Starforged - Mina the lore keeper: Session 6, A Fresh Start in a New Sector

New sector rolled up and we are ready to go. Mina would be following the trade routes out of Veiled Keeper space and back to somewhere she can hole up and get her bearings, so we'll begin with a 'Set a Course' roll to see how that journey goes. If you'll forgive me some exposition, I'm going to indulge in a little scene setting in the new sector and we'll get back to media res as soon as I can

Set a Course + Supply (5)

[Strong Hit: 6 + 5 + 0 = 10 vs 1 | 6]

We reach our destination and the situation there favours us, take +1 momentum.

I'm already at the maximum of 10 momentum, but we'll happily take the permission to give ourselves a favourable starting situation on arrival.

The ship rattles and shakes as it exits the jump not too far from the glowing orange star of Vindemiatrix. I let go of a breath I've been holding since shortly before passing through Veiled Keeper border controls and feel the tension leave my shoulders. I silence an alert from the navcomp, set course for the planet of Pyla and start downloading everything I can off the local comms network. This place was a powder keg in the process of exploding when I was last here, and I have a cargo hold full of riot gear. In chaos there is opportunity.

The cockpit door slides open and Eveline walks in stifling a yawn and holding a cup of steaming coffee in the other hand. "This is good" she says proffering the mug. "One of the perks of trading the stuff is always having a fresh supply" I respond, eyes fixed on the latest news reports. "Well, well... looks like the rebels have taken Burnell station. It's Broken Union territory now." I send a quick comm message to E.R.I.C asking him to bone up on Broken Union ettiquette. I'll be needing his help.

"How much galactic politics did you hear on Larissa?" I ask. Eveline shrugs. "OK the short version - this sector is run by a faction called the Fated Domains. Not very well, and possibly not for much longer. Leadership is passed down through dynasties, descendants of the original families that first settled here. They always looked after their people and it always worked OK, but the latest bunch got greedy. They tried to funnel all the mining profits to themselves, and to take control of the military off the generals. The generals didn't like that much, and the people weren't keen on becoming serfs. They splintered and formed a rebel group called the Broken Union."

I scan the news again. "Last time I was here they'd seized control of Bulwark, the military HQ on the planet, and rumour was they'd be pushing for Pinnacle, the mining settlement. But sounds like they went for the Orbital instead." Eveline glances at the sector map and takes a sip of coffee. "Makes sense. Those orbitals are your eyes in the sky. You want to control trade, see who's coming in and out of the sector. For that you need assets in space. Mines are hard to assault, easy to defend. But if you can't sell the stuff you're mining, it doesn't do you much good."

I nod. "Right, but here's the twist. What they're mining is Spice. The whole faction is built on it. Most of the people who live in this sector are spice users, to some extent or other. It's not much good for trade outside Fated Domains space - legally at least, it's minimum class B everywhere else - but cut off the supply and most of the sector goes into withdrawal once the stockpiles start running out. Those mines are the ultimate leverage."

What can I say? I rolled up a desert planet, a planetside settlement with a mining project, and a faction whose quirk is "dependent on an addictive substance". Both the main faction and the fringe group rolled 'Consolidate control of a valuable commodity." He who controls the Spice controls the Igneous Verge sector, apparently.

If I don't roll up an encounter with a Worldbreaker when I go exploring the desert then I'm going to be very disappointed.

Eveline gives a low whistle. "We used to catch shipments of that stuff occasionally and lock up the smugglers. Sometimes the smuggler was also a user. The comedown looked... unpleasant."

"There's no panic in the comms about supply yet, so hopefully the stockpiles will last a while longer. In the meantime we're heading to Bulwark, I have a contact and it sounds like they might be able to use a few dozen crates of body armour. And actually those tasers might be popular with private citizens in times like these. Law and order breaks down, people like to know they can defend themselves."

"That reminds me." I reach over, punch a few buttons and speak a passphrase. "I've authorised you to access the 'armoury'. I forget what's in there, but have a look and kit yourself out as best you can."

I intended to roll "Check your gear" but it's not really intended for this kind of thing, so instead we'll attempt to "Secure an Advantage" by kitting Eveline out with some decent combat equipment. And I'm going to roll +supply, since this doesn't really relate to any personal attributes.

Secure an Advantage + Supply (5)

[Strong Hit: 6 + 5 + 0 = 10 vs 7 | 9]

The mechanical bonus of this will be that Eveline is now equipped to aid me in a wider variety of situations, so I'll be able to take that +1 connection bonus for bigger fights and at longer ranges without putting her at risk.

I get a comm a few minutes later from Eveline complaining about the state of the charge rifle she found out back, but between the contents of the cargo hold and the weapons cabinet she's able to cobble together a respectable combat outfit. I have a laspistol that I don't really know how to use, but I ask Eveline to bring me back one of the tasers. She snorts with laughter, but when she gets back she has one for me.

Within the hour we're on approach to Bulwark and my docking request has been approved. I fire off a quick message to my old contact based in the city and hope they're still around despite the upheaval.  As we touch down on the landing dock I get an affirmative and an invitation to meet up in one of the local bars later that evening. I let Eveline know what's happening. "Danger money starts here." She manages the first smile since we left Veiled Keeper space. "You did promise it would be interesting." I find myself smiling back.