to slip on the world not on a large Tukera vessel or Imperial Naval ship, but as small, un-noticed merchant vessel right under Sternmetal's noses.
Terran plans to meet with the leaders of some of the larger on countries on Aramanx, building a coalition against Sternmetal and it's puppet state.
But, complication occur.
Game Session I, Terran & Co. (Terran is a PC, his body guard is a PC, the ship's crew are PCs, but the Vemene security detail are NPCs) lift form Aramis, and not too long into jump, they discover the ship has been sabotaged.
Yes, the water system has been spiked with some type of un-idenfitifed agent, and a power breaker was set up on the ship's only armament, a single pulse laser turret.
Natoko being their next stop, the Baron (Terran Tukera is both the Marquis of Aramis and the Baron of Natoko) ordered the ship re-fitted and checked out. A detatchment of marines was loaded onto a Tukera vessel that happened to be in dry dock at the Natoko base. The GOLIATH was sent ahead of the Marquis' vessel, using the transponder signal from the tramp freighter on which the Marquis travelled.
Armed with troops and protected by a 5000 ton vessel, Patinir was the next stop for the far trader ADROIT PURSUIT, and it journeyied to Aramanx. Another route could have been taken, but the Marquis was determined to find out who had sabotaged his ship.
Patinir proved to be uneventful...for about 3 hours.
That's when a nuclear warhead impacted the GOLIATH, the missile launched from a ship anchored to one of the asteroids.
As Game Session II drew to a close, the GOLIATH was decimated, hurtling through space, drives down, and no comm.
At the start of Game session III, the PURSUIT had triangulated the missile's path and discovered the ship anchored to asteroid.
Space combat ensued.
The PURSUIT took a hit to its boat bay and fuel tank.
And that's when it happened.
The NPC's...the trusted Vemene agents...turned on their Marquis.
Like the professionals they are, the Vemene took the ship in moments, with no loss of life or even a shot fired.
================================
So, you see, as I went into tonight's game session, I figured I had the players where I wanted them.
The pilot and navigator were on the bridge, decelerating the ship in order to rendevous with the enemy vessel.
Two Vemene guarded them.
All other crew memembers where in the cargo bay, lined up agains the bulkhead, their hands locked behind their backs by magnetic binders. Two Vemene guarded them as well.
The only other item in the hold was a single standard cargo module--something that was supposed to have contained Battle Dress for the Vemene troops in service to their lord.
Instead, the crew has been surprised by the fact that the cargo module is in fact a multi-person cold crib unit of a type typically used by the Frozen Watch on large Naval vessels.
The Vemene intended to put the ADROIT PURSUIT's crew, along with Marquis Terran Tukera, into cold berth--for purposes unknown at this time.
So, as a gamemaster, I've got this sewn up, right? I've got two guards on the bridge, making sure the pilot and navigator dock with the Vemene vessel. And, I've got all other crew member shackeled, with arms behind their backs, in the cargo bay, about to be put, one by one, into cold berth.
We're ready to get these guys into cold berth and move on with the story.
Right?
WRONG!!!!
The navigator flipped the lights, casting the entire ship into darkness. Then the canceled the deck plates--the entire ship in Zero-G.
That started it.
A fight ensued.
People in the cargo bay were floating around like pop corn seeds in an air popper.
On the bridge, the nav leaned from his acceleration couch, the staps holding him down, and wrestled the shotgun from the hands of one of the floating Vemene.
One single blast of the weapon ripped through the chest of one of the Vemene and nearly took the foot off the other.
The force of taking the shotgun blast sent the two reeling even further, bouncing somewhat around the cabin. With one hand (and appropirate modifiers), the nav swung his shot around, one handed, and blew one of the Vemene away. The target's hand actually separated from the Vemene's arm, sending blood droplets over the entire bridge.
The pilot unstrapped from his seat and launched toward the disoriented other Vemene guard, beating him senseless.
The nav then slapped on the IR view of the cargo bay, and announced over the comm (only to a trusted crewmember in the hold), "We've got the bridge."
DAMN!
What a game!
Two of my Vemene are out, and the other two in the cargo hold are swimming around, in the dark, in Zero-G.
The players now have re-established control of the bridge...and the ship, for the most part.
They're going to take that sucker back.
God knows what they're going to do when that Vemene ship (that took out the 5000 ton GOLIATH with a single nuclear missile) catches on that the PC's ship is no longer under Vemene control, but after tonight's game session, I wouldn't count the players out.
This isn't going according to my GM's plan at all.
But, I'm running with it.
And, it's fun.
And, I'm damn proud of these guys (and a gal) and how they've pulled off the impossible and retaken their ship.
I thought they were goners. I thought I'd have the ship, put everybody in low berth, and then move on with the next phase of the story.
Not so.
The story is being changed.
You know, it's game sessions like this one that keep me game.
It was a dynamite game.
I can't wait to see what happens next month. That will be Game Session V.
But, it's consistent. And, it's damn fun.
I can't believe my players. I can't. They really pulled it out of their butts tonight.
Amazing play.
Totally unexpected.
As GM, I had to wing the entire game session, and I got to implement exactly zero of the detailed forward progression of the story I had planned for tonight's game. Heck, given what they did, I don't even know if things will turn out the way I had planned.
Right now, it's not looking that way.
The Baron of Natoko, Baron Terran Tukera, is also the Marquis (co-Marquis, actually, with Leonard Bolden-Tukera) of Aramis.
I've got a strong political theme in my game. Noblemen and noble men. The Baron of Lewis, Lady Arianne Tukera, is married to the Marquis of Aramis, Leonard Bolden-Tukera.
Lady Arianne's cousin, Terran Tukera (the Baron of Natoko), has been granted the current title of Marquis of Aramis, but this title is only for the life of Terran Tukera--it is not a hereditary title (as is the Barony of Natoko).
Lady Arianne has troubles on her world on Lewis. The colonists there have taken root, and she's striving to re-take Lewis, in its entirety, for the Tukera family.
Leonard Bolden-Tukera (the Bolden's have wed the Tukeras before, thus the hyphen) is Marquis of a fief that is somewhat floundering under his leadership, and the Bolden elders have urged him to agree to the marriage with Lady Arianne, bolstering House Bolden's political clout through it's association with one of the most powerful noble families in the empire, House Tukera.
And, Baron Terran Tukera is lord of an undeveloped, sandy rock with only a few thousand people, a starport, and a Naval base.
Lady Arianne used the combined influence of both Tukera Houses (the baronies of Natoko and Lewis) to put pressure on House Bolden for the marriage. House Bolden welcomed the merging of power bases, but are leery of the Tukera's intent. Aramis is the highest TL world in the subsector, subsector capitol, and the hub of power in this fringe county of the Duke of Rhylanor's territory. So, the Bolden's have limited Marquis Terran Tukera's power, granting his title on Aramis for his lifetime only.
For the first time in history, Aramis has two Marquis.
This all happened three-to-five years ago.
Today, the Marquis Terran Tukera of Aramis, along with Lady Arianne, pretty much run the subsector, even though, in title, Marquis Lenoard Bolden-Tukera is the leading noble.
It's a puppet government, the Great OZ, behind the curtain, being the player character Terran Tukera.
That's convoluted, I know. But, this is a political story. Plots. Intrigue. Wheels within wheels.
Sternmetal is attempting to wrest control of the balkanized world of Aramanx. They're a disrupting influence on the subsector.
The Marquis Terran Tukera has sent many envoys to Aramanx to speak with Sternmetal representatives, but these efforts have met with little but lip service. Sternmetal moves on, focussing it's power as a megacorporation on the little TL 6 world with great, unrealized, potential.
Terran is, obviously, concerned about this--not only from his governmental position as the Marquis of Aramis, but also as the reigning head of the Tukera Family in this subsector. Tukera wants this fringe subsector for itself, having built an entire fleet for it's wholly-owned subsector-wide line called Akerut.
So, Terran sees a plan. He charters a tramp freighter to Aramanx, his intention being to slip on the world not on a large Tukera vessel or Imperial Naval ship, but as small, un-noticed merchant vessel right under Sternmetal's noses.
Terran plans to meet with the leaders of some of the larger on countries on Aramanx, building a coalition against Sternmetal and it's puppet state.
But, complication occur.
Game Session I, Terran & Co. (Terran is a PC, his body guard is a PC, the ship's crew are PCs, but the Vemene security detail are NPCs) lift form Aramis, and not too long into jump, they discover the ship has been sabotaged.
Yes, the water system has been spiked with some type of un-idenfitifed agent, and a power breaker was set up on the ship's only armament, a single pulse laser turret.
Natoko being their next stop, the Baron (Terran Tukera is both the Marquis of Aramis and the Baron of Natoko) ordered the ship re-fitted and checked out. A detatchment of marines was loaded onto a Tukera vessel that happened to be in dry dock at the Natoko base. The GOLIATH was sent ahead of the Marquis' vessel, using the transponder signal from the tramp freighter on which the Marquis travelled.
Armed with troops and protected by a 5000 ton vessel, Patinir was the next stop for the far trader ADROIT PURSUIT, and it journeyied to Aramanx. Another route could have been taken, but the Marquis was determined to find out who had sabotaged his ship.
Patinir proved to be uneventful...for about 3 hours.
That's when a nuclear warhead impacted the GOLIATH, the missile launched from a ship anchored to one of the asteroids.
As Game Session II drew to a close, the GOLIATH was decimated, hurtling through space, drives down, and no comm.
At the start of Game session III, the PURSUIT had triangulated the missile's path and discovered the ship anchored to asteroid.
Space combat ensued.
The PURSUIT took a hit to its boat bay and fuel tank.
And that's when it happened.
The NPC's...the trusted Vemene agents...turned on their Marquis.
Like the professionals they are, the Vemene took the ship in moments, with no loss of life or even a shot fired.
================================
So, you see, as I went into tonight's game session, I figured I had the players where I wanted them.
The pilot and navigator were on the bridge, decelerating the ship in order to rendevous with the enemy vessel.
Two Vemene guarded them.
All other crew memembers where in the cargo bay, lined up agains the bulkhead, their hands locked behind their backs by magnetic binders. Two Vemene guarded them as well.
The only other item in the hold was a single standard cargo module--something that was supposed to have contained Battle Dress for the Vemene troops in service to their lord.
Instead, the crew has been surprised by the fact that the cargo module is in fact a multi-person cold crib unit of a type typically used by the Frozen Watch on large Naval vessels.
The Vemene intended to put the ADROIT PURSUIT's crew, along with Marquis Terran Tukera, into cold berth--for purposes unknown at this time.
So, as a gamemaster, I've got this sewn up, right? I've got two guards on the bridge, making sure the pilot and navigator dock with the Vemene vessel. And, I've got all other crew member shackeled, with arms behind their backs, in the cargo bay, about to be put, one by one, into cold berth.
We're ready to get these guys into cold berth and move on with the story.
Right?
WRONG!!!!
The navigator flipped the lights, casting the entire ship into darkness. Then the canceled the deck plates--the entire ship in Zero-G.
That started it.
A fight ensued.
People in the cargo bay were floating around like pop corn seeds in an air popper.
On the bridge, the nav leaned from his acceleration couch, the staps holding him down, and wrestled the shotgun from the hands of one of the floating Vemene.
One single blast of the weapon ripped through the chest of one of the Vemene and nearly took the foot off the other.
The force of taking the shotgun blast sent the two reeling even further, bouncing somewhat around the cabin. With one hand (and appropirate modifiers), the nav swung his shot around, one handed, and blew one of the Vemene away. The target's hand actually separated from the Vemene's arm, sending blood droplets over the entire bridge.
The pilot unstrapped from his seat and launched toward the disoriented other Vemene guard, beating him senseless.
The nav then slapped on the IR view of the cargo bay, and announced over the comm (only to a trusted crewmember in the hold), "We've got the bridge."
DAMN!
What a game!
Two of my Vemene are out, and the other two in the cargo hold are swimming around, in the dark, in Zero-G.
The players now have re-established control of the bridge...and the ship, for the most part.
They're going to take that sucker back.
God knows what they're going to do when that Vemene ship (that took out the 5000 ton GOLIATH with a single nuclear missile) catches on that the PC's ship is no longer under Vemene control, but after tonight's game session, I wouldn't count the players out.
This isn't going according to my GM's plan at all.
But, I'm running with it.
And, it's fun.
And, I'm damn proud of these guys (and a gal) and how they've pulled off the impossible and retaken their ship.
I thought they were goners. I thought I'd have the ship, put everybody in low berth, and then move on with the next phase of the story.
Not so.
The story is being changed.
You know, it's game sessions like this one that keep me game.
It was a dynamite game.
I can't wait to see what happens next month. That will be Game Session V.
