Campaign Log

The Ambassdor of the Quan

The battle raged in the level below the pilots chamber. The Queen’s minions and her last two elite handmaidens were destroyed and Lord Cryos was forced to teleport back to the cockpit chamber. Once there they gathered the last of their forces as the Ambassador of Quan streamed toward Ruros prepared to do whatever it would take to bring an end to the rebellion that had so rocked the Slipstream.

Suddenly the doors burst open and the motley terrorists streamed into the chamber. Queen Anathraxa drained her faithful uber primal so as to fully send her calming presence to convince the terrorists not to overthrow the Queen’s rule. One of her last surviving daughters rushed to defend her but was cut down, her battle armour exploding as she died. The battle was fierce but brief and eventually, one by one the terrorists fell. First Imran the bloodthirsty Tigra, then Dougal the confused earthling. The Queens pleas for peace found their way into the mind of Trask the Gyptosian and he helped take down Savina the Antelopus and to chase of Manhattan the Koldosite. Finally /4 the robot man just seemed to be overwhelmed by the chaos, malfunction and shut down as Chirp the bird woman fell before the laser sword blades of the Queen’s final handmaiden. And so the the Queen was saved from the dreadful terrorist attack.

All hail Queen Anathraxa!

“That is no Moon…”

The crew squeezed their way through the vents and entered the lower metallic pyramid and started to swim to the surface. They found a section that had air and rested and healed before re-entering the water. It was apparent that Quan worms had also entered the pyramid and the water was slowly heating up as the pyramid came to life. It appeared the vast majority of the interior of the fragment of Quan was in fact a massive advanced alien rocket ship! They managed to exit from the water and started to explore the pyramid. /4 found a transportation room and they activated it and started to travel toward the second level from top. As the travelled upward they at first found the distance between levels quite significant but as they went up award each level got smaller as did the distance between levels. As they neared their destination they saw a number of Anathraxan minions and what appeared to be Anathraxa herself lying in wait at the top of stairs that they likely would have taken had they approached on foot. They stopped the lift and attacked. It turned out that it was not Anathraxa but merely clone number 5 who was despatched by Chirp.

Before they could mop up the remaining minions a squad of minions lead by 2 handmaidens appeared and opened fire on the crew. Savina was baked in atomic fire and Chirp and a flying Imran engaged one of the handmaidens with Imran striking a severe blow…

Next week: The Ambassdor of the Quan

The Pyramid of Quan

The Parashurama and crew flew to the mysterious fragment of Quan. Everyone had stories of the mysterious fragment but only Manhattan’s turned out to be largely correct. A huge ball of ice inhabited only by ferocious worm like creatures the size of rocket sleds. Only one structure was known to stand on the icy wastes —a gigantic pyramid built by an unknown race. Queen Anathraxa had imposed a blockade around Quan as soon as her minions discovered the fragment. More than Twenty Warships flew patrols interdicting the fragment.

When they arrived they realised that the patrols were heavily focussed on the pyramid area allowing the crew to land on the dark side of the fragment and make their way across the ice. On their way they discovered that the ball of ice was riddled with worm holes, and that the worms melted the ice to travel through it. They were attacked by Quan worms who had beard like tentacles and claws as well as a bite that could swallow a grown man. In addition they radiated a fearful heat in battle. The worms and their ice tunnels seem to increase in number as they got closer to the pyramid.

The crew got to the base of the acute pyramid of Quan using the ice tunnels and managing to avoid being spotted by the surveilling warships. The ice seemed tectonically unstable as there were periodic shakes and quakes, as if waking for the first time in centuries. Arriving at the pyramid they realised that it extended deep below the ice, that the only entrance they could see was near the mile high apex which would be impossible to approach without being spotted by the rocketship patrols, that the ice tunnels near the pyramid were filled with water and that /4’s teleportation would not grant them entrance to the pyramid. They were also contacted by Princess Dawn who told them that Quan had started moving and the Parashurama could no longer safely stay landed. She had taken off and was following the fragment of Quan as it started to accelerate. The crew decided to delve into the ice tunnels to see if they could find another way into the pyramid.

Swimming deep below the ice surface they started to see changes in the pyramid, it was not just a simple geometric structure but appeared to be more like the prow of a vessel. They saw protuberances that could allow access as they were once again set upon by Quan worms…

Next week: “That is no Moon…”

Hot on the trail

The crew flew to Mechanus to rescue Princess Dawn. They disguised themselves as robotmen and found their way into the interrogation chamber where Princess Aurora was about to be disassembled. There they battled some war drones and hyper science bots and achieved her freedom. They managed to then escape back to their ship despite the alert klaxons blaring. Princess Dawn had heard that Anathraxan vessels were gathering at Quan, that the great machine was operative and Queen Anathraxa’s lead scientists Lord Cryos had figured out how to make an annihilation bomb capable of destroying a fragment. That the Queen planned to destroy Ruros “the breadbasket of slipstream” as an example to the rebellion.

Wasting little time the crew flew to Xaq where they recovered the Parashurama and in doing so defeated one of Queen Anathraxa’s handmaidens.

Next Week The Pyramid of Quan

Hunters or Hunted

The crew flew in their captured hover car in the direction that they thought an enemy ship may be berthed and sure enough after half an hour they came upon an oversized robot man salvager vessel guarded by Primals. They attacked the guards and had to deal with some robot man snipers and a couple of flame throwing robot rocketship defence creatures. But they managed to defeat them and commandeer the ship.

Next Week Hot on the trail

Wait, what just happened?

The crew continued to search the palace and disarm various charges placed in the building. /4 and Dougal were sent to make their way back to the Parashurama to prepare to teleport the others out should that be required. However upon returning to where their ship was parked they discovered a cunning trap. A crew of elite robot man snipers armed with sonic rifles and a hologram projection of their ship. Their Rocketship had been stolen! They fell into the trap were defeated and surrendered - while managing to alert the others of their predicament over their radiophone.

The remainder of the crew boosted a land vehicle and rushed to the landing site. They saw that the robot men had securely bound /4 and Dougal and had called an air raft to evacuate them away. They launched an attack against the robot men who were well prepared and dangerous foes. Savina, Manhattan, Imran and Trask were soon defeated while Chirp managed to defeat the robot men on the air raft and escape with Dougal and /4. Once /4 was freed they swooped just into range of the prisoners and Dougal teleported them onto the air raft. The battered crew blasted away from the battle.

Next Week Hunters or Hunted

Soldiers to the last

The War Rocket Parashurama returned to Aurora to find it was under attack. An armada comprised of Anathraxan warships, Angelan fighter scouts and Robot Man enforcers were swarming the skies above the Auroran palace. As they skirted the fleet trying to get a better view of the battle they realised that while the invading force dominated the skies and had taken the palace a ground force of locals was attacking the invaders trying to recover the palace. They were attacked by a couple of Angelan scouts who sought to distract the mighty War Rocket, so they wouldn’t interrupt their palace insertion, and soon a battle in the skies ensued - all the while the forces of Queen Anathraxa hunted through the palace seeking to kidnap Queen Dawn, the robot lady ruler and liberator of Aurora.

The distraction was a success. By the time the crew of the Parashurama had defeated a couple of Anathraxan ships and made their way to the palace Queen Dawn had been found, captured and whisked off fragment and the forces of evil were placing bombs about the palace. The Crew disguised themselves as a squad of Primals and disarmed a couple of bombs before they were discovered at which point they took out a squad of elite Primals and Robot men…

Next Week Wait, what just happened?

Tis the Season!

Weeks after their escapades on Amazonia and after starting the process to raise the Cavors to sapience the crew of the newly christened Parashurama were on the fragment of Arid being called upon to discover the cause of the new recent raids that had been plaguing the planet. Pirates had been raiding multiple times a week at all different locations, scooping up atomic ores and Aridian slaves in ways that suggested that they knew when and how to best thwart the Aridian defences. Princes Wasim asked for their help and the crew delivered.

Using the Parashurama’s teleportation device to its maximum capacity they interrupted a Krieger pirate raid, captured its leader and successfully interrogated him as to the cause of the raids and the secret to their success. They found that a high up Aridian scientist named Dr Grinch had provided all the information to various pirates with the plan that it would stretch the Aridian forces thin allowing him to break into the royal Midwinter Desert Palace to steal a religiously significant item “The Midwinter’s Star” and to kidnap Princess Allaria who he desired but who had spurned his advances. With no time to spare they notified Prince Wasim over their radiophone and rushed to the Midwinter Desert Palace. On the way The Prince told them that his attempts to contact the Palace had failed, the attack was already underway!

Arriving and bursting through the palace doors, they battled past huge radioactive machine men and exotic fettian bounty hunters to beard Dr Grinch in his lair. Grinch threw the Princess in an escape rocket ship and set off a strange timer on a nearby device. As Trask, as well as Savina and Imran fighting side by side, were defeating Grinch /4 discovered that the timer was rigged to a weird bomb to use the atomic power of the Midwinter’s Star to set off a mighty atomic explosion and destroy the whole of Midwinter Palace to cover his devious abduction!

More through good luck than skill the plucky members of the crew of the Pashurama disabled the bomb and saved the day!

The episode ended with a scene in another part of the Sliptream. Dozens of pirate ships and Anathraxan barges delivering tonnes of atomic ores to Queen Anathraxa’s forces. The backlit image of her chief weird scientist Lord Cryos and the words “This should be sufficient, ready the Great Machine!”

Next Month: Soldiers to the last

Old Memories

The crew fell into a lower section of the building where they battled creepy crawlies and eventually rescued Trask from the cistern seemingly filled with aquatic predators. On the lowest level of this ancient building they saw a single tunnel emitting light from a number of hi tech ceiling light tubes. They spent a few minutes recovering themselves and then headed to explore this tunnel. There they found what looked to be a metallic door in front of which was the abandoned camp of the being they sought.

Chirp activated the door. As the door slid into the floor, a Raptor Man wearing an ill-fitting helmet came into view. He levelled a sonic gun at the party and hissed, “Lies! LIES! You want to destroy my race! I cannot allow that to happen!” Dozens of cavor bodies as well as several creepy crawly corpses lay about the room, a blue light screen and various high tech bits also made up the room. Combat with Tricer and various mutant and well armed cavors ensued as messages appeared on the blue screen which seemed to infuriate Tricer.

The screen projected image of a solar system. Twelve planets circling a sun. A voice emanated from the screen and an image of a humanoid, what cavors were before some unknown calamity. “Greetings, traveler. My name is unimportant for I am long dead, but I shall tell you of our demise. My planet was the fourth from our star and was called Almeda. We were an advanced species, dedicated to science and research. Our greatest achievement was the creation of a slave race, which we called Raptorus.” An image of a Raptor Man appeared. “We bred them to labor in our fields and fight our wars. But I digress, for these wretches are not important. A comet approached our planet on a collision course. Despite our scientists' best efforts, we could not find a way to divert the missile. It struck our world with deadly force. “I do not know how many of us survive, but the sky has been dark for many years and our civilization is smashed. Food supplies are exhausted. Our end has come. This chamber contains what we have saved of the records of our technology and our history. Use them wisely.”

The crew defeated the mutant Cavors and the insane Tricer and were left with a decision as to what to do with this newfound knowledge.

Next Week: Tis the season!

The Gentle Art

Over the next few weeks word of the antidote to Anathraxa’s Death Dust continued to spread. /4 returned to Mechanus to get a personal upgrade, others went to Ruros, the breadbasket of Slipstream, to recharge their advanced rutile healing kit and the crew repaired the rocket ships of their fleet and moved all of their rocketship alien artifacts onto the Hermes, their new main rocketship. With this new ship they made their way throughout the Slipstream seeking allies in the rebellion fully aware that in doing so they were drawing the attention of the malevolent eye of Queen Anathraxa.

On the jungle fragment of Amazonia they found themselves doing a favour for the ruling clan of Raptormen by heading deep into Cavor controlled jungle to find the noble and wise, but arrogant Raptorman scholar Tricer who had disappeared on an expedition to ruins in these very jungles. They battled the heat and dinosaurs and while sheltering inside what appeared to be the ruins of a building in a lost and overgrown city were eventually ambushed by a massive horde of Cavors who swarmed over them and sought to overwhelm, grab and disable them, wrenching away their technological advantages. During this battle Manhattan grew to an enormous size, Trask was stripped of his rocket belt and unceremoniously thrown into a pit and eventually Chirp dropped two grenades into the crowd. As she did so the floor beneath them gave way and part of the building collapsed…

Next Week: Old Memories

Hermes and friends

A mishap with his teleportation scanner caused /4 to power out as he sent Dougal, Trask and Chirp from their captured warship Hoplite XIX onto the damaged Achilles and at the same time somehow brought Manhattan from the Achilles to the Hoplite XIX.

Those left on the Achilles flew toward the approaching warship Hermes guns blazing. As they moved to engage the Hermes teleported various damaging space entities across the gulf of space into the Achilles and the crew battled them all as the gap lessened. Finally the crew on the Hermes disabled the Achilles and turned to abandon it to sink to the surface of Simba but they did not realise that they had made the mistake of getting too close.

First Savina rocketed across the gap, burst into the Hermes and started shooting the minion pilots. Then Imran, under the haze of berserker drugs somehow managed to streak across the gap, through the door and into the primal guards and finally Trask, Chirp and then Dougal made the trip. The Hermes was boarded and conquered.

Within a few hours, the Death Dust on Simba was neutralised and Simba was saved. With the threat of the Death Dust gone and Lion Men attacking on all fronts, Anathraxa's forces pulled back from Simba as fast as their rocketships could carry them. Hundreds of Lion Men lost their lives, but thousands more had been saved…

Weeks passed and word spread throughout the Slipstream that Queen Anathraxa no longer could rely on the threat of the Death Dust to keep fragments beneath her boot. While she still controlled the largest single force in the systems a new Rebel Alliance was forming and a mismatched crew of heroes was out in the stream gathering allies.

Next Week: The Gentle Art

The Cure!

The crew were richly rewarded by King Throx and feted for their part in returning Prince Boolar to Avia. They spent some of their rewards in the Avian malls and used the science laboratories to duplicate the Death Dust antidote. They recruited a birdman engineer and pilot to help crew their vessel and then returned to Aurora and fitted out The Liberator

with a dust dispenser. With each of their ships ready to dispense the cure they flew to Simba to release the Death Dust antidote.

Arriving they found the fragment was still under blockade. The Achilles with Savina, Imran, Manhattan and their two new recruits slipped into the blockade while The Liberator with /4, Trask, Dougal and Chirp tried to sneak past the blockade into Simba’s toxic atmosphere.

Unfortunately they were spotted by a couple of Anathraxa’s warships and they gave chase. Worse still in trying to dissuade the warships from chasing The Liberator The Achilles gave itself away and an Anathraxan war Rocket called The Hermes began to approach.

The Liberator was badly damaged in a dog fight with the warships and forced to land. The crew exited the ship and /4 teleported them onto one of the warships where they battled the crew. Meanwhile on The Achilles a force of Primals were teleported aboard. While Manhattan roasted most of them a walking bomb made its way to the engines before it was attacked and detonated by Imran.

Next Week: Hermes and friends

The Conspiracy.

The repercussions of the attack had Dougal buried in rubble and extracted by /4, Manhattan reading the minds of Lord Councillor Ssorriss’s protection detail with whom Trask and Imran were remonstrating. Chirp trying to get Kalaga involved as Lord Councillor Ssorriss was whisked back to his hotel. Imran impulsively stole a car and the crew piled in and followed him. Eventually they calmed down and submitted to questioning where they explained the details of the plot. Ssokar of House Telepathicus and senior counsel to Lord Councillor Ssoriss met with Trask on behalf of the group and gave them a seal to display to show they had the favour of Lord Councillor Ssorriss. They were told they could repair their rocket ship at Lord Councillors cost and they were asked to leave the fragment.

The Achilles was repaired with the help of some Dracosian engineers and the crew flew her to Avia. On the way /4 found a transmitter, that would have given them away to any of Queen Anathraxa’s forces, had been hidden within their ship during the repairs. It was removed and destroyed.

On Avia they met up with the rebels loyal to Prince Boolar, they managed to smuggle them into a private viewing room with King Throx Prince Craw and a mere handful of guards. With little effort they overcame the Prince and rescued the King.

Next Week: The Cure!

Here be Dragons!

Leaving their rocketship hidden the crew made their way into a Dracsosian town. There they managed to buy enough parts to repair the engine damage but were unable to acquire materials needed to remove the automated flight computer and replace it with more standard steering mechanisms.

While minding their own business a badly wounded native dressed in council guard clothing stumbled from a nearby building. Seconds later three more Dracsos wearing similar clothing and mounted on Dracosteeds emerged from the same building and tried to finish off the wounded alien… and the witnesses. They defeated the attackers, rescued the Dracsoian named Kalaga and learned of a plot to kill Lord councillor Ssorriss. The assassination attempt was scheduled to occur that very evening in the nearby plaza!

After some looting and hiding of bodies they rushed to the Plaza. Their inelegant entrance convinced Lord Councillor Ssorriss’s guards that they were a threat but they managed to battle past them, snatch a bomb placed near Lord Councillor Ssorriss and throw it into the rear of the building where it exploded on two would be assassins.

Next Week: The Conspiracy.

Delivering an Antidote!

Making their way back to the rocketship Achilles the crew met a psychic Koldoshian named Manhattan who, as he possessed rare psionic powers, was wanted by Queen Anathraxa’s forces and was on Boroosh trying to escape the famed bounty hunter Gargermel. He hitched a ride with the crew as they took off from Boroosh planning to fly to Avia to take Prince Boolar back to his people.

Unknown to the crew the Achilles automated guidance system had re-engaged and soon they found themselves off course and heading back to the prison planet Radios! The first sign that they were dramatically off course was when they entered the Graviton Wave which was not on their path to Avia. They got caught up in the Graviton drag and hurtled along as /4 struggled to disconnect the guidance system that had taken over the ship - without totally destroying the controls which would make piloting impossible. As they clattered along in the Graviton Wave debris they encountered a wrecked rocketship which they were able to board and look for loot. A couple of zombies and their parasitic puppeteers were battled and dispatched.

By the time /4 managed to regain control of the Achilles and exit the Graviton Wave the ship had suffered damage to its atomic engine and they were well off course. They limped to the nearest fragment which they recognised as Dracos. Not wanting to draw too much attention to themselves in a stolen Anathraxan War Rocket they avoided any city landing zones and crash landed in an empty field.

Next week: Here be Dragons!

Navigating a Borooshian labyrinth

After defeating a Borooshian quaker the crew were found by some Borooshians who they convinced to guide them to the king’s city. Then with the help of King Prognosh the crew were assigned two Borooshian guides and they made their way to Queen Anathraxa’s secret base. It seemed to be in a state of disarray as the members were packing up getting ready to leave. /4 used his holographic tricaster to make their way crew resemble Primals and they snuck onto the base and, amid the confusion, found what they were looking for, an antidote to the Death Dust. They snuck off the base and as they were making their way through the labyrinth a huge explosion destroyed the base.

Next Time: Delivering an Antidote!

???

While the crew of The Liberator had been captured in the prison of Radios they had managed to allow Prince Boolar’s escape into the maintenance shafts of the prison. There he met Savina the Antelopos who had also managed to escape in the confusion. They communicated with /4 and came up with an escape plan. As they plotted the rest of the crew were tortured and interrogated by Queen Anathraxa’s agents.

Once the crew were left in their cell to recover the plan was put into action, /4 stole The Achilles and managed to jam the communications from the prison and Savina and The Prince used the maintenance tunnels to rescue the crew, lead them through the maze of tunnels out of the prison - they escaped the dreaded Radios.

Freed they asked Prince Boolar what he knew about a cure for the death dust and he told them that Anathraxa had a secret research base on Boroosh where they manufactured the Death Dust. That maybe they have an antidote as well. She boasted about it while he was her… prisoner. He guessed she never expected him to be able to tell anyone about it. His advice was to visit King Prognosh and ask his aid in locating the base. So they landed their stolen warship in a canyon a distance from the King’s city and made their way toward him, getting jumped by hapless pirates along the way who they defeated and stripped to partially re-equip.

Next Time: Navigating a Borooshian labyrinth.

🎶Jailbreak Part II

The crew put on gas masks and made their way past the defeated guards to the unoccupied prison control booth. There they heard that guards at the nearby barracks facility were scrambling and they also found records of the cell location of Prince Boolar. Chirp rushed to free him and the others kept watch as a hover barge of guards touched down and prepared to storm the prison. By the time Chirp had freed the Prince forces had swarmed in, Imran was down and Trask was fighting an inevitable losing battle against one of the the Queen’s handmaidens. At the back of the landing between the two prison levels the Prince found a hatch to a disused maintenance tunnel and crept inside as the last of the crew were overwhelmed by Queen Anathraxa’s forces. Fade to black.

Next Time: ???

🎶Jailbreak

Trask managed to pick the lock to his cell door but before he could sneak up to the level of his compatriots he was forced to release Sevina the Antelopos who he then convinced to wait in the stairwell. Freeing his fellows he then attempted to remove Dougals control collar but only succeeded in setting off a flashing red light.

Within moments a remote sentry and two primal guards made their way down to the cells but after a quick scuffle they were subdued. Unfortunately before the crew could escape and make their way up to the prison control area a purple knockout gas was released and a squad of primals wearing gas masks and a second remote sentry moved to attack. Imran and Trask passed out due to the gas and after a fierce battle Dougal and Chirp managed to defeat their foes.

Next time: 🎶Jailbreak Part II

A Pirates life for me.

The crew of The Liberator carefully planned their attempt to rescue Prince Boolar. They borrowed an Angeli Scoutship from Queen Dawn of Aurora and made their way to Vitin. There they met with Captain Invigo and as a result of Chirp defeating his Orangutaur champion convinced him to help them with their prison rescue. They then struck a deal with Slave master Qwerrin Drak and were smuggled aboard The Achilles.

Everyone except the robot man /4 was disguised as prisoners and escorted into individual cells in the prison on Radios. /4 hid aboard The Achilles as it left the prison and flew to some nearby barracks for the Primals to get some rest before the return trip.

As darkness fell over Radios Trask extracted his hidden lock picks and got to work on the cell doors…

Next time: 🎶Jailbreak.

Spiders, why did it have to be spiders!

With the help of the rebels of Avia the crew repaired The Liberator and then hopped their way across the Slipstream stopping to trade on Hosbec and Gemopia before making their way to cross the Graviton Wave to Babel. On the way they rescued a Valkyria named Ran Skadi whose ship was under attack from pirates and picked up an extra swivel ray gun for their ship. On Babel they met up with Librarian Walflump Broseptos who gave them the Personal Energy Shield he had promised. They then made their way from there past Aurora to Arachnea to try and find the Lupine spacejock Rezzal Yowlin who apparently was going to the fragment trying to find ingredients for anaesthetics on the fragment. Landing they were ambushed by spider men, cocooned in webbing and taken to the larder of the spider god-queen.

When they awoke they appeared to be in a huge cavern that stretched back into darkness. They were not alone. A couple dozen others were also either tearing their way free of web cocoons, or inspecting the technological scrap which littered the cave. The exit from the cave was a sinkhole that was blocked by thick webbing which meant the interior was only opaquely illuminated. Further in the walls around the sinkhole dozens of spidermen perched humming a subsonic chant for their deity. One of the poor unfortunates trapped was Rezzal Yowlin, he warned them that soon the queen would arrive to feast upon them and they best hide which is how he survived the last feasting.

The crew instead scavenged from the techno-junk enough material to make four makeshift rocket sleds. Enough to carry all the victims out of the larder. Just as the rocket sleds finished powering up the queen arrived. A gargantuan spider-thing she was larger than a rocket ship and she attempted to smash the sleds out of the air with her massive legs and feelers as they fled. Fortunately with some gutsy flying all made it safely away, back to the ships and eventually safely to Aurora. Once there Rowlin told his story:

“I was captured by Primals while snooping round on Quan. They loaded me on a ship and sent me off to who knows where. I overheard two of them talking about the next delivery to Radios. Apparently they use an automated War Rocket named Achilles to get through The Barrier. According to the Primals, it stops at Vitin to pick up slaves. You could pretend to be slaves or if maybe even sneak and hide aboard in the supplies.”

“If you're planning on going to Vitin the password to the pirate patrols near Vitin to show you're friendly is “Hammerhead.” When you’re there look up a pirate chief by the name of Michtitli Invigo. Tell him I sent you. He'll be able to help you get to the Achilles.”

Next week: A Pirates life for me.

The Forest Below.

The crew, apart from /4, parachuted down toward the forest below Avia Prime chased by black plumed Birdmen. The forest had a variety of trash scattered across the floor and within the trash and forest lurked a number of strange forest octopi who tried to feast upon the fallen crew. Chirp and Imran managed to escape but the chasing Birdmen surrounded Trask and Dougal as they battled forest octopi and took them captive.

They were taken by the Black plumed Birdmen and transported back to Cavarr where they were handed over to the troops of Queen Anathraxa and taken aboard her warship Zanzibar. The Zanzibar, like much of her armada, was under the command of at least one of her Handmaidens, crewed by her strangely loyal earthling minions and guarded by numerous ape like Primals who seemed to revere the Queen like a god. From the conversation between the Primals guarding them it seemed likely that Dougal would be taken to before Queen Anathraxa to have his mind broken to become a minion while the gyptosian Trask would be put to work in her mines on Radios. They also overheard that she had gotten tired of her recent Birdmen playthings and that they too had been dumped on Radios.

Meanwhile the rest of the crew had met up with some Avian rebels, loyal to the missing Prince Boolar and who claimed to be loyal to the way King Throx had been before Prince Craws strange influence. They were told that Prince Boolar was indeed a captive of Queen Anathraxa and that Prince Craw had poisoned his father's mind against aiding Boolar. He has some sort of power over his father, who had declared all his former advisors and champions to be enemies of the state. Many were imprisoned or handed over to Anathraxa others were part of the rebellion.

The rebels planned to sneak aboard the warship Zanzibar and place within the engine a device that would cause it to explode, thus hoping to drive a wedge between the Birdmen and Queen Anathraxa. With the rebels was a psychic earthling called Lort who told the crew that Dougal and Trask were prisoners aboard the Zanzibar and so the crew agreed to help smuggle aboard the device and plant it so they would have the chance to rescue their fellows.

Further combining what the prisoners had heard with what the rebels knew they realised that Prince Boolar was probably lost to them on Radios. Unfortunately to the best of their knowledge it was known to be impossible to get to Radios as it is behind The Barrier and only the queens ships know the secret way through, and even if the way was found the secret path was said to be guarded by warships.

The rescue and bomb planting was a success and while aboard the Zanzibar they discovered a hapless Borooshian, named Klendar, who had suffered a terrible fate. His brain has been surgically removed by Anathraxa's scientists. It resided in a jar-like apparatus, floating in a chemical soup that both nourished it and amplified its psychic abilities. Klendar was able to communicate through an ornate speaking trumpet and, spasmodically, through telepathy. Before Klendar was reduced to this rather sorry state he was a wanderer who roamed Slipstream. In his travels he picked up many snippets of information. As luck would have it he knew of a Lupine spacejock who had just managed to do the near impossible feat of finding a way through The Barrier to Radios. They snatched Klendar brain jar and escaped the doomed ship.

Later Klendar brain jar, the rebels and the crew made a plan. The rebels would help the crew repair The Liberator and the crew would track down the space jock Rezzal Yowlin, and with his knowledge try and rescue Prince Boolar. Unfortunately the only lead they had as to Rezzal’s location would take them to the fragment Arachnea.

Next week: Spiders, why did it have to be spiders!

Welcome to Avia.

The crew climbed out of the forest to the Basecamp settlement below Cavarr where they purchased parachutes for those that couldn’t fly (apart from /4) from some Hosbecii, repaired one that was broken and learned a bit about the situation on Avia. They made their way up 500 feet to Cavarr and found that the local lord had assumed they would die in the jungle and The Liberator was being cut up for parts. After a brief altercation this misunderstanding was resolved and they got to work restoring their vessel. Nearby to their ships station an Anathraxan warship was parked which suggested that the alliance between Avia and Queen Anathraxa had strengthened since Chirp had left this fragment many years ago.

They also noted the distinctive grey, white and black plumes worn by the local royal troops. The grey signifying an oath sworn directly to King Throx, the white to his eldest, and now missing, son Prince Boolar and the black to his second son Prince Craw. There seemed some confusion as to whether or not Prince Boolar was visiting Queen Anathraxa or was her captive. They attracted some attention when asking about the presence of the Anathraxan war vessel so decided to tell people they were going to another satellite nest town but to make their way to the capital nest city Avia Prime.

Arriving at the city they attempted to locate some white plumed soldiers so they could enquire more about the situation. Unfortunately all of the guards they saw were either black or grey plumed. Late in the day they were approached by two white plumed guards who said they would take them to see Lord Scrawk a lord who was sworn to Prince Boolar. Part way along their walk the crew emerged onto a network of branches that spanned a dizzying drop and as they were crossing a volley of ray gun fire struck down the crews escort. A flock of a dozen Bird Men wearing uniforms similar to their guards, save for black feathers on their helms, swooped down out of the clouds firing ray gun rifles. Chirp was incapacitated by ray gun fire and fell toward the forest floor. Imran dived after him, caught him and pulled his rip cord. The others also retreated from the branches and parachuted to the floor below….

Next week: The Forest Below.

War in the Trees!

The remaining crew of The Liberator were able to aptly argue before a tribunal of Barons of Angelis that they should not be unduly punished for the actions of their crazy friend. The Tribunal agreed and decided to allow them to keep their ship and equipment if they could earn it by making their way through the forest of Avia to their ship which would be dropped off at a nest town of Cavarr.

They travelled through the thick surface forests being attacked by some varieties of spiked Wolfen and some Jabber Birds before arriving at the base of a tree leading to Cavarr.

Next Time: Welcome to Avia.

The Impending Doom!!

Boarding the derelict wreck the crew of The Liberator were hit by deadly gravity waves. They eventually managed to disconnect the active graviton engine though when Imran misrevolved the harmonium defragulator /4 was badly crushed by gravity waves. They then returned to Angeli and presented The Barons with the prize. The Barons declared that to decide which of their cities would get the benefit of the graviton engine they would have a contest of champions and to the surprise of the crew The Liberator they were declared the champions who would do battle to decide who would get the prize. First up Oswald Bastable fought a badly injured /4. It was no contest as /4 shorted himself out trying to activate his stun circuits. Then Chirp and Mirion entered the arena. At first Mirion fired on Chirp but then he changed targets and gunned down one of the observing Angeli Barons and one of his attending councillors before Chirp took him down.

Pandemonium erupted and when the dust cleared Mirion was executed, and the remaining crew of The Liberator were stripped of their possessions and transported to Avia in disgrace.

Next Week: War in the Trees!

The Council of Barons.

Gathering before the Council of Barons of Angelus the crew of The Liberator agreed to travel into The Graveyard and collect a large graviton engine from a derelict rocketship and return it to Angelus so it could be used to maintain the altitude in various of the floating cities. The Angeli didn’t seem to want to trust any of their people with the mission. Due to Mirion’s intoxication they recruited an earthling named Oswald Bastable to help them including to pilot The Liberator to their quarry. On the way they were distracted by a wrecked ship which they looted and fought off some arc beetles and a giant hardy energy drainer. Having dealt with this menace and looted a small golden idol they saw the vessel they were seeking and started to make their way toward toward the derelict wreck of The Impending Doom!!

Next week: The Impending Doom!!

What next?

Fortunately the crew of The Liberator found that Mirion had been abandoned by the Aerial Stalkers and they took off in their badly damaged Rocket Ship hoping to make it to the floating cities of Angelis to effect repairs. On the way it became apparent the Aerial Stalkers had spawned in their ships atomic engine. They defeated the tentacled creature but it drained their atomic fuel leaving them stranded in space. It was only a matter of hours before they met an eastern Gyptosian merchant named Keket who provided them with fuel in exchange for some cargo and the promise of a later favour. They limped into port on a floating city of Angelis, managed to repair their ship and were summoned to attend before the Council of Barons.

Next Week: The Council of Barons.

An Interpretation.

Arriving at Sandpit the crew questioned the hiding Tropicos about a possible solution to the vision received by Mirion at the Oracle. They were perplexed and unhelpful. So the crew decided to head to Babel to consult the library. On the way they foraged through a junked rocket ship floating in the graviton wave, chatted with some Charadonois on Charadon, some Borooshians on Boroosh and some Tigras and Antelopos on Glade. While on Glade they were attacked by a pod of Aerial Stalkers who damaged their rocket ship and were chased off but took with them Mirion the pilot.

Next Week: What next?

The Detonation!

The plunger pushed and many of the explosives detonated. Not all the explosives were placed and so the Oracle survived, less a few sizeable chunks. As the dust settled and the crew recovered from the blast an Anathraxan warship and a company of Primals descended from the clouds above lead by a dreaded Handmaiden of Anathraxa who opened fire on the crew as the fled into the jungle. The Handmaiden fired her rapid fire antimatter rifle at the crew but they escaped back to the Nivekian city and their ship. The city was overwhelmed by Anathraxan troops so they stole aboard The Liberator and took off bound for Sandpit where they hoped to quiz the Tropico scientists to make sense of the Oracles clues.

On their way they came across a derelict rocket ship that turned out to be inhabited by space zombies and energy leeches. They defeated them and scrounged some goods, some drugs and some damaged rocket ship weaponry.

Next Week: An interpretation.

Picnic at Hanging Rock.

Before leaving the ruined city on Sandpit to search the mountains for hanging rock the crew of The Liberator met a likeminded earthling called Cassandra who joined their crew. They flew and landed nearby the haunting domed rock formations and trekked to search for the Hanging Rock hideout within. After some strange experiences they found the well hidden bunker and met with a couple of hundred Tropicos eking out an existence on this poisoned fragment. They learned that the Tropico scientists had found no cure for the Death Dust that had rendered their fragment uninhabitable but that they had regretted not seeking knowledge from the Oracle of Nivek before it had become too late. The crew thanked them for this lead and left for Nivek to consult the Oracle.

A few hours later, in a lakeside city on Nivek, they met with a priest of the Oracle who had a vision that the oracle was under attack by Sky minions of Anathraxa. Kkk-Kree-Chak the Priest was only too happy to accept their offer of help and guide them to their destination. Once there they saw that the vision was true. Nivekian guards were dead and Primals clambered over the surface of the Oracle planting explosives while nearby a small group with a tripod mounted heavy ray gun defended the compound. The crew leapt into action a battle ensued; Chirp and Imran attacked the compound while others picked off Primals planting explosives or fire on the floating remote sentries. Marion seemed struck by some influence he stood before the oracle and saw a vision.

Before him floated three feathers: the highest was grey, below that and only slightly above the other floated a white feather and the final one was black. A slim, elegant gloved hand reached out and snatched the white feather away. The black feather started to rise and grow bigger. A single tear of blood fell from the grey.

Amidst the fire and fury the crew were wiping out the Anathraxan forces. The Primal Leader panicked and pushed the detonator!

Next Week: The Detonation!

Playing in Sandpit.

Flying above the desolate wastes of Sandpit the crew detected a faint repeating radio signal coming from a ruined city. Landing nearby they traced the signal to an abandoned building and they made their way within. Beneath the building they battled some toxin-mutated Tropicos and jabber beetles before discovering directions to a possible Tropico hideout in a place called Hanging Rock in the mountains of Sandpit.

Next week: Picnic at Hanging Rock.

Into the wild purple yonder.

Leaving Aurora in their newly fitted out Liberator the crew made their way across the Slipstream. They stopped to trade at Reflet and Babel and while on Babel met a Babelonian by the name of Librarian Walflump Broseptos who asked them to investigate a derelict ship lying in a glacial region of Koldus. The ship was of alien design and appeared to have been there for many years. In return for the heroes investigating the wreck and returning any artifacts, he offered them a personal energy shield and 500 Slips. The crew agreed and made their way to Koldus. Along the way they were inspected by the crew of an Anathraxan warship checking there were no psychically active people on board.

Upon arrival at Koldus they found the ship and defeated an Ice Fiend that lived in it and gathered up the gear they found therein. They then made their way to Sandpit, a once lush planet that had been poisoned by Anathraxa and may hold the cure needed by the prides of Simba.

Next Week: Playing in Sandpit.

Into the Darkness!

The crew of The Liberator wandered in the darkness of the city of Sunshine to find the building where the trader Jeethro Ghan operated. They convinced him they were outsiders and he allowed them to survey his wares although they had little of value to exchange for his valuable pre-edict technology. He told them that he could not answer the questions they had about the fragment of Aurora but said he would send a friendly hunter to speak with them the next day. So they returned to Alba’s tavern for the night.

The next day they met Vorek the who said he travelled the wild regions of the fragment and earned his living by collecting and selling pelts. Vorek told them he knew where a secret pre edict hideout was, he found the location by chance during a hunt in the mountains. He agreed to guide the crew there. Returning to the rocket ship to recharge their robot men comrades the crew was ambushed by Masked Ones who they defeated. Questioning the survivors they found that they were a loose organisation more posse than order who enforced the Prince’s edict like it was holy writ.

Travelling with Vorek they found their way to the mountain hideout. There they found many pre edict technologies, the old Prince and his advisor Memnar both alive well past their natural lifespan, withered and mad with age and sorrow. Honouring the request of Memnar they mercifully allowed him to pass. When they confronted the Prince he struggled in his madness in seeing his lost beloved Aurora who he thought destroyed. She seemed to maybe be getting through to him when a cadre of robot men warriors arrived lead by robot agent Y-17 citing orders to destroy Aurora as a malfunctioning machine and a three way battle broke out between the crew, the prince and the robot men.

During the battle Aurora was taken down in a fusillade of heavy blaster fire and for a brief moment the Prince regained some composure as he repaired some of the damage done, but in the end as the battle raged so did the madness of the part machine husk that was the Prince. Eventually the crew was successful in defeating him and the robot man interlopers.

When the fight was over, Aurora’s head and torso were next to the Prince hovering on death's door. The shock of his imminent death cleared his mind and with his last breath the mad prince declared his love to her. Vorek eyes widened in surprise and realisation at the situation. The former leader of the Masked Ones bowed deeply in front of Aurora, calling her his Princess. “Prince Corannon died but his Princess is here to guide the Aurorans.” he said. The robot girl was clearly overwhelmed by pain and grief, but accepted the burden of command.

The first act of the Princess was to turn off the Ionic Projector, lifting the shroud of perpetual darkness from the fragment. Then she abolished the Edict and, quite generously, pardoned the Masked Ones. Without the Edict they served no purpose and, even though too intransigent, they were nonetheless loyal servants to the Prince. The crew spent a week or so repairing their ship and helping her undo the evil done by Corannon.

A final question remained how did Y-17 manage to find the group on a hidden fragment? The answer to that question was revealed while Aurora was partially destroyed. A transmitter was found and able to be removed given the crews skills and the access to the Prince’s lab.

The crew each can take if they want them a proper set of night vision goggles and a Mechanos blaster rifle with bayonet. They can also take the vibro spear used by Y-17. They also receive 3,000 slips as a reward and in addition the Liberator is able to be repaired so as to be better than before (handling +1) and they acquire 4,000 slips of “ship repair parts” that when used grant a +1 bonus to the repair roll and take up 1 cargo space.

Next week: Into the wild purple yonder.

To the lost fragment of Aurora!!

Leaving Barter with their hold full they made their way to Levitos where they sold the vegetables for a reasonable profit and bought a few pieces of equipment before heading on toward the lost fragment of Aurora.

Just as they were nearing the Graviton Energy Wave they became aware that someone was following them. The pursuers were a group of three ships—a light frigate of unknown design and two Angeli Intruders, part of the fleet of Ricardo, an infamous Angeli mercenary captain who hired out his murderous brigands.

The pursuing ships opened fire on The Liberator and, outgunned, the crew fled toward the cover of the Graviton Energy Wave. The Liberator took several hits (1 wound & 2 wounds) but eventually made it to the safety of the Graviton Energy Wave. The Intruders were destroyed in Wave and they lost the frigate and escaped.

When the group finally reachesd sight of Aurora's coordinates, nothing was there. However as they reached the precise coordinates, the sky went dark and far below The Liberator was a night-covered world—Aurora! Somehow the fragment is invisible until one enters its atmosphere. Aur ora's fragment was. filled with dense forests, rolling hills, and high peaks.

Only one location was suitable for landing on Aurora: a plain near what appeared to be the only major settlement on the fragment. Aurora appeared immersed in darkness, but mosses constantly cast a light bioluminescent powder in the air. Landing and making their way toward the settlement the whole place gives the idea of a dark, fairy location bewitched by some strange accident. The settlement was 5 miles away from the landing site. The city may have been a beautiful city in past times. With tall towers and oval-shaped houses built of a yellow porous stone showing a refined taste, but now the buildings were cracked and in bad shape. There were no signs of advanced technologies—no automated vehicles, no electric lights. Nevertheless, balconies were filled with luminescent moss and ingenious systems of wooden tubes was used to bring water to the houses, in a way compensating for the lack of advanced technologies.

While most doors were shut to them they made their way to a tavern where they heard some of the history of the Fragment, that the city was called Sunshine and then learned what had befallen Aurora years before.

Next Week Into the Darkness!

Space Fungus Zombies Attack!!

The party continued place the rescued and restrained monk in the med centre and returned to the Lab. On the way they defeated more space fungus zombies, whom they had become quite adept at defeating. They searched the lab and found a serum anti fungal which they were able to use on Pulg and Lore-keen the Rurite monk who had attacked them. They returned to the Monastery of the Seven Columns and repaired the vibrating condenser. Further /4 with the help of the monks was able to replicate the serum. They each took a dose in case they had been infected and then to gave the rest to the monks who planned to make a large batch and a distribution device to kill the fungus in the original base so it couldn’t further infest the fragment.

Pulg had been to the fragment Aurora some fifty years ago and he gave the crew his journal to help get them there. It located the fragment about 4-5 hours ride away from Barter. In addition, in thanks for their help they were given 4 cargo spaces of fresh exotic vegetables and a bag of spices, and so with no more reason to stay they readied to leave Barter and make their way…

To the lost fragment of Aurora!!

Captured by the Claws!

The crew of The Liberator found that the attacks by the Claws had been an ongoing problem for the last couple of weeks and that their old ally Kirkergarde, who we met in episode 4, together with a human warrior Dougal had been asked by the monks of the seven columns to protect the monastery.

Abbess Gaja lead the crew to the Seven Columns where a carefully hidden gravity elevator took them underground. There the group saw a truly astounding scene—an enormous cavern under the ruin filled with a verdant garden and a series of irrigation channels leading from a small lake. Fissures through the rocky desert floor provide plenty of air and light. Groups of monks were incessantly tending this hidden paradise. She asked them to forgive their untrusting manners, but the safety of the garden is their first concern. The garden is kept alive with the help of a network of moisture gatherers cleverly hidden on the surface. They are of Rurite origin and have been carefully tended by the monks for many years. Two weeks ago the network control suffered a minor accident—a sound-shielding controller broke down. From then on the apparatus has produced a constant subsonic vibration that the monks think is only a minor nuisance, because it does not affect the productivity of the moisture gatherers.

Cut to Chirp in a below ground dungeon. As she awakes she finds she is healed and bandaged but stripped of any gear. Ricky approaches in the company of some Claws and tells her that he can read the Claws thoughts and communicate with them. They have been terribly affected by the recent subsonic poisoning of the area and have been attacking the monastery trying to end this effect. Chirp is to be released to explain to the monks that unless the subsonic noise ends the claws will destroy the monastery in two days time.

Returning to the others and passing on this message it is discovered that repairing the sound shielding controller is possible with the right spare parts, which can be found only where the monks first attempted to terraform Barter. This first site was a great subterranean cave miles away. There the Rurites constructed the first base by cannibalizing their original rocketship. A little under a week ago Gaja sent Pulg and two of her best monks to the ruins of the first base to search for the necessary parts, but they haven't returned and she fears for their lives and the Monastery's existence. So the crew of The Liberator together with Dougal and Kirkergarde agreed to go to the old base and help the monks recover the needed parts.

The Liberator crew travel by land speeder to the base situated in a barren zone riddled with canyons and crevasses. They found the entrance had been buried by a deliberate landslide decades ago but that a tunnel to the entrance had been recently cleared. The entrance was sealed by an airtight portal but they made their way past the door into the base that appeared to have once been a garden like the one below the seven columns. In the past this place may have been as beautiful and full of life as its counterpart in the monastery. Now it is a ghostly wood where sickly brown plants struggle for survival in wet soil covered by patches of greenish fungus. Very little light or air escapes the clogged fissures to the surface. The part of the garden that may have been a hydroponic experimental lake was now covered in a dense brown mass—an aquatic fungal mutation.

They explored the base fighting off strange fungal zomboid mutations. They discovered an old laboratory, a medical centre where they found an infected Borooshian they assumed to be Pulg. He was unconscious, his chest covered in fungus and kept in a medical stasis bed. They also found notes explaining that the fungus was extremely resistant and deadly, that the geneticist at the base had nearly developed a cure before they had fallen to the fungus and that they had blocked the entrance to prevent the fungus spreading to the whole of the Fragment and subsequently to the Slipstream.

Travelling beneath the cavern into the steam trunk tunnels they finally found the old power plant where the sound shielding controller could be found. It was partially dismantled and so they go to work obtaining the parts they had come for. While doing so they were attacked by more fungal beasts and a confused and infected monk. They defeated the beasts and the monk but at great cost, Kirkergarde, Dougal and Chirp were contaminated by the fungus!

Mid-season break. Return in a few weeks to see who will survive the deadly zombie fungus in… Space Fungus Zombies Attack!!

The Monastery of the Seven Columns !

The crew of The Liberator decided to fly their rocketship out into the Barter Desert to investigate the Monastery of the Seven Columns. Upon arrival they found a small cactus orchard surrounding a handful of rundown buildings. A small number of orange garbed monks tended the orchard. They appeared to be a mixture of races though primarily Rurite. Chirp lead /4, Mirian and Ricky to chat with them. Imran said he noticed that The Liberator was making some odd noises while flying so he needed to reconfigure the optronic resonance transducer. Aurora stayed to assist him.

After a brief polite discussion with the Rurite Abbess Gaja the team learned that the Monastery was founded to turn the desert of Barter into a garden and this was just the start. The Abbess didn’t know of Pulg but introduced them to a Pyrite monk name Joradon who claimed that he had known Pulg but that he had left the order some months earlier. Before the conversation could proceed further cries of alarm rang out. It appeared that the monks in the cactus orchard were under attack by primitive snake like humanoids. The monks called them Claws and the heroes leapt into action to defend the monks. The Monks called on the team to try and spare the Claws if they could and that “It isn’t their fault!” We fade to black as the crew and the monk gardeners seem to be overwhelmed by the Claw antagonists.

Back at The Liberator we find that Imran and Aurora completing their diagnostic reconfiguration of the transducer. As they power down the Rocketship engines, which had covered the sounds of battle in the nearby orchard, they see an injured Mirian scampering from out of the cactuses giving the alarm.

Smash Cut to the surviving crew returning to the scene of battle. /4 and all but one of the Monks are found unconscious on the ground. Chirp, Ricky and Brother Deshawn are missing and there is no sign of the Claws!

Smash Cut to an underground cavern prison cell where a bloodied and groggy Chirp, Ricky and Brother Deshawn awaken stripped to their clothes with the sound of Claws slithering about outside!

Next week Captured by the Claws!

Back on Barter!

Returning to Barter to find a Spacejock who knew where the Fragment Aurora could be found the team rented a room and then made their way to the Bootlegger Bar. While there Chirp made friends with a Koldosite called Gorth and they heard that the person most likely to know where this previously unheard of fragment could be found would be Pulg an old Borooshian navigator who had seen all corners of the Slipstream. Pulg quit the spacejock life some years ago and now lives nearby on Barter with a cult called the Monastery of the Seven Columns.

Before they had a chance to find out more a mysterious figure had a bomb infused fish delivered their way. Chirp’s quick reactions disarmed the device and the team rushed to confront the stranger as he slipped away. Unfortunately he made good his escape due to the help of some thugs he had hired.

Next Week: The Monastery of the Seven Columns !

Escape the Blockade!

The party took off from Simba in a stolen Levitosan Shuttle. They bluffed and piloted their way through the planetary blockade and made their way to the nearby fragment of Amicus. They had heard the natives of Amicus were a peaceful artistic people and they hoped to trade with them for extra supplies for their long trip to Sandpit. The trip took them several days and by the time they arrived they were low on food. As they looked for a place to land they saw a “pirate” rocket ship and some “pirates” in a gully menacing some peaceful villagers. They landed and in a quick battle defeated them. They robbed them and took their superior rocket ship, their weapons and a worthwhile treasure of slips, leaving the defeated raiders with their Levitosian Shuttle. They spent a day with the Amici trading for food and art, and named their new ship The Liberator. When they left the fragment they planned a trip to nearby Levitos as they knew Quan had a high presence of Anathraxan warships which they wished to avoid.

As they crossed over the Graviton wave on their way to Levitos they answered a distress call and discovered a portion of a damaged ship that had been called Sunray. Exploring the ship they found a damaged and unusual female robot man. She seemed beyond the skills of the party to repair but /4 had heard of a Babylonian technician called Wambaroo who lived on Levitos and who might have been able to help. They took her too Wambaroo and while they traded their Amici art and food for Levitosian technological doodads she was repaired.

She told them her name was Aurora and she had been constructed on Mechanus. Aurora was not her real name: Prince Corannon gave it to her, replacing her numerical code in homage to his native world, Aurora. The robotic girl was a very special project, constructed to interact with human-like races and act as a diplomat to Mechanus's advantage. Aurora's first “interaction” was with Prince Corannon, a humanoid scientist who ventured to Mechanus to study artificial intelligence. The two fell in love at first sight. The odd couple was returning to Aurora, the homeland of the prince, to be married, when something unknown attacked them. Aurora was injured during the battle, and fell back to repair herself when the attack separated the tail section from the front. She set up the Morse Code and activated her stasis mode to conserve power, hoping the barrage from their attacker would end. Here her memories end.

The problem was no-one had heard of the fragment Aurora and the last registrations of her senses were 50 years ago!

Heroically the party decided to help Aurora find the fragment for which she was named. They realised that if any people were likely to know the location of this mysterious fragment it would be one of the space jocks who hung out on the Bootlegger bar on Barter. So with a hold full of newly acquired Levitosan technological doodads they decided to head for Barter.

Next week Back on Barter!

Payback!

Approaching the landing pad the party clumsily set off a perimeter warning alarm and so retreated into the jungle to hide. Soon a group of 5 Koal hunters came upon them and a battle ensued. The party was outmatched and defeated. Only Chirp was left standing and she fled the hunters. Just then several Lionman rocket ships arrived announcing that they were from the Raoor clan and demanding the cessation of the Koal. The Arabash Lionmen fled back to their rocket ship and escaped and the party was rescued!

They were taken to Simba where they spent several weeks getting patched up and meeting Lord Raoor who honoured them with his thanks for rescuing his daughter. The Raoor had learned of the parties capture by the Arabash and had rescued them to repay the debt owed by their clan for the rescue of Ladg Raoora. The party learned that there was friction within the Council of Simba, that the Arabash clan was to now be exiled and also that Simba was in dispute with Queen Anathraxa over the tribute she demanded.

As they were attending a meal several Anathraxan Warships screamed by high overheard, trailing a fine purple dust. Two smaller Levitosian Rocket Shuttles landed in the nearby grass. The shuttle doors opened and two squads of Primals, an ape-like race in the service of Anathraxa, climbed out. One of them stepped forward and addressed the crowd in a grunting voice.

“Rebellious scum of Simba, hear my words! Queen Anathraxa, supreme ruler of Slipstream, has decreed that your race be punished for refusing to pay her tribute. Her Warships have dropped Death Dust into your atmosphere. Within a few short months your world will be dead, and you along with it. Your women and children will be moved to resettlement camps to await their fate.” With that, the Primals fanned out and began advancing on the crowd. People ran screaming. Several of the warriors, their honor impinged, charge forward, claws drawn. A burst of ray gun fire took them down, including Lord Raoor, your host. “Forget the resettlement camp,” sneered an officer. “Kill the men and do what you will with the females.”

In the running battle chaos and slaughter ensued but the party defeated a bunch of Primals and managed to capture one of the shuttles and speak to a dying Lord Raoor.

“Friend,” he gasped, “thank you for aiding my… people. I beseech you, in the name of… the Pride Council of Simba, save… my race. Find a cure for… the Death Dust and liberate… us from this yoke… of oppression. You will be… richly rewarded. Try… try… Sandpit…” With that, Raoor's eyes glazed over and his head slumped forward.

Next Week Escape the Blockade!

Hunted!

The time on Barter passed quickly and the party took a ride of the rocket ship Sweet Dreams planning on going to Simba hoping to collect their reward. Unfortunately they were drugged by the unworthy gyptosian captain Morkul and awoke to find themselves on a small unnamed fragment near Simba and being the subjects of a Koal, a Hunt of Intelligent Beings. The Koal is a tradition from ancestral times that decides the Abarash Prides next Chief. It was long ago banned by other tribes of Lion Men, but not the fierce Abarash. The party teamed up with two other unfortunate passengers Kirkergarde the Frigim and Tear the one armed human and made their way through the jungle terrain battling bugs, black widow bats, quicksand and a giant white ape before they saw discovered where the lionmans rocket ship was moored. They were attacked by a portion of the Koal and defeated it and started toward the landing pad…

Next week Payback!

Avalanche! Battle!

The party fled from the Rock Creature, Chirp got Lady Roaora to safety but Ricky was too slow to escape the Rock Creature. Imran, /4 and Imp hung back to battle the giant rock creature. It was difficult to hurt but it was cumbersome and eventually the party prevailed. They scurried back toward the damaged ship when they noticed the weapons locker which had been jettisoned during the crash landing. As they went to recover their weapons they were attacked by a pod of bone spiders. The vicious creatures rendered all but Imran unconscious before he eventually defeated them leaving him with a permanent phobia of such creatures.

Soon the Siostry was repaired enough to limp off the fragment and make its way to Barter almost a week after its planned arrival date. Lady Roaora told them that she was the only child of Pride Leader Raoor, leader of a pride on Simba. That it was a tradition of her people to honor those who aided them and that she would ensure that her father would hear of this incident and that she was sure he will wish to thank the party himself.

“Once you have finished your business on Barter, you are welcomed to Simba to the Raoor Pride as honored guests. My father will be expecting you. Under our honor code, refusal would be a great insult.”

Captain Amet and the crew of the Siostry were similarly grateful for the help they had received though they could offer no reward as they needed to repair their broken ship.

Next Week: On the streets of Barter… Hunted!

Marooned!

As the crew and passengers worked to repair The Siostry the light of the Graviton Wave faded and night descended on the Slipstream. While Imran worked with the engineer Bennu to repair the ship and Ricky and Bahiti cared for the other who were injured, /4 and Chirp scoured the crash site for tools to repair the ship. They managed to find sufficient to then allow Imran, /4 and Ricky to mostly repair the ship. Chirp scouted the area and saw light coming from a mound of rocks just over a mile from the valley where they had crashed. She flew closer to observe and and realised it was probably a Rockman temple. On her way back she saw some Rockmen sneaking up on the Siostry, no doubt seeking sacrifices. He warned his colleagues and they fought off the attack. Unfortunately during the attack the Rockmen captured Lady Roaora (& any pcs who turn up next week). Chirp then lead Imran, /4 and Ricky to the Rockman temple. They snuck in and found and rescued the captives who were restrained in a sacrificial pit. As they rescued them they heard a terrible roar. They fled from the temple just as a huge Rock creature burst out of the ground below the pit…

Next Week: Avalanche! Battle!..

A Bumpy Ride…

The party is on the way to Barter aboard a Gyptosian merchant rocket ship named The Siostry. The pilot is Captain Amet, the crew is comprised of Bahiti the steward and the engineer Bennu. The only passengers other than the party are two lion men Lady Roaora and Rorra.

A pirate attack takes the ship by surprise, magnetic clamps and ropes attaching to the vessel. The pirates use breech bombs to blast their way in seeking loot and captives. They are defeated but the Soistry is badly damaged and Captain Amet is forced to the set the ship down, crashing on an unknown barren and rocky fragment a couple of hundred miles across.

Next week: Marooned!