Chapter 1, Part 12: Krenshawz

Fire Nova, Chandra X-ray Observatory Center

If you want to start at the beginning....

Rules for this referee-less, play by post game.

Chapter 1

Part 12

Krenshawz

After learning about the possible tail, the Count decides to have a chat with Lero Commander. "I just found out we probably had a tail all this time. I wouldn’t be surprised if they where sent here by Premier Rosa to guarantee that we kept our part of the bargain. I am trying to figure out if we should try to stop them or just play along, making them think we are not aware of their presence. What are your thoughts?"

”Your excellency,” says Lero, ”I have asked for passive buoys to be dropped in an effort to hear their communications while not letting them know we are aware of their presence. I think we play along. Let’s deal with Kopan, confirm Banks’ story, and then confront the Premier.” He smiles and leans in toward the Aslan, maintaining eye contact. ”You will get your opportunity for diplomatic revenge.” He winks.

roll for buoy intercept, Formidable (14+) with Bane
/r 2d6kl2
2d6kl2 = (1+6) = 7
/r 1d6
1d6 = (1) = 1
roll really fails.

“Commander,” says the signals operator, “the buoy malfunctioned and sent out a signal burst.” Lero says, ”Which means they heard it, eh?”
“Probably.”

Lero says, ”Keep a close eye on that boat.”

Overall Morale check. Roll Leadership Average (8+)
/r 2d6+2-1
2d6+2-1 = (6+3)+2-1 = 10
Morale boosts +1

After a day, the Deimos arrives at the outer limits of passive sensor range, which Lero orders to begin. He then convenes a meeting with Banks and the other former leaders of Aneh Akai, requesting a briefing on what they know about Kopan.
Banks, who seems to have grown comfortable in the past couple of days on board the ship, munches on a crispy cookie heavily flavored with vanilla. Perez picked them up in the Krenshawz starport. Banks says, “Kopan is well-armed, flush with cash, and really smart. Connell, well, she’s as smart as they come. Started in the army before becoming a thief and pirate. Legend is that she could’ve coughed up her friend, Asah, a few years back. She didn’t. She did hard time instead of him. When Jaxor, the former head of Kopan, died last year, she was the obvious choice to lead. Since then, she’s been more daring and getting richer, they won’t be anything like Aneh Akai.”

Lero asks the Count to prepare a message for Kopan and then orders the passive scans.

Roll Electronics (sensors) Average (8+)
/r 2d6
2d6 = (5+2) = 7

Roll fails
Time for sensors check. 1d6x10
/r 1d6*10
1d6*10 = (6)*10 = 60
1 hour

Perez orders her team to begin the scans. She speaks in hushed tones for several minutes, and Lero lets her try to sort out the tasks and team. After an hour, Perez reports that the magnetic field of the gas giant seems to have interfered with the scans and they’ve provided nothing of use. She says, “We can go active or move closer or at a different angle for passive.”

Lero rubs his chin and looks at his XO. **”What do we know about our tail? Any attempt to communicate with Kopan?” Lero realizes he’s assumed the boat was Krenshawz and curses himself for the assumption.

Zernov looks at the latest data, frustrated at a lack of intel. Spies... There's a lot of them all of the sudden. This little fly following us, Banks and his crew... "Sensors, be on the lookout for any un expected transmissions from inside the Deimos."

"Aye Sir. shifting some scopes to monitor internal coms, power level?"

"Ship to ship."

"Wilco."

Zernov says, "Commander, This little scout following us has always kept a direct line of sight with their Starport and looks like one of their Naval yards. I would like to try something."

Seeing a nod from the Commander, Zernov continues. "They might think we've lost them, or they may have gotten lax with the ease of their task so far. Sensors needs us to reposition anyway to account for gravity. What if we tilted up and Coreward, using the Deimos to block LOS for the tail to their shipyard. Then, presumably, their best target for maintaining status updates would be to the Starport where we could have slipped another passive buoy. After we reposition maybe we can get a fix on Kopan. Maybe we catch the scout relaying information home. Maybe Banks and his team aren't all they say, and would need to report when we changed trajectory... It'll be an odd maneuver, everyone with a powerful boss will feel the pressure to give what details they have.

"Let me work on it Commander. Given how ruthless they are, I believe you won't mind if we take a 'harsher' approach compared to what we used with Akai Aneh, correct?"

Lero turns to the pilot, ”Plot a course and maneuver according to the XO’s instruction.” Lero had never felt the need to be the smartest in the room. Commanding a ship means relying on others—from the crew monitoring power fluctuations to XOs providing tactics. The best ideas, no matter where from. ”Let’s do this and well. I hate being blind.”

Roll for Pilot Jackson, Average (8+)
/r 2d6+1
2d6+1 = (4+2+1) = 7Fails....

Jackson punches in the numbers, and the Deimos follows the trajectory he input. “Shit.”

Lero pulls up the info in the holoscreen before him. A miscalculation. The Deimos doesn’t intersect the LOS path of the boat. Lero says, ”Get her in position.”

“Aye sir.” Jackson punches in a new course.

Roll again. Average (8+).
/r 2d6+1
2d6+1 = (6+3)+1 = 10
Success

Lero starts to tell Perez to monitor the boat and begin the passive scans of the Kopan base, but she is already doing it and let’s her continue uninterrupted.

Roll Difficult (10+) for intercepting boat’s comms.
/r 2d6+2
2d6+2 = (3+5+2) = 10
Success.

 “We’ve got something. It’s coming in encrypted.”

Lero heard the excitement in her voice.

roll for Kopan, Average (8+) along with time
/r 2d6+2
2d6+2 = (4+1+2) = 7
miss
/r 1d6*10
1d6*10 = (6)*10 = 60
Time to decipher comms = 1d6 hours
/r 1d6
1d6 = (5) = 5

Perez says, “We’ll need time for the scans and deciphering work.”

”Understood,” says Lero. ”Keep watching that boat.”

The bridge remains in a tense state as the computers and analysts crank through the reams of data. After thirty minutes, Lero is positive that the scans of Kopan will be useless. He finishes a coffee just as the sensors officer shouts, “Sir, we’ve got movement from the satellite that Kopan is using. “

”Details.”

Roll 1d10 for number of ships.
/r 1d10
1d10 = (8) = 8

“Six. No eight bogies, sir. Bearing 1-6-2-4.” 

Away from the Deimos but not directly. ”Start active scans. Let’s catch up to them. And get me the Force Commander. I want targeting solutions and predicted paths on those eight ships and a raiding option for the Kopan base.”

A series of “Aye sirs” and bustle. 

Lero sits in his chair, eyeing the boat, wondering what it had communicated back to Krenshawz. What are they up to?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Solo Traveller Setting Part 2: Carcharoth and the Resistance

Image
President Rica Breson Carcharoth (C630776-B) was invaded in the early hours of 1089.134 (Imperial) by the the People's Supremacy's crack 35th Drop Ranger Battalion. In accord with the People's Supremacy doctrine, numerous psionic agents were infiltrated into the governmental and military structure months and years in advance. However, President Rica Breson, aware of the People's invasions of Jora and Uryuom, had taken some measures to protect the government. Widespread use of psionic-shields and rigorous recruitment of loyal psions provided a thin line of defense. In this case, it was enough to allow Breson and the members of her cabinet to evade capture in the openings hours of the invasion. Nonetheless, the People's Army and Navy smashed the Carcharoth defense forces. Remnants of the army now form the nucleus of the Carcharoth Freedom Army (CFA), the primary resistance movement on Carcharoth. Breson and her cabinet found refuge in Blerreon (B547524-7) in the Piah ...
Read more

Solo Traveller Setting Part 1: Klebe and the People’s Supremacy

Image
Image by  Gerd Altmann  from  Pixabay   From the History of the Harem Sector in Foreven by Dr. Hatishiv Logius Once a Zhodani aligned state, even the Zhodani Consulate has distanced itself since the People’s Revolutionary Party seized power in a hard coup in 1082 (Imperial). The genesis of the People’s Supremacy was a growing perception that those empowered with psionic abilities were innately better than non-psionic enabled people. While largely inline with Zhodani philosophy (reference the position of the proles), Minister Andyr Fualiz positioned the then People’s Party--a vaguely communist-anarchist oriented group--into a more aggressive, psion superiority party. When slapped with the term supremacist movement, Fualiz embraced the term. In the early hours of day 1082.53 (Imperial), Fualiz and Admiral Habix Villous (a secret psion who had for years ensured the rise of fellow psions to high military ranks) seized the capital city, Nolar, and secured the system wit...
Read more

Chapter 1, Part 15: Krenshawz

Image
History of Hubble Space Telescope, NASA, MSFC, 2001 If you want to start at the beginning.... Rules for this referee-less, play by post game. Chapter 1 Part 15 Krenshawz Zernov ambles into the room. Late night emergency meetings like this are when Zernov's age and preference for lower G is the most evident. He's stiff, and quicker to find his chair. The morning routine of stretches and warmups had to be skipped, and without combat there was no adrenaline to clear out the cobwebs. Sitting deeply in his chair, Zernov focuses on reading ahead in the report before the briefing starts. Maybe no one will notice him falling behind while he's still waking up. Lero steeples his fingers together and tells Perez to begin. Perez stands up. “After extensive searches, we found nothing of use at the Kopan base. This, in itself, is telling and lends credence to the XO’s suspicions regarding Kopan’s seeming preparedness. Raiders would not have scrubbed and destroyed e...
Read more