Art pending
The hangars
Empty, and locked up.
Message in a Bottle
- ClientBaxter (bar owner)
- DestinationEarth (Sol System)
- Payment5K per head
Opening Narration
You find yourselves in Phoenix, a small village on Nexus. The shuttle port where you just got off lies at the end of a road with twenty or thirty houses along it, and at its end stands a larger building called The Key and Shield, an old-timey sign outside welcoming you in. This looks like a great place to lie low for a few days, until whatever is chasing you here gets bored of looking.
The Shuttle Port
The shuttle pad is a pretty standard ordeal: a large landing pad surrounded by hangars, warehouses, and a Zephyr branch office. Two AutoGolems walk around doing cleaning and general maintenance.
Art pending
The warehouses
Freight stacked for onward transport, locked up for the night.
Art pending
The Zephyr office
Locked up, but the lights are on.
Art pending
The AutoGolems
They answer simple questions politely, and stick to their scripts. They will prevent anyone from interfering with the locks.
The Key and Shield
As you walk through the door you enter a large main room, dominated by a big viewscreen on the right wall, a sportsball match playing. At the table closest to the screen sits a young couple in supporter gear, watching the game intently. Across the room from them sits a large black man in combat armour, feet on the table, leaning back in his chair; he glances at you as you enter, shrugs, and turns his attention back to the game. In the middle of the room three men sit around a table playing cards. Behind them is the bar, where a beautiful woman with a rather terrifying facial tattoo in the shape of a wolf, dressed in colourful clothes, is pouring drinks for a man who has probably already had one too many; also at the bar, a sharply dressed man who looks completely out of place is chatting up a scantily clad woman. Behind the bar stands a stack of storage containers, the kind you might find on a spaceship or in a warehouse. Above the bar is a sleek black tinted window, a staircase on the left leading up to it, indicating there is probably a room up there. Next to the stairs, a double door leads into another room; the sign above it reads Kitchen.
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The card table
Sonny deals anyone with money into the game. Bogdan and Dot are happy to no longer be the only ones being fleeced, and might even take some of the newcomers' money.
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The couple under the screen
The Parks will talk sportsball with anyone who shows the slightest interest; tonight's match matters. It is the Varon playoff, the Azure Coast Corsairs against the Founders Grove Evergreens, and the winner goes to the cup. The Parks are Corsairs supporters, and tonight the Corsairs win their ticket to the cup on Earth.
Art pending
The bar
Wolfrend is very curious and wants to hear everyone's stories. Zhao, conversely, is very happy to share his.
Art pending
Louis and Sindy
A private conversation, but they will absolutely engage if addressed. Sindy will offer a good time; Louis will offer anything else.
Art pending
The man in combat armour
Pretty talkative, and happy to supply the players with information about Phoenix.
The Thule Arrive
If One or More Players Are Still Outside
The shuttle pad suddenly lights up again: a new shuttle is incoming. Troops pour out of the ship and secure the area. An older man in an immaculate uniform steps out, pulls out his pistol, and shoots both AutoGolems if they are still present. He spots you and barks out an order as everyone opens fire on you. You need to find cover, fast.
Inside the Key and Shield
The door opens and an older gentleman in an immaculate uniform walks through. He immediately spots Munch sitting near the door in his combat armour, pulls his gun, and calmly says "Don't. We're not here for you, we just want the bottle", as Munch puts his hands in the air and the rest of the warband pours through the door. The older man turns to the bar, and suddenly an expression of puzzlement shifts across his face. "You," he sneers, and starts firing at the woman behind the bar. Munch drops back in his chair, kicking over the table, and comes up with his LazCar, lighting up the soldiers. Zhao falls off the barstool, whips around on the floor with both his pistols, and opens up, firing indiscriminately into the room. Sindy and Louis dive behind the bar. Everyone else dives under their table.
The Aftermath
Wolfrend tends to the wounded with a samaritan's bag from behind the bar. Munch walks over to one of the crates along the wall, reloads his LazCar, and stocks up on cells. Baxter comes down and greets the team: "You can really handle yourselves in a fight. I'm Baxter, by the way; this is my place. Everyone okay?" The other survivors start sorting through the dead bodies.
The Negotiation
Baxter moves back behind the bar and starts pouring drinks for all the survivors. "Welcome to Phoenix, I guess. Sorry about the rough welcome; it's usually a lot quieter around here. What brings you to my neck of the woods? Looking for work? I might know a guy."
- What's the job?
- A delivery. One package, to Earth, into one specific pair of hands.
- What's the pay?
- 5,000 bits a head, cash on delivery.
- What is it?
- It's a bottle. It's a secure method for transporting data between systems.
- What's in it?
- Nothing much. Crop reports, balance sheets, that kind of thing.
- Is it legal?
- Sure. Just don't get caught with one, unless you've got Zephyr or UN credentials.
- Why us?
- You seem like a capable lot, you're not associated with me, and this needs to leave, right now.
- Why not take it yourself?
- I'm getting too old for this vrak. Also, I'm not really welcome on Earth.
- Why not send it with Zephyr?
- They don't really operate a super reliable service out here, and right now I need reliable.
- Who's it from?
- No one person. It's a data run. There could be hundreds of messages in there, from as many people.
- Who's it for?
- Catherine Salazar. Yes, that Catherine Salazar.
- Why did the Thule want it?
- The Thule are vraking morons. If I knew that, I'd be living on an estate back on Earth, not running a bar in this backwater.
- Why did they start shooting at the bartender?
- See that facial tattoo? That marks her as property of the Thule. Property isn't supposed to be free.
- How do we get onto Earth?
- Getting to Earth isn't much of a problem, ships go there every day. The trick is getting through security. You'll have to find a plausible reason.
- What if customs finds it?
- If I was a gambling man, I'd say it's a two year minimum.
- What if we lose it?
- Do not, under any circumstances, lose it.
If the Players Agree
Baxter turns around, gets something out of one of the boxes behind him, and puts it down on the bar. "This is the bottle. I need you to transport it to Earth for me. 5,000 bits a head, cash on delivery."
The War Council
If Zhao Is Alive and Shot At or Wounded a Player
As you shake hands with Baxter and grab the BOTL off the table, the drunken pirate comes up to you. "I'm terribly sorry for shooting you guys, allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Lucky Zhao of the Tonglu. My brothers and I fought for a decade for others, now we fight for ourselves. I promise I'm usually much better in a fight. My crew and my ship would be happy to take you to Earth all secret-like if you want."
If Both Parks Survive
As you shake hands with Baxter and grab the BOTL off the table, Jun and Astrid Park come up to you, smiling. Astrid hugs a random player and says "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you", while Jun shakes your hand profusely, smiling ear to ear, just happy to be alive. "Strangers, we owe you a debt we can never fully repay, but if you need to get to Earth we're leaving tomorrow with the other Corsairs supporters. We're in the finals you see, and we don't often get to go to Earth to celebrate, on account of it not generally being open to the public. But the next few weeks are the exception."
If Sonny Is Alive and the Players Played Cards With Him
As you shake hands with Baxter and grab the BOTL off the table, you turn to leave as the gambler dusts himself off. "If you're leaving and you don't mind a little side hustle I know a guy who needs a package delivered, it's leaving on a cargo barge tomorrow, you guys want to tag along, I'll add you to the manifest if you babysit my baby."
If None of These Apply
As you shake hands with Baxter and grab the BOTL off the table, Wildcard grabs your hand. "Tranquilo, amigo. I'm heading that way in a bit. The Thule left a very expensive shuttle behind, just sitting there on the landing pad. Munch and Roisin will have secured it by now, I need to take it to someone important. I can get you to Earth, but you'll have to clear customs yourself."
Art pending
The Zephyr office
The lock rates 4800.
Art pending
The office computer
| Rating | Result |
|---|---|
| 900 | The branch schedule, showing no Zephyr pickup for weeks |
| 1800 | Freight manifests for every warehouse crate |
| 3600 | Sol customs procedure, and which seals clear it |
| 7200 | Live courier authentication codes |
Searching it rates from 900 to 7200. The more time you spend, the better the information you find.
Art pending
The office premises
| Rating | Result |
|---|---|
| 900 | Zephyr uniforms in assorted sizes |
| 1800 | Courier credentials for the office staff |
| 3600 | A courier's travel case in Zephyr livery |
| 7200 | The branch safe, and the code taped under the desk |
Searching the room rates from 900 to 7200. The more time you spend, the more you find.
Art pending
The warehouses
Locked up like the office. The freight inside is stacked for onward transport, and a crate is a place a person could travel.
Art pending
The survivors
Anyone still alive is happy to talk the plan through, and everyone knows something worth hearing about Earth, Zephyr or the ways in. Munch and Heartbreaker have already left to clear the Thule shuttle.
The Journey
The Delivery
Arrival at Earth. The smuggling plan meets reality at entry control, then the handover to Catherine Salazar. Content TBD.