Nightwrath on March 02, 2009 08:00PM:
The only thing that came to Asherio's mind was the fact that he must get away as much as possible from Mutton.
"I think this place is no longer safe for me, so I guess if you guys need an angineer for the ship or any other thing that you have in mind I may be of assistance."
Shadow on March 02, 2009 11:00PM:
"Right... A starship would come in handy right now. Unfortunately I don't have one. The friend that brought me here is probably still grounded back at the spaceport."
He sighed. "What do you say, Mr. Armimane?"
*** Remember, there are other spaceports on the planet (outside the puny map I drew), but they're likely under surveillance by now. A shuttle, on the other hand, could conceivably land anywhere. The only thing it needs is a reason. ***
Jimdor Armimane on March 03, 2009 02:52PM:
** Okay... first of all, sorry for the delay in posting. I had a bad bout with the flu over the last few days, in addition to being busy with this pesky Master's portfolio I have to submit soon.
Now... I'm sorry to say we don't have a pilot. Dorte likes the idea of playing, but she's really turned off by the science fiction thing. She's never read SF and just can't get interested, no matter how hard I try. If someday this story ends and we do something fantasy, she said she'd love to play that.
It would be nice to have a pilot. My character is already verging on being too super-human, I think, so I don't want to have him suddenly pull a spaceship and a pilot's license out of his metaphorical ass. Could we advertise somewhere, try to recruit another player? **
Shadow on March 03, 2009 07:00PM:
*** No need to apologize. I just wanted to make sure Dorte doesn't feel left out. I have one or two other people to ask, and we'll see what happens. In the mean time, the three of us can play a little further by ourselves. At worst, we can have more than one PC per player.
And now for a little background... ***
The Elders had never been the wise ancestors legends made them into. More than a hundred millenia after their passage, Mega was still barely able to support life. The oceans were fatally polluted, the land mostly desertic, and despite a century of efforts by colonists the planet could not support more than a few hundred millions. But it was the friendliest in its galactic neighborhood, and its position (essentially halfway to anywhere important) made it an invaluable resource.
And then there were the former Elder cities. You could tell where they had been, as those areas were essentially dead. Nobody went there except to dig deep into the sands, where radar revealed the presence of ruins. Over the decades, a few people had actually been made rich and famous by their findings. Most had just wasted time and money. That didn't stop anyone, though. There was more than enough left to unearth.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/2009 11:48PM by Shadow.
Nightwrath on March 08, 2009 11:40PM:
One name came up when Asherio thought about pilots: Tony Rhio. A good pilot? Definately. A brave guy? Not really. A decent guy - not in his lifetime.
"There is someone that I know"
Well, he could not say he "knew" him. Just that Tony used to be his client for some time. Asherio was a sucker for new tech "toys". And Tony among other things wouold usually smuggle some things for him - for an exorbitant price of course.
"He can certainly fly. And he certainly knows his ways around..."
The problem with Tony (besides his many illegal jobs) was that when he was either high or in a bad mood, and never in between. He was a junky and a dangerous one unless he had some of his "special weed" at his disposal. He was rather unpredictable. And of course, he had some suicidal issues to be added to his profile.
"There may be a problem though..."
And he started telling them about Tony.
*** It's all up to you guys to decide if we need the dangerous junky and his ship ***
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/08/2009 11:56PM by Nightwrath.
Shadow on March 10, 2009 06:33AM:
Jonathan listened to the story with a deepening frown.
"Well, you survived around him until now... and it sounds like you have some history with this guy. By the way, does Mutton know about him?"
*** Unfortunately, all the potential players I know are very busy. And I'm hesitant about bringing total strangers into this particular game. But there's still time to change my mind and/or find someone; Tony Rhio shouldn't be too easy to reach, now should he? ***
Nightwrath on March 17, 2009 09:46PM:
"I don't believe Mutton expects anyone to actually look for this guy for ANY reason in the world."
Tony Rhio was quite a dangerous and oportunistic person. The one you do not actually go and ask for help. Or so they thought, many people who knew him. But Asherio knew something else too. There was a certain part of Tony that enjoyed challenge - that is why he was smuggling besides the proffit he made. For the risk. He enjoyed risk. And helping Asherio right now was a major risk. The one reason that might make him rather helpful. Besides loads of cash for his drugs, of course.
"I think he can help us."
Shadow on March 21, 2009 05:44AM:
*** I'm taking over the story a little, in order to fast-forward to the next scene. ***
The hovercar sped south along the western side of the Krona Mountains, past Awaiaih and finally over the open sea. Soon they came within sight of what appeared to be a large seaport, but as they came closer, it became apparent that the shiny hulls floating on the water belonged to various spaceships, ranging from shuttlecraft to long-range star merchants. Those were the medium weights, small enough to take off and land on their own, but too large to stand on legs. Incidentally, that compromise made them extremely cost-effective cargo haulers in a civilization where gravity was still a problem.
The city of Kekcecsh itself was a rare sight on Mega, a sprawling area lush with greenery. The Kinac weren't much into architecture, preferring plain, gray concrete to fancier materials, but their buildings - round towers of varying heights, connected via gently-sloped viaducts - radiated an aura of self-conficence and solidity. There wasn't much air traffic, but the ground was crawling with people and vehicles of all sizes and shapes. Kekcecsh was a successul starport, and with Buck Rogers still closed it was even busier than usual.
Jimdor Armimane on April 03, 2009 05:07AM:
Jimdor looked down with a frown as the hovercar slowly circled the spaceport. "Well, folks, we have to make decision here. This Tony character sounds like he may be bad news to me."
More than bad news, Jimdor thought to himself. He had a special loathing for drugs. Drugs were the reason so many of his bounties were in the predicament they were in the first place. Not to mention the several friends he had seen them destroy...
"The other option is to sell my hovercar and try to scrape together enough to buy a cheap ship. With its special modifications, we might just get enough to buy... something. But it definitely won't be the lap of luxury. And we still need a pilot, unless either of you two has skills you haven't told me about."
Jimdor couldn't believe he was offering to sell his pride and joy. But needs must...
"Or we could try the spaceport bars, see if we can find someone who needs some more crew. But whatever we do, we should do it now. I know Mutton. It won't take him long to find us, and when he does... Well, let's just say it would be best for our health if we got off world, and did it quickly."
Jimdor hesitated, then turned to Asherio. "Okay, kid, you know this Tony character and we don't. Is he worth the risk?"
*** Yes, I'm finally back. Really, really sorry, just got overwhelmed with stuff for a while there... and then when there's a long break it's always hard to get started again.
If we go with Tony, my only concern is who is going to play him? Sounds like Nightwrath has a pretty good picture of him in his mind. Do you want to play him? And what sayeth the GM? ***
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/2009 05:08AM by Jimdor Armimane.
Shadow on April 03, 2009 05:50AM:
*** Welcome back, Jimdor! I forgot to mention it here, but yes, the plan was indeed for Nightwrath to play Tony. You can take a second PC as well, in compesation. Maybe the ship's AI? ***
The old man raised a hand.
"If someone has to sacrifice his fortune to buy a ship, that is me. But let's hope it won't be necessary."
He looked down with interest at the floating starships.
"Asherio, do you happen to know what Tony's ship looks like?"
*** And no, I didn't stop looking for a player to join us. But because I'm picky as to where I'm looking, I'm yet to recruit anyone. ***
Nightwrath on April 22, 2009 11:02PM:
"He has a rather slim ship. It cannot carry heavy materials. It was designed for speed mostly."
For illegal operations. For fast runs whenever things were going badly.
The ship was not a wreck though, as far as Asherio remembered. Tony's folks had lots of cash to spend and their "prodigal son" did cut any cost when it came to his needs. Not to mention the proffit he made on his own.
Jimdor Armimane on May 01, 2009 03:39AM:
"Well, I'm not hearing any better plans, so Tony it is!" said Jimdor. With that he descended into the spaceport traffic pattern and began looking around for a parking space - preferably one a moderate but not extreme distance out, a nice compromise between cost and safety for his precious hovercar (which Jimdor was really glad he wouldn't have to sell).
*** Okay, I'm back, and hope to be able to post on a daily basis for a while at least now. You may want to jump to the next scene (presumably the meeting with Tony), unless you have something else in mind that should happen here. ***
Shadow on May 03, 2009 12:25AM:
In a Terran's eyes, the Kinac-built parking resembled a stadium more than anything else: a big, round building with landing platforms arranged in a spiral on the inside, under an overhanging roof, and ramps descending towards the streets below, between rows of alien trees. The streets themselves felt quite welcoming, pedestrians mixing freely with slow-moving vehicles. The three fugitives were at a star-shaped intersection, with one street sloping down towards the north and the ocean; that way lay the starport and the multitude of bars, trade offices and machine shops where small-time merchant pilots could usually be found. Two other streets went upwards into the city, among bigger and more luxurious buildings. Presumably, the business and commercial districts were that way.
Jonathan looked around warily. Guards in various corporate uniforms patrolled the area in a rather ostentatious manner, but there was no sign of the Mutton Corp. logo... yet. Half a dozen Unaani skittered past on their many chitinous legs -- obviously, humanoids were not particularly influential in Kekcecsh.
"So, young man, " said the scientist as he turned towards Asherio, "how might we get hold of this Mr. Rhio?"
Nightwrath on May 13, 2009 04:21AM:
"He usually stays in a bar whenever he is sober. He is not exactly a regular of 'high life' places. Although, he could - he has the cash, you know."
The bar's name was... "The Weed", which was rather appropriate, to be honest.
"I know one of the patrons there. We should get some info o spot. Unfortunately, he is not 'clean'. I am not sure if he knows about the bounty on me and if he might turn me in to some random bounty hunters. We had some... disagreements in the past. It would be better for one of you guys to go in and talk to him. His name is Patt Smart. He should point to Tony's current location if he ain't in there."
*** I think my character should wait outside for this part of our adventure ***
(And this is where we ran out of steam. Oh well.)
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