"The Mission"

"The Mission" is the second session of the first chapter of Convergence. The party have just escaped from the devastation of Mimosa III, and have arrived at Starbase 35. However, they did not recieve the welcome they were expecting from the Galactic Union. 
==Synopsis==
===Arrival===
The party arrived at Starbase 35 after fleeing the prison planet of Mimosa III following the attack by the Red Hand. Upon arrival, they are greeted by officers who point them to the station commander. The station commander, Admiral Masters, greets the party and they tell him all about what has happened on Mimosa III, he is relatively uninformed. He directs the party to wait in a room while he receives updates from command. After some time, Masters returns with several guards that apprehend the party and bring them into the command room. There, Fleet Admiral Williams has a proposal. 
===A proposal===
Fleet Admiral Reginald Williams greets everyone and then tasksthe party to use their newly acquired ship to travel into Zultan territory to the Zhen'kethi homeworld, Malevolence. He asks the party to rescue an individual who is leading the Union effort in investigating the "Signal". He has stated that if the party complete this mission, their sentences will be removed, they can keep the ship and they will be rewarded with Credits. The party accepts his mission, and the ship is refitted to allow it to stand a chance in combat. The party retreats to a nearby room. After some conversations, the party splits up. H0W-D33 goes down to the Engineering deck where, after some hacking and charming of a nearby officer, finds out more about the target they need to rescue. He discovers that the individual is the Union's very top scientist, by the name of Azaria. Fleet Admiral Williams gave information about what Azaria looks like but noted that his race is "classified". H0W-D33 discovers through hacking that Azaria has 4 different descriptions of his appearance. Meanwhile, the other members of the party receive better gear from the supplies area.
After linking up, the party share knowledge. While talking, Arthur Steele sees an "old school" detective, wearing a trench coat and a fedora. The individual can only be seen by Steele, and he keeps talking about wanting a map, Steele manages to get some information out of him that reveals that he has at least been to LA. The individual seems to have no concept of where he really is. The individual disappeared for a while, and Steele tries to explain to the party what he is seeing. He searched for a map in the bookcases in the room. He found an old school atlas. After reading through it, he could hear a faint whistling in the corner of the room. The individual reveals his name to be "The Investigator" and that he is working on a case given to him by "The masters". Steele hands him the atlas, and he seems to look content, before disappearing. Steele then uses the station's cameras to check out what was in the room. He saw himself talking to nothing, and when he handed the Atlas to the investigator, the cameras revealed that the Atlas disappeared.
The party is reconvened together and shown to their bunk room, where they sleep for the night. 
===Heading out===
The next morning, they are awoken to be told that their ship is now ready and they are free to proceed. Admiral Masters assembles them on the command level, and informs them that Jacen, the Empathi Overseer that travelled with them, has been taken to Naval FLEETCOM on Earth, as he has been specially requested. The party departs for their ship, which they discover to have been completely overhauled and cleaned. They are given a blank AI that they can build from scratch, H0W-D33 decides that the AI should be a human female with blonde hair and a 'crazy' personality. They call her Holly. The party also name the ship, the SS Eastwood. The station beams over a Naval Officer to serve as the 'Naval Attache' onboard, he is there to advise, assist, and represent the interests of the Navy during the mission. He introduces himself as Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Del Rio, the Second Officer of the Naval Flagship, the USS Odyssey.
After some planning, the party proceeds to the first sector on their way to Malevolence. The map shows that they must travel through 4 sectors in order to get to Malevolence. After arriving at the first beacon and performing a scan, they reveal nothing of note is nearby. They scan subsequent beacons and chart a path through the sector. They choose a route which avoids the nebula in the sector. They discover that there is a possible ship at the fourth beacon they will arrive at, and a small moon at the final beacon they will arrive at.
H0W-D33 activates the engines and attempts to take the ship to the next beacon, but accidentally shuts down main power. Meanwhile, in the engine room, Arthur Steele accidentally shuts down all the control consoles when attempting to fix the power core. After some time, the party restores power and they proceed to the next beacon.
===Under attack===
The party detects a distress call, and deciding to investigate, they take the Eastwood there. Upon arrival, they find a ship and what looks like another ship to sensors, but is actually a small probe emitting a false reading. The party, now cloaked, decide to the engage the ship in combat. Steele sees the Investigator again, who tells him a story about defeating a big bully with a swift blow to the head, Steele recommends combat to the others.
The party engages in an attack against what is revealed to be a Zhen’kethi pirate vessel. The ship, known as the StarScreen, is small but powerful. The party wisely targets their life support system. Due to the party being cloaked, the StarScreen has not yet raised its shields, therefore the direct hit causes a hull breach and causes their life support to shut down.
The StarScreen, panicking, begins evasive action. They attempt to return fire but good flying on the part of H0W-D33 results in clear misses. The two sides continue to trade blows for several minutes. 
Eventually the StarScreen hails the Eastwood, a large Zhen'kethi brute known as Aurelyios, taunts the party and informs them that assistance will be on the way. The party jams their communications and continues the onslaught. Eventually, with some good shooting on the part of Junk, now known as Petra, the StarScreen is destroyed. 
The party loot the remains of the vessel, and after savouring their victory, they decide to move on to the next beacon. 
==Featured characters==
===The Party===
* Dr Arbo Star-Seeker (GM controlled)
* H0W-D33
* Bunka (GM controlled)
* Arthur Steele
* Junk (now known as Petra)
* Calliamarianna
=== Other ===
* Jacen Ourelios 
===New===
* Benjamin Del Rio
* Fleet Admiral Reginald Williams
* Admiral Alistair Masters
* Aurelyios
* The Investigator
* Holly
===Mentioned===
* Commander Maria Williams
* Azaria
== Story elements ==
=== Key story notes ===
* The party learn more about the eponymous "Signal". They learn that it is a galactic-wide problem, and that the Zultans believe it is a Union attempt at sabotage.
* Azaria is noted as the top scientist in the Union. 
* The Mimosa III disaster is now known Union-wide.
* The Red Hand are considered a threat to peace.
* The Investigator desires a map, and notes that he is working on a case for "the masters"
=== Secrets ===
* Bunka has still not said a word to the party as of yet.
* Jacen has been taken away by the Union for a currently unknown reason.
== Quotations ==
* The Investigator (To Arthur): "Tick tock kid, I need a map"
* Fleet Admiral Williams: "The Zultans are treating this signal as an act of subterfuge on our part."