Session thirty-eight - The Fate of Arcadia

The Endless Turn lifts off and breaks through the atmosphere, Hemlock at the helm with Anduin navigating.  The Justinian Eskatonic uses Celestial Alignment to help guide the ship but as they emerge into space the vessel shifts course and follows the curve of the planet rather than heading out into the black.  Hemlock tells them he is taking them to one of the orbital stations above Ravenna in order to try to get more information about the pirates.

Above: The crew set off into the black...

.Aboard the bustling station they head to a bar where Corteaz, Hemlock's old travelling companion, business partner and friend is using a booth as a office. Corteaz greets Hemlock warmly and they speak at length, Hemlock telling him all that has pasted and Corteaz explaining how he has risen in rank within the Charioteers and now commands his own ship the "San Paulus". They discuss the pirate attacks and Corteaz mentions how "Arcadia" is targeting Hawkwood cargo coming in from the Jumpgate. Meanwhile Hasimir exerts his power to read the mind of this trader, constantly listening to his surface thoughts throughout the conversation. He discerns that Corteaz is concerned about something and that there's is someway he thinks Keats (as he calls Hemlock) can help him. Eventually, frustrated that his friend is determined to hunt down a dangerous pirate, he offers Hemlock the station of first officer on his ship and pleads with him to accept. Hemlock had been saying how he needed to find the pirate as he owed it to Arcadia and that she was family.  Corteaz argues that aren't they as good as family? Hemlock replies "Better: you never tried to kill me." Hemlock seems torn, he really wants to accept but feels he must complete his mission to clear Arcadia's name. He asks that Corteaz waits for his return and the Charioteer agrees, he still has to finish recruiting a full crew and preparing for their maiden voyage.

Returning to the ship they find the Marquis De Havilland and the hireling engineer, Drumpf, have been monitoring communications and have picked up a distant mayday. They launch the ship to investigate. Sir Anduin prays for guidance from the Pancreator and is shown that they are on the right path.  He tells the crew and they proceed swiftly but still with caution. Over the twelve hour journey Hasimir drinks, Anduin prays and meditates, Hemlock exercises, checks on the course setting and chats with Chastity. He asks her again about the time when she called out Arcadia's name but she says she must have just been delirious and it meant nothing. Hemlock can tell she is hiding something (which is remarkable for him).


As they close on their target location Drumpf uses the ships sensors to scan ahead and reports a group of five ships but without engaging more active systems (and alerting them to their approach) he can tell nothing more.  Hemlock slows the ship for their approach and Drumpf performs an active scan, identifying two League Freighters, a Hawkwood explorer and frigate and the Questionable Intent, Hasimir's stolen galliot. As they get closer the engineer also advises that the three warships are all damaged.  It looks like they have been involved in a tough skirmish but that the pirates won.

Above: The Endless Turn approaches the source of the mayday.

They are then hailed by the Questionable Intent and Hasimir responds. Hemlock has suggested that they parlay and the pirates agree to permit the crew to come on board as their captain wants to see them. The ships grapple each other and Hemlock, Hasimir, Virrsu, Anduin and Chastity put on spacesuits and head across to the galliot (leaving Drumpf and De Havilland on the Endless Turn). Greeted by armed guards (who were originally hired and equipped by Lawrence and Hasimir) they are taken to the bridge and greeted by the captain, a young woman claiming to be Arcadia, but who Chastity recognises as Lady Yelisaveta Decados.

Above: Arcadia revealed...

Hasimir attempts to read her mind and discovers something he has never experienced before; it is as if there are two minds at once. "Arcadia" tells them that her spirit obviously had unfinished business as she had remained on board the ship after her murder, which she holds Hasimir responsible for as she says Koehlang was following his commands and thus had haunted him.  When Yelisaveta took command of the ship she, as a psychic, felt the presence of Arcadia and attempted to contact her.  Arcadia used this "bridge" to take control and possess her. The hit list is mentioned and Arcadia seems unaware of it's existence but is flattered that Innocence, the "sweet dear" would do such a thing for her. Anduin asks if they have some sort of relationship and Arcadia tells Chastity "I think it's time, dear." and looks to Hemlock saying "And Tigerlilly, don't think about interfering."  The Decados ejects her Viper blade and holds it towards Sir Hasimir...

Noble Armada - Avast! Pirates off the bow!

So we missed a session last week and I think I was pining for it a bit so I decided to play out a scenario for the Fading Suns star ship battles game; "Noble Armada".

 

(Here I'm using the second edition of the rules, as published by Mongoose. I have both this and the 1st Edition from Holistic Design but I figured for a quick game I'd use the Mongoose system) 

 

In an attempt to keep it aligned with current events in the campaign the concept (using a "rescue" scenario from the main rule book) was that the pirates on board Sir Hasimir's stolen ship ("The Questionable Intent"), a House Al Malik Rahimat class galliot, were attacking a pair of League transport vessels. The felons were using the standard "cripple with rockets from a distance & then board and take as prizes" pirate tactic. A nearby Hawkwood patrol responded to the guilders' distress signals (the word of pirate activity having increased patrols of the trade routes) and we had the outline for the game.

 

Above: After turn one, and the pirate galliot is already getting a bearing on the Hawkwood scout.  The scout is adjacent to the two disabled League cargo transports.

(I did have to restart the game after the original first turn one as I'd built the Hawkwood fleet solely from Wayfarer scouts and soon realised that they would never have got through the Galliot's shields. When I restarted I swapped out the ships for a Hornet frigate and a single scout)

 

The game scenario had a time limit of eight turns, but in this situation it didn't need it... By the first two turns the pirate galliot had swooped in on the scout, grappled it and sent over marines to board and successfully take control of the ship. Meanwhile the Hornet showed how versatile and dangerous it could be, pummelling the pirate vessel with laser and missile fire, even after being robbed of assistance from the scout ship's sensors. The galliot took two critical damage results; one to the reactor and another to crew but it was still very much in the fight.

 

Above: Turn three and the pirates move to board the Hornet while their captured Wayfarer approaches from eth Frigate's aft.

With the aid of the freshly captured scout the pirates ran down the Hornet and secured grapples, holding it in a deathly embrace as marines poured aboard.  The Frigate's own marine compliment held the attackers at bay for a turn, during which the galliot dragged it's prey with it.  As the two ships were still locked together they couldn't bring weapons to bear on each other but there was nothing preventing the scout turning it's gun (ineffectually as it turned out) on it's former ally and the Hornet was able to return fire with a barrage of missiles.

 

Above: The final turn.  While the captured scout keeps a watch on the cargo ships the pirates wrestle control of the Hornet from it's remaining marines.

The second round of the boarding action saw an end to the Hawkwood resistance. It would appear that "Hasimir's crew" have captured two League transports with their crew & cargo, and a pair of Hawkwood vessels with their complement of householders, hired Guilders and any commanding nobility.

 

(The game ended after turn four with a pirate victory of 250 Victory points to zero...)

 

So I'm treating this as a "canonical" event in the campaign. "Hasimir's Pirates" are active and, it would seem, rather successful. However I can neither confirm nor deny if it has occurred already or may be a future event. The fact that Sir Bedevere Windsor Hawkwood commands a Wayfarer Scout vessel, the same as the one captured by the pirates, that his role is usually space patrol and that he appears to be an honourable knight who seeks restitution and punishment for a crime he was witness to, so is hardly likely to let a distress call go unheeded particularly if he want to see these particular pirates punished, is merely conjecture...