Sand Pit - Part 2

The rest of the Skylark’s crew join in Kipenzi and Fig’s raid on the pirate base and Medicus is gravely wounded, perhaps fatally.

This note is from our November 6th, 2016 session and was mostly written by Carl and Kay with additional material provided by myself. We used Roll20 online virtual tabletop to connect with each other since we are now scattered around the country.

I used Sketchup and  Twilight Render to do the artwork.

Continued from: Sand Pit - Part 1.

Date: 135-1106 Imperial.

Location: On the planet Keng in the Regina Subsector.

0730
Early evening at the pirate base.

Earlier Fig Newton and Kipenzi Momoh had taken the pirate ship Hevvekii and killed everyone on board.

“They have rank and an organization, but they shot at us with no warning - close enough to pirates for me.” - Fig

“We had contacted the Skylark and talked a little with Sam Penney, who had the late watch, and waited for the rest of the crew to wake up and smell the coffee.”

Using communications on the pirate ship, Kipenzi called the Skylark and checked the status of the ship back at the starport. Sam relayed that part of the cargo had been sold, but not all of it and the fuel has been delivered and is still being processed.

There's a 10-hour difference between spaceport and K&F, it’s early morning for them and evening for us. The Skylark can fly out to us in about an hour and a half. We would need to time our landing so that a Keng Planetary Navy’s system defense boat was not overhead when we made the trip.

Sam re-arranged the remaining cargo containers to equalize the weight distribution before takeoff.

The cargo shifting took about half an hour.

We had a discussion of whether or not Skylark should come out to Kipenzi and Fig, or we should try to get the pirate ship started, or a some combo.

Not interested in stealing the ship. Vote goes for "hide in the ship, kill anyone who shows up, wait for Skylark."

Now to figure out what reason to take the Skylark out of spaceport... Testing system? Return time is uncertain, try to not be next to the system defense boat when going out...

Compromise/agree --> fly Skylark out. Deal with the pirate base. Rescue the missing archaeologist. Get the air/raft back to the Skylark. Go back to town. Return archaeologist to daughter. LEAVE THIS MISERABLE DUNGBALL !!!

The ship will have to arrive low to the horizon to keep from getting noticed (and shot down) by the base.

Sam gets a map of the terrain and plots a route in a blind spot behind nearby high ground.

Fig and Kipenzi stay in the ship and wait attentively, trying not to be surprised by any new arrivals. Fig sits at one of the gunnery controls. Ship locked down. Kipenzi looks around for more information about who they are.

Kipenizi hears a voice on the intercom asking why the ship is locked. “Open the door or you are going to be eating ship’s rations tonight”, he says.

Kipenzi, who is on the bridge, opens the outer airlock door. The airlock camera shows a guy with food trays step into the airlock. He is not armed except for a nasty looking dagger on his belt. We ID the guy as Shaw Hill, not listed as a crew member of the Hevvekii. So he's base crew.

Hill gets to the inner door of the airlock and finds it locked. He says, "It's not funny anymore!" After re-locking the outer door, Kipenzi tries to evacuate the airlock so he would pass out.

Kipenzi could not figure out the controls for the evacuation mechanism, but at least he is locked in the entry area.

He has a radio on his belt so we need to do something fast. Fig opens the inner airlock door and shoots the guy. We put him and the rest of the bodies in one of the staterooms.

Fig figures out how to use the camera on one of the turret control stations to watch for more visitors.

We hope no one else comes.

So two more members of Hevvekii ‘s crew are unaccounted for. Hill brought in real food, enough for the entire crew, so there's a kitchen somewhere in here. The camera shows two small trucks outside, one orange and one yellow.

Looking at the crew roster, we know there at least two more folks around here somewhere, plus any ground support people.

Checking the trucks parked outside, there is more food in one of them. Eight more meals in the truck, one emptied container that likely held food that had been passed out. There could be as many as 20 more people around here.

Kipenzi grabs as much information as she could find and then we sealed the ship and both head back toward the air/raft. Kipenzi updated the Skylark before we left the ship. We would be out of communication until the Skylark arrives in the area.

Kipenzi and Fig monitor the communicators they took. About 20 minutes later people are asking for food and wondering what is going on... Stage 3 of worst case scenario just barely avoided.

Kipenzi and Fig watch for anything and only plan to shoot if it is completely unavoidable. They listen for communications from the ship on their shoulder gear.

2100 local time: Medicus flew the Skylark out with Leon & Sam and landed about 16 Km. away from the base and leave the ship in the care of our engineering bot. They considered bringing a cargo lifter to use to bring the air/raft back, but discarded the idea since it would slow them down too much. They will ether have plenty of time to salvage the air/raft later or things will go bad and it wouldn’t matter. Sam activated the hologram, hiding the ship from any prying eyes. They locked the ship and everyone flew out using grav belts.

2300: Comm has had some people looking for the others. Some are at the ship trying to figure out how to get inside. No major alarm raised so far.

We sneak up to the open hanger door and step through the hologram camouflage.

We can see at least four people as we enter, one on the ladder going up.

Fig whispers, “Forward the five.” and we advance toward the ship. Armed and ready, rested and fed. Looking for trouble, and wanting to be the source of it.

Someone says, "Got it" and we hear a valve opening. We approach, spreading out to fire.

Someone on their comm says ,"the airlock is full of blood". Followed by, "they locked the inner door too. This is looking very bad!"

It sounds like they must have opened the outer airlock door.

One of the folks, Corliss "Iron" Zayn (as we ID’d him later) heard or sensed us somehow and yells, “We're under attack!”

So everyone listening on their end knows we're here.

The chaos of a firefight commences.

One who was on the ladder gets into the airlock and uses it for cover. That puts two of them in the air lock and two on the ground.

The two on the ground go down immediately, Fig & Leon shoot one apiece. Kipenzi shoots one in the chest when he leans out of the airlock to fire and he tumbles to the ground.

The fourth person, Lt. Albanik Calso, surrenders, tossing out his communicator and gun.

We went into the ship for a "discussion" with our prisoner. We pull the dead bodies in too. Putting all the deceased into one of the crew cabins where we put the bodies of those killed earlier.

Leon went to engineering and looked at the open panel we noticed earlier to see if repair is possible.

Calso says about 200 people are in the installation, two ships, the other one is able to fly. Talks about Black Comet organization and how we really don't want to mess with them.

Medicus had heard of them - notorious pirate gang, stomped about 10 years ago by the Imperial Navy. They started up after 4th Frontier War, eventually taken out. Clearly not every one of them were killed.

They haven't been heard of in past few years.

Leon reports that the Jump drive is fine (was routine maintenance) and he buttoned it up.

Sam moved the vehicles so we could take off if we decided to take this ship too. Mops up most of the blood too.

Leon runs tests on the maneuver drive.

Asking about prisoners, the guy offers a deal. “The Professor?”, he asks.

"How many prisoners do you have?", we ask.

Says they have the Professor, two of his associates, and 4 ladies. ACK!!!

Says he is second in command, a lieutenant. Medicus applies some drugs and gets better information. 5-6 people here now, just this one ship, and this isn't the main hanger.

Dreams of restoring “The Black Comet” had not worked out so well.

He has full access key - oh wait, WE have a full access key.

He gives us directions to the comm center (right left right) and the power plant (down around to left).

So the plan is “Leave him here, go to rescue the prisoners, kill anyone we need to, get the loot.”

We exit the ship, locking it behind us and go all pile into the food delivery truck.

Kipenzi drives and we all ride down the only corridor available. Looking up, the corridor has temporary overhead lights obviously put in recently.

The other lights are dark, and apparently part of original structure.
 

A door, sign says “Keep Closed”. No reason to trip an alarm needlessly. Another door at end of corridor. “Keep Closed” sign here too. Backtracking to first door... down a corridor, following the Lt.'s directions for the comm center.Our atmosphere sensor report that the air is breathable unfiltered once we were past the big door.

Past a few other doors we eventually came to a large hanger-type door with an inset "man-door".

Sam opened it and found the command center with three people in it.

Control panels, computers, conference table, air purifier and some people who are not likely our friends. One at a console sitting down, one standing, and another in a chair farther back.

Another firefight ensued.

One of the pirates went down and there were sparks as several control panels were hit. The Pirates had a variety of weapons and they mostly hit the wall and door around our crew shooting through the small doorway.

The one with the large laser rifle shot Medicus and his left arm dropped away as his shoulder exploded from the laser’s blast’s heat.

Medicus - OW!!! Coulda died for sure... Maybe did. Definitely hit the floor missing his left arm. Fig tried to assist. Get him out of line of fire and Sam almost takes a hit too. Replies in kind, and the Pirates are down to one. Fig cleared Medicus out of line of more fire, checked to see if anything was remotely possible to do.

The last Pirate, also wounded, surrendered and we ID’d him as Aakoku Ihaet. Sam wants to loot the bodies but Kip takes one look at Medicus missing an arm and asks the prisoner, “Where's the infirmary?”.

He says there is a whole hospital on the other side of the complex.

To the hospital! ALL of us.

Rule 1: "never split the party"

We take Ihaet and Medicus to the hospital area. Ihaet wants to be kept alive so gives us a travelogue as we pass doors on our way: here's the barracks, dining hall, etc.

He tells us this was an abandoned pirate base that they are cleaning up. We have maybe two or three more people to deal with. Some of the local desert people have been helping them as well.

“They don't have a doctor, damn, we apparently killed their medic earlier.” - Kipenzi

The hospital is extensive but dark and unheated. It looks like it has been sealed up for a decade or so. The atmosphere is breathable and it is still clean and dust free.

Fig has skill as a medic but hasn't got any experience in trauma and didn't figure out the right medicine initially. Covered up Medicus and made him comfortable as possible. Got some saline in him and looked for operating stuff.

Leon provides first aid to the injured pirate, as he's still cooperating.

Kipenzi found power panels and got the lights turned on. Found the operating theater too. We got Medicus in and did what we could figure out. We brought his left arm along with us in the vague hope that we could somehow re-attach. The operating theater looks like about tech 12, with no autodoc. We have one on the Skylark, but that is over 16 Km away.

The wound looks bad, there was ballistic cloth stuck to his skin and burns on the left side of his torso as well.

Medicus became conscious after a bit, helped us do what could be done for him. He passed out after some suggestions, but at least we got decent and recent meds from his kit since most of what was in the hospital was expired. He had a tool that could be used for cutting the ballistic cloth in his kit as well.

Someone found a basic outline/map of the base. Useful for finding our way around and getting the prisoners out.

The turrets were controlled from the comm center, we cleaned that out so no risk of being shot down from them.

Looking at the map, the jail is between the hospital and the hanger where we came in.

Thinking we should rescue the prisoners and get Medicus back to the Skylark and the autodoc. There will be time to come back here and loot the place if we decide to later.

One option is using the Hevvekii and going to the Skylark that way.

Listening to the base communications, we hear the guard at the jail is wondering WTF??? Power plant person says they do not know what is going on.

Two in power plant, one in the jail. Check.

Checking the time, it is early morning on 136-1106. Everyone is exhausted.

Kipenzi mentions, “Our fuel is being processed on the Skylark as this has been going on and will be done within 24 hours from now. We can lift off the planet if we want to - avoiding the planetary defense boats hopefully.”

Continued in Sand Pit - Part 3.

See Also: Dramatis Personæ, Skylark 2, Campaign Starts, The 2nd Adventure, The Chamax Plague, Horde, Shadows, Research Station Gamma, Twilight's Peak, Prison Planet, Leedor on Aramis, First Call at Zilla, Trade War, The Bloodwell and ANNIC NOVA