The Pirates Campaign/Session 4

Setup:

* Planet Tarim is heavily fortified. Planetary gate guarded by chained together gun platforms.
* Party arrives at the gate station. Clearly an ongoing battlezone with destroyed brass cities ships in the distance.
* Party is arrested (apologetically) at the gate station. Party members will be escorted one-by-one in shuttles to be interrogated by military officers. Weapons confiscated and kept under guard.
	+ Interrogation won’t be brass cities style, but the red light district does offer simulations thereof

Waiting for the shuttles to arrive at the gate station:

* Guards (5) want to hear stories from the Aetherfish. Aetherfish tells guards about events since the Pin Jump (Nat 20). Guards are extremely impressed and call in friends to meet Aetherfish. Aetherfish tries to drop out of sight, but does not succeed. Guards continue to want autographs.
* Thefaren asks guards if they have caviar. They do not, but they do have large quantities of drugs. Thefaren inquires about drugs. Guards describe ether/alcohol/opium drink with hallucinogenic properties. Thefaren asks for adrenaline. Guard asks Therfaren to fill out requisition form, comes back with multiple doses of Margravate ‘speed’. Doses of ‘speed not that effective for Thefaren. Melon Tusk notices that Thefaren is heavily addicted and opts not to interfere.
* Melon Tusk gives guards permanent markers of Aetherfish’s stories, for money. Aetherfish continues chatting up guards, asks guards for stories (Nat 20). Guards describe that trade including food and weapons have been cut off. Only have enough munitions in gate facility to fire for five minutes continuously. Relying on local industry to supply munitions, however local industry can’t produce hydrogen rounds. Many weapons we will encounter will be hydrogen weapons converted to use gunpowder.
* Shantine, apparently, have been attacking the Nipponese with some new kind of weapon, so focusing their energy toward Imperial Space. Hence, raiding parties are being formed to hit trade lanes and commandeer ships; it is suggested that military command would appreciate our help. Everyone in the Margravate living like it’s their last day. There’s literally no way out
* Medical officer asks Aetherfish why ACE is dead. Agnar is aware that Cromwell is inside ACE, but Cromwell can’t speak. Thefaren plays off ACE/Cromwell’s condition as exciting and cool. Doctor is sceptical of ACE, notes condition for further examination by intelligence services.
* Doctor makes notes on party. Melon Tusk ‘claims to be a doctor, possibly a fraud’. Aetherfish is ‘narcissist with retrograde amnesia’. Cromwell is a ‘golem’.

Party taken to surface with space elevator / space train:

* Multiple city blocks have been demolished around base station in part to deny landing forces cover; brass remnants lying around the streets. Other cities blanketed in smog from over-industrialization.
* Party arrives in train station bristling with guns. Escorted separately to second train deeper into capital. Taken to basement of building full of men in grey topcoats. These are Margraviate military intelligence.
* ACE/Cromwell interrogation: Three stools arranged to allow ACE/Cromwell to sit. Cromwell aware that they are in the ‘special room’ loaded with pressure plates and panic button in case interrogation goes south. Showerhead overhead for dropping acid on ACE/Cromwell. Interrogator asks ACEwell who they are, in Outremer. Cromwell understands, ACE does not. Cromwell does not comply with question, believes that the party can parlay out of the situation. Interrogator goes though book of languages before calling for backup translator.
* Thefaren interrogation: Asked if from Enclaves and why Thefaren is on Tarim. Thefaren gives short answers. Interrogator asks about Thefaren’s mercenary contract. Thefaren does not know/forgot who employer is. Asks what she would be looking for in a future employer
* Agnar interrogation: Interrogator - Who are you? What are you doing here? Who do you work for? Agnar - Out trying to get materials and fell in with the party. Interrogator - Notices celestial accent, asks if Agnar is from Celestial space. Agnar - Yes, and partly from Naga space. Interrogator - What type of materials were you looking for? Agnar - Special materials, work for important people. Interrogator - Who do you work for? Agnar - Celestial courts. Agnar continues to plead ignorance. Interrogator knows that Agnar does not know enough to pose national security threat.
* Melon Tusk does not comply with interrogation.
* Aetherfish regales interrogator with stories. Taken to ‘special special’ cell with wood panels and fine whiskey. Interrogator - Who were you working for? Aetherfish - Cromwell. Do you know what happened at Pin Jump? Interrogator - No. Do you know anything about events? Aetherfish - Describes events of Pin Jump. Interrogator - Do you think the Brass Cities were involved? Aetherfish - They raided upper levels, otherwise shiny but dull/boring. Interrogator - What was the condition of the factory ship. Aetherfish - Describes ambush by ships and encounter on the factory ship. Describes craft in the hangar bay of factory ship. Interrogator - Why were they so eager to catch you? Aetherfish - My name gets around, but don’t know why they were after us. Describes escape from Pin Jump and capture by Brass Cities. Interrogator - Who/What are your travelling companions? Aetherfish - Describes everyone else avoiding ACE/Cromwell. Interrogator - What happened to Cromwell? Aetherfish - ‘Bones’ is around somewhere. Interrogator - Bones? Where is he now? Aetherfish - Don’t know, but he was very good at asking for my help. Interrogator - Do you know what became of ‘Bones’? Aetherfish - Need to find Cromwell. He was very resourceful.
* Agnar tells the interrogator that Cromwell crawled inside ‘our other friend’.
* Cromwell gets impression that he is being x-rayed. Interrogator speaks to Cromwell from other side of wall/two-way mirror. Notepad slipped through mailslot for Cromwell to use. Cromwell decides to keep them ‘curious’. Cromwell tries to force ACE to speak. ACE sticks tongue against top of mouth to avoid speaking. ‘Extremely hideous and incredibly childish display’. Military inteligence threatens to imprison or kill Cromwell. He responds, “I know you don’t have the ammunition. [...] If you’re going to ask me something of worth, now would be the time.”
* Interrogator - 1) What happened on the Pin Jump? 2) What is the KM doing in Celestial space? Cromwell - Don’t know and Don’t know. Interrogator - What’s to stop your ‘affliction’ from spreading. Cromwell tries to intimidate intelligence officers. Interrogator is not confident that Cromwell will not spread ‘affliction’ to others. Cromwell assures military intelligence that spreading is not a current goal, and ACE’s body will probably last long enough that he won’t be ‘crawling into’ anyone else. Interrogator - What services can you offer to the Margraviate? Cromwell - Climbs up wall to position self over gun port. Gun activates but does not have rounds. Interrogator suggest he try the other gun. Interrogator - We haven’t removed plastic explosives installed under floor. Cromwell - Fairly confident he could take the blast by rolling into a ball.
* “I’m an occult abomination inside a tank, and if you don’t want to utilize that, I don’t know what to tell you.”
* Man of elvish and human blood enters the interrogation room with Cromwell. Man is a vice admiral and likely ranking officer of facility. Admiral gives Cromwell contract to operate in space in exchange for services to Margraviate. Will be granted personhood as long as Cromwell operates as privateer for at least a year. Contract would be to enumerate KM associates that may be on planet. Cromwell doesn’t know if any are on planet, hoped to find them. Conditions of deal are that Cromwell will provide dossier on KM activities at Pin Jump. Margraviate claims that they can cross-reference events to know if he is lying. Cromwell left with writing materials to construct dossier. Military intelligence likely does not know who Cromwell is within the KM.
* Party asked to give impressions of Cromwell. Agnar gives character reference ‘He’s a really good guy’. Aetherfish says he has no problems with ‘Bones’, but says he does not know who he works for (in response to question from military intelligence). Thefaren says that she is not interested in mission if Cromwell not released.
* Military intelligence ready to release party. Hesitant to release Cromwell. Aetherfish reassures intelligence that he will keep tabs on Cromwell. Military intelligence to implant tracking bugs into ACE to track Cromwell. Cromwell released into custody of Aetherfish.
* Cromwell does not want reconstructive surgery, asks Thefaren if she wants to ‘experience the bones’. ‘If you introduced me to your nervous system, I could keep you from overdosing’. Cromwell makes case for possessing Thefaren. Thefaren knows that Cromwell can’t leave without destroying her body and taking her brain with him. Thefaren initially turns down offer, wants to live life without constraints. Cromwell promises not to take over often and claims that he will be content possessing Thefaren. Thefaren agrees to be possessed. Orderly witnesses ‘bone centipede’ crawl out of ACE and down Thefaren’s throat. Thefaren begins to have second thoughts. Cromwell snaps in half and the other half crawls towards orderly and possesses him. ‘Inside everyone is a skeleton waiting to get out. They just don’t know it yet.’
* ‘Congratulations Thefaren, you have survived the skeleton curse’.
* Party can repossess ACE’s power armor.

Party hits the town:

* Aetherfish is immediately accosted by admiralty press officer / hype man (Aetherfish’s side character). Aetherfish tells hype man stories of adventures.
* Landydion AKA Normal Bob (Matt’s side character). Worked on Bank of Valdos hits such as “Intergalactic, Monetary, Monetary, Intergalactic”.
* Landydion works for Margraviate propaganda house, part of government’s arrangement with party. Asks for script notes from the party.
	+ Agnar shares their family’s story, enslavement by and eventual liberation from the Mage Princes thousands of years before; Landedion says, “let the camera be your therapist”
	+ Thefaren’s story turns into the Margravate stand-in: living life for the moment
	+ Melon Tusk demands heavy product placement of beauty creams and other Tusk branded products, and that Kyle play all of the background characters.
	+ Horatio Prax becomes convinced that he fought the space worm, which emerged from Cromwell, on the way out of the Brass Cities ship
* Pirsig (or whatever Logan will call his new character) proposes exploring some unexplored territory beyond Tarim
	+ Thefaren is sold on the adventure, gleaming cities, etc. She reads Pirsig as being akin to herself: in it for the thrill of the hunt. He says he can get a ship
	+ Prax is interested in whether there will be anyone to liberate once there. Persig says he doesn’t know what’s out there, just that there’s something there. Prax is probably OK with liberating knowledge of the unknown area.
	+ Who’s this guy? Aeldman elf, probably ATC.
		- Aeldmen heavily armed the Margravate against the Nipponese
* Agnar comes clean about their deal: they have latent Naga-made viral genes making them Umbran -- infecting most of the dwarvish population. Soul virus causes soul to slowly turn into the soul of an Umbran. So, maybe Agnar will transform at some point on our adventure.