From the Adventures of Jon Smithe, Imperial Scout

[Spinward Scout]

Smithe couldn't believe his luck. He didn't even make it to the jump point.

"I can't believe this thing broke down already," he said adjusting a wrench.

The main drive gave out just as the ship tried to turn around to break for the jump point.
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GAME MECHANICS - 10

Repairing a Damaged System in the Field
Average (8+)
Mechanic check, EDU
1D minutes

Roll 1 + 2 + Mechanic-1 + EDU (+2) = 6 (Failure!)
3 Minutes
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"Fraq! That's not it!" he said for about the tenth time. And he kept working.

An hour later with bruised knuckles, he tried again.
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GAME MECHANICS - 11

Repairing a Damaged System in the Field
Average (8+) and increasing the time taken
Mechanic check, EDU
1D x 10 Minutes

Roll 5 + 3 + Mechanic-1 + EDU (+2) + 2 (time increase) = 13 (Success!)
60 Minutes
_____

"Maybe this time it'll work. Okay, trying to reinitiate thrust," he said unenthusiastically as he pressed a button on the Maneuver console.
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GAME MECHANICS - 12

Re-Initiate Thrust
Average (8+)
Engineer (m-drive) check, INT
1D x 10 Seconds

Roll 3 + 6 + Engineer-0 + INT (+0) = 9 (Success!)
10 Seconds
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After a few moments, there were several beeps, a click, and the maneuver drive started, with a slight rumble.

"Yes! That did it!" Smithe said. Goober curled up the end of a tentacle and tried to imitate Smithe's fist in the air.

He made an adjustment that got rid of the rumble, and made his way to the Bridge. Buddy and Goober followed behind.

Back on course, Smithe took a bite of a breakfast wrap. It said Groat Sausage and Eggs, but it was barely meat and the eggs were almost, but not quite Terran Chicken Eggs. At least the salsa tasted like salsa.

He pressed a button on the Jump Drive console.
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GAME MECHANICS - 13

*Prep Jump Drive - To prepare jump drive for jump
Routine (6+)
Engineer (J-Drive) check, EDU
1D Minutes

System Crosschecks on Asterisked Tasks
Increase Difficulty by 1 - Average (8+)
Increase Timeframe by 1 - 1D x 10 Minutes

Roll 1 + 4 +
Engineer (Jump Drive)-1 + EDU (+2) + 2 (time increase) = 10 (Success!)
50 Minutes

(Not doing System Crosschecks causes the following:
A Mishap or Malfunction occurs later on this Ship's System)
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He worked at it for almost an hour until the Jump Drive was prepped and ready for Jump. The interstellar charts for Jenghe were verified and showed a Scout Base. The densitometer and the EMS Passive scan showed a Dwarf Star of spectral class M0 V, three Gas Giants, two Planetoid Belts, and five Rock Worlds.
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GAME MECHANICS - 14

Plotting a Standard Jump Course
Easy (4+), -1 for a parsec distance travelling
Astrogation check, EDU
1D x 10 minutes

Roll 2 + 6 + Astrogation-2 + EDU (+2) -1 distance = 11 (Success!)
30 Minutes
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With the standard Jump Coordinates computed, they were ready as soon as they got to the Jump Point.

While they waited, Goober rolled a rubber ball over to Smithe. He picked it up and carefully threw it to the little guy. Goober caught it a bit awkwardly, and threw it back. It bounced but went straight towards Smithe.

"His tentacle coordination is improving," Buddy said watching them both.

"That reminds me," Smithe said. "I'd like to build something for Goober to climb on. Could you look up a few ideas while we're in Jump, please?"

"Of course, Sir. Did you have anything specific in mind?" Buddy asked.

"Just things he could play with and climb on that we could expand later. Something to work on during Jump." A light flashed on the console.

"Sir, we are approaching the Jump Point." Buddy noticed.

Smithe rolled the ball back to Goober and turned his seat to the consoles. He pulled up the Engineering screen, and watched the count go down towards Zero.
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GAME MECHANICS - 15

Engage Jump Drive to make a Jump to Jenghe
Easy (4+)
Engineer (J-Drive) check, EDU
1D x 10 minutes

Roll 4 + 2 + Engineer (Jump Drive)-1 + EDU (+2) = 9 (Success!)
20 Minutes
_____

The countdown went 3, 2, 1, 0. And Smithe pushed the 'Jump Engage' button.

Goober said 'Ooooh!' as the stars turned to Jumpspace and the ship went on its way to Jenghe.

 

[Spinward Scout]

Finally working on this again.

 

[Spinward Scout]

Explorer's Log
019-1107 Imperial
1634 shipboard time

Begin Log Entry
Senior Scout Jon Smithe Commanding.
IISS surplus Scoutship Bright Horizon.

"Open airlock outer door."

The metallic doorway slid apart in the middle with several beeps and boops from the voice-activated Control Panel, and creaks and clanks from the door itself.

Rust colored dust drifted into the airlock. The color of the dust was from iron oxide. They were on the second moon of Jenghe called Gwoorn. The Bright Horizon Jumped in-system about 2 days ago. The ship's scanners and sensors have been going like crazy ever since, surveying anything in their range.

As he walked out into this moon in a fresh VACC Suit*, he picked up a thin metal pole with a rounded wood end, a tiny spike of formed wood, and a little dimpled ball, just inside the airlock.

He stepped down the ramp to the sandy dirt, pushed the small wood spike into the ground, balanced the ball on top of it, and in the tradition of Human Astronauts of Terran descent throughout Charted Space...

He played Golf.

He swung the club back and then with one smooth, continuous downswing - Thwack!
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GAME MECHANICS - 16

Play Golf
Average (8+)
Athletics check, DEX
Boon for lower gravity
1D seconds

Roll 6 + 1 + 2 (Boon) + Athletics-0 + DEX (+0) = 9 (Success!)
4 seconds
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The ball went flying above the sparse landscape.

He picked up his *PRInoculars and took a look. It didn't matter where it landed, but it was interesting to see how far it went.

With a lower than normal gravity, it went almost twice as far as it normally would.

The readout said: 2,984 feet - over 900 meters!

"Wow! Look at that hangtime" he said out loud. His helmet microphone picked it up.

"Ooooh" he heard on his Comm. That was Goober, the Ship's Pet. One of the few sounds he makes. A Tree Kraken. Small, hexaploid, smart and observant.

"Would you like your Grav Bike, Sir?" was from his Domestic 'Bot, Buddy.

"I'll hit a couple more, but you can get the bike out, please?" as he put another golf tee in the ground.

In the cockpit, Buddy hit the button to open the 'garage door'. It raised up enough to get the grav bike out, so he started the garage crane and hooked to the bike.

When the bike came down, Buddy signalled - "The bike is ready for you, Sir."

He walked over to the Grav Bike, unhooked the bike from the chain and started it up. It hummed softly and floated a few inches off the ground.

He hopped on the bike and set his scanner to retrieve the golf balls. Popping it in gear, he hit the accelerator and zoomed off.

*
VACC Suit - Variable Atmosphere Climate Controlled Suit i.e. Space Suit.

PRInoculars - Portable Radiation Imaging System binoculars

 

[Spinward Scout]

Smithe drove his Grav bike up to the first golf ball on the scanner. When he was a few feet away, he stopped the bike and got off of it.
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GAME MECHANICS - 17

Fly and Land a Grav bike
Routine (6+)
Flyer check, DEX
1D minutes

Roll 3 + 4 + Flyer-0 + DEX (+0) = 7 (Success!)
6 minutes
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Walking over to the golf ball, he picked it up out of the dirt, dusted it off a bit, and put it in a small pocket of his VACC Suit.

Jon saw another golf ball a couple of feet away, but didn't remember seeing it on the scanner.

"Weird" he though when he was walking over to it. He heard some strange crackling on his suit's speakers. "Must be some ionic interference or something," he thought as he tapped the side of his helmet.

Smithe bent over to pick the golf ball up. It wouldn't move. He pulled at it and it just wouldn't budge. He wondered if it was stuck to the ground somehow.
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GAME MECHANICS - 18

Pull a thing out of the ground
Average 8+
STR check
1D Seconds

Roll 1 + 4 + STR (+1) = 6 (Failure!)
1 Second
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It was hard to tell with his VACC Suit on. But he leaned down to look closer. He noticed that it looked like a golf ball, although not exactly. But strangely it was on top of some kind stalk or tentacle sticking up through the sandy ground.

"Maybe some little critter that likes golf balls." he thought. The Detached Scout pulled out his scanner just as what passed for a cloud on this moon blocked the sunlight. Or so he thought.

Before he could scan the little 'ball', something grabbed his leg! And the thing that looked like a golf ball opened up like an eye!

Smithe yelled into his helmet's microphone "Something's got me!" He turned to look behind him to see what grabbed his leg and saw a monster!
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GAME MECHANICS - 19

The Space Creature has ambushed Smithe
DM+6 to its Initiative check

Combat with the Space Creature
Initiative
Smithe rolls (DEX +0) 2 + 4 = 6
Dirt Lurker rolls (DEX +3) 2 + 1 + 6(Ambush) = 9

The Dirt Lurker first grabs Smithe with a Tentacle and Clubs Smithe with another Tentacle. Damage: 4 + 5 + 4 = 13 with DR of 10 is 3 points to the VACC Suit.

Animal: Dirt Lurker
DEX DM +3
Hits: 45
Speed: 1 m
Skills: Melee (Natural) 1, Stealth 2, Survival 2
Attacks: Tentacle Grab, Clubbing (3D), Bite (3D)
Traits: Camouflaged, Large (+2)
Behavior: Omnivore, Eater
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The creature pulled him along the sandy ground.

He yelled "Oh, Fraq!" as the creature picked him off of the ground with one tentacle. Another tentacle swung towards his helmet with a thump.

And Smithe saw a slight crack in his helmet's faceplate. That's when he yelled "Buddy! Help Me!"
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GAME MECHANICS - 20

VACC Suit and Atmosphere knowledge
Easy 4+
VACC Suit-1 +2 EDU
No roll necessary
Automatic Success!
_____

He knew if the creature broke the integrity of his VACC Suit, he was a dead man. The thinner atmosphere wasn't the main problem. It was several poisonous gasses such as: Ethane, Argon, and concentrated Sulphur in the air that would burn his lungs and kill him.

Smithe looked down just as a gaping maw opened up below him!

He tried to push away from the tentacle holding him and partially succeeded, only throwing himself to the sand and dirt. But the tentacle still had ahold of him.
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GAME MECHANICS - 21

Combat with the Space Creature
Smithe kickedand propelled himself away from the main mass of the Dirt Lurker, but doesn't break the hold of the Tentacle. No Damage to the Dirt Lurker.
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The creature dragged him towards that open mouth. Smithe kicked again but missed the tentacle completely.

Then he saw something from the corner of his eye that he couldn't believe.

Just before Jon was dragged under the dirt, he saw a glimpse of his Domestic 'Bot, Buddy, running towards him with Smithe's Gauss Pistol in one hand and Blade in the other.

And astoundingly, he also thought he saw Goober, the ship's pet Tree Kraken, in some kind of miniature VACC Suit launching himself off of Buddy and towards the creature's tentacle while holding a titanium saw in front of him in one of his own space suit covered tentacles.

He must be dreaming! A dying hallucination!

Hearing Goober yell "Aarg!" in his helmet speakers was the last thing he remembered.

 

[Spinward Scout]

Didn't do the Combat right, I don't think. Might rewrite it.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Wasn't expecting that you had an attack Tree Kraken there, but it makes sense.

 

[kilemall]

Wasn't expecting that you had an attack Tree Kraken there, but it makes sense.

Oh come on, release the tree kraken is a natural!

 

[Spinward Scout]

Release the Tree Kraken! Very cool!

I don't know where there are stats for the Tree Kraken, maybe the old JTAS it was first in, but I got the idea from this in the Wiki:

The Kraken attacks its prey by leaping upon it from a height, usually a tree, but often a cliff and occasionally a roof.

Still not sure of the Combat routine for the Tentacle Grab the Dirt Lurker uses, but I think it worked Ok after looking it over.

I had a lot of fun writing that one. It had been rolling around in my head for a while.

 

[Spinward Scout]

Until he woke up back on the ship in the little sickbay.

Goober saw his eyes open and said: "Oooh!"

Buddy quickly turned around to check the medical monitor which showed almost normal.

Buddy said: "I'm glad you are finally awake, Sir. How do you feel?"

Jon slowly sat up, realizing that he shouldn't move too quick. The little Tree Kraken scooted up the bed a bit closer. Smithe cleared his throat and said, "I feel alive, although a bit bruised. How did I get back here? Maybe you should start from the beginning."

Buddy put a tool down and said: "At first, I tried to contact you about a reading on the scanner and realized that communications were experiencing interference."

He continued, "I followed you with the scanners to determine your direction to the golf balls. I saw the creature on the sensors ahead of you and helped Master Goober quickly get into his new custom VACC suit. We grabbed the weapons and I started sprinting in your direction with Master Goober holding on. We were halfway there when I tried to contact you again to warn you about the creature, but the interference was too much."

The Scout asked, "When and where did you ever get the idea to make a VACC Suit for the little guy?"

Buddy picked the small VACC Suit off of a chair and said, "I had picked up a bit of a discarded Rescue Ball and pieces of helmet faceplate and other refuse when I was getting supplies at the Starport before we left Regina. I also downloaded specifics for what was necessary to create a custom VACC Suit and worked on it while you were sleeping during our Jump to Jenghe. I had anticipated that you would like Master Goober to survive a hull breach or malfunction in the life support. We hadn't tested it before today."

"I'd say it was a successful test," Smithe said. "So what happened after that?" he asked.

Buddy went on, "We had just caught up with you, when the creature began pulling you towards its mouth. Master Goober, who was knowledgeable enough to grab the titanium saw before we left the ship, threw himself towards the creature. When the creature hit your helmet hard, he became angry and began cutting it with the saw. The creature roared and tried to swat him away, but missed. You were not moving and half covered with dirt and sand. The creature must have realized it was outnumbered when I fired at it. It shook the tentacle that was hit and moved away. I put you on the GravBike and got you back to the ship. You have been unconscious for about an hour. You have a slight concussion."

Smithe leaned back and said, "Thank you both. I would have been that monster's dinner if it wasn't for you two. I owe you both, big time."

He took a breath then said, "Ok, time to get us above the clouds."