Jerusalem Burn
Hatshepsut, stolen by Lord's chosen was connected to the circular cluster of ships that is being mounted around massive pillar-like structure for a burn towards Luhman 16, with kidnapped females on board (mostly Human, some Nathorean, Taoteri, Gusmerian and Searian).
The structure in the center of the cluster is an anti-matter drive that is able of accelerating up to 0,8c, but can only accelerate at up to 0,2g.
Structure
Exposition
Ships are leaving Clades Main spaceport in direction similar to that of the Blue Way, but not quite.
On closer look, they are parked around a stationary (not in orbit around Sol) structure 30km in length.
Look via telescopes
The structure seems to produce quite a lot of energy, therefore it can be assumed that it is keeping itself stationary on purpose. There is a lot going on around it. Multiple Heavy Freighters are connected to it while lots of small ones are scurrying around on tea-kettle, never using a main drive for more than couple seconds.
Approach under burn
Around 5-6 of the smaller ships dispatch from the main structure and burn to intercept. A battle ensues. If the enemy ship is disabled, the crew wipes everything and kill themselves (only discovered if Firefly crew boards any of the ship).
Approach flying dark
Firefly is ignored unless the crew decides to go on collision or near-collision course with the structure.
This way, they can pickup that the freighters are being welded to the central structure with their drives sticking out and smaller ships seem to dock in their ever-open cargo bays. Around 20 yachts rigged with various weapons, mostly just PDCs are prepared to intercept any incoming ships.
Conflict
After some time that the crew observes the commotion. The structure powers up and puts out massive heat signature and starts to accelerate, reaching an acceleration of 0,2g after a couple of minutes. All the yachts dock inside the heavy freighters as it slowly gains speed on it's trajectory, ever diverging from the line of the Blue Way, towards a region of the Solaris Oort Cloud with no major station and far beyond it, the Luhman 16.
The crew will have to decide how to best chase the ship.
Call backup
TODOGuns blazing
TODOFly dark to overtake
TODOGo for a walk
Some or all players decide to go for a spacewalk to the structure. They can surf the torpedoes to get a boost or get boosted by the ship. Torpedo surfing gets pretty much no attention, ship's main drive does. Spacewalking players get a couple of hours to talk and then arrive at the structure. They discover that the heavy freighter have cargo bays open inward towards the central structure made of weird material.
Rising Action
Infiltrators
Players go to explore the nearest freighter. In the cargo bay, there is a LOT of smaller ships, yachts both large and small, light freighters and even 2 gunships (Heavily modified Deidalos-class and a David-class) at the mouth of the cargo bay. The Gentle Lady doesn't seem to be in this one.
Veronica will not be on any of the 4 freighters at the bow of the structure. They encounter some guards and workers. Guards attack them on sight and raise an alarm, while the workers try to flee and there is 50% chance, that they will raise an alarm. There is a chance that they can find a unloaded laser rifle.
Ship defenders
The players holding the ship will be bored as hell. Just a little after the infiltrators are spotted by the gunship crew, there is a movement and a heat spike at one of the middle freighters The spike is consistent with martian Hastati-class destroyer and it burns at 10g for a couple seconds and shoots of in a direction about 30° from the cluster's trajectory away from the Sol, towards a point below the plane of ecliptic. A little after that, there is someone at the airlock.
Turns out that it's Xing Shun, who begs the crew to help him escape. Apparently, he was a Terran Navy pilot and was hiding on the Blue Way, until he stumbled to the cultists, who imprisoned him and forced him to do some shady stuff.
If the player decides to take him in, then he is able to tell them, that the cult is taking a lots of supplies and female slaves to some place they call New Jerusalem, where that is, he has no idea. He can help them to make a backdoor connection to the cluster's system to find The Gentle Lady and Veronica Machado (in one of the middle 4 freighters), but hardly anything else. He also knows pretty much nothing about the attack. Only that it's going to happen and that they refer to it as the Fist of God
Climax
Falling Action
Save just Veronica
QuietlyThey sneak inside The Gentle Lady as per information provided by Xing Shun or the ship defenders and find 4 guards waiting for them.
If the info was from Xing, the guards are closely watching the entrance, if it was from the crew, then they are distracted and only 2 of them stand by the entrance, while the other two are harassing a random Searian girl.
Guns blazingThey have to shoot their way through a bunch of corridors and approx 10 guards. The 4 guards in the hold of each ship, will take prisoners as living shields/hostages.
When retreating, there will only be 3 guards in the way and 3 behind them.
Save a shipload
QuietlySame approach as for just Veronica, but then they have to unlock the clamps on The Gentle Lady and fly it out and there is nothing silent about that.
Guns blazingSame approach as for just Veronica, but then they are attacked by 4 more guards. If they split, 2 go after the one unclamping the ship, 2 after the one who stays inside it.
Flying offEither way, the ship is in the middle of the cargo hold of one of the freighters - they have to burn through the wall of the hold with the main drive while the ship is still clamped in, then unclamp it and reverse out on maneuvering thrusters. Off course, this forces the Firefly into action, as all the Falcons now come after The Gentle Lady so hopefully, they are friends with Xing Shun.
Save everyone
QuietlyJust how?
Guns blazingA lot of soldiers come after them, while at the same time, all the remaining (16) Falcons will come after the Firefly and are soon joined by the gunships and the destroyer. Just overall shitstorm and they will have to sacrifice something important, to even escape ... maybe even Firefly herself ( Xing Shun can do this, while giving Lonk and Annie his "jetpack" so they can flee while he redeems himself.
NOTE: The situation in any ship with prisoners is the same as inside The Gentle Lady, except Veronica Machado is not there.
Resolution
Firefly crew saved Veronica Machado
Carlos Machado gives FFC access to the radar network.
Firefly crew saved a shipload
Previous + They can get some specialists for Kaer Morhen.
Firefly crew saved everyone
All previous + Some massive shitload of both rewards and new shit to deal with
Components
Hooks
- This tells players that the cult has some serious hardware.
- Sets up the Factory raid
Moral Quandaries
Should they save just Veronica Machado, who they can or try to save everyone?
Backdrops
Locations
The cluster is burning away from Solaris, towards a New Jerusalem station in Luhman 16 system.
Threats
Guards
Wearing Light vac-armor and armed with Reactionless pistol as main and Railgun pistol as backup weapon.
In fight, the guards will try to kill Sigmur and take Shiro as prisoner/slave.
Gunships
- Deidalos-class
- A modified David-class - Abbadon-class
Encounters
Xing Shun
First arrival
He asks players guarding the ship to help him escape and tells them that he was forced to work with the cult because they kidnapped his mother and sister. He was supposed to meet them at the end of this voyage but recently learned that they are already dead from one of the other cultists.
He knows that they are going to Jerusalem, but has no idea, where that is and as a pilot, he is very well aware that there is pretty much nothing on their vector. That's why he fled here - it's his last chance to run.
TurncoatWhen all the players are doing something else, he pulls out a concealed pistol and demands ship to be docked with the cluster and handed over to the cultists .
In over his headThis probably leads to standoff and discussion. Players can learn that he actually is working for the cult quite involuntarily, but for a different reason. If players can overpower him or talk him out of this, he tells them the truth and possibly even shoots himself in the knee before handing over the gun to prove it. He tells them that they spotted the infiltrators and decided to use it as the chance to get the Firefly.
He helps them find The Gentle Lady with Veronica on board and then asks to be shot, as he can't now go back to the cult after betraying them, nor can he return to normal life after his part in killing "the muslim chick".
A new allyAfter learning that Sagira is alive, he offers his help. This can be handy if Sigi is not yet aboard the Firefly when shit hits the fan.
Coming home
En route
During the way home, Lonk Seldon is contacted by a new crew of The Gentle Lady and new allies offer their services.
- Emma Skoog - Martian botanist, whose husband, Birger Skoog, will come to join her on Kaer Morhen if she's hired.
- Dalia Malouf - Jovian Outerling doctor from Ganymede
- Tana-He - Searian (xeno-)zoologist
Arrival
On coming back to Kaer Morhen station, Firefly crew discover, that Hanz Weber has started building a ship out of stuff in his old workshop on Clades.
