Secrets of the Ancients

On the run, the crew heads for Beck’s World in hope of getting access to a device that can detect Ancient technology in the hope of finding out who is behind the plot to smuggle Ancient tech and clear their name.

This chapter is based on Carl and Kay's notes from our May 7, 2022 session. Since we are scattered around the country, we use Discord for voice communications and the Roll20 online virtual tabletop to connect with each other.

Continued from: Looking for Vlen's Lodge

Location: In hyperspace, jumping between Alell and Whanga in the Regina Subsector.
Date: 245-1110   


2010
Fig said, “Adios Skylark 2 and all the memories.”

“The ship we saw right before jump was HUGE, at least ½ km long, bigger than the Haunting Thunder”, said Kipenzi.

“Way bigger than that, even larger than a Tigress-Class dreadnaught.”

Once we got over the shock about the giant ship, we discuss options, and where do we go now that we are on the run.

Sam suggests going to Roup first; it’s less likely that they would get an APB on us by the time we get there.

We were jumping to Whanga, it was just a place to refuel and consider our options. Beck's World and Boughene are on our travel plans, with the possibility of contacting Oberlindes to put in a good word or two for us.

We literally have only the money (cash) in our pockets and the clothes on our backs. And Kipenzi is in a hardened vacc suit so she has NO clothes except for the inner dry suit and no shoes. The rest of us are in our “jungle clothes” and body armor, all soaked in sweat from our trek earlier in the day.

There are 4 suits of men’s mid-sized clothes on board, Sam, Fig and Leon can wear them but both Med and Kip are SOL.

Kip has her cred stick with 10M, and the others have theirs as well, but we need to convert that into untraceable cash before they freeze our accounts.

Sam says we are all going to need new ID’s. Fortunately, he had his forgery kit in his pack in case he had needed to modify one of the wills in the stack he carried.

Before we called it a night, Medicus took time to check Fig for head chips or other tech. Fig remarked, “Could it be that I will also live 600 plus years?”

He got no results. If there was anything, it was too stealthily hidden.

Over the next week in jump, we made a FULL inventory and examination of the ship. We also searched the computer, hoping to find some information about the GIANT ship that jumped into Alell as we were fleeing. We found nothing at all on the giant ship, and found that the library data had been reset to factory default settings. The same with the ship’s log.  It’s been wiped by Vlen but he wanted Fig to find the ship.

It is almost as if Vlen wanted to have someone find the whole thing, maybe even Fig since it opened for him only.

We made some basic clothes out of sheets for our larger crew members.

Kipenzi and Medicus tried to link up our button cams to the new ship’s comm system based on Fig’s suggestion, and Kipenzi fried one button cam. Leon eventually figured it out, and got them up and working.

Sam forged some official papers that say Fig is the owner of the Far Hunter, one set that say the owner is “Jonathan Newton” and another that says “Sam Smith” is the owner of the “War Hunter”.

He also made new ID cards for everyone.

Kipenzi looked at the ship’s black box; Vlen had a programmable transponder, so we can make it say anything we want and forge papers that agree with it. But “Star Hunter” is painted on the side of the ship in 3 places. We discover there’s a 3-D printer on board so that we can create a decal that changes it to the “Far Hunter”. Even a little bit of disguise could provide the last bit we needed.

We were going to miss being able to disguise the ship using holograms; the Star Hunter had nothing comparable to what we had on the Skylark.

Unfortunately, there’s no autodoc on board, but Medicus’ injuries from his fall in the jungle heal up over the week in jump since they were not that serious.

When we did a full inventory of the ship, we found that the ship’s locker had the usual complement of spare parts and hull patches.  There were also two shotguns and two spare space suits.

We added the weapons and combat drugs we found in Vlen’s lodge to the two shotguns in the ship’s locker.

The ship had three months of life support on board and we added the packs we found in Vlen’s hanger, giving us eight months total before we have to resupply our life support.

252-1110  1323
Out of jump in the Whanga system; 100 diameters out from the nearest of the system’s four gas giants.

It took us another 10 hours to get where we could start skimming fuel.

We picked up an automated message from the main world. Sternmetal Horizons is looking for colonists for Whanga and is offering 120 credits each for referrals.  With less than 500 people on Whanga, we could see why they might be looking for colonists.

Medicus piloted us to the gas giant and quickly scooped up a full load.  Eighteen hours later, the fuel was refined and we were ready to jump for Roup.

253-1110  1830
Jump to Roup.

261-1110  0430
In the Roup system, hopefully ahead of pursuit.

We planned on going to the gas giant and refueling first so that we could jump out if needed.

1830
OOPS!!!  Initial try at refueling did NOT go well.

Medicus must have sneezed or something and slammed a wrong lever. We took sensor damage.  
They were military grade, but now at -20% effectiveness.  Oh well...



262-1110   0130
Refuel complete, heading for Roup, a four-day journey.

While in transit to the main world, we repaired the sensors. Leon aligned the arrays and Sam got the electronics back in calibration.

266-0110   0300
We land at Roup Down.

Sam checked the news and no news of the ship has made it this far, so we don’t have to worry about getting arrested yet. The next ship that jumps in could be carrying a datafeed, so we had to work fast.

1100
Everyone cashed out their accounts and converted their money to untraceable cash before our accounts are frozen.

Sam went to the nearest brokerage house and acted like he was looking for a cargo, to blend in and look normal if nothing else.

1600
We all got back to the ship with new clothes and vacc suits, food, and ship’s supplies.  Fig picked up another 6 months’ worth of life support packs.

We were surprised at the price of psy helmets; they were going for 100 KCr, twice what we had paid previously.  Probably had something to do with the Zhodani coming through here during the war.

We checked on conditions at Beck’s World and Boughene, our ultimate destinations, to make sure we had the latest information.

We also sent off a message to Oberland’s as well, asking for any help he could offer.

Same day departure, heading out.

1900
At the jump point to Pscias, a red zone planet for a developing human society with an ISS cruiser enforcing interdiction.

273-1110  2045
Arrived in Pscias system at the system’s single gas giant.

274-1110  0700
Refueling complete with Medicus in the pilot position.

As we were heading out to the jump point after refueling, Sam detected a 600-ton ship with no transponder coming right at us from one of the moons.

We had enough fuel processed to make a jump-1, we could reach Feri or Enope, both were within one parsec.  If we wanted to risk a miss-jump we could make a jump-2 to Beck’s World.

Instead of jumping, we ran at 4G to see if they could catch us. We could jump if needed.  It turns out that they could also do 4G, but we were out of weapon range and couldn’t close the distance to get in range. Eventually they broke off pursuit. It was a good thing, as Sam detected that they had two triple laser turrets and two with particle beam turrets.

They would have caught the Skylark, which could only do 3G. The Skylark was also better armed, but had no armor, unlike the Star Hunter, errr Far Hunter.

Fig noted that our turrets aren’t configured to fire as a single bank and would require a 2nd gunner to use effectively. The computer can auto fire the 2nd turret, but it would be no substitute for an experienced gunner.

Once they were gone, we coasted outward and jumped six hours later when the fuel finished processing.

275-1110  0200
We jumped for the gas giant in the Beck’s World system.

281-1110  2145
Out of jump.

To the gas giant first, our new paradigm of life.

We have been here before.  Sternmetal has some mining operations here that were occupied by the Vargr during the war. They also took over Beck’s World itself for a while before being defeated by the Imperial Battle Squadron 203 in 1109.

282-1110  0945
Refuel complete, heading into Beck’s World.

At 4G acceleration, it takes 45 hours to go from the gas giant to Beck’s World, so the fuel processing will be done well before we arrive.  We are refueling and processing before going to ANY port from now to the foreseeable future.

284-1110  0145
In orbit over Beck’s World.  There was one other ship there, the White City, a 200-ton yacht. They don’t hail us and we do likewise.

From orbit, Beck’s World looks like a red-streaked black marble. The planet’s surface was scorched and burnt eons ago; most of the planet consists of jagged mountains and endless lava fields. Huge volcanic vents pump black smoke into the air and ash clouds are so thick that whole months can pass without a glimpse of sun. Most of the volcanic activity has subsided now but the planet is still a few hundred thousand years away from having anything resembling a biosphere. The only native lifeform on the surface is a lichen-like plant clinging to the underside of the cooler rocks.

There is a colony on Beck’s World, a lichen growth of habitation domes and prefabricated shelters on the shore of a milky-blue lake. A few thousand desperate souls live on Beck’s World. It was a pirate base for many years, until the Imperium offered the ruling gang legitimacy in exchange for an end to raids on shipping and the establishment of a listening post in orbit, to watch for Zhodani intruders. Today, the inhabitants of Beck’s World are a mix of the exiled and the desperate, homeless Travellers who washed up on this black shore and got stuck here. The ‘government’ is a paramilitary gang who control the life support machinery and the guns. There are a few Imperial technicians to maintain the listening post and a single official representative from the Duchy of Regina.

For thousands of years, this planet was just a number in a Vilani database, an unremarkable rock on the edge of the Spinward Marches. Even the arrival of the ill-fated pirate Beck and his band of cut-throats barely rated a footnote in the library files. The system seemed utterly irrelevant, until a mining corporation surveyed the planet in 1020. They found that Beck’s World had “no commercially viable resources” but did discover that the volcanic activity of the planet appeared to have been artificially induced. The surveyors suggested that a superheavy object such as a dwarf star had passed closed to the planet, churning up the molten core. Geologists from the University of Regina began a series of investigations in 1069. Deep beneath the scorched crust of Beck’s World, they found signs that the Ancients had a base here, hundreds of thousands of years ago.

0300
We land on the surface, at what passes for a starport here, a flat space with green lights in a ring.

Nearby is a ship’s boat belonging to the White City; otherwise there is a gun emplacement for planetary defense and some domes, one of which is marked as the Imperial Consulate.



On the edge of town is a small cluster of newer buildings that must be where the researchers from the University of Regina live and work.

We noticed that some of the buildings have scorch marks that were not there the last time we were here.

Fig said, “Act normal, just be cool...”

Twenty minutes after landing, someone wearing a hostile environment suit approached the ship and knocked. We could barely make out his features beneath the dirt and mud on his faceplate and he waved a laminated ID card at the intercom saying he was the official customs inspector, Uro Phell.

We let him in, and he wanted to inspect the ship. We showed him the ship. He told us the customs of the world, though he was really tough to understand due to his accent, that his suit’s speakers were clogged with dirt didn’t help at all.

“Hey, ieprs, this Beck’s World. Be it known that the thanes have laid down the law. No guns, nor knives, nor any other killsticks on Beck’s World, save those held by the qafs.” He slaps the shotgun at his side for emphasis. “Fuel’s three hunned creds a ton, impure. Aught else ye need, the thanes can supply. What’s yer cargo and where’re ye bound? Give me yer names and who ye owe fealty to, likewise.”

Port fees were 1 credit per day, payable in advance.

Sam shows him our fake IDS and walked him to our EMPTY cargo hold. He’s visibly disappointed, probably wanted a bribe. He says no guns/knives outside the ship and it’s 300 credits for unrefined gas; we tell him we already filled up.

It’s 200 Cr per person to walk outside “entrance fee out of starport”.

We pay for 3 people to go there (600 cr.) and he tore some tickets off a grimy pad and handed them to Sam. We want to leave two on the ship at a minimum. With this kind of a welcome you cannot be too careful.

We explain we’re here for the University of Regina, he spits on the deck and leaves.
We get breakfast while waiting for the University site to wake up, and check comms.

0900
As morning came; we tried to call the university, but we only get an answering machine and leave a message.

1000
Kipenzi, Leon and Sam put on filter masks and took the air/raft over to the site to start talking. Medicus and Fig stayed on the ship. Kipenzi took her tranq pistol; Phell didn’t say anything about nonlethal weapons.

As we flew toward the University site, we spotted what looked like a human child, maybe 10-12 years old being escorted by two Vargr to the launch of the White City on the other side of the flightline.  

Dr. Juni Volsang was the contact we had learned of on Regina. Hopefully she was still there.
At the University site, there was guy with a tool box on the roof of building with another man, fixing comm equipment.  We say “hi”. He’s surprised to see new faces and pleased to meet us. He introduces himself as Kenton Wylde and welcomes us to Beck’s World.

We offered to help fix the equipment. He was glad for the offer of help, but was slightly suspicious.
We learned that he was a grad student in geophysics, and that the dig site is off-limits to non-University personnel.

Leon, Kipenzi & Sam checked the antenna – they found that they have a problem with the comm at the dig site, his antenna is fine.

He invited us into one of the buildings. Most of the people in the building were other grad students busy with their work and ignored us. We asked about Dr Vostang; she’s at the dig site. Kenton says that she’s a genius and he has the utmost respect for her. We also learned that he wants to be somewhere else for his studies and doesn’t like it here.

We informed him that Prof Ujinka was dead. He’s saddened to hear about her death, but he still won’t take us to the dig site. Offworlders are not typically allowed at the dig site, and he suggested the team go back to the ship and wait until comm is re-established.
 
Showing him some pictures from Yorbund made him a little friendlier, and pictures of the ship on Keanu really rolled his socks up and down. But efforts to persuade failed; our team even offered the maintenance personnel a ride out to the dig site to see about the equipment there.

They did get the names of all the folks at the dig site, so that was something.  

The team returned to the ship.

The White City’s launch took off as they were coming back.  Sam had a flash, the name White City sounded familiar and recalled that the White City had been in Vlen's notes.

1110
Checking the notes more thoroughly, we found that the White City belongs to Bay Vensharr, a collector of Ancient Artifacts. Vlen was NOT complimentary about him, he was not a savory character, but did concede he was a professional and had been at it for about 200 years. Vlen had also noted that all of his collection was real.

We wondered if Vensharr might have recognized the Star Hunter.

This made the loss of comm MUCH more suspicious. The White City was still in orbit as we wondered this, but we could not detect the launch.  They probably had returned to the ship.

We called Kenton and asked if they had a visit from the White City people. He said they had not visited, but that his associates had noticed some people looking around the area last night. He figured they were looky lous and was not really worried.

Asking when the comms went down, we learned it happened AFTER the White City folks came down.  
Kenton said he would get out to check on the dig soon.

We heard a rumble across the comm and the connection to Kenton abruptly cut off. Then we heard the rumble at the ship and could see that the hillside above the university had collapsed.

Medicus, Fig and Kipenzi jumped into the air/raft to see if they could render aid, while Leon and Sam stayed with the ship and monitored the comms.

As they flew over, they can see people running towards the site. We would be getting there way ahead of them. The buildings had been portables, not sturdy at all, and had pretty much been crushed by the landslide, and there was no sign of survivors.

Once on the ground, we started with the building that had the most people earlier. Medicus got out his bio scanner to look for survivors.

The first person we found was a crushed scientist, but we kept looking and found more fatalities, but we persisted.

Kipenzi also used her X-ray scanner to look for voids where people might be. She found Kenton in one. He was injured but still alive. Fig treated him at the air/raft while the others continued searching.
The townspeople started arriving and most of them looked more like looters than helpers.

We kept looking for the last two folks. We found them; none were alive.

Uro Phell arrived with what looked like a couple of thugs, saying that they were the official rescue team.

We got back into the air/raft and hovered over the site to see if we could see what happened. Kipenzi took the air/raft straight up, and could see that the collapse happened almost directly uphill from the university. Kenton, being a geophysics student, said that the landslide did not look natural. He thinks they had been attacked.

We took Kenton back to the ship with us, and left the looters to loot.

Kenton said it looked like an attack and we should go to the archaeology site right away to check on them.


Continued in: Secrets of the Ancients - The Hunt

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, ANNIC NOVA, The Kinunir, Kesser's Return, Justice, Mission to Mithril, Outback, Skylark and the Pit, Last Flight of the Amuar and One Crowded Hour.