Session 2

## Repairs

The crew decide to take the body of the unidentified creature aboard the ship and attempt to remove the spike from its chest, injuring Tinka in the process. Whilst the crew make repairs Hots tries cooking some meat from the creature and manages to produce an edible meal from it. The ship is restored to working order but is incapable of faster than light travel, prompting a slow return to Lazarus Station, which fortunately happens to be nearby. During the flight Hezsia and Hots try to get more information out of Haliathe, revealing that the entity was able to take control of the body as it passed between universes, through a tear in space-time caused by the ship's malfunctioning FTL drive. It is also revealed that the disappearance of the stars is a result of Haliathe's universe consuming this one in order to repair damage done to it caused by the entity's "brethren". The entity is eventually convinced to temporarily relinquish control of the body but warns that the owner is potentially dangerous.

## The Other Captain

The crew meet in the dining room to talk with the restored Captain Haliathe, who claims to have be a naval officer tasked with investigating a purported invasion of the "western colonies" by demons. He labels the corpse they took aboard as one such demon, taking pride in the fact he killed it, and surmises that the entity possessing him is also one, albeit more powerful, and states that he woke up in this universe after travelling through some kind of gateway mid-battle. When pressed about his name Gabriel reveals that he is the great, great grandson of Varian Haliathe, supposed founder of the Haliathe PMC, who mysteriously disappeared over 150 years ago in his universe. During this time Tinka and SID steal blood from the corpse in an attempt to produce rocket fuel, but only manage to make an unusual black pudding. Hezsia attempts to take Gabriel to bed but the entity intervenes, warning that it would be dangerous to allow him into the medical bay for an unknown reason. To remedy the situation Hots borrows Gabriel's coat, and Hezia takes his weapons, as the entity has no use for them, and polymorphs into Gabriel, leaving with Hezsia. Hezsia notes that when handing over his sword she touched one of the rings on his hand which seemed to cause visible pain to the entity, despite showing little human behaviour when it is in control of the body.

## Revelations

Upon returning to Lazarus Station the crew receive an initially cold welcome, the station suddenly seeming to be mostly out of order. They are greeted by a panicked Ambris and a crew of engineers, who reveal that about three weeks have passed since he last saw them, despite it being just over a day for the crew. During this time the station suffered mass capital flight as the stars started going out, and the Core Systems have started exercising very strict border control as they are now considered the safest place to be. The Order of the Sacred Flame have started sending scouts out into the far reaches of the galaxy, undoubtedly in pursuit of the prophecy the captain had recalled, and more notably the Ursa Company of Haliathe PMC have become an uncomfortably common sight as of late, seemingly on the warpath against the Dead Suns in pursuit of some unknown goal and at the request of an unknown benefactor. The crews' want for revenge against Magnus is sated when it is revealed that Ulysses, leader of the Bears, had killed Magnus several weeks prior. Ambris apologies that there is now no money left in the station to pay the crew, but that it could still be possible to find somewhere to cash in their payment, and instead offers to repair their ship for free. He recommends visiting the colony of Gravewaters, known for its mineral mining exports and the current occupation by the Corvus Company, believing that as their connection to the Dead Suns is not public knowledge, the crew may be able to gain transport into the Core Systems from them. During the talk with Ambris, the possessed Gabriel keeps notable distance from SID and eventually reveals when pressed that he is an ancient construct designed to fight people like Gabriel who could mantle these entities without being killed by the process, the warforged artificial bodies and minds being immune to their psychic influence. However the entity observes that SID's lack of aggression is unusual, prompting a belief that he has somehow forgotten his purpose.