Session 14: Boarding the Wreck of the Vlerryn Report

General Summary

Previously

It takes a few days for the message you relayed up to the heliograph to get sent to London, and to get a reply, but when you do, the answer from HQ is unequivocal. Its vital to find out what plans the Brotherhood of Luxor have in regard to the "Runestorms", as you now know they are called, and what connection their might be to the strange world on the other side of the barrier.   Wait, wrong universe...   After your encounter with the apparent ghost ship Resolution, and then the strange mind swap across the barrier of a Runestorm with the crew of the HMS Avenger on a world called Mars, the Surprise continues on its course in-system towards the distress signal. After a few more days of mostly uneventful travel (other than a few helm hiccups, and dodging more Runestorms), the party arrives to at the source of the distress signal--a strange ship to which very bad things apparently happened.    

The Wreck of the Vlerryn

The wreck resembles a blasted and scored sarcophagus slowly tumbling through the lightless void. Various craters pock the surface, perhaps from high-velocity impacts. Random patches of pinkish crystalline growth spot the hull here and there. A litter of loose debris follows in its wake, accompanying it endlessly through the void. In places, the ship is badly distorted, as if it melted, splayed out into space, and resolidified. Despite this, the hull seems reasonably intact.   From the perspective of the chart room, the distress signal on the Planetary Locator seems to flicker and shift. The group's best guess is that the ship exudes a strong antimagic field.   Zayre flies into space, and casts Becalm Ship, which (with difficulty, as the massive ship seems to almost slough off his magic) stops the ship from tumbling. BN, Jessa, Windy and Hunter, colorfully protected by Jessa's environmental protection devices, take the longboat over to the ship, while Zayre circles in space, Prax mans one of the ballista, keeping an eye out for any apparent threats, and Windellian (who has the conn) watches carefully.   Despite the environmental protect, the boarding party can tell that the air envelope surrounding the strange ship is stale--though, in some ways, it is refreshing after the rather ripe atmosphere of the Surprise, and its crew of humans, kzinti, goblins, syllix and Lenny. A faint scent of decay pervades the air.   Choosing one of the small hatches they spotted from the ship, Jessa manages to decipher the pictograms marking the hatch, and Windy manipulate the mechanism at her instruction, opening the hatch. A short, dark chamber greets them, scored with scratches, and loose or severed cables that once ran through bulkheads, and random debris. There is another hatch on the far end. Opening that one, they find themselves entering a long hallway from one side (with a matching door on the far side, presumably an entrance from the other hatch on the far side of the ship).   Strange crystalline growths that sprout like fungus and bundles of cables that shouldbe contained behind bulkheads dominate the main hallway. Malfunctioning illumination panels along the walls flicker unnervingly. A grim psychic aftertaste lingers; it’s not too difficult to imagine that something horrible happened aboard the Vlerryn.   The crystalline growths seems to be thicker of the left (aft), and they can what appears to be the outline of a suited body mostly covered by the growths--and so the boarding party heads forward. The group passes a series of doors, mostly closed, and an alcove with a ladder heading upwards to other decks. Soon, they reach a much larger room, apparently the cargo hold. The outline of the large hatch that was visible from outside the ship is evident.   The area is filled with containers of various sizes, about half of which are smashed, with strange substances, powders and packages spilling out. A tiny vessel is also docked here, which immediately draws Jessa's attention. She manages to open the door, and heads inside, marveling at the various controls and devices, and trying to decipher how to use them. The rest of the group searches the large chamber, uncovering a couple of dozen strange coins, 4 suits which look like they might provide enviromental protection, a set of gloves with faintly blinking lights and suction cups on the palms, and a strange hollow tube, with a handle and trigger attached. Upon investigation, a smashed container holds what seems to be a mummified alien body that has been grafted to a machine carapace. The carapace looks disturbingly parasitic--and is even more disturbing when it has disappeared after Hunter glanced away. The boarding party girds for a potential attack.   Meanwhile, outside the ship, Zayre casts divination, and contacts what appears to be the spirit of the captain of the Vlerryn. While Zayre tries to convince the captain he and his crew are dead, mentioning his earlier conversation with Capt. Gregory Mathis, of the Paraxin Naval Ship Resolution, the ghost of the captain cannot seem to comprehend, and lapses into reporting to Zayre as if he were a superior officer.    The captain reports that the AI entity Mozck has gone rogue, and taken over most systems on the ship. He has set a course for the Vendav Ring in the Phaeton Halo, expecting that transit through the ring would disrupt Mozck. (As this conversation proceeds, Windellian on the Surprise sees a new signal appear on the planetary display, presumably this ring or halo, farther in system). The captain asks Zayre (who he believes is his admiral) to send a rescue ship to save what remains of his crew. Zayre tries to provide what comfort and reassurance he can, as the spell ends and the ghost fades away.   The party speculate that perhaps the ship never made it to this Vendav Ring--or perhaps they did, and that is what damaged the ship so badly.