SPACE HORSE
SESSION SUMMARIES AND STORIES (1-95)
PART TWO (96-147) >>> | PART THREE (148-End) >>>
Space Jammers Incorporated, as of Session #80. Art by Foxinshadow.
Space Horse was a longform online tabletop RPG campaign played by a mostly unchanging group of 4-6 people, and ran weekly for several years before finally concluding in June 2021. It used a lightly modified version of the Cortex Classic system and took place in an alternate My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic universe.
This document started out as a simple vanity project: to write short prose summaries of each play session. At first this was done purely for the sake of personal reference, a convenient recap of events for the other players, and something to fill idle time. That turned out to be a taller order than expected, and this document ballooned to almost sixty pages in the first few days. And from there…yeah. It’s even been split into three parts to cut down on Drive lag.
With Fuzzy preparing to post his various Space Horse stories on Fimfiction, we decided that it would be helpful for potential readers to have further context, should they want it. As a result, this document’s being made a tad more public. It also includes out-of-game media like pictures and stories created or commissioned by the players, the GM and others wherever possible to spice things up, along with snippets of the chat log.
Whether you’re using this document as it was originally intended, looking for more of the context behind Fuzzy’s stories, or just curious about the events of the campaign, I hope you enjoy this summarised retelling of the adventures of Claudia and her colourful crew.
Campaign GMing and world design by Napalm Goat.
Stories credited individually. Session summaries by Snipehamster.
CONTENTS
STORY: Glass Ceiling, by Fuzzy
--- Tutorial and Introduction ---
Session #2 - Oxygen Not Included
Session #5 - Exploring Medusa
Session #6 - Meet the New Boss
Session #7 - Welcome to the Jam
Session #8 - Claudia’s Maiden Voyage
Session #10 - Mines! All Mines!
--- Mystery of the Starweaver ---
Session #14 - Why Did It Have to be Snakes?
Session #16 - Black Ops and Ice Cream
--- The Lunar Spy ---
Session #19 - What a Kerfuffle
Session #20 - To the Republic!
Session #21 - Black Sun Rematch
Session #23 - Jammers’ Day Off
--- Horsing Around at the Beach ---
Session #25 - Obligatory Beach Episode
Session #26 - Follow Me to the Gay Bath House
Session #27 - Holiday Expenses
Session #29 - Social Lubricants
STORY: Pilot’s VLOG, Stardate: Sunday, by Fuzzy
Session #30 - There’s a Snake in My Boot
Session #31 - The Spellcasting Stranger
--- Medusa’s Mole ---
Session #32 - Copperhead Compromised
Session #34 - Heat in the Hangar
Session #36 - Taking the Edge Off
Session #38 - Pulling Some Strings
--- The Princess Cadance ---
Minisession - Little Date on the Big Pink
Session #41 - Warranty Void
--- Constriction ---
Session #43 - The Right to Remain Silent
Session #44 - Disappearing Act
--- Where’s Whisper? ---
Session #45 - Icy Reception
Session #46 - Regulus and the Queen of Spiders
Session #48 - Project Snowdrop
Session #49 - A Pirate’s Life For Me
--- Courting the Countess ---
Session #50 - Friends in Low Places
Session #51 - Poking the Bear
Session #52 - How About I Thlap Your Thhit
Session #53 - A Talk With Tundra
Session #55 - Countess Karmelita
--- Are We The Baddies? ---
Session #57 - Princess of Riddles
Session #58 - Badger Badger Badger
Session #61 - Mission Accomplished
Session #62 - I Like Big Drives and I Cannot Lie
--- Asp Strikes ---
Session #63 - She's Not Listenin'!
Session #64 - Back From the Dead
STORY: ???
--- The Silver Dome ---
Session #66 - Dresses, Darling
Session #70 - A Flurry of Excitement
Session #71 - Dances with Griffons
Session #72 - One for the Road
Minisession - Midnight Under the Moonlight
--- Viper’s Nest ---
Session #75 - Clock is Ticking
STORY: Castle of Glass, by Napalm Goat
--- Picking Up the Pieces ---
Session #79 - Better Not to Know
Session #82 - Handle With Care
STORY: One of Those Days, by Fuzzy
Minisession - Not So Itty Bitty Kitty Committee
Session #85 - It’s Not Goodbye
Minisession - The Family He Needs
--- Waking Nightmare ---
Session #86 - Frailties of the Mind
Session #87 - Matters of the Heart
Minisession - Truth and Reconciliation
STORY: The Last Promise, by Fuzzy
STORY: Most Wonderful Time of Manufacture, by Fuzzy
--- Moving On ---
Session #90 - A Place For Everyone
--- The Crystal Heist ---
Session #93 - Basement Battle (Power Team)
Session #94 - Bring Your Pilot to Work Day (Vault Team)
Setting Primer
The Space Horse campaign is set in a homebrew sci-fi setting that takes cues from a number of popular universes, along with a swath of original content. It takes place in the year 2047 of an alternate My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic timeline, with year 0 representing the year of Nightmare Moon’s banishment and year 1000 representing Princess Luna’s return. The idea was to have a setting that's potentially large in scope and easily expanded, while remaining familiar and easy to pick up.
***
Once the races of Equestria discovered magic-assisted space flight they soon spread out from their home planet and founded colonies throughout the galaxy. For several centuries they found no sign of other sentient life, but eventually they came into contact with the Wyrms, an ancient race of massive beings that dwelt in open space itself: actually the distant, forgotten ancestors of Equestria's dragons. The mighty creatures kept to themselves… for the most part.
Eventually, the Equestrians began to use their ever-advancing magic and technology to create sentient machines called Automata. These constructs served as workers, companions and soldiers, with intelligence and abilities equal to or even greater than those of the natural-born races. Fearing where this might lead, the Wyrms strongly, belligerently demanded the complete and immediate destruction of all sentient constructs. Equestria's refusal of this demand triggered the greatest conflict in galactic history: the Wyrm Wars.
Equestrian technology clashed with the raw power and devastating magic of the Wyrms in a brutal, grinding conflict of attrition that scarred the very face of the galaxy. After more than half a century of war, the Equestrians began to turn the tide in their favor. The Wyrms, still fighting even as they approached extinction, enacted a desperate plan: a gigantic spell that sapped the entire galaxy of virtually all its magic. Automata shut down, the M-space drives permitting faster than light travel failed, and the great majority of unicorns were rendered almost powerless for centuries to come. The entire galaxy was plunged into a dark age as infrastructure screeched to a halt, while the surviving Wyrms retreated beyond the galaxy’s rim.
Over the following centuries, the surviving Equestrians rebuilt using conventional technology. The sudden loss of interstellar travel had isolated the colonies from one another, and building new M-space systems that could utilise what little magic remained took time and precious resources. As interstellar communication and travel were gradually re-established, the ponies and other races of the galaxy found themselves splintered into a number of distinct nations. The largest and most powerful of these comprised the core colonies immediately surrounding Equestria, still ruled by the immortal alicorn diarchy of princesses Luna and Celestia.
In the year 2000, a slow mental decline brewing in the background ever since the Wyrm Wars transformed Princess Celestia into Empress Nightmare Star. A catastrophic civil war ensued - the War of the Two Crowns - tearing the core colonies in half. A ceasefire was called in 2015, bringing an end to years of bloody conflict, but not before Princess Luna had seceded from Nightmare Star's Solar Empire with millions of ponies in tow, founding her own New Lunar Republic at the far side of the galaxy.
The present day - 2047 - is a time of relative peace. Though the Empire and Republic remain in a state of cold war, the physical distance and borders of several nations between them prevent most means of direct confrontation. To the younger generation, the War of the Two Crowns was something their parents had dealt with before their time. The Wyrm Wars are ancient history.
Some people just want to make a living, and sometimes that goal takes them outside the boundaries of civilised space, into the mostly-lawless unclaimed region known as the Periphery. A small shuttle full of passengers from all across the galaxy makes its way to the Saphiban system, home of the infamous freeport, Port Medusa…
Galaxy map by Napalm Goat - Stars represent capitol systems, numbers refer to an outside document listing the names and compositions of known star systems. This map is not comprehensive and only displays well-charted systems and travel routes.
Initial Player Characters
Hair Trigger (HT, Trigger)
A tiny yet gruff-looking unicorn mare. Trigger hails from a large family of spacers, and has spent almost her entire life aboard one ship or another. She has a broad range of skills including shooting, piloting, leadership and ankle-biting. As such she quickly becomes the group's leader, and soon after, their captain. She also, as her name suggests, has a sensitive temper. She responds badly to jokes about her size, is easily roused to fighting, and sometimes reveals a ruthless, even vindictive side when under pressure. Nonetheless, she's a dutiful and well-intentioned leader.
Volatility Smile (VS, Smile, Vola)
An elegant and authoritative crystal pony mare. Smile is a businesspony from the Crystal League, travelling in search of profitable new ventures after her last job went south. Aside from her expertise in bureaucracy and finance, Smile is also athletic and physically capable, with experience in competitive swimming and marksmanship. Her overconfidence, ambition and lust for worthy challenges overtake her judgment sometimes however, which can have dangerous repercussions for herself and others. Smile is a natural choice as the group's finance manager, negotiator and business 'face', and its de facto second in command.
Hair Trigger by Kalemon, Volatility Smile by Jellybeanbullet
Tammani (Tami)
An adorable young hippogriff mare, also from the League. The daughter of two retired smugglers, Tami is optimistic, creative, and has a powerful love of space and the stars. She also has an exceptional talent for piloting and navigation. However, she suffers from deep-seated anxiety issues and a fragile constitution, and sometimes needs support and encouragement to bring out her full potential. As the game goes on, she's typically the emotional and moral heart of the group, and the one quickest to seek out new experiences. Once the group officially forms a crew, Tami becomes their full time pilot and software technician.
(Note: The start of the game predates the movie, so hippogriffs are pony/griffon hybrids here.)
Kerfuffle (Kf, Kerf, Kiffie, Fuff)
A big, fluffy male griffon. Originating from a working class family on a Minotaur Confederacy mining colony, what he lacks in social grace and formal education is made up for by simple level-headed wisdom, practical skills, and - when the situation calls for it - raw muscle power. Kerfuffle has an uncanny ability to intuit and repair machinery of all kinds, and likes nothing better than to sit down with a good honest job. This affinity for machines infringes on his social skills, however; he's just as likely to try and hold a conversation with a starship or security drone as with another person. Subtleties of communication like sarcasm and even lies tend to pass right over his head. Kerfuffle eagerly accepts his role as ship's engineer.
Tami by Kalemon, Kerfuffle by Floots
Nikomachos (Niko)
An imposing male minotaur. Hailing from one of the Minotaur Confederacy’s socialist core worlds, Niko is a brawny mercenary with a surprising interest in literature and culture. He's a quiet and thoughtful sort who tends to put the needs of others above his own. His martial expertise and imposing size lend him easily to a role as the crew's security officer. Unfortunately, real life commitments force his player to leave the game midway through.
Aela
A curious and fragile deer from the nation of Avalon. Originally slated to become the crew's doctor, his player leaves the game quite early for personal reasons.
Nikomachos by Koviri
SESSION SUMMARIES
STORY: Glass Ceiling, by Fuzzy
Session #1 - Illegal Pirates
At the edge of the Saphiban system a small passenger shuttle emerges from M-space en route to Port Medusa, the largest and most infamous freeport in the galaxy. A number of passengers are aboard, hailing from all over. Hair Trigger, a small unicorn mare, snoozes in her seat. An enormous, excited-looking griffon named Kerfuffle and a similarly large, less excited minotaur named Nikomachos sit either side of Aela, a delicate, curious deer doe. Tammani, a cuddly yet skittish-looking hippogriff, sits alongside Volatility Smile, a calm and professional crystal pony mare. All newcomers to the Periphery. Two other passengers - a batpony stallion and a teenage earth pony mare - mostly keep to themselves.
Kerfuffle is the first to speak up, expressing his gleeful anticipation that they’ll soon arrive at the legendary Port Medusa. With the ice broken, everyone soon gets talking amongst themselves and introductions are exchanged. As it turns out, everyone’s looking for work one way or another. Niko wonders why Tami, a trained pilot, is looking for employment in the middle of nowhere. She quickly and sheepishly brushes off the question.
Conversation is suddenly cut short as the shuttle violently jolts. The pilot announces, with no small degree of surprise, that they’re under attack by a larger ship. A voice cuts in over the comms, ordering all aboard the shuttle to surrender to the so-called “Black Sun”. Taken by surprise, the passengers respond with a mix of fear and shock. Trigger and Niko fetch a pistol and a rifle respectively from amongst their luggage. Smile demands more information from the pilot, but she’s just as disoriented as everyone else; pirates shouldn’t be operating this close to the station. Regardless, the shuttle is immobilized by a tackler system aboard the Black Sun pirates’ vessel - a vessel that’s quickly moving in to board them.
As the pirate ship makes contact, those capable of fighting prepare to defend the others. Unfortunately, the pirates are simply too well prepared. The shuttle’s rear airlock is breached, immediately followed by a flashbang grenade. And after that, a powerful knockout gas. The shuttle’s small passenger compartment offers no protection, and the passengers quickly find themselves overcome and pass out one after another. By the time a spacesuited pirate stallion actually sets hoof aboard, only Kerfuffle is still conscious. The big griffon catches the pirate off guard and even manages to disarm him, but it’s not enough; Kerfuffle succumbs to the gas as well, in spite of the valiant effort…
***
The unfortunate passengers wake up locked in a small cell aboard the pirate frigate, deprived of all their belongings save for their clothes. Trigger is furious, ranting and yelling at the pirates’ cowardice. Tami is terrified, and Kerfuffle attempts to console her with limited success. Niko tests the bars of the cell, but they’re far too strong for the minotaur to break by hand. A hovering security drone passes by the cell, prompting Trigger to try and grab it in her weak magic, but this just earns her a jolt from its integrated stun gun. Niko tries to interrogate it as to why they are being held prisoner, but the machine just wanders away on its patrol.
Aela wonders why the pirates went to the trouble of capturing everyone alive. To ransom everyone? Sell them into slavery? The batpony passenger, mostly quiet up until now, introduces himself as Raw Deal - a ship merchant that operates out of Port Medusa. He explains that piracy is technically legal near the station, within certain limits. But not this close, and this pirate vessel is unlicensed, which means the group has been kidnapped by illegal pirates. On top of that, the teenage earth pony mare that was also riding with them appears to be missing.
A short time later, it becomes apparent what happened to the other passenger. Taking advantage of a break in the security drones’ patrol, the young mare appears in the corridor and begins to hack the door controls. She introduces herself as Verbena Mint, and explains that she managed to escape the notice of the pirates by hiding in one of the shuttle's cargo boxes. Free of their cell, the passengers hurry after Verbena and hide in a nearby storage room. It’s only a matter of time before the pirates figure out that their prisoners are free, so the group hastily discuss their next move.
First things first: everyone needs their belongings back, particularly weapons and protective gear. The storage room they’re currently hiding in doesn’t have their stuff - or anything useful, for that matter - but there’s another storage area across the corridor that looks promising.
Aela distracts a drone with the classic stealth maneuver of throwing junk for it to investigate, buying time for Kerfuffle and Niko to sneak across to the other room. Their efforts meet with success - the various luggage from their shuttle is stashed neatly in a small collection of crates. It’s a relatively simple question of muscle power to carry the luggage back across to the others. Somehow the two biggest, least subtle people present manage to accomplish this quickly and without notice.
Everyone gears up - nothing for it now but to try and find an escape route, or to take the pirate ship by force...
Session #2 - Oxygen Not Included
The group briefly consider their options and decide that the simplest plan would be to find a way back to their shuttle. Chances are the two craft are still docked - pirates wouldn’t pass up on the opportunity to steal a ship. Trigger points out that the tackler device the pirates used to capture them in the first place would prevent escape, but also that it’s a large, sophisticated system which probably has its own power supply. If they can find and disable the correct generator, then make it to the shuttle, they can undock and make a run for it. With that in mind, they start making their way towards the bridge.
Most of the group have meager protective gear, but a few of them are armed. Trigger has her pistol, Niko his combat rifle. Smile, surprisingly for a businesspony, also has a long rifle suitable for sport shooting. Tami has a taser, and Aela a small crossbow. With nothing else for it, they make their way towards the pirate ship’s bow and ambush a small group of the security drones that they encounter on the way.
Trigger downs a drone with a well-aimed shot from her pistol; apparently these machines aren’t equipped to deal with armed opponents. A second drone responds with an equally precise stun gun shot that drops the unicorn to the deck. Kerfuffle grabs the second drone and tears off its rotors with his claws, substituting brute force for weaponry. Tami zaps the third drone with her taser. The others shake Trigger awake, and the small unicorn recovers from her shock with much swearing.
Kerfuffle is pleased that Tami brought down a drone without seriously damaging it, and the two of them briefly discuss the possibility of rehabilitating it, perhaps as a helper or pet. Kerfuffle stashes it in his luggage, and the group quickly move on. Niko, being the best equipped and most experienced fighter, volunteers to take point. Another drone comes into view ahead, but Smile swiftly downs it with her rifle.
Soon, they locate a generator room - a large reactor is running, connected to a simple console. Kerfuffle tries the password 'pirate1' with no success, so Tami makes an attempt at hacking into the system. When that doesn’t work either, people start getting antsy; it’s only a matter of time before more drones, or the pirates themselves, realize what’s going on. Trigger suggests throwing tools and/or the destroyed drones into the machinery’s moving parts. Eventually Verbena steps up and manages to crack the system (the password is actually 'yarr1234'), then shuts down the generators
As it turns out, this turns off far more than just the tackler. Before the group can adapt to the lack of gravity, another group of drones finds them and attacks! A clumsy zero-g fight ensues. Niko and Smile take a stun gun hit each, but the simple drones are dispatched with relative ease. The pirates clearly weren’t prepared to handle a prison break.
Wiggling her way through the air and away from the fighting, Tami takes a second look at the console and manages to at least get the artificial gravity back on. This only helps so much; the pirates - now aware of what's going on and frustrated by the loss of their security drones - decide to open all the exterior doors. Alarms start blaring, and there's a hiss of escaping air. None of the group have spacesuits. Panic ensues.
Luckily, the airlock connecting the pirate frigate to the passenger shuttle is close by. Everyone makes a run for it, but a griffon pirate attempts to intercept them. Even outnumbered, her heavily armored spacesuit and advanced weapons give the group pause. Tami freezes in terror while the others hastily attempt to drive the attacker away. The pirate's shielded suit shrugs off bullets, but not fists - Kerfuffle manages to rush her and knock the rifle from her hands, but fails to inflict much actual damage. The pirate pulls a submachine gun and backs up, spraying randomly down the corridor. Trigger is hit and passes out again. Tami takes a severe hit to her shoulder and almost drops to the deck, limping and bleeding heavily.
Despite a few wounds, everyone makes it onto the shuttle. Niko carries Trigger and Tami in under his arms. Kerfuffle manages to punch a crack in the pirate's visor before fleeing by wing, and feels awfully upset about hitting her when he realizes she's a lady. With most of their ship still lacking power, there’s nothing the pirates can do; the shuttle’s pilot rushes to her seat and starts the engines back up, and the travellers all make good on their opportunity to escape.
Verbena Mint by Frecklesfanatic
Session #3 - Port Medusa
The shuttle tears loose of the pirate frigate’s docking port and makes for Port Medusa at maximum burn. As the shock and adrenaline of combat begin to wear off, Tami realizes that she is in fact quite badly hurt. The hippogriff begins to panic and go into shock, but fortunately Aela has medical training and equipment on hand. The deer manages to treat and stabilize Tami’s injury quite quickly, along with Trigger’s. Thanks to the wonders of deer expertise and space-age medicine nobody’s in any long term danger, though full recovery will take at least a few days.
The trip the rest of the way to Port Medusa is mostly uneventful. Kerfuffle praises Tami for 'saving' the pirate drone she knocked out with her taser, and she suggests they name it Patch. Because pirates have eyepatches. Patch will need some repairs before being useful for anything, though. With her wounds treated, Hair Trigger recovers from unconsciousness. Again. Raw Deal points out that he’ll be reporting the pirate attack to Port Medusa’s local security - they’ll be in serious trouble if they show up in this region of space again.
The shuttle finally arrives at the station and the passengers disembark. Being locals, it isn’t long before Raw Deal and the shuttle's pilot go their own ways. Meanwhile, Verbena and the other passengers go to register their arrival aboard the station. Tami and Kerfuffle are both excited to have arrived; the wounded hippogriff soon ends up riding around on the big griffon’s shoulders for a better view of things. And it's adorable.
The travellers are briefly held up at a reception area - entry to Port Medusa proper requires an ID check and agreement to a lengthy set of terms of service. Smile refuses to go ahead until she’s gone through all the relevant legal paperwork. A local receptionist, an earth pony mare named Mouse Trap, presents her with the relevant documentation and the others impatiently wait in line while she reads. There's nothing immediately concerning, but Smile deduces that Medusa's laws weren't just written by a lawyer - they were written by a lawyer pirate, and a skilled one at that. Punishments are harsh and legal recourse is limited - it's obvious that causing trouble aboard the station would be a very, very bad idea.
The group signs in without further incident. Mouse Trap mentions that Raw Deal has already brought up the pirate attack with the station's director, who may contact the group at some point, and bids them welcome to Port Medusa.
Niko and Trigger suggest that everyone go to the nearest bar to celebrate their freedom and survival. As they move through the station, the travellers notice that much of the local security is automated - drones patrol the streets and tunnels, more advanced than the ones they encountered aboard the pirate frigate, and some are equipped with lethal weapons. Kerfuffle happily greets one. The locals passing by represent a wide mix of races and backgrounds, and generally pay the newcomers little attention.
Upon arrival at the nearest bar, Trigger almost gets herself into trouble straight away. The bartender, a jovial earth pony mare named Bushel Hops, makes a playful joke about the unicorn’s diminutive stature. This sets off her not-so-diminutive temper. Fortunately she calms herself down before doing anything too rash.
Settling at a table, the group socializes over drinks and cheap food. Many take the time to make more formal introductions, prompted by Verbena’s curiosity over what they’re looking for aboard Medusa. Aela explains that the deer nation of Avalon is highly intellectual and formalized - in spite of her medical training, most career paths available to her there would have revolved around paperwork. She’s looking for hooves-on work with people that are in need. Smile explains that she’s looking for business opportunities - the Periphery presents a high-risk, high-reward environment for someone that knows what they’re doing. Kerfuffle simply says he’s looking for work and doesn’t elaborate further, though his fascination with the station and machines of all kinds suggest a background in technology or mechanics.
Trigger snaps at Kerfuffle for suggesting that she made friends with the bartender, then feels guilty and apologizes after the griffon gives a meek response. Meanwhile, Smile is intrigued by Niko's rough, masculine tauric accent. The minotaur is bilingual, his speech often switching back and forth between standard equestrian and the native tongue of the Minotaur Confederacy. Eventually, with coffee, soda and assorted other beverages squared away, the group toasts to their good fortune.
A short time later, an older griffon in a security uniform enters the bar with an escort of armed drones. He approaches the group's table with a serious expression, which puts their revelry on hold, and promptly asks Verbena to come with him...
Session #4 - Ship Shopping
WIP - EDITS ONGOING
Fortunately, nobody's in trouble. The griffon introduces himself as Gerhard Sulfurgrin, chief of security for Port Medusa. He's come to fetch Verbena on behalf of her sister, and notes that he'll be calling the PCs for questioning over the pirate incident later in the day.
The PCs say their farewells to Verbena and go back to their drinks and conversation. Tami is concerned that her injury might make it difficult to find a captain willing to take her on as their pilot. Trigger points out that a good captain should be able to recognise a good pilot no matter what they look like.
As the group pay up and prepare to find accommodation for the night, Raw Deal returns with news - the director wants to offer them compensation for what happened on the way to the station. More specifically, they're being given a one and a half million credit grant... with a few conditions. Said grant can only be spent on Port Medusa, and the group will be expected to use it to purchase one of Raw Deal's ships. By working for the director, they'll be able to pay off the grant over time.
Kerfuffle and Tami are hysterically excited. Niko and Trigger are curious. Aela and Smile are skeptical, expecting some sort of unpleasant catch, and refuse to commit to anything straight away. Nonetheless, Raw Deal is willing to show them what ships he has available while they come to a decision and wait to meet the director.
Three ships are on offer:
The PCs - already discussing the possibility of becoming a crew together - spend some time touring the insides and outsides of the three ships and discussing their options.
Session #5 - Exploring Medusa
Back in the hangar, the PCs notice a very advanced and powerful-looking fighter docked in one of the bays. It's heavily armed and lacks visible markings or registry codes. Raw Deal informs them that it's called Regulus and belongs to a classified owner who arrived recently with top level security clearance. He advises them not to mess around with it. The group decides that it's none of their business and moves on.
They visit a nearby eatery, run by a deer named Duille Gaoithe (or "Crazy D") and his son Sruth. The food on offer is diverse and bizarre, but palatable. Eventually they notice a security drone hanging around and taking pictures of them - Sruth identifies it as Officer Gazer, the oldest drone on the station. Gazer seems to be doing his rounds as normal and soon stops bothering them, but it's still a bit creepy.
Crazy D introduces himself to his customers - he's an intense, slightly loopy deer who keeps a small forest of sticky notes stuck in his antlers. Kerfuffle is intrigued by the deer's creativity; Niko tells the griffon to leave his horns alone.
With dinner taken care of, the group decide to head for the hab level for some well-earned rest.
Session #6 - Meet the New Boss
Unexpectedly, the group runs into Verbena at the elevator. She sheepishly apologises for lying to everyone. While she *is* technically on Medusa to visit her sister for summer break, she's not supposed to be there - she left home without getting her parents’ permission or informing her sister. And her sister just so happens to be Sweet Alyssum, Port Medusa's director. Verbena explains that she kept her identity a secret because as the younger sister of the owner of the Periphery's most infamous freeport, she could have been in even more danger if the group had been untrustworthy.
At Verbena's request, everyone takes the elevator to visit Alyssum. The director's office is well-appointed, with genuine artwork and potted plants. After a brief wait in the reception area, a young deer leaves the director's office and Smile Song, the receptionist, ushers the group in.
Sweet Alyssum greets them, thanks them for rescuing her sister, and lays out the terms of her offer in more detail. She's willing to give the group a grant of seven hundred and fifty thousand credits - plus another seven hundred and fifty thousand gratis for saving Verbena - so long as they invest in a ship and pay off the grant by doing a few Entirely Legal™ jobs for her. Alyssum has enemies, so the work isn't guaranteed to be entirely safe, but she assures the PCs that they will be under her protection in Port Medusa and its local territory. Once the grant is paid off, they'll be free to do as they wish.
To start off, Alyssum offers forty thousand credits for a simple cargo run to the Mothellum system on the verge of Solar Empire space. The package is Entirely Legal™, but not to be opened and better off destroyed than found by the Empire. All they have to do is leave it at a dead drop on a small barren planet.
Some discussion ensues, but while Smile and Aela still have their concerns the group accept the offer. Trigger is nominated as captain of this new crew.
Alyssum fears that the Black Sun Empire pirates were hoping to use Verbena as leverage against her. She notes that Verbena will be staying on Medusa for the foreseeable future, the better to keep her safe now that there's reason to believe people may be after her.
As the group prepares to leave, a new visitor for the director arrives, apparently interested in buying one of her paintings. Their identity is concealed by a large cloak, and the PCs exit Alyssum's office without bothering them.
Session #7 - Welcome to the Jam
Aela's player leaves the game here, so she's reduced to NPC status for now.
The PCs head back to the elevator to finally get some well-earned rest on the habitation level. Verbena shows them the way, making friends with Tami and giving her her contact information. They hire rooms (except for VS, who hires a sleeping pod because it's cheaper) to spend the night sleeping off the exertions and injuries of the day.
Before sleeping, Kerfuffle gives Patch a thorough examination. Repairing him will require some common components and a few hours of simple work, but reprogramming him might be more challenging. Niko is a little weirded out by how the griffon treats the machine like a person and just watches TV. Smile spends some time researching the possibility of opening a business under which to operate the ship. Trigger and Tami spend some time getting to know each other better, and Trigger shows an unexpectedly supportive side when Tami misinterprets something Sweet Alyssum said previously as a personal criticism. As far as Trigger’s concerned, Tami is very much welcome on her little crew.
In the morning, the group find two mares - Ether Blink and Static Charge - having a minor altercation with Officer Gazer. Eventually they manage to satisfy the robot's incessant demands for identification and it continues on its rounds. They get into conversation with the PCs, and it turns out the pair are touring the galaxy on their honeymoon. They're planning to visit the New Lunar Republic in two days and may need a ride. Tami is incredibly excited at the prospect of visiting the NLR, but Trigger has to remind her that Alyssum's request comes first.
The PCs visit Crazy D's for breakfast on the way to the hangar, and VS outlines her plans for a Totally Legal™ company under which the crew can run their new ship, but notes that it will need a name. The PCs are henceforth known as Space Jammers Incorporated.
A geeky deer - the one that was leaving Alyssum's office before the group arrived - listens in on their conversation and introduces himself as Gearrtha 'GD' Deiridh. He's writing a book on life in space and asks the PCs if he could interview them for tales of their adventures - not that they've had many yet. He gives Trigger his business card.
Session #8 - Claudia's Maiden Voyage
The PCs - now the Space Jammers - finish their breakfast. Smile, Trigger and Niko spend a few hours writing up contracts and creating the business, while Kerfuffle and Tami go shopping for drone parts and various other things they'll be needing.
A short time later the Jammers visit Raw Deal in the hangar, pay up a fair sum of money, and take possession of the PNR-03 Pioneer transport frigate. She'll need a name, but nobody can decide on one right away. Deal gives the Jammers the package Alyssum wants delivered, along with a folder of instructions for the job, and leaves them to settle into their new ship. Smile suggests that Kerfuffle take a look around and make sure everything is in order with the ship, and he finds nothing unusual.
Everyone claims rooms. As captain, Trigger gets the large quarters, while Tami makes a beeline for the bridge to familiarise herself with the vessel. It isn't long before she starts up the basic systems and brings the ship to life. Meanwhile Kerfuffle familiarises himself with engineering while Smile and Niko take inventory. Smile also finds a second contract that will take them to roughly the same area - a simple delivery of scientific equipment to the Sparkle system for twenty eight thousand credits.
Tami makes a few minor errors in getting the ship started up - alarms triggering when they shouldn’t, for example, but she hastily excuses them as simply building familiarity with the new controls. A short time later, with Trigger directing and reassuring her, an incredibly nervous but equally excited Tami guides the ship out of Medusa's dock and into magic-space (what little magic remains in the galaxy is used for interstellar travel, via a sort of magical hyperspace).
A couple of jumps and a few hours later, the Pioneer arrives in the Mothellum system. Their destination, Mothellum I, is a dull, grey, cratered rock. Tami lands the ship safely near the drop-off point. Still, she seems awfully jittery for a professional pilot.
Trigger, Niko and Smile head out in the ship's three EVA suits to drop off the package. Tami takes this opportunity to cheekily set up her hammock and other belongings on the bridge instead of one of the crew quarters. Kerfuffle converts the table in his room into a makeshift workbench so that he can make a start on fixing Patch.
The dropoff point is just a small metal container in a crater in the middle of nowhere. The away team deliver Alyssum's package without incident, save for Trigger awkwardly losing her balance and tumbling face first down the inside of a crater. However, Tami notices a contact on the ship's sensors. It's moving quickly, though not in the direction of the Jammers just yet, but could intercept them within around 20 minutes if it chose to. The away team hurry back, struggling a little with the dusty, airless craters, and Tami tells Kerfuffle to get the engines warmed up in case they need to leave in a hurry.
Session #9 - Ello Ello
The unknown ship starts heading for Mothellum I, and the away team hurry back on board the Pioneer. They take off and begin preparing to jump again, but the other ship moves to a direct intercept course and hails the Jammers before they can leave. It's a Solar Empire border patrol, asking to inspect their vessel. The Jammers deliberate and decide that they have nothing to hide now that Alyssum's package is safely stowed at the drop point, and that it would be unwise to make fugitives of themselves straight after starting their career as spacers.
The Empire corvette closes in - it's a small patrol vessel, faster than the Pioneer and better armed (the Pioneer isn't armed at all). The Jammers let the corvette dock and several soldiers come aboard. While the soldiers aren't exactly the friendliest, Trigger and Smile successfully come up with a cover story - the scientific equipment delivery - and the soldiers leave after finding nothing amiss amongst the cargo. They leave behind a note on fugitives known to be operating in the area, including a suspected terrorist cell known as Bright Dawn. A reward is offered for any information.
Smile does a little research on the Bright Dawn group - allegedly they're anarchists with a long record of sabotage. Any further details are vague at best.
With nothing else to keep them in Mothellum, the Jammers make the jump to Sparkle and emerge right inside the beam of the local pulsar. Fortunately the pulse of light and radiation - while alarming - doesn't seriously harm the ship. The electronics are sufficiently well-shielded thanks to the Pioneer’s sturdy Confederate design. Tami guides the ship towards the research station, which contacts them a short time later and directs them to simply release their cargo into space rather than come in any closer to the pulsar. They have drones that can retrieve the crate remotely.
With the job complete and payment rendered, Trigger receives a communication from Sweet Alyssum (or Sweet Ass, as she calls her, much to Tami's amusement and embarrassment). They're to head to the Xirak system and meet a contact who has information about a derelict with potentially valuable cargo. It's a fairly long trip of several jumps, so the Jammers occupy themselves with other tasks in the meantime.
Trigger confirms to Alyssum that they're on their way, then sits down to figure out how to split the payment. Kerfuffle spends several hours repairing Patch.
Session #10 - Mines! All Mines!
While Kerfuffle works on Patch, Tami and Trigger talk on the bridge, getting to know each other a little better. Tami talks about how her parents were independent cargo haulers who sold their ship to fund her education and raise her in a safe environment. Tami trained as a VIP pilot, but doesn't explain why she's currently freelance. Kerfuffle eventually takes a break from his work and joins them, so Trigger asks him about how he got so enamored with machines. Kerfuffle explains that he's from a mining colony, where functioning machines are vital, and that he takes after his parents' advice to treat his tools with respect. They're the smartest griffons he knows - apart from his sister.
The subject moves on to the name of the ship, and how it doesn't have one yet. Kerfuffle admits that he's been calling it Claudia in private; Trigger raises an eyebrow but doesn't press on the origin of the name. Eventually everyone heads to bed. From then on, everyone starts calling the ship Claudia pretty much by default.
Several hours later, while the Jammers are sleeping, the ship suddenly and unexpectedly emerges from M-space, giving the Jammers a rude awakening. They've been pulled out of FTL by proximity to some sort of massive object, several light years from the nearest star. The ship is mostly fine, but it'll take some tedious work to reset the navigational software.
Tami activates the ship's external searchlights, revealing that they've emerged close to a gigantic derelict. It's not the ship they're meant to be looking for - it's very old, and the region is designated as hazardous. It soon becomes apparent that the derelict is surrounded by a minefield. A minefield that Claudia is inside. Whoops.
Tami, Trigger and Kerfuffle discuss their options. The mines aren't reacting to them straight away, but they don't know their activation range or explosive yield. Tami comes up with a clever plan - by venting air from the cargo hold's rear door, they can gently propel the ship straight ahead without emitting any heat or radiation. Kerfuffle plans to divert power to the engines for an emergency burn if the mines draw closer, but Tami's plan works and Claudia gently drifts free of the minefield - plus a few scrapes and scratches from debris floating around the derelict.
Once the ship's free of the minefield, the three of them share a big awkward hug. Doubly awkward because Kerfuffle is the size of a bear. Tami feels responsible for flying Claudia into a minefield, but the others tell her it wasn't her fault and not to worry about it. Everyone goes to have some breakfast (and put some clothes on).
Session #11 - The Starweaver
With Claudia back on course and the ship settling back into something resembling a morning routine, Smile has an aerobics session in the hold. Niko joins her and asks if he can work out as well. Smile finds herself craving thick, juicy steak for some reason.
After a little more work on Patch, Kerfuffle goes to investigate the music coming from the cargo hold. Trigger joins him. The pair are baffled by the sight of Smile doing some very sweaty aerobics while Niko does crunches and squats alongside her.
Claudia arrives at the Xirak system, and it turns out that Alyssum's "contact" is actually a drone, which patches them through to her. She wants to give the Jammers an overview of their next job remotely for security purposes.
The derelict they need to investigate is called the Starweaver, a corporate research ship that went missing in the Xirak system over a week ago. Alyssum wants the Jammers to find it and recover certain data files. They're free to additional salvage or to assist the crew - if any still live - but priority one is the data. Alyssum's drone leaves them with a data stick containing a layout of the Starweaver, further information on where the files might be found, and a tracking frequency that should allow them to find the ship. Lastly, Alyssum warns the Jammers that others may also be looking for it.
The Jammers go over the ship layout and discuss their options. The Starweaver is built to support a crew of over a hundred, so whatever made it drop out of contact must have been serious. They decide to - assuming they find the ship - dock in the forward hangar and then sweep through one deck at a time. Their objective is a set of research notes by a Dr. Gramme Point.
Smile does some further research into the ship's disappearance and notes that it officially went missing in the Raltry system, several jumps away from Xirak. It was the property of a small stellar mining corporation, on a mission to look for potential extraction sites in the Periphery. Big ship for something as simple as a geological survey.
The tracking frequency turns out to connect them straight to the Starweaver's distress beacon, which warns of an unknown hazard on board and requests immediate assistance. Nobody knows why the signal's being broadcast on a private channel rather than a public one...
Session #12 - Ghost Ship
Tracking the signal, the Jammers locate the Starweaver in a declining orbit over the local gas giant. The ship doesn't have any visible damage or leaks, but it's spinning erratically. Some skillful flying from Tami gets them into the hangar safely.
Though a little cold, the Starweaver's internal atmosphere is safely pressurised and breathable. There's no sign of life or attempts at communication. The Jammers suit up and disembark, finding the Starweaver's interior dark, silent and seemingly uninhabited. A plate of mold lies on a table in the galley, apparently an abandoned meal. They move cautiously up to the second deck, and find nobody. Niko thinks he sees movement out of the corner of his eye, but can't be certain.
Following Alyssum's directions, they eventually find the captain's quarters. It seems undisturbed, save for the fact that it's absolutely plastered with old, dried blood. There's no sign of a body or even a struggle. Trigger takes a look around the room but discovers little of interest, save for the captain's photo collection. The only recurring theme in the photos is a middle-aged minotaur in an NLR uniform.
A little more exploring uncovers the captain's PDA, but all the information it contains is pretty generic. There's no mention of an emergency, suggesting that whatever happened to the ship was extremely sudden.
Suddenly the Jammers hear a noise nearby. Investigating, they find a small foal, who flees from them in panic. They follow him to what looks like a makeshift hideaway, where he's been hoarding food and other supplies from all over the ship. Trigger finds him hiding under a bed. The foal is a unicorn colt, roughly in his early teens, and looks malnourished and extremely frightened. Trigger manages to earn a little of his trust with an offering of kind words and food, but the colt is obviously traumatized and refuses to speak.
Claudia's automated systems notify the Jammers that a hull breach has been detected somewhere aboard the Starweaver. It's small and the atmosphere is still stable - likely a sign that competition for the ship has arrived. Trigger convinces the colt to accompany the Jammers so that they can take him somewhere safe. For the moment though, they still have a mission to complete.
At the ladder to the upper deck, they overhear voices. Scavengers, presumably, saying that someone named Cascavel wants ‘the data’ retrieved quickly and quietly. They're aware of the Jammers' presence on board but want to avoid a confrontation. The Jammers quietly head to the hangar and get the colt safely aboard Claudia.
Session #13 - Cascavel
With the young survivor in a place of relative safety, the Jammers head back into the spooky derelict. They find their way to the engineering section, and Trigger tells Kerfuffle not to restore the power - doing so would give away their position to the other group.
From engineering, the Jammers head up to the research deck. The air is stale and vaguely burnt, like there was a small electrical fire. It looks like the electronics have been overloaded or tampered with, perhaps sabotaged?
After a little more exploring, they hear voices again. Again referencing someone called Cascavel. This time the speakers spot them, due in part to Kerfuffle being a giant mass of fluff and tools. Rather than confronting the Jammers directly, the two rough-looking scavenger ponies shut themselves in a room. Which suddenly depressurises as they blow a hole in the hull to escape through. The Starweaver starts making some distinctly unpleasant noises. Claudia registers another breach elsewhere; the other team are using explosives to get in and out of the ship.
Now in a hurry, the Jammers head for the bridge; the outer door has been cut open and the inner door is held shut by someone on the opposite side. They're no match for Niko's strength, but the other team is ready - they shine a blinding light directly into the corridor and catch the Jammers off guard. Their leader, Cascavel, introduces himself with a threat. He already has the data, and his second team has made its way to the hangar and is prepared to blow up Claudia if the Jammers don't let Cascavel and his associates leave.
The crew attempt to negotiate, but Cascavel isn't interested in bargaining. He's a suave, smug batpony with several friends, an advantageous position, and a high-tech, highly illegal laser rifle. He already has what he wants and has the Jammers over a barrel, and tells them to inform Alyssum that the Starweaver's data belongs to ‘Sidewinder’ now.
Out of options, the Jammers lower their weapons and line up against the wall while Cascavel and his scav team make good on their escape. The batpony announces that his people have already decoded and publicly transmitted the distress signal, so rescue ships will be on their way to the Starweaver soon.
The Jammers briefly discuss the possibility of salvaging the ship, but it's far too large for them to repair or tow. They take one last opportunity to look around and find some crates of spare parts, along with some high-value mining gear. There's also a PDA filled with valuable prospecting data on the bridge, but the data Alyssum requested is long gone.
With time running short before official rescuers arrive, the Jammers retreat to Claudia with their salvage. It looks like Cascavel kept his word and didn't interfere with the ship. The rescued colt has busied himself with watching cartoons in the common room and refuses to talk to anyone.
Smile does some research on the name Sidewinder - allegedly they're a massive criminal syndicate, but information is sparse and none of their known associates have ever been convicted of any of their supposed crimes. With rescue responders quickly closing in, the Jammers power up their ship and leave the Starweaver behind before they have to answer any awkward questions.
Session #14 - Why Did It Have to be Snakes?
Tami sets a course back to Port Medusa and the Jammers discuss the events on the Starweaver. Trigger is concerned that the situation might have been some sort of setup - how did Alyssum find out the ship's location or get the codes to its distress signal? Tami uses some of the downtime to paint Sparkle's pulsar, getting her mind off the scary derelict.
Everyone meets in Claudia's common room to cool down with a small meal. The colt (and Kerfuffle) are kept entertained for the time being with cartoons playing on the big monitor. He's still not talking, despite gentle attempts to get him to open up. He has a book with him, with his name written inside: Jelly Biscuit. The book was a gift from Jelly's Uncle Creamy, and printed in Canterlot - the heart of the Solar Empire - over fifteen years ago.
After a good night's sleep, the Jammers arrive back at Port Medusa. With Jelly sleeping soundly on Claudia - perhaps the first good rest he's had in days - the others visit Alyssum's office with the bad news. She and Verbena are both there, having just finished their breakfast.
Trigger lays out the events aboard the Starweaver and Alyssum is understanding, if disappointed. When pressed on how she knew about the ship, she explains that Medusa's long range probes found it and concealed the distress signal so that the data could be retrieved before official rescue or salvage arrived. Apparently Sidewinder are either lucky or very well equipped to have found it so quickly.
The subject of Jelly Biscuit is raised. Alyssum expresses sympathy and offers to help find his family.
Finally, the conversation turns to the question of Cascavel. He's known to Alyssum - Sidewinder's wet work operative in the sector. He's supposed to be a nasty piece of work - the sort that would think nothing of shooting someone in the back of the head. Sidewinder, according to Alyssum, are a powerful crime cartel with operatives in every megacorp this side of the galactic core. They function like a very effective mafia, with just as many legal operations as illegal ones; a relatively small group with massive influence and resources. Their leader is completely unknown.
Alyssum approves of the Jammers' salvaging of the mining equipment and is willing to buy it. Tami convinces Verbena to call her parents and let them know where she is. The two of them agree to meet up sometime and do some shopping together. Everyone expresses some interest in shopping, all the better to make Claudia more homely. Tami wants a camera to send VLOGs back to her parents. Niko wants horn polish. Kerfuffle wants a scratching post.
Alyssum adjourns the meeting, telling the Jammers that she'll have new work for them in a few days. GD meets them at the elevator and expresses an interest in interviewing them about their adventure.
Session #15 - Patching Up
Aela officially leaves the crew, having received a job offer from a prestigious company back home. As this leaves the Jammers without a doctor, she buys a medical system addon for Patch by way of apology.
Some time passes, in which Kerfuffle repairs the minor damage Claudia took in the minefield and finishes his work repairing Patch too. The Jammers do some shopping and customise Claudia's interior to be a little more to their liking. Official news of the Starweaver reaches public channels - according to an inside source the rescuers found the ship full of bodies, with the leading theory on their cause of death being life support failure. This doesn't match what the Jammers saw, but there's little they can do about that at this point.
Jelly Biscuit starts to open up a little. He's still not particularly talkative, but warms up to Tami. Tami and Kerfuffle take Jelly to see Patch and finalise the repairs. Meanwhile, GD arrives to interview Trigger and Smile. Smile asks GD if he needs an agent, which he politely declines.
Tami narrowly stops Kerfuffle from accidentally scrambling Patch's logic systems and manages to reprogram him to recognise the Jammers as friends. Combined with the new medical suite, the drone should be good to go. Jelly gets the honor of finally reactivating Patch. The drone appears to be fully functional, though his personality is quite formal and severe. His voice wouldn't be out of place coming from a supervillain's bodyguard.
Meanwhile, the interviews commence. Smile goes first, and describes how she's attracted to high risk/high reward jobs. She used to work for a corporation called the Manticore Fund back on Crystal Heart, station-capital of the Crystal League, but was forced to leave after several years when a risky venture cost the company millions. She's not bothered by it, instead convinced that the investment was worth the risk. She has big plans for Space Jammers Inc, including building up to a small fleet of ships within a couple of years. Cheekily, Smile acknowledges that Trigger is still technically the one in charge.
Trigger came from a large family of spacers and struck out on her own to prove herself. She came to the Periphery because it seemed like a good place to start, aiming to found her own shipping company. She could have stayed with her family's large business, but wanted to make a name for herself instead.
Tami, Kerfuffle, Jelly and now Patch rejoin the others in the common room. Patch makes himself useful by running diagnostics on everyone's state of health. Apart from Tami's mostly-healed bullet wound and Smile's heightened level of estrogen, everyone is currently fine.
GD interviews Tami next. She was born in the League like Smile, and grew up in relative comfort hearing stories about her parents' old adventures. She qualified as a pilot and applied to VIP Protection and Transit Flight Academy as soon as she was able, with big dreams about seeing the galaxy from a place of prestige and comfort. She's particularly interested in visiting the New Lunar Republic - it's meant to be a beautiful and romantic place.
Session #16 - Black Ops and Ice Cream
GD's interview moves onto Kerfuffle, who doesn't quite understand what's being asked of him. He speaks very briefly of his past (which has since been retconned - more on that later), then changes the subject. He's from a mining colony in the Heraklion system and came out to the Periphery seeking work. GD brings the interview to a close and leaves, promising to return the next day.
Jelly Biscuit becomes the subject of conversation - the Jammers want to know where he came from so that he can be returned to his family. He insists, fearfully, that he doesn't want to go home and refuses to answer. The Jammers don't press the subject. Jelly would rather stay with his Uncle Creamy in the Empire, but doesn't know where he lives. Trigger promises that Jelly can stay aboard Claudia for as long as he wants in the meantime.
Smile, aiming to lighten the situation, suggests a tour of Port Medusa. Trigger turbocharges that suggestion's popularity with the possibility of getting ice cream too. Patch warns the Jammers against the dangers of excessive ice cream consumption - despite Tami's protests - but is largely ignored.
On the way out of the ship, Tami asks Trigger if she's considered taking the job to carry Ether Blink and Static Charge to the NLR for their honeymoon. She has - and it looks like that might be the Jammers' next job.
On the way through the hangar, the Jammers run into Raw Deal again. He's still bothered by the mysterious, heavily armed fighter craft sitting in his hangar. They speculate on its nature and origin, with Deal suggesting that perhaps it's a government-issue vessel. Some sort of black ops or spy ship, perhaps. All the relevant information is way above his level of access, though.
Tami contacts Verbena to learn the location of a shop that sells ice cream - a luxury food stand up on the hab level. They meet Officer Gazer on the way out of the elevator, who confirms that Jelly is welcome on the station under Alyssum's authority. Large amounts of ice cream are purchased and consumed. Kerfuffle suffers a brief but severe case of brain freeze.
While the griffon contemplates the mysteries of the cosmos and/or resets his entire nervous system, the others run into Ether Blink and Static Charge. They negotiate passage to the Sorrow system in the NLR for twenty thousand credits - the sooner the better. The Jammers make plans to leave in the morning.
Session #17 - I Hate Sand
The Jammers return to Claudia to prepare for their journey to the Republic. Tami makes the bridge more homely with some rugs and drapes from her shopping earlier and walks Jelly through the ship's systems check.
Meanwhile, Smile finds a courier job for the return trip: a nine hundred tonne tank of hydrochloric acid to the Markaz system. Trigger is less than enthusiastic about carrying such a huge load of hazardous chemicals, but the pay is good and the destination is only a little out of the crew's way. Some muffled screaming later, she agrees.
Smile and Niko head out for some last minute shopping (fitness equipment for the hold), while Trigger meets Kerfuffle, Tami and Jelly on the bridge. She trips in the doorway and has her small stature inadvertently rubbed in her face when Kerfuffle simply picks her back up and sets her upright again. She makes a hasty, fuming exit while the others nerd out about ships and space travel, none the wiser.
Later that evening, the Jammers receive an unexpected call from Sweet Alyssum. She wants the Jammers to collect someone named Whisper Step and bring them back to Port Medusa - the sooner the better, as an urgent matter of security. Whisper can help with the recent Sidewinder problem, and is waiting for them at a pirate outpost on Baijol II.
Trigger calls a meeting in the break room to discuss this with the crew. It's decided that since the pickup should only take a matter of hours, everything else ought to be put on hold for the moment. Smile contacts GD and the honeymooners to let them know they'll have to wait a little while. Jelly is allowed to stay aboard the ship, provided he stays aboard and does exactly what Trigger says. Tami is disappointed that the trip to the Republic is delayed, but nonetheless prepares Claudia for departure.
Seven hours later they arrive at Baijol II after an uneventful journey. The planet is a lonely, desolate desert world whose atmosphere is thick with massive swirling clouds and sandstorms. The pickup is planetside, so Tami (with Trigger copiloting) brings Claudia in for her first re-entry.
The re-entry is less than perfect. Claudia passes through a thick, hot sandstorm and quickly begins coming in far too quickly - the engines aren't generating enough thrust, intakes becoming clogged with sand in the dense atmosphere. Tami begins to panic, but between her piloting and Kerfuffle's work in the engine room they manage to resolve the problem and level Claudia out safely.
With the ship clear of the storm and flying comfortably on autopilot, Tami has a small emotional breakdown and Trigger takes the time to comfort her. Niko assures Jelly that they're safe and everything is fine.
Session #18 - Whisper Step
As Claudia approaches her destination, the Jammers take stock. The ship is undamaged and nobody is hurt, but Tami's badly shaken. Smile continues to be annoyed by Patch's constant nagging about everyone's health.
They come in to land at a small, quiet outpost out in the middle of nowhere. Eager for (relatively) fresh air and solid ground, everyone disembarks save for Jelly and Kerfuffle, who stays behind to check on the engines.
The away team head down a cargo elevator and into the port proper. It's sparsely populated, and a single stallion greets them with an exorbitant landing fee, charging by the hour. Smile tries to negotiate a lower price, or at least some service, but without success. Resolving to get their business done quickly, they proceed into the small outpost.
Kerfuffle, unsurprisingly, finds Claudia's engines full of sand. Fortunately it's all fine, loose particles that should blow out easily once the ship starts back up again. He checks on Jelly, then goes to catch up with the others. However, he's immediately distracted by the sight of a giant power loader mech near the landing pad. He can't contain his excitement and asks the stallion running the port everything he could possibly know about it.
Meanwhile, Trigger and the others find Whisper Step. She's a tall, dark, intimidating earth pony mare, who just happens to be engaged in a brutal bar brawl with one of the locals. An earth pony and deer - Dust Bunny and Lay - are spectating, and make brief introductions as the crew approach.
Whisper wins her fight, though she takes a battering in the process, and introduces herself to the Jammers as well. She has an agreement with Alyssum: her job is to root out Sidewinder agents on Port Medusa, and in exchange she'll receive any information on Sidewinder not directly related to their operations on the station. She knows of Cascavel but doesn't elaborate on how; all she's willing to reveal at this point is that she works for someone with an interest in dismantling Sidewinder.
Trigger introduces the crew, and Tami is starstruck by Whisper's toughness and professionalism. Whisper warns them that opposing Sidewinder is extremely dangerous, and promises both monetary compensation and the support of a powerful ally in exchange for their help. Trigger correctly deduces that the Regulus - the mysterious spy ship back on Medusa - belongs to Whisper. She left it there to draw attention away from her anti-Sidewinder operations elsewhere.
Everyone heads back to the landing pad, picking up Kerfuffle on the way. Patch insists on checking Whisper's injuries, but is refused. With Whisper recuperating in her new quarters, the Jammers prepare to leave. Smile suggests to Tami that she discharge the engines as hard as possible on takeoff, to clear the sand but also to leave a big sooty mess to show the locals what she thinks of their landing fee. Tami trained for graceful takeoffs and landings, but nonetheless goes ahead with it.
With Claudia rising out of Baijol II's atmosphere and a charred landing pad beneath them, Smile is pleased that Claudia has engines worthy of a "big ugly truck". Kerfuffle sulks at her lack of tact.
Whisper Step by Kalemon
Session #19 - What a Kerfuffle
With Whisper aboard, the Jammers make their way back to Port Medusa. On the way, the crew meet for dinner and socialise. Whisper stays professional, but mentions that she's been working against Sidewinder for a year and a half. She confirms what Alyssum told everyone earlier: Sidewinder is a small but incredibly influential criminal group dedicated to accumulating money and power by any means necessary. They specialise in exploiting high profile targets through fear, blackmail and the like, using a well-regarded and immensely rich megacorp, the Sidewinder Conglomerate, to fund their operations and present a veneer of legitimacy.
The Jammers ask Whisper if she knows of any connection between Sidewinder and the Black Sun Empire pirates that kidnapped them before, but she does not. It does beg the question of where the pirates got such sophisticated equipment, though.
Tami takes Jelly up to the bridge so that he can watch her bring the ship into dock. Whisper states that she'll need time to get to work on Medusa, but may need the Jammers' services again in the future. Once aboard the station, Whisper quickly departs. The Jammers prepare to soon leave once more, this time for the Lunar Republic with their previously-arranged passengers.
Verbena Mint arrives looking for something to do, so Trigger and Tami offer her a tour of Claudia. Smile approaches Kerfuffle, asking if he can figure out a way to make a hidden compartment aboard the ship for smuggling and/or hideaway purposes, ideally large enough to accommodate a reasonably large object or a couple of adult ponies. A short time later he starts poking around under the main hallway's floor and... gets stuck. Badly stuck. Just in time for the Trigger, Tami and Verbena to reach the upstairs hallway.
Much awkward flailing later, Tami and Trigger try to pull Kerfuffle's front half out from under the floor. They're not strong enough, which means enlisting Niko's help. Finally, it takes the minotaur (plus a pony and a half) to pull the griffon free, unharmed but now missing whatever dignity he might have once had.
Smile, oblivious to the fuss going on upstairs, gets an exercise regimen from Patch. Horse yoga intensifies.
Session #20 - To the Republic!
Verbena takes her leave, and Ether Blink and Static Charge are on their way for their lift to the Republic, so Kerfuffle hastily tidies the feathers up from all over the upstairs corridor. Tami expresses doubt over her flying abilities after the near-disaster at Baijol II, but Kerfuffle encourages her to trust Claudia and not beat herself up over it, which helps.
Trigger, Niko and Smile welcome the two passengers aboard and help them get set up - temporarily - in Trigger's quarters, since it has the most space and only double bed. Claudia spins up for a prompt departure, only for Whisper to appear and flag the ship down. She has a small job for the Jammers to do on behalf of Sweet Alyssum - attaching a small device to one of Medusa's comm satellites. It should help her monitor outgoing communications, the better to catch any Sidewinder operatives working out of the station.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Jelly Biscuit commandeers the captain's chair in an act of playful mutiny. He is promptly defeated by noogies and, with the chain of command restored, the Jammers depart without further incident. Trigger takes a short spacewalk to attach Whisper's device to the nearby satellite, and then they're off to the Republic. The trip starts out uneventfully, with the Jammers and the passengers exchanging small talk, but it's a route of several jumps and will likely take some time.
Session #21 - Black Sun Rematch
Many hours later, during Claudia's night cycle, the Jammers arrive in the Markaz system, which borders the New Lunar Republic. Tami is very excited to see the Galleon Nebula, which contains most of the Republic's territory. There's plenty of traffic in the system, particularly Republic military and border security, and all incoming ships are subject to registration.
The Jammers wake up and begin their usual morning routine. Kerfuffle sings badly in the shower. Smile has created a duty schedule and fitness plan for everyone - Niko is pleased, Kerfuffle is confused (doesn't fitness just happen naturally while you're working?), and Tami is horrified. The hippogriff tries to get out of having to exercise by feigning injury, but Patch happily confirms that her injuries from before are completely healed and she's ready for strenuous activity. He follows up by diagnosing her with lazyitis.
Claudia receives a message from a nearby ship: a suspiciously friendly communication from a "Captain Oil Spill" asking them to help carry a message and package across the Republic border. Trigger and Tami have their reservations, but cautiously allow the ship to approach. Trigger, Niko and Kerfuffle go to meet them, Trigger and Niko gearing for a fight just in case.
Oil Spill's ship docks with Claudia and a pony enters via the cargo hold airlock. An oddly familiar pony in a top hat and moustache. It's one of the Black Sun pirates from before, using a transparently fake identity. With both groups taken off guard at recognising one another, the pirate pulls a pistol and opens fire, calling for 'Kar' to get in and help him. His shot misses Trigger and pings off Claudia's interior hull, which makes Kerfuffle rather upset. So he flies across the hold and punches the pirate square in the snout.
Up on the bridge, Tami freezes up in terror at the sound of combat. Smile is in the break room, and orders the passengers to lock themselves in their quarters while she goes to fetch her rifle.
Back in the hold, the other Black Sun pirate arrives - the armored griffon, Kar, this time wielding a fearsome-looking longsword. Kar swings at Niko and Kerfuffle, wounding the minotaur. The pirate stallion pulls a knife, but with little effect. Trigger fires into the fray, lightly wounding the pirate griffon through her sophisticated armor. Niko and Kerfuffle both attack Kar as well, trying to bring her down or at least make her drop the weapon, but she's simply too quick and well-armored for their blows to have much of an effect. For the moment, the fight looks like a stalemate.
Session #22 - Busted
As fighting continues down in Claudia's hold, Tami makes a frantic call for help from the bridge. To her immense relief, there's a prompt response from a New Lunar Republic patrol vessel, the Thrusting Strike. With help on the way, she huddles fearfully in the corner with her taser.
Downstairs, the fighting escalates. Kar draws a pistol with her free hand and opens fire, pinging a round off Trigger's armor. Smile arrives to break the stalemate, landing a successful hit with her rifle from the far end of the cargo bay.
Wounded and now outnumbered two to one, the pirates decide to return to their ship. "Oil Spill" drops a smoke grenade and the pair of them make a fighting retreat back through the airlock, with Niko catching another nasty gash from the sword. The pirates begin to detach their ship from Claudia, and Kerfuffle promptly seals the airlock door behind them.
Patch attends to Trigger and Niko's injuries and everyone takes stock of the damage. Aside from Niko's cuts, nobody was seriously wounded. Both passengers are safe and Jelly even managed to sleep through the gunfight.
Trigger and Kerfuffle find Tami cowering on the bridge and assure her that the danger has passed. As if on cue, the Thrusting Strike arrives and orders both ships to cut their engines and prepare to be boarded. Trigger heads back down to meet the Republic soldiers, while Kerfuffle stays on the bridge to keep Tami company as she recovers from the scare. He thanks her for calling such a pretty ship to help them and gives her a hug. Claudia's bridge windows give the pair of them a good view of the Republic cruiser, an impressive war machine sporting the Republic's half moon logo and distinctive dark blue and grey colours. Speculating and daydreaming about the Republic and its technology helps to calm Tami down.
Downstairs, several Republic soldiers board Claudia and their leader, Lieutenant Commander Veracity, asks to speak to the captain. Trigger presents herself and explains the situation, handing over a recording she made of the fight to serve as evidence. While the Republic soldiers search the ship for contraband, Veracity explains that the Republic takes a zero-tolerance approach to piracy. The Black Sun duo have been found in possession of stolen goods and will be arrested and most likely executed.
Tami can't help but ask one of the soldiers about nice places in the Republic, and he recommends Sorrow II for its beaches. Kerfuffle asks what a beach is. The search concludes without incident and Veracity politely bids the Jammers farewell. Trigger promises to buy her a six pack (or two), should they meet again.
With the morning's emergency dealt with, the Jammers give their passengers the all clear and everyone convenes for breakfast. Smile apologises to Ether and Static for the disruption and Trigger takes a much-needed shower.
Session #23 - Jammers' Day Off
While they initially wanted to visit the Sorrow system for their honeymoon, Ether Blink and Static Charge have changed their minds and want to visit Courage V, a Republic planet known for its extensive jungles and hot, tropical beaches. With the Black Sun pirates in the hooves of the authorities, Tami excitedly prepares to bring Claudia across the border. She spends much of the trip through Republic space socialising with Trigger, and suggests hanging around on Courage V for a while - it's a comfy resort world, after all. Tami also notes that she still means to write a VLOG for her parents.
Eventually, Tami convinces Trigger to take a day out of the crew's schedule to stop off and relax on Courage V, once Static and Ether have been dropped off. A little break would be good after the terror of the Starweaver and unexpected pirate attack.
Downstairs, Patch assures Niko that his sword wounds are minor and will heal quickly. The minotaur jokingly discusses the follies of the pirate life (and the joys of pirate-themed books and tv shows) with Kerfuffle and Jelly. The conversation carries on for a while, eventually moving on to more esoteric subjects like automation and artificial intelligence. When Trigger announces the day off, everyone is excited save for Smile (think of the docking fees!).
The rest of the trip is uneventful. Some hours later, Claudia touches down on an offshore platform on Courage V, connected to a nearby island by maglev train. Having grown up in a sealed colony, Kerfuffle is intimidated by his first sight of a natural ocean. On their way to register at the local transit office, the Jammers notice a large, conspicuous military-grade security robot accompanied by armored guards. They're minding their own business, but nonetheless stand out on what should be a sparsely populated tourist planet…
Session #24 - Tick Tock
The Jammers quickly make their way indoors to register, and disaster immediately strikes when a local batpony mistakes Trigger for a foal. She grabs his collar and shouts at him, only to learn that he's the head of security for the docking platform. Trigger releases him, and things - fortunately - proceed a little more cordially from there. Trigger wisely delegates the actual paperwork of registration to Smile, who finds the docking fee to be pleasantly cheap. Courage V isn't a heavily developed planet just yet.
Just then, the Jammers overhear a batpony mare arguing with the dockmaster. Her name is Tick Tock, here on behalf of the Republic's Geologic Study Institute. The security robot and armed guards are hers. She needs help transporting some urgent, classified cargo. Scientific equipment, apparently. Smile approaches her and introduces herself, and Tick Tock offers ten thousand credits if the Jammers can move her equipment immediately. It's only a planetside delivery, but still liable to take a few hours.
Smile takes a moment to confer with the others, and the idea of taking the job gets a mixed reception. It's certainly a tempting offer, but would come at the expense of the crew's chance at a day off. Niko is in favor, but Trigger promised everyone a day off and Kerfuffle is worried about Tami's nerves. Tick Tock is unwilling to wait, so Smile reluctantly lets the matter go.
Freed from work obligations for the time being, the Jammers go to catch a maglev to the mainland.
Session #25 - Obligatory Beach Episode
The Jammers eagerly await the train to the mainland along with Jelly, Ether and Static. They make small talk until it arrives, then enjoy the view as it carries them to the nearby island. They get a distant view of the decently large local spaceport, the impressive and nearly-untouched jungle, and finally the fancy glass hotel at the end of the line.
The atmosphere is beautifully sunny, not to mention warm and humid - truly a prime holiday destination. Tami is ecstatic; Kerfuffle wonders how anyone survives in a place without air conditioning. Ether and Static bid their farewells, heading to the beachside bungalow they booked in advance.
The Jammers quickly head for the beach itself, planning to spend the evening there. They find a beachside shop and stock up on relevant supplies - swimwear, sun lotion, towels and the like. Jelly is fascinated by all the fancy sunglasses. Niko undertakes the difficult quest of finding minotaur-appropriate swimming trunks. Trigger undertakes the equally difficult quest of finding swimwear that fits her but isn't made for foals. Tami struggles to find something that strikes a balance between cuteness, modesty and not broadcasting to everyone nearby that she might like sweets a little too much for her own good. Kerfuffle inflicts the sight of himself in boxer shorts upon the world.
Supplies in hand and/or hoof, everyone heads to the beachside. Tami and Kerfuffle are sidetracked by a nearby massage salon while the others go to swim and sunbathe. They both sign up for a massage, and Tami melts with bliss as the spa ponies work the stress out of her back and wings. Kerfuffle falls fast asleep on the massage table.
Jelly surprises Trigger by asking personal and emotional questions. His parents are likely gone and not coming back, so Trigger promises that she'll try to help him as best she can, and that he's always welcome with the Jammers in the meantime. They share a meaningful hug.
Smile and Niko swim together, leading to a conversation on how they learned. Smile swam competitively as a foal and did thalatlon in her teens (biathlon, but with swimming instead of skiing), but ran out of time to do it when she went to college.
Trigger overhears two mares talking about a party later that evening and asks whether it's public or invitation-only. It turns out to be invite-only, but they suggest that Trigger talks to Fimbo, the host, since he's pretty liberal with invitations. All it'll take is to impress him a little - just not in a flirty way, since he's super gay. Trigger relays this to Smile, who likes the idea of spending the evening at a party.
Jelly asks what ‘gay’ means. Trigger rethinks her ‘responsible guardian to an innocent foal’ status.
Session #26 - Follow Me to the Gay Bath House
Finished with her trip to the spa, Tami eagerly catches up with the others at the beach and goes swimming, while Kerfuffle finds to his surprise that Tami has already paid the spa service for the both of them.
Some beachside shenanigans later, the Jammers encounter Fimbo and three of his friends - all hunky, glamorous stallions from various species. They're from rich families that own or have connections to major businesses, and are staying in a spacious chalet rented by Fimbo's father. They challenge the Jammers to a game of beach volleyball. Niko is still off swimming, leaving two teams of four.
The game is close, but a break is called when Trigger takes the ball square in the chest with enough force to bowl her over. Fimbo and his friends take ball-related activities very seriously, it seems. There's no harm done though, and after a round of good-natured apologies and banter Fimbo extends everyone an invitation to his party at a private stretch of the beach later that evening.
Art by Rileyisherehide
Session #27 - Holiday Expenses
Trigger rents the Jammers a cabin for the evening so they don't have to go back to the ship to prepare for the party. It's "only" seven thousand credits, so Trigger covers the cost from her own pocket as a treat for everyone. After a hot, fancy takeout meal and a little preparation they head for the private beach.
Session #28 - Party Time
The Jammers arrive at the private beach, finding a large party already in progress. A couple dozen people are gathered around a bonfire, with rock music being played from a nearby stage. Fimbo welcomes them and tells them to enjoy themselves, so the Jammers split up to socialise. Kerfuffle takes stewardship of Jelly for the time being, and Trigger finds herself immediately thrust into the role of Responsible Adult™, warding the pair of them away from the beer. They occupy themselves with soda and hot food in front of the fire instead. Smile breaks away from the group to speak to Fimbo.
Tami goes to the bar, mixes up the fanciest drink she can think of, and very quickly exceeds her alcohol tolerance. A friendly batpony named Night Freak helpfully informs her that most of the people in attendance are absolutely loaded - it's a good opportunity to make connections. In particular, she points out a black unicorn who's supposedly a prince. With inhibitions lowered, Tami overcomes her usual nervousness and goes to say hello. The 'prince' is named Midnight Haze (and actually just a duke) of the Solar Empire, but he responds well to the hippogriff's awkward introduction and invites her to his table. Midnight chafes under the expectations of his father and title, and finds it refreshing to speak to someone who's genuine about their place and goals in life.
Smile and Night Freak bemoan the general lack of eligible stallions at the party (they all seem to be either taken or gay), but Night is eager to share gossip on the other attendees.
One of Fimbo's friends introduces Trigger to his sister, Skip Go, and her friend Sunshine Smiles. They make small talk for a while. Kerfuffle takes a break from babysitting Jelly to socialise as well (leaving a twelve year old alone with a bonfire by the sea - what could go wrong?). A deer doe - Rádala 'Rad' Spéir - brings out hot stew she's cooked for everyone, and soon the sun begins to set.
Tami continues to bond with Midnight and even gets his contact number. And, in her excitement, continues to drink. In fact, everyone continues to drink. Rad breaks out a bottle of something special.
Session #29 - Social Lubricants
Trigger introduces Kerfuffle to Skip Go and Rad. They discuss work briefly, sharing Rad's drink between the four of them, until the subject of Claudia comes up. Kerfuffle sheepishly admits that the name belongs to an old crush of his - a close friend of his sister's back home. With the alcohol flowing it doesn't take long for voices to start raising and personal space to start shrinking. Eventually it turns out that Rad doesn't hold her drink very well, and she passes out amongst Kerfuffle's copious fluff. A short time later, the griffon drops off for a nap as well. Trigger and Skip, soon well and truly drunk, start flirting.
Meanwhile, Night Freak heads off to find herself a cute stallion for the night, so Smile carries on socialising. She meets Gladerunner and Sweet Treat, two mares that have taken an interest in Jelly Biscuit. Sweet's a photographer and Glade's a model. Once everyone's stopped fussing over the cute colt, the three of them conspire to get into Fimbo's chalet and enjoy the enormous jacuzzi that's no doubt inside. Goldy, one of Fimbo's friends, offers to show them around. There is indeed a jacuzzi and it is indeed enormous.
Tami continues her talk with Midnight, loosening up further. She shows him her sketchbook and explains her love of the stars, getting more and more excited and carefree. The duke suggests she slow down on the drinks a little. Nonetheless, she gives him the contact details for Claudia's bridge, just in case he has any jobs that might take the Jammers near his place on the Empire/Avalon border (hint hint). Learning of her recent injuries, he's impressed by her dedication to travelling the stars despite the risks. Eventually, the pair of them end up dancing together. Before long Midnight shakes off his noble demeanor and they both have an evening of good, wholesome fun.
Trigger and Skip's flirting carries on, and eventually they retreat to a more secluded part of the beach for some 'fun' of their own. Back at the table, Kerfuffle wakes up from his nap to find Skip and Trigger missing and Rad fast asleep all over him. He gleefully realises that all the snacks left on the table are now his by default.
From there, everyone's night passes in a blur...
STORY: Pilot’s VLOG, Stardate: Sunday, by Fuzzy
Session #30 - There's a Snake in My Boot
The next morning, the Jammers wake up with various levels of hangover, afterglow and food coma. Some more formal/less intoxicated introductions are made over breakfast and coffee. Tami and Midnight share a hug and promise to stay in contact. Since everyone slept on the beach or at the chalet, it turns out that renting an expensive cabin just to get changed and eat takeout might have been a waste of money. Whoops.
That afternoon, with spirits raised, the Jammers return to Claudia and get back to work. There's nine hundred tons of acid to collect. Tami and Kerfuffle get the ship fired up. Smile engages Trigger in conversation about the magic of branding and social media marketing. She has plans - BUSINESS plans. She also brings up the subject of Jelly Biscuit, and her concerns about his presence aboard the ship given the recent shooting on board. Smile suggests having Jelly stay on Port Medusa in Sweet Alyssum's care, if possible, given the dangers inherent to the Jammers' work. Trigger says she'll figure something out.
Though it’s a fairly long trip, nothing of note happens during the acid delivery. Still, everyone's happy that the tank's externally mounted rather than carried in the hold. Eventually, with some more credits in the bank, they make their way back to Port Medusa. Whisper Step immediately contacts Trigger and tells her to meet her at the bar. Kerfuffle gets distracted (again), this time helping Raw Deal with a few issues around the hangar.
Whisper informs Trigger and Smile that her satellite bug has gotten results. A Sidewinder agent aboard Medusa is sending messages to an unknown contact, encrypted and hidden amongst financial data and spam. Though she doesn't know the operative's identity just yet, she's confident that she can uncover them given a little time.
Session #31 - The Spellcasting Stranger
Smile requests a copy of the intercepted messages from Whisper. Though skeptical that the crystal pony can get any useful information from the mass of encrypted spam, Whisper defers to her expertise in boring spreadsheets. She expects to have more information within the next twenty-four hours, and suggests the Jammers remain on standby until then.
With a day’s downtime to burn, the Jammers reconvene back at Claudia and Smile asks Tami, the resident artist, if she can come up with a logo for their company and ship. She also contacts GD to let him know that the crew’s free for further interviews. Niko kindly lends Jelly his tablet so that he can have something to read. Kerfuffle runs some simple maintenance and repairs on Claudia’s hull.
Trigger has a brief meeting with Sweet Alyssum, who confirms that she’s making progress on finding Jelly Biscuit’s family but doesn’t have a specific location just yet. Returning to the ship, Trigger discovers that somebody’s left a letter for her, stuck to the cargo bay door with duct tape. An anonymous individual wants to speak with her - alone.
While GD interviews the crew on their recent adventures and the state of their company, Trigger leaves to find her mysterious contact. She meets a cloaked pony, clearly using a voice modulator, who explains that they’re aware of the Jammers’ dealings with Whisper Step and opposition to Sidewinder. They also - shockingly - appear to be a capable magic user, able to close bulkhead doors and lift heavy objects with little effort.
The mystery pony explains that they have similar goals to Whisper’s and want to assist, but can’t do so openly. They offer Trigger a strange device as a gesture of goodwill: a hoof-sized metal octahedron covered in strange markings, unlike anything Trigger’s seen before. Supposedly, it can easily decrypt Sidewinder’s transmissions if connected to a computer. Should the Jammers choose to use it and the information it gains them, the mysterious pony might contact them once again. They advise against trusting Whisper, but admit that it’s difficult to trust them as well, and leave the decision to the captain’s discretion. Trigger correctly deduces that the mystery pony works for a different boss than Whisper - one that’s started to pay very close attention to the Jammers ever since they came into contact with her.
With the clandestine meeting concluded, Trigger returns to Claudia just as GD finishes his latest round of interviews. Once the deer has left, she reveals the strange octahedron and tells the others about her encounter. Responses are mixed, but one thing is for certain: the device is unlike anything anyone’s seen before, even Kerfuffle or Tami.
Session #32 - Copperhead Compromised
Before deciding what to do with the strange device, the Jammers call Verbena in for a second opinion. She hacked the Black Sun Empire pirates’ ship, so perhaps she can identify it? Unfortunately she’s just as clueless as anyone else. It’s not a decoder - at least not one like anything she’s familiar with - so it looks like the only way to find out for sure is to plug it into Whisper’s data and see what happens.
Trigger wastes no time and, without consulting with anyone versed in network security, plugs the device directly into her personal console and, by extension, all of Claudia. Fortunately it seems to be legitimate - the device begins to glow faintly, gradually decrypting the mass of data. Suspicions about the device aside and with a little time to wait, the Jammers attend to other duties.
Kerfuffle returns to the task of creating a hiding spot aboard Claudia and finds a place under the floor of the engine room’s access corridor. It’s not exactly comfortable, but could accommodate two adult ponies or an equivalent volume of cargo. Smile asks Verbena if she could program a website for Space Jammers Incorporated, and is pleased to find her willing to do the job for free as thanks for rescuing her from the pirates. Tami brainstorms ideas for the company logo but can’t settle on anything just yet.
Finally, the device finishes its work and the Jammers gather round to see the results. Most of the data is indeed spam, but embedded within are several Sidewinder communications.
There is a Sidewinder agent aboard Port Medusa: an agent known by the alias Copperhead (so by extension, Cascavel seems to be an alias as well). She’s been closely monitoring Alyssum, and now Whisper - and by extension the Jammers too. The messages include limited attempts at identifying Whisper; supposedly she’s an agent of the New Lunar Republic, possibly also operating under an alias, and noted as being extremely dangerous. Most alarmingly, Cascavel is on his way to back Copperhead up - most likely to eliminate Whisper before she can compromise Sidewinder’s operations aboard Medusa.
Trigger recommends upping Claudia’s security immediately and giving the ship a full checkup for possible plants or sabotage. When Kerfuffle suggests simply taking Whisper and leaving before Cascavel and his team arrive, Trigger declines; she wants to keep Whisper on the crew’s good side and get a shot at Cascavel. There’s some trepidation - the Jammers are space truckers, not spies - but it’s eventually decided that they’ll stay the course and help Whisper and Alyssum out.
First things first: warning Alyssum that there’s a mole amongst her staff. Smile has the bright idea of buying the director a book and smuggling a transcript of the Sidewinder communications inside, so as to avoid notice by Copperhead. With Kerfuffle and Niko seeing to Claudia’s safety, Smile, Tami and Trigger go to pay the director a visit.
Alyssum is accomodating, inviting the Jammers into her personal quarters to discuss the matters of Jelly and Whisper in private, and of course to drop off their gift of a free book. A little gossip ensues, particularly Trigger teasing an increasingly flustered Tami about the fact that she found herself a boyfriend back at the beach party.
Session #33 - Snake Trap
If Alyssum has anything to say about the intercepted communications, she keeps it to herself. The rest of the day passes with no further sign or mention of shifty government agents or criminal wetwork squads, and the Jammers wake up to what promises to be a completely normal morning.
Smile is annoyed by Patch’s attempts at cheeriness and subsequent checking up on everyone. She exercises in the hold along with Niko, whose injuries from the fight with the pirates have finally healed. Kerfuffle and Tami bond a little over how comfortable they’re becoming living and working aboard Claudia, and he tells everyone about the hidey hole he made outside the engine room.
After a little while, Whisper arrives with news. Her own investigation has also confirmed the presence of a Sidewinder infiltrator, and while their identity still isn’t clear they’re due to meet with someone later that evening. A ship will be arriving at one of Medusa’s cargo gantries. Whisper plans to crash the meeting, likely just to observe it and discover the infiltrator’s identity, but ideally to capture them. She wants the Jammers’ help to ensure the operation succeeds. It’s likely to be very dangerous, so Whisper offers a substantial payment.
The Jammers don’t reveal the device or their own decoding of the Sidewinder communications to Whisper, but quickly deduce that this must be the planned meeting between Copperhead and Cascavel. Kerfuffle, who’s gone without weapons so far, is gently persuaded to buy a shotgun just in case. Trigger suggests he give it a name so that he feels more comfortable carrying it. So he does: Emergency Use Only, or ‘Emmy’ for short.
That evening, the Jammers meet Whisper at the cargo gantry, shortly before the Sidewinder meeting is due to take place. They take up positions - Niko and Smile on catwalks overlooking the main docking area, Trigger, Kerfuffle and Tami in the raised control room, and Whisper concealed amongst the cargo on the hangar floor. Tami gains limited control of the hangar’s systems - lights, doors and, more interestingly, a two thousand tonne container of liquid neon suspended from a cargo crane. She draws a complete mental blank on the chemical properties of neon and assumes it’s harmless.
Shortly afterwards, Cascavel’s ship arrives: a sophisticated and intimidating unmarked frigate. Cascavel emerges with several lackeys, and meets Copperhead - or rather, Receptionist Mouse Trap. The mare that welcomed the Jammers to Medusa over a week ago.
Mouse Trap/Copperhead is concerned that Whisper may have a lead on Sidewinder’s “pet project”. She suggests feeding Whisper false intelligence rather than simply killing her, unaware that Whisper and the Jammers are listening in…
Session #34 - Heat in the Hangar
Whisper contacts Trigger by radio, announcing a change of plans. She wants Cascavel alive; Copperhead is secondary. Trigger orders Tami to keep Cascavel from escaping, which she does by activating the cargo dock’s magnetic locks to hold his ship in place. With the Sidewinder operatives trapped in the hangar, Whisper commences the ambush with a flashbang grenade and opens fire on Cascavel’s lackeys with her submachine gun.
Smile fires down into the chaos from the catwalk, bringing down one of Cascavel’s thugs with Whisper’s help, but her rifle jams at the worst possible time. Niko lands a few hits. Trigger joins in with her pistol and lands a brutal hit on another, taking them out of the fight immediately.
Copperhead is unarmed, and runs for cover while Cascavel and his men return fire. The batpony lands a nasty hit on Whisper with his laser rifle, quickly retreating back into his ship. Bullets begin to rattle Smile’s position and the control room where Tami and Kerfuffle are still taking cover. Whisper calls for suppressing fire so she can chase Cascavel. Kerfuffle tries to fire back, but he lacks the skill and his shotgun lacks the range to hit anything accurately. To make matters worse, his gun even jams. Smile struggles to clear her rifle, only for it to jam a second time. Niko’s rifle jams too. Critfails for everyone!
Cascavel’s ship starts to power up despite the docking clamps, while the remaining thugs move on the Jammers’ positions. One of them manages to climb onto the catwalk, and takes advantage of Niko tripping over (yes, another critfail) to start beating the minotaur’s face in with the butt of their weapon. Whisper gets caught up in a hoof to hoof fight with another on the hangar floor.
As the sound of the engines builds, Cascavel’s pilot struggling against the clamps, Tami notices another problem. The ship is bringing some rather large guns to bear directly on the control room where she, Trigger and Kerfuffle are still holed up. Trigger runs for it, managing to take down Niko’s attacker with a quick shot as she does. Tami flies as far and as fast as she can, and a moment later Kerfuffle comes soaring out as well, grabbing Trigger to carry her clear of the catwalk.
Whisper finishes her opponent with a swift headbutt and grabs Copperhead. Suddenly a laser shot from the ship’s open door strikes Copperhead square in the chest. She dies instantly. The ship’s main guns fire, completely destroying the control room the Jammers just vacated. With the controls down, the magnetic locks deactivate automatically and Cascavel’s ship pulls clear of the station, making good on the opportunity to escape. With Copperhead and Cascavel’s guards all dead or incapacitated, Whisper and the Jammers are left alone in the hangar.
The mission is only partially successful - they didn’t capture either Sidewinder operative, but the syndicate’s operations aboard Medusa are over for now. With nothing left to do but get clear before security arrives, Whisper introduces herself more formally: Agent Whisper Step of the NLR Intelligence Office.
Session #35 - Solar Eclipse
Whisper and the Jammers return to Claudia so they can debrief and tend their wounds. Niko caught the worst of it and Whisper has a nasty burn, but for the most part everyone’s still in a reasonable state of health. Patch attends to Niko’s injuries while Whisper gets out of her armor and tends her own wounds.
Everyone meets in the common room to discuss what just happened. Though it was unfortunate that Cascavel escaped, Tami - to everyone’s amazement - managed to not only identify the basic model of his heavily modified ship, but even the manufacturer of its specific custom version. A particular company in the Crystal League. This gives Whisper a new lead to follow. Between that, searching Copperhead’s quarters, and checking in with her own contacts, she’ll be keeping busy for a while. In the short term though, Sidewinder’s operations aboard Port Medusa are over.
Whisper points out that Copperhead must have been an important Sidewinder operative to have been assigned a codename, and likely had access to sensitive information for Cascavel to have killed her rather than let her be captured. All of Sidewinder’s major operatives are named after snakes - something to be mindful of in case of future encounters.
Whisper leaves the ship to carry on with her work, leaving her gear in her quarters and promising to return shortly. Jelly is excited that the Jammers got into a fight with some space outlaws, perhaps not fully grasping the seriousness of the situation.
Suddenly, almost immediately after Whisper’s departure, a new visitor arrives. It’s the cloaked pony that contacted Trigger before. He’s still anonymous and enigmatic, but apparently willing to meet with the rest of the Jammers and speak just a little more openly. The purpose of his visit is simply to check in on the device he gave Trigger, and to build trust with the Jammers rather than remaining a distant unknown.
The mystery pony confirms one of Trigger’s suspicions: he works for the Solar Empire, who are in a state of cold war with the New Lunar Republic. As a result, even though the two nations have an interest in fighting Sidewinder, they can’t work together directly. A politically neutral party is necessary, which is where the Jammers come in. For the time being, all he wants them to do is carry on assisting Whisper in her investigations into Sidewinder and whatever projects they may be pursuing (without informing her of the Empire’s involvement, of course).
Trigger receives an upgrade for the decoder device she was given previously - one that should allow her to contact the Solar Empire agent remotely. The device itself, as many suspected but couldn’t confirm, is magical in nature.
Lastly, there’s a bit of concerning news. The Black Sun Empire pirates, last seen under arrest by the NLR, are free. Sidewinder wasn’t involved, but some unknown party shifted an enormous amount of money to get them out of custody.
With all that out of the way and most of the Jammers too confused, shocked or simply dumbfounded by what they’ve just heard to press for further details, the mystery pony departs with a promise that he’ll remain in touch, hopefully with more information that will be useful to Whisper’s mission. Everyone promptly heads for the local bar.
With drinks in hand or hoof, the Jammers toast their successes so far. A little small talk ensues as Tami, Kerfuffle and Niko discuss their places of origin. Kerfuffle’s from a sealed mining colony on an airless planetoid, Heraklion IV, near the Confederate border. Niko’s from a fairly average Confederate planet, and Tami’s from Chrysolite, a largely agrarian world in the Crystal League.
Session #36 - Taking the Edge Off
Kerfuffle and Niko head off to get more beer, and the three remaining Jammers continue talking about home. Trigger was born aboard a ship in transit and doesn’t associate with any particular nation or planet. Smile originates from Tourmaline III, a tropical world in the Crystal League similar to Courage V (where the Jammers spent the night on the beach) but more heavily developed and crowded.
Tami reminisces about her time in flight school. She completed basic at eighteen, went into a five year course in VIP piloting, then came out to the Periphery shortly after her twenty-first birthday. Nobody calls out the incongruence there. Trigger points out that she has some flying skills as well, but just ‘learn-as-you-go’ experience rather than formal training. Everyone agrees that it would be useful to have a backup pilot, so perhaps Tami could teach Trigger a thing or two just in case.
Security Chief Sulfurgrin arrives at the bar, apparently off duty, and approaches the Jammers while the bartender fetches him a drink. The firefight in the hangar is keeping his people busy, and only Alyssum’s authority prevents him from arresting them. The surviving Sidewinder lackeys are just thugs, unlikely to have any useful information.
Sulfurgrin and VS start chatting about the history of the station - it was previously owned by Sweet Alyssum’s father, who hired Sulfurgrin at a time when he had nothing. Alyssum, in the chief’s opinion, is much better organised but far less ambitious than her father was, though not to be underestimated in spite of that fact. He notes that he may have work for the Jammers in the future, likely paid for in “merchandise”.
Meanwhile, the drinks loosen up Trigger and Tami again. They start trading stories about their respective “first times”, and eventually even get Bushel Hops and Smile involved. Banter ensues - lots and lots of banter.
Session #37 - Tundra Gem
The Jammers return to Claudia, happier and only moderately intoxicated, and find that Jelly’s taken receipt of a delivery in their absence. It’s a secure crate of personal items addressed to Trigger, from her family. Embarrassingly, the documentation reveals a personal secret - Hair Trigger isn’t her actual name. She’s officially called Short Fuse, but much prefers not to use it. For the sake of her feelings and/or temper, the others agree to carry on calling her Trigger (or just ‘Captain’).
The Jammers are woken up in the middle of the night by the arrival of a visitor - it’s the mystery pony once again, with crucial information on Cascavel, this time willing to open up and truly reveal himself. His name is Tundra Gem, and he’s a member of the near-mythical Æther Corps. The Corps is a small, secretive organisation operating from the heart of the Solar Empire, whose members are the very few unicorns fortunate enough to possess fully-functional magical abilities. He is, effectively, a wizard spy. With that out in the open, it’s hardly surprising that he can’t work directly with Whisper, even though their organisations share an enemy in Sidewinder.
Tundra Gem by Kalemon
Tundra has tracked Cascavel’s ship, and he’s expected to make a stop on the border of Avalon, the deer nation, in the near future. Whisper will most likely want to intercept him - capturing Cascavel would be a big step forward in the fight against Sidewinder’s criminal operations, as he’d likely have information able to expose people higher up in the hierarchy. Tundra’s come up with a believable alibi for how the Jammers - or more specifically, Smile and her corporate contacts - tracked him down themselves.
There is, however, a problem. There are two routes from the Periphery into Avalon. One requires passing through almost the entirety of the Zebrahan Caliphate: a long journey that would leave Cascavel plenty of time to move on. The other - which Cascavel took - passes by a black hole known as Nightmare’s Maw. Safely traversing space so close to a black hole requires specialist equipment that Sidewinder has access to, but the Jammers don’t. Outfitting Claudia to make the trip would cost many times her original value and is well outside their means.
Tundra is confident that Whisper and her people will find a way to reach Avalon in time. He instructs Trigger on how to operate the modified device he gave her before; it’s a handy piece of magitech that can function as a two-way communicator with little concern for range or reception.
All the Jammers need to do is help a secret agent chase a criminal assassin down an impassable route, while receiving secret help from another secret agent who is also a wizard. Simple...
Session #38 - Pulling Some Strings
The Jammers contact Whisper Step and she arrives promptly, though rather messy from having been woken up so early. Tundra’s cover story holds water, and they quickly convince her that they’ve managed to track Cascavel’s likely destination via their knowledge of his fancy custom ship and Smile’s corporate contacts. Impressed at their apparent resourcefulness, Whisper turns to the question of catching up to Cascavel, and the problem posed by the Nightmare’s Maw.
Whisper is confident that she may have a way to pass the black hole, but will need to pull a few strings with the Republic in order to do it. There are no Republic operatives active in Avalon, and Cascavel is likely heading to make contact and receive support from other Sidewinder agents, so any move against him would need to be quick and decisive. Despite a few concerns from Tami and Kerfuffle, Trigger has her mind set on tagging along to help. Whisper leaves to make a few calls; getting herself to Avalon quickly might be difficult, bringing the Jammers even more so, but she could certainly use the backup. She asks the Jammers to prepare for the trip and be ready to leave in a couple of hours.
Trigger contacts Sweet Alyssum to ask if she can arrange somewhere for Jelly Biscuit to stay. The impending mission is hardly safe for a foal to be tagging along. Fortunately, the director promises to send someone for him with no questions asked. Smile finds a secondary job for the crew to undertake while they’re in Avalon - a delivery of frozen fish to a courier post on Bedivere III for seven thousand credits.
Trigger wakes Jelly up and gently explains that he’ll have to stay on the station for a while. He’s a little upset, but understanding. Verbena soon arrives to collect him. If nothing else, he’ll have plenty of time to explore the station with her. Maybe they’ll have a party when they get back. Smile promises on Trigger’s behalf that they’ll bring him back something nice from Avalon.
Tami and Kerfuffle take a little time away from preparing the ship to discuss their concerns about the mission. Tami feels bad for objecting so strongly to the plan to pass Nightmare’s Maw, and feels silly now that Whisper assured her that she wouldn’t need to be the one doing that particular bit of flying. Kerfuffle finds it a bit of a shock to have jumped so quickly from transporting passengers to chasing spooks. They assure one another that Trigger knows what she’s doing and that Whisper’s been straight with them so far. Tundra’s a little more suspicious, but seems to be on the level for now. Tami gives the griffon a hug and almost vanishes into his fluff.
Verbena comes to the bridge to see Tami before she leaves, and drops off a gift - an archaic music player, headphones and all, with a fair bit of music already installed. As if further proof was needed that Tami and Verbena are already besties. There’s even more hugs, and a few happy farewells. Soon after, Whisper contacts Claudia to tell the Jammers everything’s ready to go.
Session #39 - Hitching a Lift
With no need to linger, Whisper and the Jammers set out for Nightmare’s Maw. Whisper flies her own fighter, Regulus, and the two ships set course for a navigation beacon near the black hole. Regulus docks with Claudia’s belly and Whisper makes her way back on board. All they have to do once they arrive, she says, is wait for “some friends”.
Kerfuffle guesses what’s coming, and Whisper’s a little disappointed to have had her surprise spoiled. A Republic capital ship, the Princess Cadance, is on its way to give them a lift. The ship’s mission and indeed mere presence in the Periphery are strictly confidential.
The trip takes several jumps, and Tami takes the opportunity to try out her new toy in the meantime. She soon winds up dancing happily, if inelegantly, around the bridge, until Trigger and Whisper come back upstairs and catch her in the act. With that little moment of red-faced awkwardness out of the way, Whisper gives Tami a set of rendezvous coordinates for the Princess Cadance. They arrive uncomfortably close to the Maw, but within the ‘caution’ zone rather than the ‘you die’ zone.
From there, there’s nothing left to do but wait. The sight of the black hole sets Tami and Trigger speculating - other universes, alternate realities, and how silly such ideas sound. Obviously.
Two hours later, Claudia is hailed with a request for authorisation. Whisper responds, and soon the Princess Cadance and two of her escort fighters uncloak and usher them in to dock. Despite its size, the Cadance doesn’t show up on sensors at all - its stealth systems are very sophisticated indeed. With formalities out of the way, the two fighter pilots welcome the Jammers to “The Big Pink”, as they call it, and escort Claudia in.
Tami and Kerfuffle are beside themselves to be visiting a ship so large and advanced, and for Tami it being a republican capital ship in particular just makes things even better. Trigger has to take a minute to remind them not to touch anything or overwhelm the navy ponies with questions. A security team is waiting for them, led by Major Tootsie Roll and Colonel Duty Bound, the Princess Cadance’s head of security and second in command respectively. Whisper asks to see the captain whose mission she happens to be interrupting, and the group are escorted to meet him while security personnel board Claudia for a routine check.
To the Jammers’ surprise, the captain of the Princess Cadance is a minotaur, by the name of Diokles Mooncatcher. The captain asks Whisper why his ship was redirected, so she explains - in brief - the situation with Cascavel. Diokles responds professionally, not prying for further details, and welcomes the Jammers aboard his vessel.
Session #40 - Through The Maw
After a short break to visit their temporary quarters, the Jammers are called up to the bridge. Captain Mooncatcher wants them to be present during the jump. Duty Bound explains the principles of long-distance jumps - in short, it’s magic, just substantially more advanced than the magic used in standard craft. The Princess Cadance carries a ‘bubble’ of reality with it as it jumps, which acts as a sort of fuel supply and allows it to make jumps that are longer or more treacherous than would otherwise be possible.
The Jammers are impressed by the size of the Princess Cadance’s CIC. Whisper points out that the ship’s only a light carrier, maybe four hundred meters in length. There are far larger ships out there, particularly in the Empire’s navy and the Confederacy’s mining fleet.
The jump itself is… an experience. Far spookier and more overwhelming than a standard jump. Building up enough magic to pass through the event horizon of a black hole is no joke. Even veteran spacers like Trigger feel sick by the time it’s done. It’ll take one more jump to get to Avalon, but the Princess Cadance will need a few hours to recharge her drives first. The drop off will need to be a quick in-and-out; it wouldn’t go over well if an NLR warship was caught in avalonian territory unannounced.
Tami asks if she can take the helm for the next jump and is - predictably - turned down. Still, everyone agrees that it was worth asking. The Jammers are given a little free time to explore the ship’s low security areas, and Tootsie Roll leads them to the mess hall. They make a little light conversation over lunch; Tootsie’s curious as to why a civilian crew is helping a Republic agent, but gets cut off as she’s called to the bridge for unspecified reasons.
The Jammers wander a little, and soon meet the two fighter pilots who guided them in earlier: Rocket Ride, callsign Skids, and Vector Thrust, callsign Gargoyle. Introductions are made, and it’s rather obvious that Rocket has an awkward little crush on Smile. He also happens to have a security pass that would let him give her a slightly more comprehensive tour of the ship. Eyebrows are raised, and the other Jammers gossip with Vector as Rocket and Smile head off to find somewhere more interesting. Smile’s quite interested in seeing what sort of recreational facilities the Princess Cadance has...
Minisession - Little Date on the Big Pink
Rocket Ride takes Smile to one of the Princess Cadance’s leisure areas. The ship’s big enough to carry some pretty sophisticated fitness facilities, including a small swimming pool. In between his dorky attempts at hitting on her, Smile challenges Rocket to a friendly race. Rocket suggests a bet; if he wins, she gives him her number. Smile counters that if she wins, he’ll owe her a favor. Can’t hurt to have a connection in the Republic military, after all.
In the end, Smile’s suit and businesslike personality cause the flyboy stallion to underestimate her level of fitness, and she narrowly beats him. Afterwards, the pair of them relax with drinks and make small talk. Most of it, funnily enough, comes down to how frustrating bureaucracy can be. In the end though, Smile lets him down gently. Her life’s too turbulent to commit to a long-distance relationship, though she’d like to stay in touch. She gives him her number (and a cheeky kiss) despite the result of their race, and the two of them part ways on good terms.
Session #41 - Warranty Void
While Smile and Rocket had their little date at the pool, Vector Thrust led the other Jammers on a limited tour of the ship. As such, everyone’s in good spirits when they reconvene in the main hangar.
Whisper contacts Trigger, asking for the Jammers to meet up with her at her ship as a matter of importance. She’s got some more information, and wants to go over the plan to track down Cascavel. Regulus is high-tech and well equipped, but she’s also a small, compact ship with little room for comfort. Trigger tries to flirt with Whisper in the confined space and is swiftly rebutted; Whisper’s only interest is in the matter at hand.
Cascavel’s ship has been tracked to the Percival system, and he’s liable to be there for a while. Supposedly, he’s due to meet another Sidewinder operative, Adder. Adder is known to be a mobile operative, not the one Sidewinder typically assigns to operations in Avalon. Whisper proposes approaching carefully to observe the shipyard at Percival from a distance until they figure out what Cascavel’s up to.
Tami and Kerfuffle correctly point out that for all her good qualities, Claudia is not a subtle ship. Whisper assures them that she’s already acquired forged documents and manifests that give them an alibi for being in Avalon, though it wouldn’t hurt to pick up some additional cargo to make it look like they’re simple haulers on legitimate business. This should be easy, since the Percival system is a major industrial center. Whisper forwards the manifests to Smile and takes her leave - they’re due to arrive in Percival in just four hours.
The Jammers hurry to get Claudia prepped. Trigger uses the magical device to update Tundra on their situation, then stores it away in her secure trunk. Tami takes Niko up to the bridge; since Claudia’s a minotaur design, some of the controls are in the minotaur language (space greek), so she could use some help figuring out what the nonessential buttons do. They discuss various things while working, including Tami’s respect for Whisper and how Tami, as an accomplice of such a cool spy, should have her own super secret codename. They settle on “Agent Coconut Pudding (with cinnamon)”.
In the common room, Smile finds something strange. Patch is lying upside down and seems to be glitching out. She relays the issue to Trigger, who takes the malfunctioning drone upstairs for Kerfuffle to take a look at. It looks like some of Patch’s circuits have been tampered with - some clumsily, others with more care and precision. They check Patch’s logs and Claudia’s cameras, but find no evidence of anyone entering the ship while they were away. Trigger contacts Whisper to see if she can access the Princess Cadance’s own security logs, but she doesn’t have that level of clearance. When Trigger suggests that maybe someone aboard the Cadance is working against them, Whisper shoots the notion down. Unfortunately, it seems that whoever tampered with Patch made a clean getaway.
Kerfuffle takes half an hour to fix Patch’s apparent sabotage, and the Jammers resolve to do a full inspection of their ship before leaving.
Session #42 - Oh Deer
Tami and Kerfuffle perform thorough inspections of Claudia’s core hardware and software but come up empty handed. Even Whisper fails to find anything amiss - no locator devices, no bugs, no signs of sabotage aside from scrambling Patch’s systems a bit. Smile finds a cover contract for their trip back from Avalon - a very lucrative hauling job to carry seven hundred tons of khorium ore from the Percival system to the Lamorak system. It seems that the mission is good to go.
The Princess Cadance makes the jump to Percival, drops off Claudia and Regulus, then quickly re-cloaks and leaves the two smaller ships to get on with their task. Whisper outlines the final details of their operation. Whisper and the Jammers will land in separate places on Percival II so that Whisper can gather preliminary information in secret while the Jammers keep up the facade of simple courier work. Once Cascavel is located they’ll meet back up, set a trap, and essentially kidnap him in broad daylight. At most Whisper expects two, perhaps three Sidewinder agents, with roughly a dozen thugs for protection. Since Whisper and the NLR have no influence among the local authorities (and for all they know, Sidewinder might), everyone’s going to have to take things as slowly and carefully as possible.
Claudia and Regulus approach Percival II. It’s an icy, inhospitable-looking world. Whisper bids her farewells for the moment and departs for the planet’s surface in Regulus, with the Jammers due to follow shortly afterwards. Before they can descend, though, they’re approached by an avalonian patrol vessel. Good thing they’ve got all that high quality forged documentation and an alibi ready to go.
The patrol ship docks with Claudia and several armed deer come aboard. They’re suspicious about the ship’s sudden appearance in their system, and their captain is a stern, no-nonsense type who quickly starts to needle Trigger with questions. Smile hands over the forged documents, which the deer accept as legitimate without much fuss. The tension of the situation starts to slacken off, until one of the deer investigators draws her captain’s attention - she’s found something. Something incriminating. Concealed underneath one of the cargo bay’s control panels is a small container, one that they have reason to believe could contain highly illegal substances.
The deer immediately place the Jammers under arrest on suspicion of drug trafficking. They plead innocence, though Trigger’s temper flaring up doesn’t exactly help their case. Within minutes, and at the points of several guns, Claudia’s crew find themselves in cuffs.
Session #43 - The Right to Remain Silent
There’s little the Jammers can do to prevent their arrest. Smile and Niko do a reasonable job of keeping their cool, but Tami is terrified and Trigger is incandescent with rage. Kerfuffle, who was busy in the engine room when the deer came aboard, is mostly just confused. Everyone’s loaded into the avalonian patrol ship with nothing but the clothes on their backs and carried away, en route to the local detainment station. As one of the avalonian officers helpfully explains, they’re due to be charged with possession and smuggling. A legal advocate will be waiting, but their prospects aren’t looking good.
Before long, the Jammers are dropped off on a rocky, barren-looking world and herded into a detention facility, then into adjacent cells. Smile is with Kerfuffle, Tami is with Niko, and Trigger is alone. They’re close enough to talk to one another, but can’t exactly see much. Tami starts to shake with fear at the prospect of being locked up for potentially years, while Kerfuffle holds out hope that the deer will be reasonable and accept an explanation that none of them knew about the hidden container. Failing that, Whisper will surely notice they’re not on Percival II before long and come looking… right?
A couple of hours later, the local legal advocate arrives - Eochracha 'Fresh' Bán, a rare pony/deer halfbreed. The Jammers plead their innocence, but Fresh points out that they’re not only being investigated for carrying illegal substances, they’re also suspected of illegally crossing the border. Which is true - not that anyone is willing to admit it. Trigger and Smile do their best to make their case on behalf of the crew, but even if they’re found innocent on both counts the legal process is liable to take time. A day, at the absolute minimum. Years of incarceration if the charges stick. Trigger gives Fresh authorisation to access Claudia’s security logs (Whisper rigged those. Probably?).
Tami speaks up and asks if they can make a call to speak with somebody who could investigate the matter and vouch for their innocence, hoping to get in contact with Whisper and alert her to the arrest. She’s allowed one contact, and only one, so she promptly calls Whisper’s communicator.
The mare that answers is not Whisper Step. When Tami asks to speak to her, the voice on the end of the line asks her to wait a moment. There’s a muffled sound, followed by the noise of hooves scuffing on concrete and a labored breath. Whisper screams for Trigger to run, but gets cut off before she can complete her sentence; there’s the sound of an electrical discharge and a high-pitched scream, and the line goes dead. Tami drops the handset in shock, starting to panic...
Session #44 - Disappearing Act
Tami begs Fresh and the other deer to trace the location of the call and help Whisper, but even that would require verification and take time. The hippogriff, shaking and in tears, is returned to her cell. Before long, the Jammers are left alone to discuss their fate - and Whisper’s.
It’s clear at this point that Sidewinder knew they were coming. Whisper, in all likelihood, was taken prisoner or worse by Cascavel and his associates as soon as she arrived on Percival II. The deer that apprehended the Jammers, however, seem to be completely legitimate. It’s likely that Sidewinder tipped off the Avalonian authorities. They may have had an agent on Port Medusa - or even the Princess Cadance - who planted the drug canister in Claudia’s cargo hold to ensure the Jammers would be arrested on the spot.
Kerfuffle argues that getting arrested may even have been a good thing, considering the alternative of walking headfirst into a Sidewinder trap. Unfortunately, as Smile points out, it also means that if the truth of what they’re doing gets out, it could still put them behind bars or even trigger an international incident between Avalon and the NLR.
Smile raises her voice and calls Fresh back in to ask if there’s a possibility the crew could be released on bail. But between double-checking the Jammers’ paperwork, examining Claudia and analysing Tami’s call to Whisper, the deer have their hooves full. Nothing is likely to happen until the next morning at the earliest - the Jammers are just going to have to spend the night in jail. Fresh asks the Jammers to remain calm and be patient for now.
Niko does his best to reassure Tami, telling her that everyone will be fine so long as they stay strong, and that she’s stronger than she thinks. Smile takes Kerfuffle’s mind off the current predicament by thinking ahead, asking what sort of upgrades or modifications might help make Claudia a more capable ship. She is - as Smile put it before - a big ugly truck, so top priorities should be navigation, sensors and engines. Eventually, with nothing to do but wait, the Jammers catch what little sleep they can.
Early in the morning, the Jammers are awoken by a surprise visitor. Tundra Gem, accompanied by one of the deer investigators from earlier, has arrived to secure the Jammers’ immediate release. The faint glow of his horn suggests that he’s probably not using entirely legal means to do so. A suggestion that’s confirmed when the deer addresses him as Commissioner. Kerfuffle managed to sleep through Tundra’s arrival, so Smile shakes him awake and promises him some breakfast. That last part gets him moving.
Tundra leads the Jammers out of the detention facility, past a whole lot of unnaturally compliant deer police, and out onto the landing pad where his ship awaits. It’s a heavily modified Solar Empire corvette - The Lady of the Lake. They quickly board and take off.
The Lady’s interior is filled with ancient-looking books and strange artefacts befitting a wizard. It’s also, as befitting a wizard, a complete mess. Tundra makes a point of telling the Jammers not to touch anything, and explains that he’d been keeping tabs on their mission. When he learned that Claudia had been impounded, he came to investigate and - with a little legal and magical leverage - was able to secure the Jammers’ release and the return of their belongings.
Trigger fills Tundra in on the events of the past day, including Sidewinder’s very likely capture of Whisper Step. They soon decide that there’s no choice but to retrace her steps; with a little luck she’ll still be on Percival II, and Sidewinder won’t be expecting anyone to come for her so soon. Tundra suggests that everyone get the rest they need and prepare for a fight - and the possibility that Whisper might be beyond saving.
Kerfuffle, of course, gives Tami a long overdue hug.
Session #45 - Icy Reception
Some hours later, the Lady of the Lake arrives in orbit of Percival II. Tundra points out that Claudia is currently impounded at a small orbital dock, but the priority for now is finding out what became of Whisper. Her ship hasn’t left the small planetside spaceport where she landed, so that seems to be the most obvious place to start looking. Kerfuffle asks Tami, without a hint of sarcasm, whether it’s polite to call ponies ‘little ponies’... and if Trigger qualifies as a ‘little little pony’. She hastily insists that he never, ever raise that particular line of questioning within earshot of the captain.
Soon, the Lady touches down at the starport where Whisper went missing. There’s a supply post with a set of hangars detached from the main complex - the last place Regulus was seen. Percival II is an icy, windy planet, and the unwelcoming atmosphere isn’t helped by the starport’s bizarre silence. There’s no outgoing communications, and nobody responds to the Lady simply touching down on the tarmac outside the supply station. Tundra stays with his ship to give them a point of retreat in case of an emergency, while the Jammers investigate the hangars.
The hangars themselves are eerily silent and lack power. When the Jammers enter, they’re greeted by near-total darkness. As they wander between the various ships parked inside, Smile encounters a deer technician - long dead, with several bullet wounds. Whatever happened here, it took place quite some time ago.
Moments later, Tami hears the sound of something moving. Hovering over a nearby parked fighter to investigate, she catches movement out of the corner of her eye. A small, spider-like robot concealed on the fighter’s hull activates and fires on her with a beam weapon. Even though Sidewinder seem to have abandoned the place, they left a few surprises behind.
Luckily for Tami the beam doesn’t inflict much damage, just a painful burn. Trigger dispatches the spiderbot with a quick pistol shot, only for more of them to begin emerging from the darkness all around the crew, opening fire with beams of their own. Their initial shots miss thanks to some quick reactions from Trigger and Smile, and the Jammers return fire. The drones are fast and agile, and they have the Jammers outnumbered, but they can’t take much damage. Kerfuffle flies up to cover Tami, dropping a drone with his shotgun, while she disables another with her taser.
Trigger and Smile each take a couple of minor hits. Niko’s gun jams (yes, again), but after finding cover and exchanging fire with the spiderbots for a few seconds the Jammers start to gain the upper hand; the machines were obviously built for ambush tactics, not a sustained gunfight. Finally Niko unjams his rifle, stomps across the room, and reduces the final spiderbot to a pile of scrap with a well-placed shot.
Apparently safe for the moment, the Jammers take stock. There’s a few injuries, but luckily most of them are just minor scrapes and burns. Trigger examines one of the spiderbots and finds a tiny “Sidewinder Security Inc.” logo on its chassis. She promptly smashes it. Kerfuffle, eager for a repeat of Patch’s turn to the side of good, packs the spiderbot Tami disabled into his backpack. Tami’s feeling a little woozy thanks to her burn, so she gets to ride on the big catbird too.
Session #46 - Regulus and the Queen of Spiders
It seems that Regulus isn’t in this particular section of the hangar. The Jammers continue deeper into the building and find a way up to the first floor, and Kerfuffle has to set Tami down so that he can pull open a depowered door. They pass through an abandoned workshop room and encounter a second, heavier door to the facility’s local generator room - this one takes Kerfuffle and Niko’s combined strength to pry open.
Unsurprisingly, the generator is badly damaged by an obvious act of sabotage. Kerfuffle manages to get it working again, but only in a very limited capacity - and who knows how long it’ll take to break down completely? The lights come back on, but only for a moment. All the generator’s capable of powering for any length of time are the doors. The generator itself is a pretty big safety hazard, but for now there’s bigger things to worry about.
The Jammers make use of their newfound freedom of movement, passing through onto a catwalk above a second hangar. It’s hard to see what ships might be down on the ground level, and the body of another unfortunate deer lies at the corner junction of the catwalk, gunned down like the first. Trigger and Tami briefly discuss how Sidewinder must have seized the facility on short notice to capture Whisper; the employees working there probably had no idea why they were under attack.
Suddenly, all thoughts of solemn reflection are dropped when a new spiderbot - this one much, much larger than the little drones that attacked them in the first hangar - drops from the ceiling and onto the catwalk. Not only that, but its weight is sufficient to slam straight through, and most of the Jammers find the catwalk coming apart beneath them. Niko and Trigger are left on what remains of the walkway as the rest of the crew tumble to the concrete floor of the hangar. Smile and Kerfuffle pick up some new bruises, but Tami lands badly - right at the robot’s feet. She immediately freezes up in terror.
This new opponent is no joke - heavily armored, five meters tall, and armed with some sort of electrical weapon that sparks and crackles ominously. It makes its intentions very clear by lashing out with one of its legs and kicking Smile clear across the room. Those that can do so unload on it with their various weapons, but it’s clearly well-protected against small arms fire and doesn’t seem fazed.
For the first time, Niko draws his secondary weapon - a hatchet. The minotaur yells a battle cry and leaps from the catwalk onto the giant spiderbot’s back, hacking away at it. For the moment it simply ignores him, turning its ranged weapon on Kerfuffle and blasting him with a bolt of electricity as it continues to shrug off Smile and Trigger’s shots. Niko carries on battering at the machine’s armor with all his considerable strength, and finally penetrates. Sparks fly, fluid sprays, smoke pours out of the hole, and the giant spider stumbles - but doesn’t yet fall. Instead it turns its electrical weapon back on itself, running a charge through its armor and shocking Niko to shake him loose.
Niko is thrown to the floor of the hangar, but the spider doesn’t get an opportunity to capitalise - a few well-placed shots from Trigger’s pistol put it down for good, and it crashes to the ground in a heap.
The spider has one last trick up its sleeve, however. It starts beeping ominously, leaving the Jammers just barely enough time to get into cover before it self-destructs, flinging shrapnel all around the hangar. A moment later, the smaller spider in Kerfuffle’s pack starts making the same noise - he digs it out and tosses it away just in time before it goes off like a particularly lethal firecracker. The big griffon’s quite disappointed to lose a potential friend, but something more important soon comes to light.
Illuminated by the burning wreckage of the spiderbot is Whisper Step’s spec ops fighter, Regulus. Tami flies up to the catwalk and carries Trigger down to join up with the others. Trigger contacts Tundra to inform him that they’ve found the ship, but there’s no sign of Whisper herself. No doubt Sidewinder took her with them.
The Regulus was obviously abandoned in a hurry: the canopy’s open and the keys are still in the proverbial ignition. They could simply fly her out. Tami is absolutely beside herself at the opportunity to fly such a sophisticated vessel and squeezes into the cockpit. Between her and Kerfuffle, they ascertain that the ship’s still untouched and fully functional. Heavily armed, too. Her computers might contain some information that would help narrow down where Sidewinder could have taken Whisper.
And so, most of the Jammers return to the Lady of the Lake and leave Percival II behind, followed by a top of the line black ops fighter piloted by a very, very, very excited hippogriff...
Session #47 - Home Sweet Home
Reluctantly, Tami docks Regulus with the Lady of the Lake and rejoins the others inside. After setting course for the orbital station where Claudia is still impounded, Tundra digs through his messy belongings and retrieves some medicine to ease the Jammers’ injuries a little. Most of them are suffering from laser burns, bruises and electrocution, so this is very welcome.
Tundra assures the Jammers that they likely won’t have any issues retrieving Claudia. The legal side of things is all taken care of. Whisper, on the other hand, is probably at least a sector away. He plans to start going through Regulus’ computers for clues as to Whisper’s location while the Jammers retrieve their ship. Smile observes that for a Solar Empire operative, getting to go through the private files of a New Lunar Republic agent is quite a catch. Tundra doesn’t disagree. Tami, on the other hand, is restless to start looking for Whisper as soon as possible.
Aboard the impound station, they encounter Fresh - their advocate from the previous day’s imprisonment - in an argument with a clerk. It seems that Tundra’s legal machinations came through; as far as their documents are concerned, the Jammers are witnesses to an important case who were freed in exchange for their testimony. Fresh, obviously exasperated by the inscrutable workings of people above her pay grade, takes Trigger’s signature for the release paperwork and hopes the rest of their stay in Avalon is more pleasant.
On the way to reclaim Claudia, the Jammers run into a couple of familiar faces: Dust Bunny and Lay, the figurative and literal partners in crime that they met while collecting Whisper from Baijol II. They’re arguing about their new ship; it turns out their old one was all but scrapped when they tried to run from an imperial patrol. Kerfuffle and Tami observe that the replacement craft is old and well-used - not strictly a bad vessel, but certainly below average. Kerfuffle suggests they find it a few upgrades and go legit. They don’t really pick up on the ‘legit’ part, but point out that they do know a guy who might be able to source a few Totally Legal™ ship upgrades. When Trigger asks after him, they agree to discuss it in private a little later.
First, there’s the business of reclaiming Claudia. Everyone’s relieved to find their Pioneer in one piece. She’s powered down, as is Patch, so the first order of business is to give her a very thorough inspection in case of further Sidewinder interference. After setting Patch up to reboot, Tami heads to the bridge and encounters an unfamiliar deer buck working at the main console in the dark. Both of them cry out in surprise, and the noise draws Trigger and Niko to investigate. With three of the Jammers bearing down on him, the deer explains that he’s a technician working at the dock, running a systems check to appraise Claudia’s value for auction. Supposedly, nobody thought to tell him that her owners had been released. He makes an awkward apology for the scare and his apparent mistake, and leaves as promptly as he’s allowed. Seems legit.
Soon enough, the Jammers get Claudia up and running and receive clearance to leave the dock. Niko takes a much-needed shower, and Trigger calls Dust and Lay in to have a chat about their supplier. His name is Leopold, and he specialises in not-entirely-legal weapons and ship parts. They promise to put the Jammers in contact with him once they get back to the Periphery.
Session #48 - Project Snowdrop
With the pocket fleet of Claudia, Regulus and the Lady of the Lake in their possession, the Jammers take their leave of the internment dock and meet in Claudia’s common room to discuss their next move. Tundra’s been hard at work deciphering as much of Whisper’s files as he can, particularly as they relate to her operations against Sidewinder.
First of all, Cascavel was Whisper’s primary lead to penetrating the syndicate. Obviously, given the recent turn of events, he managed to outsmart her. Her backup plan was to contact someone known as the Countess - a well-informed and influential member of the Periphery’s criminal underworld who’s acted as a source for the NLR in the past. Likely a crime lord or information broker of some kind, but most importantly, unaffiliated with Sidewinder. And who better to help them track down a crime lord than Sweet Alyssum, director of Port Medusa?
Sadly, none of the information points to a possible location for Whisper’s captors. Tundra admits that he doesn’t know of a way to rescue her. Niko questions whether - as a member of a rival agency - he’d even be willing to get her back at all. Trigger gets the minotaur to back off a little and Tundra points out that while Whisper may be a rival, their goals are ultimately the same. Helping her would simply be practical. Unfortunately, the Countess is the only lead on Sidewinder they have at the moment. Whisper Step’s fate is a complete unknown.
There is, at least in principle, a way to track Whisper down using Tundra’s magic. But the sheer scope and difficulty of tracking down one pony somewhere in an entire galaxy would make the task extremely risky - possibly fatal to Tundra, Whisper and whichever of the Jammers volunteers to help out - and not guaranteed to succeed even then. The spell would be less dangerous if they could narrow Whisper’s location down to a sector or ideally a planet, but even then there would be no guarantees. In short, it’s a last resort option.
Tami is upset by the fact that it looks like they’re going to have to leave Whisper in Sidewinder’s clutches. Judging by that brief phone call, it’s hard to imagine they’re being gentle with her. The hippogriff excuses herself from the conversation and heads to the bridge to chart Claudia’s next course. There’s not much left to do but finish their contracts in Avalon and head back to the Periphery. Trigger joins her shortly afterwards, offering what comfort she can and a promise that they’ll find Whisper eventually, no matter what. There is, of course, a hug involved.
Several days pass. The Jammers finally complete the frozen fish and khorium deliveries they picked up previously. Unable to return directly to the Periphery via Nightmare’s Maw, they instead take the long route through the Zebrahan Caliphate, making a delivery of machine parts on the way. By the time they arrive back in the Periphery, their cargo-ferrying work has left them almost a quarter of a million credits richer.
In the meantime, Smile carries out her own analysis of Whisper’s files and makes a curious discovery. Whisper was particularly interested in something Sidewinder had been calling “Project Snowdrop”, though the files are devoid of any specific details. She’d also been keeping detailed dossiers on the Jammers themselves, including psychological profiles, personal notes, and written summaries of interesting encounters. More than might have been expected, considering that Whisper seemed to view the Jammers as simple allies of convenience.
Meanwhile, Kerfuffle carries out an extra-thorough examination of Claudia’s interior and comes across something he’d missed before. There are small maintenance ducts leading off the main corridor and into the ship’s superstructure - far too small for him and probably a tight squeeze for most ponies. Fortunately, Trigger is a little, little pony and agrees to take a look inside after some very tactful convincing. Inside the crawlspace she finds a strange lockbox, perhaps left behind by Claudia’s previous owners. It’s too big to remove from the crawlspace without dismantling part of the ship’s hull, and secured with a ten-digit codelock. There’s also a small note that says ‘Core Code’. Despite their best efforts, neither Trigger, Kerfuffle or Tami are able to figure out what it means, and a ten-digit code is far too complex to simply brute force through. For now, the lockbox remains a mystery.
Tami spends the trip painting and listening to music to keep her mind off what might be happening to Whisper. She also takes the time to write a letter to Duke Midnight Haze, keeping in touch as promised despite the distance and difficulty inherent to their relationship.
Finally, at the end of their long journey Tundra and the Jammers bring their small fleet back into the Saphiban system and dock at Port Medusa. Verbena Mint and a very excited Jelly Biscuit are ready and waiting to meet them for a round of happy reunions. Sweet Alyssum wants to speak to the Jammers too - no doubt eager to learn the results of their mission to Avalon...
Session #49 - A Pirate’s Life For Me
Jelly and Verbena are eager to hear about the Jammers’ adventures. For the most part the Jammers avoid bringing up the less salubrious parts, like their arrest and Whisper’s disappearance. Tami apologises to Verbena for not being able to buy her anything interesting in Avalon, and instead offers her a painting of Port Medusa she made herself. Verbena graciously accepts the gift and jokes that Tami’s trying to turn her into a collector like her sister, but Jelly deflates the mood a little by pointing out that he thinks it’s lame. Turns out twelve year olds find battles with giant robots more interesting than art.
The Jammers, with Tundra in tow, go to report to Sweet Alyssum. Apparently, she and Tundra are already acquainted. At first, the director is dismissive about Whisper’s disappearance - their arrangement was concluded once Sidewinder’s operation on Port Medusa was broken up. She prefers not to meddle in the affairs of the Empire and Republic without a personal stake. Alyssum also notes that the Jammers haven’t even started paying her back on the grant she gave them. Eventually, the Jammers bring up the subject of the Countess - and Alyssum bursts out laughing. Turns out the Countess is an old “business associate” of hers; one with whom her relationship is extremely strained.
The Countess’ full name is ‘Pfalzgräfin Karmelita Franziska Verena von und zu Burgfels’, and according to Alyssum she has an ego to match. She’s also a near-mythical pirate lord. Little is known about the inner workings of her organisation, but she has considerable influence throughout the Periphery. Alyssum is willing to help the Jammers find the Countess - and perhaps by extension pick up Sidewinder and Whisper’s trails - so long as they cripple her organisation by whatever means they see fit.
The simplest way to find the Countess would be to sail through her proverbial waters with a hold full of valuable cargo. Smile proposes an alternative idea. The Jammers now have access to three different ships, two of them state of the art spec-ops craft (and a direct link to the director of Port Medusa, Tundra cheekily points out). What if they were to offer the Countess a partnership instead, then dismantle her organisation from within?
At least on paper, the plan sounds attractive. Infiltrate and demolish a pirate gang, gaining information to both hurt Sidewinder and help Whisper in the process. Alyssum approves, and informs the Jammers that she’ll forward what information she has on the Countess shortly. Tami and Kerfuffle are hesitant; the plan’s certainly not without risk, and at the very least will likely take the Jammers well outside the law. On the other hand, Tami in particular is grateful to have a possible lead towards rescuing Whisper.
The Jammers head to Crazy D’s for a meal, relaying the basics of their plan to Jelly and Verbena. They both find the fact that the Jammers are going to pretend to be pirates extremely exciting. Kerfuffle tries a pirate impression - and it’s awful. Good sign for the future.
As they gossip over food, Jelly comes close to figuring out that Tundra is in fact a secret agent like Whisper, but Tami manages to bluff that he’s simply a teacher. Or, in colt language, just a nerd. In fairness, Tundra is a huge nerd.
Session #50 - Friends in Low Places
The Jammers discuss the finer points of their plan, and quickly realise that there are a few holes. For one, the Lady of the Lake is filled with secret, priceless magical items that Tundra would never allow into the clutches of pirates, so taking her is a no-go. And while Trigger, Smile, Niko and Tundra could probably pass for pirates with a little effort, Kerfuffle and Tami are a different story. Tami’s a pure-hearted cinnamon roll whose worst crime is forgetting to pay for a school dinner. Kerfuffle has all the social grace of a thrown brick and might just be physically incapable of lying. Tundra politely suggests the two of them not do any of the talking.
Furthermore, it’s not like joining a pirate gang is as simple as filling out an application form. The Jammers would need some sort of reputation, or at least some serious combat gear, for the pirates to see them as anything other than potential prey. It wouldn’t help Whisper very much if the Jammers got her ship stolen. On the other hand, Regulus is heavily armed and could act as their trump card.
Not helping matters is the fact that Trigger and Smile get into an argument over not yet paying back any of Sweet Alyssum’s grant. Smile’s in charge of the finances, and being stingy with their boss isn’t doing the Jammers any favors. Smile argues that paying Alyssum immediately after she asks for money would set a bad precedent, and that she intends to pay off a portion of the grant at the end of the month.
Tami cuts in to lighten the mood. Not content with only having a gift for Verbena, she went out and bought things for everyone else too:
Everyone expresses their gratitude, and Trigger immediately gives the hippogriff a big hug. She looks a little silly in the oversized hoodie, but it’s comfy and that’s all that matters.
Back on the matter at hand, Alyssum’s information about Countess Karmelita is fairly spotty. What is known is that she showed up roughly three years ago with an enormous amount of money and overcame her competition by various means. She then united most of the Periphery’s pirates under a single banner, to which they’re now loyal at an almost nationalistic level. Her base of operations is unknown, but there’s a supply outpost in the Raltry system not far from Medusa that her pirates use as a staging point. That seems like as good a place to start as any.
While the Jammers make preparations to leave for Raltry, Tundra returns to speak to Alyssum and manages to negotiate an additional favor. He returns to Claudia with an update suite for the ship’s onboard sensors, much to the glee of Kerfuffle and Tami. Trigger declares she could kiss him, which leaves the secret agent wizard rather flustered.
Tami makes final preparations for the ship to leave, in between frequently checking her mail for a reply from Midnight. Kerfuffle also takes the opportunity to send a message - and a fairly large sum of money - home to his family. Smile uses her crystal pony spreadsheet magic to obscure Claudia’s registry history, the better for her to look like a smuggling vessel to any pirates. Eventually, with their preparations complete, Regulus docked to Claudia’s underside, and something resembling a plan in mind, Tundra and the Jammers leave for Raltry…
...and run into an unexpected situation. The Raltry system is absolutely teeming with New Lunar Republic ships - a full hunter-killer task force with carrier support - and an automated message announces that an anti-piracy operation is in progress. All civilian ships are directed to vacate the system as soon as possible or be subject to interdiction and search.
As Tundra points out, being caught in possession of a republican spec ops fighter and in the company of an imperial agent would not be good for the Jammers’ future prospects as free people. However, this also presents an opportunity. Tundra suggests an alternative plan. Under their standard deployment doctrine, the NLR fleet will be relying on a concealed mobile communications array somewhere in the system. Claudia’s sensors are far too weak to find it, but Regulus is perfectly equipped to seek it out. If the Jammers were to find and sabotage that array the Republic’s operation would be disrupted, thus allowing the pirates to escape in the confusion and earning their favor in the process.
After some contemplation, Trigger agrees. Pissing off the NLR isn’t exactly a safe plan, but they’re doing it to save an NLR agent, so that makes it at least somewhat okay, right? Tundra walks Tami and Kerfuffle through the process of faking a jump, then shutting down Claudia’s nonessential systems to mask her presence from detection.
As they prepare to seek out the sensor array, Tami points out something else. Once they’ve got the information they need from Countess Karmelita, they can simply point the Republic fleet in her direction - both to fulfil their agreement with Alyssum, and see the pirate lord brought to justice. The plan seems solid; now it’s just a matter of executing it.
Session #51 - Poking the Bear
A few minutes later, Tundra pinpoints the location of the NLR comm array. It’s a small collection of high-tech equipment drop-podded onto the surface of an asteroid, under the watch of a single patrol vessel. Claudia should be able to land nearby without detection provided she carries on running silent; from there it’s simply a matter of smashing up the arrays.
At Trigger’s command, and with no small amount of trepidation, Tami and Kerfuffle initiate an in-system jump, immediately slamming Claudia into silent running mode as they emerge near the asteroid. It’s a messy process that the ship wasn’t designed for, but fortunately they manage it without damaging anything. It takes a while to reach the asteroid travelling on minimal power, so Trigger uses the tension of the transit to carry on awkwardly flirting with Tundra.
The asteroid field is composed mostly of ice crystals, most of them so fine as to be barely a step above vapor. It’s an interesting subject for Tami to sketch, if slightly unnerving, as the tiny shards noisily bounce off the ship’s hull shielding. Eventually though, they reach the larger asteroid that holds the NLR array and Tami gently sets Claudia down on the surface. So far, so good. Trigger congratulates Tami on a job well done. The hidden transmitters are close by, but because they’re on the dark side of the asteroid visibility is very poor.
The Jammers only have three spacesuits, so only a small away team can head out to disable the arrays. Trigger and Niko suit up to go smash some transmitters, while Smile remains behind as backup, just in case. The asteroid has next to no gravity, so the ground team tether themselves to the inside of Claudia’s cargo hold as a precaution.
Tami prepares to get Claudia moving again, while Kerfuffle stays on hand on the bridge, ready to advise the others on how best to shut the arrays down once they get a closer look. Tundra notes that the NLR will investigate if their main communications hub suffers any malfunctions, but are far enough away that the Jammers should be able to power Claudia back up and make an escape before being recognised.
Trigger and Niko head out onto the asteroid and soon discover two large communication arrays anchored to the surface. Trigger opens up the access panel of hers but lacks the skill - even with Kerfuffle’s help over the radio - to interface with it effectively. She and Niko quickly turn to Plan B: smashing the transmitters with a crowbar and hatchet respectively. Smile heads outside with a toolbox to assist, but it turns out to be unnecessary. The devices aren’t particularly well-protected, and both end up out of commission after a few good whacks.
Suddenly, the radio explodes into static: a jamming signal. Apparently Tundra was wrong about the transmitters lacking local security. All of a sudden, Trigger and Niko are cut off from the others inside Claudia. Tami and Kerfuffle start to fire up the ship for a prompt exit. Meanwhile, a squat, cylindrical robot approaches those outside. The robot doesn’t attack - it simply stands there, as if waiting. After a few seconds it squats, digs itself into the sandy asteroid surface, and opens its top section, revealing a large missile aimed directly upwards into the sky. To make matters worse, a second jamming signal joins the first. Once Tami gets Claudia’s external lights on, it turns out that there’s more than just two...
The ground team do their best to disable the robots before they can fire their missiles, but only Trigger has a ranged weapon suitable for use in space. Smile and Niko’s guns aren’t modified to work in vacuum, so they have to make do with bashing. Tundra calls up Regulus’ advanced sensors to penetrate the jamming, and announces that Republic interceptors are on their way - there’s less than a ten minute window to escape! Tami realising that she’s technically the most senior member of the crew aboard does not help her nerves in the slightest as she fires up the engines.
With only a few of the robots destroyed, the ground team suddenly find themselves being yanked back towards Claudia’s cargo hold by their tethers. Tundra’s cast a bubble of magic to protect himself from the vacuum. The moment everyone’s back inside, Tami has the ship lift off.
As Claudia pulls away from the asteroid, the dreaded inevitable happens. A single missile launches from the surface, quickly closing on the fleeing frigate. The ship registers a missile lock, followed by incoming ordnance. Tami, still at the controls, panics as the lock alarm goes off, freezing up and completely indecisive under the pressure of the moment. From there, several things happen at once.
Smile rushes upstairs to the bridge and finds Tami curled up at the controls, paralyzed by fear. The crystal pony is forced to take the copiloting station, but she has only the barest understanding of how to fly a ship. Between her paltry skills and Claudia’s bulk, there’s simply no way to physically evade the missile. It’d be nigh-impossible even in an interceptor. Trigger starts taking shots at the missile from the hold with her pistol, but the distances and speeds involved make it a futile effort. Kerfuffle, mumbling apologies to Claudia the whole time, takes some drastic measures to throw something into the missile’s path. Tundra, still keeping himself shielded against the vacuum of space, fires several magical orbs from his horn.
For a moment, the missile and Tundra’s spells disappear in a cloud of fuel being sprayed from Claudia’s stern. It emerges, wobbles, then veers off at an angle and explodes. The missile alert goes dead, and a moment later they escape jamming range and communications come back up. Tundra hastily seals and repressurises the cargo hold. Trigger, on impulse, tears off her helmet and kisses Tundra square on the muzzle. Between that and the effort of casting so many spells… he faints.
Upstairs, Smile tries again at getting Tami out of her panic attack, but the hippogriff seems inconsolable. She slaps Smile’s hoof away and runs for one of the spare quarters, leaving Smile with the unenviable task of flying the ship. A ship that suddenly appears to have very little thrust capacity. Smile contacts Kerfuffle to find out what’s wrong. Kerfuffle responds that he purged the primary fuel intakes to try and make a smokescreen for the missile - it’ll take a couple of minutes for Claudia to be mobile again. There’s still time to evade the Republic pursuit, but it’ll be close. Smile calls Trigger up to the bridge and asks her to find Tami while Niko brings the unconscious Tundra to the common room so that Patch can make sure he’s alright.
While Trigger searches for Tami, Kerfuffle sets to repairing the rather hasty modifications he made to enable the fuel dump. Smile asks after the specifics and briefly misunderstands, thinking that Kerfuffle dumped all of Claudia’s fuel, rather than just a portion of it. Once that’s cleared up she jokes that the lost fuel might have to come out of Kerfuffle’s pay. He responds meekly, not finding the joke very funny at all. Before long the fuel systems recover and, despite her lack of experience, Smile manages to get Claudia moving and hurries out of range of the Republic fleet. It seems they’re too busy reorganising to commit to a pursuit. Unforeseen difficulties aside, it looks like their little act of sabotage was successful.
Eventually, Trigger finds Tami curled up in one of the spare beds. She’s clearly very upset, even traumatized, and mumbles about how she’s not good enough to fly the ship, and how she was never good enough for “them”. Trigger correctly deduces that Tami never graduated from VIP Flight Academy, and Tami is even more terrified by the prospect that she might be kicked off the ship for lying about her credentials. Trigger assures Tami that she’s a good friend and more than capable of flying the ship, and offers to discuss the matter privately over hot drinks.
With the help of some hot chocolate, Tami explains the accident that led to her dismissal from the Academy, and how it’s behind all her fears with regard to flying under pressure. Sweet Alyssum must have known about her record - hence her nervousness about even finding a crew in the first place, and her previous panic attack in the sandstorm. Trigger, after a little thought, responds that she refuses to let Tami hurt herself or give up on herself like that. She doesn’t care what some elitists at a big fancy academy might think. Tami, briefly lost for words, gives her a big tearful hug.
The touching moment is cut short, however, when Patch drifts past the door of the room in a magical bubble. When Trigger and Tami go to investigate, they find Tundra casting spells in his sleep. A moment later they, along with Niko and various objects from around the room, find themselves floating weightlessly in bubbles of their own. Trigger tries to poke him awake using her telekinesis, but it’s far too weak for the job, so she calls upstairs to see if Smile or Kerfuffle can do anything.
Kerfuffle, at Tami’s suggestion, taps into the PA system, maximises the volume, and yells at the top of his lungs (politely) for Tundra to wake up. Kerfuffle is huge and has huge lungs, so it works well enough. Anyone not fast enough to cover their ears becomes collateral damage. Tundra apologises for the magical mishap and explains that he hasn’t cast magic that strong in months, so the effort took a bit of a toll on him. He’s simply exhausted, so Trigger helps him find a proper bed. Ideally somewhere he can’t put people into floating hamster balls in his sleep.
Session #52 - How About I Thlap Your Thhit
With the Republic fleet disrupted, the local pirates have an opportunity to vacate the system. Using Alyssum’s information, the Jammers set a course for the pirate supply base on Raltry II to take credit. On the way, they have a little time to discuss the situation.
Kerfuffle and Niko briefly wonder whether attacking the Republic navy would make them criminals in the eyes of their homeland in the Confederacy. Kerfuffle’s a little homesick - he hasn’t had a proper opportunity to speak to his family face to face for a month. It also turns out that he speaks the minotaur language; not fluently, but enough to hold a conversation, thanks to his father working closely with minotaurs. The two of them decide not to discuss the finer details of their work in the Periphery with the border police if it ever comes up.
Up on the bridge, Tami - now calmer thanks to Trigger’s emotional support - talks with Smile about their plan to infiltrate the pirates. Smile suggests trying to make it look like Claudia’s still actively jamming the NLR’s communications so that they have extra leverage, but she simply doesn’t have anything resembling an EWAR suite, even a fake one. As they approach the planet, Smile addresses Tami’s personal doubts in her own way, admitting that the shootout in Medusa’s hangar shook her up and she’s had her own grapples with doubt. Like Trigger, she doesn’t want to see Tami or anyone else hurt.
Raltry II is a volcanic nightmare of a world, with abundant geological activity all over and multi-hundred-degree firestorms banding its equator. Only the poles possess an atmosphere that’s sufficiently cool and breathable to support life, and one of those poles is the location of the pirate supply base. Tami pays close attention to the weather this time, and the Jammers set down at the base without incident. The pirates don’t seem to be paying them any attention at all, instead milling about between the base and their ships, apparently loading up for an evacuation now that there’s a window in the Republic blockade.
Tami and Kerfuffle keep Claudia in a state of readiness just in case, while Trigger takes Smile and Niko outside to talk to the pirates, ideally to find someone that can put them in contact with Countess Karmelita. They approach a nearby crew and quickly identify their leader - a small, youthful-looking batpony mare. Smile asks after the Countess and learns two things: first, that the batpony has no intention of helping them despite their disruption of the blockade, and second, that she speaks with an enormous, distracting lisp.
Smile keeps up the pretense of being a new pirate crew looking for work, but the batpony feigns ignorance, claiming not to know who the Countess even is. Trigger calls out her transparent lie, but this just breaks down the negotiations completely. The pirate crew close in on the three Jammers with malicious intent...
Session #53 - A Talk With Tundra
Meanwhile, aboard Claudia, Tami and Kerfuffle remain blissfully unaware of the others’ predicament. Patch is still acting up a little, so they spend some time doing their best to get him operating at 100% again. He’s got a few dubious segments of code, mostly relating to decision making and behavior. It might take some time and perhaps a few software reinstallations to fully restore his systems.
Tundra emerges from his room, apparently rejuvenated now that he’s had a few hours’ rest. Tami immediately asks if the captain really kissed him and Tundra nervously evades the question. Once he’s been brought back up to speed on what happened while he was unconscious, Tundra comments that he hopes the negotiations are going well - despite his professional opposition to Whisper Step, he recognises the value in helping her. When Tami and Kerfuffle suggest that he and Whisper could try and work together more directly, he affirms his allegiance to Solar Empire and to the Æther Corps in particular. They’re the only life he’s ever known (and not entirely by choice), so he feels compelled to offer them his loyalty. Tami empathises with the sense of feeling trapped and gives him a hug.
They go on to discuss Tundra’s possible relationship with Hair Trigger. His isolation in the Corps has made him very introverted and he has trouble imagining himself in a relationship with a mare, though he did have a coltfriend for a while several years ago. Both of the Jammers encourage him to open up with the captain and let her know how he feels; they know her well enough by now to be sure she’d open up in turn. Whether that’d develop into a genuine long term attachment - who knows?
Tami returns to the subject of Whisper Step; she doesn’t like to see people trapped, or suffering under personal baggage. Kerfuffle feels a little guilty that Whisper’s predicament might, at least in part, be their fault. Tundra reaffirms that as NLR spec ops, Whisper’s a tough mare. Everyone has their limits, but Whisper’s limits are greater than most.
Session #54 - Thhit Thlapped
Back on the ground, things are not going well. Trigger, Niko and Smile are set upon by an entire crew of pirates. Nobody’s using a weapon, but there’s enough hooves in the fray that the three of them quickly find themselves getting battered. The lispy batpony hovers just out of reach taunting and cheering; Niko almost manages to grab her, but she slips free of his beefy arms and carries on hurling abuse. It isn’t long before the three Jammers are beaten unconscious.
A short time later, Tami and Kerfuffle hear Claudia’s airlock buzzer. They leave Tundra in the common room and head for the hold, using the ship’s external cameras to see who’s there. It’s the lispy bat and several of her cronies, demanding they open up. Kerfuffle greets the pirates over the intercom, putting on his best pirate impression. Which is awful. Between the griffon’s gormless attempts to fit in and the batpony’s heavy lisp, the conversation quickly degenerates into borderline nonsense, and the pirates begin to simply hack the airlock door from outside.
Realising at last that they’re in deep trouble, Kerfuffle asks Tami to take Tundra and hide in the hidden space he made upstairs. He’s the only one the pirates know to be on board, after all. But before Tami can respond, the pirates make their way through the door and quickly hold the pair at gunpoint. There’s no point in resisting, and the pair are quickly restrained, blindfolded and led away.
Trigger and Smile come to in what they can only assume is the hold of a ship, though it’s hard to be certain as they’ve been blindfolded as well. Niko’s still out cold. Tami and Kerfuffle are brought in, and everyone’s made to kneel. The lisping batpony reports to her boss, an earth pony stallion, who wastes no time in interrogating Trigger about who she is and what she and her crew are doing. Though still groggy from the beating she just received, Trigger keeps up the cover story and an attitude to match - despite the added difficulty when the little batpony starts threatening Tami with something pointy. Aside from Tami’s fearful protests at the thing being jabbed against the back of her neck, everyone keeps quiet and lets the captain argue their case.
Eventually, Trigger’s belligerence pays off. The pirate captain removes everyone’s blindfolds and releases them, offering to talk things out like “civilised ponies”. He introduces himself as Home Run, along with his little batpony lieutenant, Storm Nova. Nova turns out to have been threatening Tami with a popsicle stick, not the dagger she assumed, but there’s still some very real old bloodstains on the floor that keep everyone on edge. Smile makes a point of comforting Tami while Trigger does the talking.
Home Run appears to be the leader of the local pirate band, judging by how he’s giving all the orders, but he declares that the Jammers’ fate will be left up to the Countess. The pirate fleet is already en route out of the Raltry system (and they picked up Claudia and Regulus too; how thoughtful of them).
A minute later, two more pirates enter the hold with Tundra in tow. He apologises to the Jammers, particularly Trigger, for not being there to help them sooner. Once the pirates got aboard Claudia, he tried to hide but eventually realised that his only option was to make a deal with them. In return for his freedom and some leniency for the Jammers, he showed the pirates how to make a clean escape from the NLR fleet. Nursing bruises and/or shredded nerves, all that’s left is to sit and wait to arrive at - hopefully - the Countess’ home base...
Session #55 - Countess Karmelita
Before long, Tundra and the Jammers are shown to their “accommodation” for the flight. It’s better than a brig but not as comfortable as a barracks, with what looks suspiciously like a pressure door making up a good portion of the floor. There’s a table, some cots and a small sanitary unit, including a block of showers. One of the showers is already occupied.
Niko’s still out cold; luckily Smile finds a small first aid kit in the bathroom, so she lays him on one of the cots and starts tending to his injuries. Tami thanks Kerfuffle for what he tried to do back on Claudia, and the two of them share a hug to try and lighten the mood. Now that they’re reunited, the Jammers gather around the table and bring one another up to speed on what happened back on Raltry II. Tami notices (to her glee) that Trigger and Tundra are getting awfully close to holding hooves…
The shower swings open, revealing a familiar face in the midst of drying herself. It’s the armored, sword-wielding member of the Black Sun Empire pirates - a tall, self-assured looking female griffon. She recognises the Jammers quickly and approaches the table despite their mixed feelings of disapproval at seeing her again. She’s not a prisoner of the pirates, or so she claims - she’s with them on “family business”.
With little else to do, the Jammers allow the pirate griffon to join them at the table and talk. Kerfuffle and Tundra, ever the diplomats, suggest that everyone talks and works together peacefully. Trigger and Smile carry the bulk of the conversation, maintaining the line that they’re new pirates looking for work to help settle a debt.
Trigger raises a question: how did the Black Sun pirates get released from the NLR? They’re interrupted by Storm Nova entering the room with a box of food for everyone. Black jelly and broccoli. Yum. She promptly leaves after exchanging insults with the griffon, who changes the subject to Storm herself. Home Run found the young batpony living alone in a slum - piracy seemed a better future than what she might have had otherwise. She wasn’t adopted, just brought along on the pirate’s life. Kerfuffle points out that there’s nothing wrong with being adopted - his sister was, and she turned out fine. Sensitive subject, apparently.
The Black Sun griffon returns to the subject of how she got out of the Republic’s prison. In short, it was very expensive. She’s ditched the pony she was working with (Dark Flame, a stallion big on ambition but small on brains), and explains that she carries on following the pirate’s life for the sheer thrill. In fact, she’s rich enough to live quite comfortably, should she wish. She holds nothing personal against the Jammers for their previous encounters - they were merely in her way.
Tami and Kerfuffle are both immediately quite upset by the idea that someone could hurt and steal from others for fun. Smile, however, reacts even more strongly. She storms away towards the showers, not at all happy about being faced with a dark mirror of her own ambitions.
Trigger reiterates that they never caught the pirate griffon’s name. With a suitable air of drama, she introduces herself as Karmelita. Or rather, the Countess. With her little ruse over and done with, she demands to know what Trigger and the others want with her and her pirates. And for that matter, where they found a ship as sophisticated as Regulus.
The Jammers play their previous line straight - they’re haulers turned aspiring pirates in search of better-paying work. Regulus, at least as far as their cover story goes, was a chance acquisition from a hangar they found raided by somebody else. The half-truths seem to hold up; Karmelita notes that she might have uses for a new crew - one with a touch of subtlety and no outstanding reputation. She instructs Storm Nova to return their belongings and ships, and to prepare for arrival.
On that note, the Countess has one more surprise. The bay doors in the floor of the room begin to open, with an energy field on the opposite side protecting the room from the vacuum of space. Out in the black, and approaching rapidly, the Jammers see… a Wyrm. Or at least, the remains of one. A spine over a kilometer long, a ribcage to match, and a skull the size of a cruiser, all built upon, within and around: a massive space station that rivals Port Medusa in size. Even Tundra is amazed - he’s never seen dragon remains like this before.
Countess Karmelita, taking her leave, casually welcomes the Jammers to her base of operations: Isla del Dragón.
Session #56 - Isla del Dragón
Upon arrival at the pirate station, Storm Nova leads the Jammers back to Claudia to await the Countess’ summons. They’re relieved to find both of their ships untouched, and gather in the common room to discuss their next move. It’s difficult to openly talk about backstabbing the Countess, since Storm Nova is sticking close to them. The batpony seems to be fascinated with Claudia’s pool table. A little put off by all the furtive whispering amongst his comrades, Kerfuffle offers to teach her how to play. This, by happy coincidence, is just the distraction the others need.
The Jammers need whatever information the Countess may have on Sidewinder and Whisper Step. Taking it by force seems increasingly unlikely, which leaves either earning it or stealing it. Tami might be able to hack into Isla del Dragón’s local networks, but she’d need time and an access point. Tundra takes a pragmatic approach and suggests not antagonising the Countess any more than necessary - she could be a powerful ally if they play their cards right. Trigger points out that they already promised to sabotage her operation for Sweet Alyssum, and Tami would rather see the Countess brought to justice than allowed to carry on running her little pirate empire. For the time being, they agree that it’d be best to wait and see how things pan out and what opportunities might become available. Niko doesn’t involve himself in the conversation, instead trying to rest off the various nasty bruises he picked up from Nova’s crew.
Eventually, Storm Nova receives a notification from the Countess and takes the Jammers for an audience with her. Fascinating as it might be to explore the station, the fact that it’s populated by thousands of pirates keeps everyone close together.
Isla del Dragón’s command center is built into the Wyrm’s skull, with suitably massive windows where the eyes used to be. Karmelita herself sits upon a quite literal throne, copious amounts of riches stacked up behind her. Completing the opulent show of strength are the two bodyguards flanking her - it’s difficult for the Jammers to tell exactly what they are at first. The two of them look vaguely like griffons, but with far more feline traits in place of the avian ones, and both substantially bigger than even Kerfuffle or Niko. They’re also heavily armored, apparently ready for a fight at any time.
The Countess, obviously enjoying her own theatrics, is eager to give the Jammers their first mission in her service. All they have to do is carry her enforcers - Donner and Blitz, the two massive winged cats - to a system in the Crystal League so that they can “acquire” a certain businesspony for her. Trigger agrees on the condition that Tundra remains behind to look after Regulus and look for further job opportunities (and snoop around, but that part is of course unspoken). The Countess, perhaps noticing the connection between Tundra and the captain, graciously offers to give him a personal tour of the station.
Still playing the part of good pirate lackeys, despite Trigger’s internal seething, the Jammers return to Claudia with Donner and Blitz in tow. Neither of the pair is particularly talkative; they seem content to remain stoic and very intimidating. Storm Nova is waiting at the ship, ready to fill everyone in on the details of their mission.
The destination is a moon in the Incidolite system, Incidolite IIa - specifically, a secure retreat for high-ranking members of one of the League’s many industry and mining corporations. All the Jammers need to do is drop off Donner and Blitz near the compound, wait for them to capture one of the corporation’s board members - a crystal pony named Azure Myst - and safely bring the three of them back to the Countess. The pirates have insiders who can disable local communications, theoretically allowing the Jammers to escape without fear of identification or pursuit.
It’s due to be a long-haul trip that crosses several borders; Tami gathers some excitement from the fact that they’ll be passing through the Republic again, and even within one jump of her home system, Chrysolite. Kerfuffle and Niko are likewise pleased that they’ll be passing through the Confederacy, including Kerfuffle’s home system of Heraklion. Smile points out, though, that the nature of their job means there won’t be any opportunity for breaks or detours this time.
Tami, trying to get the two pirate enforcers to open up a bit, offers Blitz some coffee. Her well-meaning cuteness doesn’t quite break through his tough exterior, but it does get him to step down from “no” to “maybe later”. Then he asks her a riddle, which actually succeeds in lightening the mood a little.
The answer is “a leek”.
Smile points out that if their claws are as painful as their puns, the two of them are probably unstoppable. Donner, dominating the entire sofa by herself, yells for Tami to just get to the bridge and get on with the mission already. Patience is not her strong suit, apparently.
And so, with Tundra temporarily traded for a pair of gigantic, riddling murderkitties, Claudia pulls away from Isla del Dragón on a swashbuckling mission that may or may not involve a little violent kidnapping...
Session #57 - Princess of Riddles
The journey to the Crystal League is a long one, but can be mostly handled by Claudia’s autopilot. Several days later, midway through the New Lunar Republic, the Jammers are awoken one morning by loud hissing and thumping noises coming from the cargo hold. Donner and Blitz have been getting increasingly restless cooped up in the small (to them) cargo ship and are venting their frustrations with a fight. It’s not much different than one might expect from a pair of regular cats play-fighting, except these cats are the size of manticores, with strength to match and claws that can dig into solid metal. After the initial scare, Trigger lets them carry on - with a small request that they don’t break anything.
Fortunately, there’s plenty of reasons to make a stop so that everyone can stretch their legs. Claudia’s low on fuel and supplies - it’s been a while since they stocked up, and the big cats eat proportionately to their size (also, Kerfuffle uses a lot of shampoo). Tami sets course for a small asteroid colony nearby. One with cheap docking fees, for Smile’s sake.
The Jammers go about their morning activities, which for Niko includes a visit to the small exercise area he and Smile set up in the cargo bay. Donner and Blitz take an interest in this - they note the minotaur’s strength, but wonder whether he can lift his usual weights with a handicap. Specifically, with Blitz leaning on his chest. To Niko’s credit, after a couple of attempts he actually manages it. The pair are pleasantly surprised, though Donner quickly clarifies that he’s only gotten her attention and not her respect. Once she’s out of earshot, Blitz comments that Niko shouldn’t mind her; Donner simply enjoys being feared.
Meanwhile, Tami uses the time she has alone on the bridge to make use of one of the purchases she made on Medusa a while back: a hula hoop. She can exercise and be cute all at once! Fortunately for her dignity, nobody walks in on her this time.
Art by Pagecartoons
After landing at the asteroid colony, everyone meets in the common room and quickly decide that their first priority should be food. Niko takes the opportunity - now that he’s earned a modicum of the two enforcers’ attention - to ask exactly what they are. Their answers are terse; they’re not ponies, and they’re warriors, rather than thugs. They turn around and ask the same question of Trigger, who diplomatically answers that she’s someone smart enough not to pick pointless fights. This earns her a toothy smile and patronising pat on the head from Donner. The captain impresses her even further by successfully guessing the answer to one of her riddles.
"If it’s information you seek, come and see me. If it’s pairs of letters you need, I have consecutively three. What am I?"
When Trigger asks why the two of them keep on asking riddles of people, Donner explains that everyone needs a hobby, and skewering ponies can only go so far. She’s joking… probably.
Kerfuffle brightens up when Tami mentions that they’re in the Envy system - they’re next door to Heraklion, where he grew up. It’s one of the two systems on the NLR/Republic border, and a lot of the ships he learned starship mechanics working on would have come through Envy.
With their new ‘friends’ in tow, the Jammers disembark from Claudia and find their way to a local burger joint for some space fast food. While they’re waiting in line, a small foal tugs on Donner’s tail and says she looks funny. The Jammers brace themselves for tragedy and/or example of natural selection in action. Donner, whose head alone is equal in size to the foal’s entire body, introduces herself as the Princess of Riddles (and of whipping the flanks of nosy little ponies), and promptly asks her one. The foal, unable to answer correctly but still greatly entertained, asks for more, but gets sent on her way by the hungry ‘princess’ instead. Everyone breathes a little sigh of relief.
Session #58 - Badger Badger Badger
With shopping and refueling done, Claudia carries on towards her destination in the Crystal League. Kerfuffle takes the time to contact his family on the way through the Confederacy, but for the most part the trip is uneventful. Blitz takes Trigger and Smile aside to explain the finer details of the plan. They’ll need to stop briefly on the way through the League in order to pick up Donner and Blitz’s’ equipment, which has already been smuggled past the border. Once that’s done, they’ll land a few kilometers from the estate where Azure Myst is staying.
Blitz and Donner will do the dirty work while the Jammers stand by to provide a quick getaway, and potentially backup if they get into trouble. The security is likely to be minimal; an attack isn’t expected this deep into the League, and the Countess has backup plans in place just in case. When Trigger asks if there’s any wildlife they might need to worry about, Blitz shrugs and says “honey badgers”.
Meanwhile, Donner sneaks up on Tami in the bridge (though it doesn’t help that Tami has her earpods in). Once the hippogriff has jumped (literally) out of her seat and onto the instrument panel in shock, Donner asserts that she could easily snap Tami’s neck and take over the ship. Her tone softens just a little from there - it seems like she’s just trying to make sure that Tami is alert, capable and ready for the mission. In her own special way. Kerfuffle, oblivious to the implicit threats in the air, brings a round of hot chocolate for everyone. Donner leaves the pair of them with a riddle, and their failure to answer correctly amuses her; clearly Trigger is the captain for a reason.
I turn around once. What is out will not get in. I turn around again. What is in will not get out. What am I?
Eventually, after a few more days of travel and a brief stop to pick up the necessary gear, Claudia arrives at her destination: Incidolite IIa. It’s a jungle moon, though the area where they come in to land is more temperate than the rest. It’s very green, with abundant flat land and small trees. Without delay, Donner and Blitz leave the ship and head for the corporate estate, maintaining radio contact with Trigger. They’re expected to need pickup in twenty minutes, which - for now - leaves little for the Jammers to do but wait.
While Donner and Blitz begin their part of the mission, everyone else takes a few minutes to enjoy the planet’s comfortable atmosphere. They’re interrupted, however… by honey badgers. Several honey badgers. Honey badgers many times the size of a pony. They’re adorable, but also huge. The badgers sniff around the Jammers and their ship, apparently interested in finding food. Tami manages to placate one with a few treats, but there’s a lot of them and they’re getting uncomfortably close…
Suddenly, two low-flying supersonic aircraft pass by overhead, heading for the estate. In-atmo dropships, no doubt belonging to the local police. The badgers flee from the sudden noise. Trigger orders everyone to get Claudia started back up; it looks like Blitz and Donner are out of time.
Session #59 - Smash and Grab
Over the radio, Blitz confirms that they’ve run into more trouble than expected - the Jammers are going to have to come in hot and pick them up on-site. Tami brings the ship in low, using the hills to obscure her approach, and they soon come into sight of the target compound. It’s a two-storey country mansion with large gardens all around and a fountain out front in the parking lot. Blitz has Azure Myst, but he’s pinned down behind the fountain and under fire from several members of local security and police.
Tami swings Claudia overhead, forcing the security ponies to get their heads down to avoid the engine backwash while she comes in low enough for Blitz to climb aboard. Trigger, at Tami’s direction, uses Claudia’s searchlights to temporarily blind the police shooters - she yells for Donner to hurry up and get outside.
Unfortunately, Tami’s academy training didn’t cover landing in parking lots while under fire; she overshoots and rams Claudia’s starboard bow into the large house, demolishing a corner of the structure and damaging part of the ship’s hull. Still, they’re in position to make the pickup. Claudia’s at an angle to provide some measure of cover, so Niko opens the cargo door and lets Blitz hustle inside with their new guest - bound, gagged and wrapped in a rug.
A moment later, Donner comes flying - and not under her own power - through the door of the mansion, flattening one of the vehicles in the parking lot. She’s followed by a multi-armed security robot even larger than she is - one strong enough to have thrown her like a toy. She hurries aboard Claudia, visibly angry to have lost a fight, while Trigger screams for Tami to get them all out of there. As the ship begins to pull away with all the speed she can muster, there’s a loud thump against the cargo door.
The Jammers’ worst fears are validated when they check the external cameras; the security mech’s using electromagnetic graspers to cling to Claudia’s hull, and to make matters worse it’s crawling towards her engines. The ship has no external defenses, and setting down to try and fight the robot off would just give the police time to catch up.
Trigger makes a snap decision - she orders Tami to minimise their speed - enough that people could stand on the hull without being blown away. Kerfuffle is to man engineering, ready to compensate for any further damage the security machine might inflict on the ship. Everyone else, herself included, is to head for the upper deck airlocks and onto the surface of the hull to take it on directly. Donner, bleeding a little thanks to her previous bout, is pleased at the prospect of getting a second round. She locks Azure Myst into Smile’s quarters for the time being. The Jammers, incidentally, notice that Donner’s blood is yellow-orange rather than red - but there’s no time to worry about that at the moment.
Trigger, Smile, Niko, Donner and Blitz emerge onto Claudia’s upper hull. Even with Claudia flying “slowly”, it’s like stepping into a hurricane. They’re just in time, too - the security mech is about to plunge its arms into one of the ship’s engine housings. Donner yells a battle cry and charges at it, drawing its attention.
Using the external cameras, Kerfuffle manages to take a good look at the security mech and get an idea of its capabilities. It’s a riot control model, well-armored but lightly armed for its size, built for crowd dispersal. Its heavily-articulated arms make it most dangerous in close combat, but it also carries a grenade launcher as a secondary weapon. Kerfuffle advises the others to keep their distance and watch out for the launcher.
Blitz charges the robot alongside his companion, offering to keep it busy while the Jammers lay down fire. Niko and Trigger land a few hits, but not enough to significantly hinder it just yet. Meanwhile, Tami picks up an approaching contact on the sensors: an in-atmo police interceptor. Claudia could easily outrun it in principle, but not while the crew are fighting out on the hull.
Donner lunges at the mech, but it reacts with mechanical quickness and catches her by the throat in mid-air. It launches an adhesive-coated flashbang grenade in the Jammers’ direction, which sticks to the hull and sends them scattering out of its range. The machine uses the opening to swing Donner at Blitz like a makeshift bludgeon. Blitz is prepared, however, dodging the swing and grabbing the robot’s arm, promptly tearing the entire thing off. Donner, even more angry and now equipped with a bludgeon of her own, rushes back into the fray.
The interceptor Tami picked up enters visual range, following Claudia closely. It doesn’t attack just yet, either tracking the ship or waiting for the result of the fight ongoing on her hull.
Apparently fed up with fighting the two cats, the security mech activates its jets and leaps past them, landing amongst the Jammers. This turns out to have been a fatal mistake, allowing Niko to hose it down with his rifle at point blank range. The robot collapses, smoking and sparking, and starts sliding backwards towards Claudia’s aft as its electromagnetic grip loses power. Smile manages to leap aside, but Niko and Trigger are both clipped by the hunk of metal and lose their balance, joining it in its slide back towards the engines.
Tami, thinking quickly, puts Claudia into a dive. The change in angle is enough to give Niko and Trigger time to grab onto the hull before they can be flung into the ship’s wake, but the sheer mass and inertia of the security mech send it tumbling into the air. The remains clip the wing of the pursuing interceptor, forcing the pilot to eject as their craft spins out of control.
Smile helps Trigger to her hooves. Niko gets back up and reloads his rifle in suitably satisfying and cinematic fashion. With the anti-boarding operation a success and the pursuit thwarted, the Jammers are free to make good their escape.
Session #60 - Respect
Kerfuffle meets the others as they come back inside, making sure everyone’s alright. Trigger’s a little shaken up and sore, but aside from the wounds Donner took in the mansion nobody has any lasting injuries. She even has a ‘gift’ for the griffon: the security mech’s severed arm.
Tami directs Claudia into orbit while everyone else heads to the common room. Donner and Blitz curl up together on the poor, unfortunate sofa, apparently content to simply sleep off their injuries. Trigger’s not entirely comfortable with the little brush with death she just had; Tami and Kerfuffle’s reassurances that she would probably have disintegrated in the wake of Claudia’s drives long before hitting the ground don’t exactly help. With the ship all set to jump, Tami joins everyone downstairs and lends the captain her fluffy, dog-shaped hot water bottle.
Their conversation quickly turns to the elephant in the room - or rather, the bound and gagged crystal pony prisoner in Smile’s room. It’s starting to truly dawn on the Jammers that they’ve become accessories to a blatant act of kidnapping. Smile and Trigger suggest treating Azure Myst with caution - not letting him see their faces, ideally. There’s plenty of second thoughts, but now that everyone’s seen what Donner and Blitz are capable of, not to mention the Countess, nobody’s in a hurry to act against them.
A few hours and a couple of jumps later, it’s evening. Donner decides it’s time to feed the prisoner and remove his restraints, though he’s to remain locked in Smile’s quarters and kept under guard until they get back to the Countess’ base. Tami feels deeply conflicted about hurting someone like this, even if it’s ultimately for the sake of rescuing somebody else. Kerfuffle wonders whether the Countess wants him as a ransom - if so, then at least he’ll be able to go home eventually. The Countess does seem like the sort who appreciates large quantities of gold, after all.
Meanwhile, in the cargo hold, Blitz directs Niko and Smile in a little hoof to hoof combat training. Smile’s still pretty sore about having been beaten up so easily by Storm Nova’s goons.
Trigger makes a point of steering the conversation in a different direction and asks Donner why the two of them follow the Countess in the first place. Her answer, as always, is blunt: she and Blitz were quite literally made for combat. The products, most likely, of highly illegal genetic science. They were once pit fighters, battling for sport under the ownership of the dark side of the Equestrian nobility. Yes, the Equestria - heart of the Solar Empire. Of course, Equestria’s pit fighting circle is strictly the business of high-end nobles and people rich enough to own their own planets. The Countess won ownership of them on a bet ten years ago, which says a lot about the connections and resources she must have.
Donner concludes that Trigger has demonstrated herself to be reliable. Not enough to truly earn their respect, but a step in that direction. Kerfuffle isn’t pleased by the way Donner seems to enjoy being feared by others, but she simply ignores him. The conversation is interrupted by Azure banging on the door of his ‘cell’ and asking for a bathroom break. Donner obliges - though the unfortunate prisoner needs to wear a bag on his head outside the room he’s being kept in.
Azure, unsurprisingly, begs to be set free. Trigger promises that he won’t be harmed so long as he cooperates, but the scene upsets Kerfuffle and Tami quite a bit. They head up to the bridge with a small plan of their own. While they might not be able to help Azure directly, Kerfuffle suggests altering the ship’s tannoy system to set up a simple two-way communication link between the bridge and Smile’s room. At least with that Azure won’t need to bang on the door and shout to be noticed, and he’ll have someone to talk to. The pair of them make a point of apologising to the unfortunate crystal pony for his current predicament, but regret that they’re not really in a position to help him either. Tami promises to look for ways to make things easier on him, if nothing else.
Now that they’re alone, Trigger carries on talking to Donner. She tries to offer a little sympathy for her violent origins, but Donner neither wants nor needs it. She’s at peace with what she is, and what she’s for. Nonetheless, she does appreciate the sentiment and asks the captain a riddle.
I cost nothing but I am very hard to find and I can easily be lost. What am I?
The answer: “true friendship”. Trigger gives the big cat a hug - or at least, she hugs however much of her she can get her little legs around.
Session #61 - Mission Accomplished
Several days later, the long trip back to Isla del Dragón is almost complete and the Jammers meet in Claudia’s common room for their morning meal. Donner and Blitz are in the cargo hold, graciously allowing Azure Myst an opportunity to stretch his legs. Trigger and Smile try to discuss their next move - Whisper Step’s been in Sidewinder’s custody for over a week now - and decide to simply ask the Countess what she knows about the syndicate.
Tami and Kerfuffle are still deeply upset about the situation with Azure. They’ve not managed to help him very much with their little communication rig; simply hoping for the best isn’t really good enough to settle their consciences. Morale is low. Trigger maintains that they’re doing what they have to do for Whisper’s sake and Smile does her best to mediate, but tempers flare and an argument ensues. By the time things settle down, little has been achieved and everyone is miserable.
Some hours later, they arrive back at the pirate station. It’s a hive of activity - various platforms, many of them armed, are being constructed all around it. Storm Nova meets them at the dock; the Countess is eager to receive their report, and her new acquisition.
Karmelita is pleased at the Jammers’ success, and orders Nova to take Azure away. Trigger asks what’ll happen to him, and Karmelita explains that he’ll be ransomed back to his employers. The true reason for his capture was simply to send them a message, however - that none of their staff, no matter how highly-placed, are safe from her. And if they don’t pay, she can always find use for someone with management skills. Tami and Kerfuffle bristle at the suggestion that the poor stallion might be sent into slavery, but hold their tongues with Donner and Blitz figuratively breathing down their necks.
Karmelita pays the Jammers generously for their service - three hundred thousand credits - and informs them that she’ll be in contact when she has more work. She also expresses her appreciation for Tundra Gem - he’s turned out to be surprisingly (to her, at least) useful in her operations against the New Lunar Republic.
Trigger takes the opportunity to raise the question of the Sidewinder Syndicate, under the guise of getting a better idea of who is and isn’t safe to work against while flying the Countess’ colours. It turns out that she’s essentially neutral to them; she knows of the syndicate’s operations but mostly keeps out of their hair, and vice versa. Last time she came into contact with them was with an agent called Python. She explains that she’s due to attend a social event in the Solar Empire in a few days - one where some highly-placed Sidewinder members are likely to be present - and gets a devious gleam in her eye when it comes out that the Jammers and Sidewinder already have some bad blood. Aside from that, Karmelita has no small amount of disdain for her rival, Sweet Alyssum; she wouldn’t mind if they found a way to drain Port Medusa’s coffers a bit.
Donner and Blitz bid a gracious farewell - mostly to Trigger - and the Jammers, dismissed for now, return to Claudia with Tundra for some R&R. Tundra has been very busy; his limited access to Isla del Dragón’s files has uncovered a clue to finding Whisper. Using codes taken from the pirates’ records, he was able to decipher an encrypted voice transmission between Cascavel and one of his superiors, a mare referring to herself as Cobra.
In the transmission, Cascavel reports Whisper’s successful capture, and the success of the plant operation to get the Jammers arrested. He also notes that another Sidewinder agent, Asp, has an additional surprise planned just in case. Whisper is being moved to a secure location for interrogation - a place dangerous enough that even the ‘secret police’ don’t investigate it. Cobra ends the transmission by stating that she’ll be informing Python and Mamba of the situation, and requesting that Cascavel get some ‘Delta C’.
That last detail concerns Tundra greatly. Delta C is a powerful drug designed to assist in interrogations, but it’s just as likely to cause permanent brain damage as it is to elicit any useful information. Nonetheless, Cascavel’s mention of the secret police narrows Whisper’s location down to somewhere in the Solar Empire, and Delta C is only produced in a small handful of places. It’s a start, at least, but it’s also abundantly clear by now that Whisper is in extreme danger.
Tundra also has some information on the Countess’ operation, but for the moment everyone’s priority is getting into that social gathering she mentioned. If Sidewinder’s going to have a presence there, it might be their only way of getting close to the syndicate in time...
Session #62 - I Like Big Drives and I Cannot Lie
Tundra and the Jammers discuss their plans. Tundra will try and track Whisper down using the Delta C connection, while the Jammers do what they can to get into the Countess’ meeting with Sidewinder. There’s work to do in the meantime; Claudia’s still damaged due to the unfortunate collision with Azure Myst’s house.
There’s a buzz from Claudia’s airlock - it’s not Storm Nova this time, but Dust Bunny and Lay. They’re surprised to see the Jammers in the Countess’ employ, and came to investigate when they saw their ship in the dock. Turns out the Countess is their primary supplier. On the subject of suppliers, they’ve contacted their arms dealer friend Leopold on the Jammers’ behalf. He’s moved his business to Port Medusa for a while, and should be there next time they visit.
Helpfully, Lay also divulges a little knowledge she has of the Countess’ operations. The Republic are still scouring the sector, fed up with the pirate activity on their borders. The ongoing construction around Isla del Dragón is a decoy base, specifically intended for the Republic fleet to find and destroy. Why? Because Isla del Dragón has a capital-class M-space drive. As soon as it looks like the Republic are getting close, the Countess can simply FTL her base to a safe location beyond the rim of the galaxy, lay low for a while, then return to a new system and continue her operations once the Republic thinks they’ve snuffed her out. Yet again, it’s all too clear that Countess Karmelita is extremely rich.
Once Dust Bunny and Lay have taken their leave, it looks like the Jammers have a new option. If they can figure out where Isla del Dragón is due to come back out of hiding, they can tip off the Republic and have a fleet ready and waiting for the Countess’ return.
Session #63 - She's Not Listenin'!
The following night, while the Jammers are all asleep in their quarters aboard Claudia, Trigger and Smile are woken up by strange noises coming from the common room. Nobody’s there, but for some reason the television’s on. Smile grumbles and goes back to bed, but Trigger’s more suspicious; she’s certain they switched it off before turning in.
Feeling paranoid, Trigger decides to do a quick sweep of the ship. She finds the floor airlock of the cargo hold hanging open a few centimeters, despite Claudia registering it as closed. Fortunately, Isla del Dragón’s docks are pressurised; this could have been deadly if they’d tried to leave the station without addressing it. The door remains stubbornly open even when she commands it to shut. Trigger heads upstairs to check on Tami before waking up anyone else, and to her surprise, finds the door to the bridge locked. She contacts Tami on her multiband, waking her up in the process - Tami insists that she didn’t lock the door herself. And for some reason, the bridge consoles are powered and at a state of full readiness. Claudia’s running a full startup sequence, and none of the controls respond.
While Tami struggles to gain some measure of control over the ship, Trigger hurries downstairs to wake up Kerfuffle. He’s a heavy sleeper, so the captain has to get physical. Things go from bad to worse when Claudia’s reactor starts spinning up, followed by the ship announcing an emergency jump. Tami, still locked on the bridge, screams for someone to lock down the doors to the hold. While Trigger and Smile lock down the ship, Kerfuffle heads to engineering and Tami digs into the bridge computers with her toolkit.
Their efforts aren’t enough. As if possessed of a mind of her own, Claudia jumps to m-space, tearing a substantial chunk of the dock away with her. It’s only a brief jump, but the ship is shortly spat out in the darkness of deep space, air pouring out of the (thankfully isolated) cargo hold. As the Jammers try to get their bearings and figure out what just happened, every screen aboard the ship displays the same message:
U got rekt
xoxoxo - Asp
Just to rub salt into the ever-deepening wound, Claudia’s systems promptly - and completely - shut back down. Everything, from the reactor to the heating to the life support and even the lights. For all intents and purposes, the entire ship’s dead in the water in the absolute middle of nowhere. It’s only a matter of hours before Tundra and the Jammers suffocate or freeze…
With the reactor down, all that’s left is backup battery power, but that won’t last long. In the heat of the moment, Tami swallows her fear and tries to bypass Claudia’s computer systems electronically. Meanwhile, Kerfuffle points out that as a Confederate ship, Claudia is designed to operate with several levels of redundancy; there should be ways to bypass the primary network - which has obviously been massively compromised - and run key systems manually.
As the two techs set to work, Trigger asks Tundra if there’s any way his magic could help. In theory he could use the magical communication device to call for help from the Empire, but that could mean abandoning Claudia and their association with the Countess entirely - and having to deal with Tundra’s handler, a very strict navy commodore who has little patience for babysitting field agents. In other words, his assistance is once again a last resort option. That aside, all he can offer is moral support; he’s a wizard, not an engineer.
Despite some initial difficulty, Tami manages to reactivate the emergency lighting and door systems. It’s a start, at least. Smile and Kerfuffle dig out Claudia’s schematics, looking for a way to force the reactor and life support back online. It’s possible to run a manual bypass, at least in theory, though it would involve doing some very inelegant things to the ship’s power infrastructure. They head upstairs to start digging up floor panels while Trigger goes to check on Tami now that the bridge is accessible again. The hippogriff is just as frustrated as she is scared; she’s trying to figure out exactly where they ended up, but with all of Claudia’s readouts inaccessible she’s coming up short.
Under Smile’s supervision, Kerfuffle makes some ugly, ugly alterations to Claudia’s main power and computer hardware. Squeezing himself into various maintenance accessways and core systems quickly turns him into a grubby mess - and earns him a nasty electrical shock for his trouble.
Fortunately though, his work pays off. Claudia’s virus-infested computer systems are successfully bypassed, giving Tami back basic helm control. From there, she manages to reactivate the ship’s life support systems and seal the cargo bay. In principle she could send out a distress signal, but Trigger belays that; who knows who might pick it up? Sidewinder operatives waiting to finish the job? Karmelita’s pirates, angry at the Jammers for wrecking part of their station? Better to put it off for now and see if they can get the ship functional enough to get back to safety under her own power.
While Tami and Kerfuffle work, Trigger and Tundra talk about their experiences in space to ease the tension. Trigger relays a story from her foalhood, where she got lost in the cargo section of her family’s massive cargo hauler for several days and got woken up by the ship making an m-space jump one night. Smile prepares a round of coffee for everyone - or at least as close to coffee as she can manage without a functional kettle. It’s closer to a room-temperature caffeine broth, but better than nothing given the circumstances.
Over the next few minutes, and with a lot of jury-rigging and overriding of safeties, Kerfuffle and Tami just about manage to bring Claudia back to life, albeit lobotomized. The reactor spins back up and the lights come back on; they have power and engine control, at least on a rudimentary level. But with the mainframe still scrambled by Asp’s virus there’s no way to navigate, and they’re still stranded in deep space. The Jammers aren’t safe yet...
Session #64 - Back From the Dead
With power at least nominally restored to Claudia’s systems, Smile is able to brew up some proper coffee: the true unspoken savior of everyone’s sanity, if not their lives. There’s little more that Kerfuffle can accomplish by rearranging Claudia’s hardware, so he heads to the bridge to see how Tami’s getting along with the electronics and software. He finds her inside the ceiling, trying to rig the ship’s upgraded sensors to work around her corrupted navigation unit and get a fix on their location. In theory, with that information they could make a jump, but it’d be almost blind and the coordinate calculations would need to be done manually ahead of time.
Art by Kalemon
Tami’s concerns are validated when she finally does ascertain the ship’s position. They jumped eighty light seconds from Isla del Dragón in an apparently random direction; not far in interstellar terms, but much too great a distance to fly a hobbled ship at sublight speed. Tami makes preparations to calculate a return jump using the rudimentary tools at her disposal - it’s possible, but it’ll take hours of tedious number crunching. Smile offers to cook up some breakfast in the meantime.
Down in the common room, Trigger and Tundra have time to talk. Trigger is confident that Kerfuffle and Tami can get them back safely, so the conversation turns to more personal matters. Tundra admits that he does struggle with loneliness sometimes; the closest thing he has to a family are his tutors and fellow magi at the Æther Corps, and they’re not the most sociable lot. By contrast, Trigger’s family is huge. She teases him a little, until Smile arrives to suggest they fill some of the wait collecting what they can from the wreckage of the Countess’ dock still floating outside the ship. She might be a little more forgiving of the situation if the Jammers at least make an attempt to compensate her.
On the bridge, Tami knuckles down with several hours’ worth of mind-numbing mathematics; she welcomes Kerfuffle’s company and the opportunity to keep her mind at least partially occupied with conversation. Smile’s talk of breakfast makes him reminisce about big dinners with his family, but Tami picks up on an awkward thread in his choice of words and risks pulling on it.
Kerfuffle, somewhat self-consciously, admits that his family are struggling to keep up with significant medical expenses and have little to spare for luxuries. His younger sister, Galena, has a chronic condition which requires medicine imported all the way from Avalon. Kerfuffle came out to the Periphery looking for work to try and alleviate the financial pressure on his parents, or even earn enough for a proper cure. He’s been sending a substantial portion of his earnings back home; no secret to Tami, since she has admin-level access to Claudia’s computers (when they’re not scrambled, at least). But now that she has context to that little piece of information, she pauses in her calculations to give him a hug. She is, of course, the resident hug expert.
Several hours and a lot of number crunching later, a mentally exhausted Tami sets Claudia up for a jump back to Isla del Dragón. Countess Karmelita, unsurprisingly, immediately contacts them on arrival to demand an explanation for what their unplanned jump did to her hangar, and agrees to speak to Trigger aboard once they’ve landed. As soon as the crippled ship touches down aboard the station, the Countess comes aboard and goes to Trigger’s quarters for a one to one chat.
Trigger explains the situation and demonstrates by showing Karmelita the ‘U got rekt’ message still locking up her personal terminal. Rather than being angry as might be expected, the Countess simply gets an idea. She has a friend currently being held by Sidewinder operatives; now that she knows for certain that Sidewinder really have it out for the Jammers, what if she were to bring them to her little social event and allow them to be captured (with hidden tracking devices)? This would lead her directly to wherever Sidewinder keep their prisoners. The Countess’ forces could then mount a rescue, freeing the Jammers and her friend at the same time. She gives Trigger the rest of the evening to make a decision.
Alone again for the time being, the Jammers discuss this turn of events. Assuming the pirate lord is true to her word, her plan would allow the Jammers to hurt Sidewinder and possibly find more information on Whisper Step - or even Whisper herself - at the same time. Being used as bait for an organisation that just tried to kill them isn’t exactly a pleasant prospect, but Claudia’s going to be out of action for quite some time. The Countess has been straight with them so far, at least by pirate standards. Either way, they have time to think it over.
Tami takes a moment to clear the air with Trigger, reaffirming that despite her feelings about the kidnapping mission she trusts that the captain has everyone’s best interests in mind. They share a quick hug, happy for the opportunity to relieve a few days’ built up tension.
Session #65 - Silver Honeypot
The Jammers decide - with varying levels of enthusiasm - to go ahead with Karmelita’s plan. Tundra will be coming too; his potential pool of resources will be greatly expanded inside the Empire.
When the Countess returns to receive their answer and gets an affirmative, she eagerly outlines the details. In a few days’ time, she’s due to attend a gathering of rich philanthropists (and “philanthropists”), including Sidewinder - the Sidewinder, leader of the entire syndicate. The event’s due to take place at the Solar Empire’s prestigious Silver Dome colony, famous galaxy-wide as an exclusive retreat for the hyper-rich, the subject of spy movies and conspiracy theories alike.
Karmelita plans to have the Jammers attend the social event as her guests, appropriately dressed, and use the opportunity to pass them off into Sidewinder’s clutches. Beforehand, they’ll have swallowed high-tech tracking devices that will allow Karmelita to locate them, even across the galaxy if necessary. She assures them - for what little it’s worth - that she’s grown a little fond of their resourcefulness. And besides, their relationship with Sidewinder is far too useful to simply abandon them.
In the meantime, Karmelita’s willing to have her techs repair Claudia’s computer systems. The trip is liable to take at least a week. And if they succeed - including the rescue of Karmelita’s friend - she’s willing to pay them two and a half million credits. They’re to depart as soon as possible. With that, Karmelita takes her leave to prepare for the trip to the Empire while the Jammers do the same; a ship will be waiting for them.
The Jammers are left momentarily stunned by the potential reward they’re being offered, and quickly express conflicting opinions on they might do with it. Smile doesn’t want to accept it in the first place - she’s eager to earn her fortune, but doesn’t want to do it with pirate blood money. The priority is to rescue Whisper Step, not get rich. Tami suggests paying off Alyssum’s grant and giving the rest to charity. Kerfuffle would rather hold onto the money and use it to do good despite its origins, but doesn’t have the heart to suggest something that the others might perceive as selfish.
Regardless, any potential payout is still a long way off. After gathering some simple belongings, the Jammers board Karmelita’s shuttle for the long trip to the Magic system. It’s a long, mostly tedious journey, made smoother by the Countess’ connections letting them completely bypass border security.
Magic II, home of the Silver Dome, is a thoroughly unappealing world shrouded in highly toxic clouds of sulphur and arsenic. The Dome itself is a sealed environment built on the surface, the very location chosen to flaunt its founders’ riches. Rather than having to brave the planet’s atmosphere directly, ships access the Dome via a space elevator - an opulently expensive piece of engineering in its own right. Trigger and Smile mutter about the trivial waste of resources, but Tami and Kerfuffle are fascinated by the technology on display.
Karmelita’s shuttle pulls into the small station atop the space elevator, and the Jammers disembark to find themselves surrounded by the starfaring equivalents of diamond-studded lamborghinis: monstrously expensive yachts and shuttles of every kind. The Jammers are very out of place in their casual clothes and overalls. The arrivals lobby is just as opulent: a gigantic chamber dominated by a Claudia-sized marble statue of Empress Nightmare Star herself, flames included, among other almost equally excessive displays of wealth. Security, of course, is appropriately tight, with armed guards and riot mechs at every corner.
Karmelita goes on ahead while the Jammers get frisked by security. Fortunately for their patience and privacy, Tundra’s credentials get them through with a minimum of fuss. When they meet back up with the Countess, she’s speaking to a “business associate” of hers, a noblemare named Lady Right as Rain, current scion of the Blueblood family. Right as Rain doesn’t spare much time for the Jammers, instead carrying on the conversation they interrupted. Apparently the gathering they’re due to attend will be playing host to a number of very famous ponies, including one Lord Gossamer Haze and his son.
Tami freezes up on the spot. Lord Gossamer Haze, father of Duke Midnight Haze, the unicorn she started a long-distance relationship with back on that Republic beach a couple of weeks ago? Oh, boy...
Session #66 - Dresses, Darling
Due to real life commitments, Nikomachos’ player drops out of the game here. It’s assumed that he found a new job bodyguarding for one of the Silver Dome’s turbo-rich inhabitants.
Karmelita, Tundra and the Jammers ride the space elevator down to the planet’s surface and into the Silver Dome itself. As the name suggests, it’s an enormous glassy dome enclosing an opulent city. The dome itself is transparent, giving everyone a clear view of the toxic dust storm raging just outside. It’s like being inside a giant snow globe.
Karmelita hails a cab (more of a limo, really) to carry the party to her apartment so that they can prepare for the social event. The local staff refer to Karmelita as “Pfalzgräfin”; everything is very formal. When Smile asks the Countess what her official standing within the Empire is, she blows off the question. She has a title and a lot of money - that’s all the Jammers need to know.
Arriving at the apartment, the Countess leaves the Jammers in the care of her butler, an immaculately presented unicorn named Double Time. She has a few things to take care of, so Double will see to their accommodation - the party isn’t until tomorrow - and can also help them to find appropriate attire. Karmelita has already left him instructions for his role in things.
For the moment, the Jammers have a little time to rest up from the boring shuttle journey. The Countess’ apartment is just as richly appointed as one would expect - it even has a swimming pool. Everyone takes a little while to relax, still a little overwhelmed by the riches on display, while Double Time prepares a meal. Before long the dome switches from its night cycle to its day cycle - the incredibly sophisticated system of panelling making up the interior surface of the dome itself switches from transparent to a realistic, light-emitting simulation of a terrestrial sky. Kerfuffle is practically reduced to the mindset of an excitable puppy at the sight.
Meanwhile, Tami is not-so-subtly trying to encourage Trigger and Tundra to try out the pool together. Trigger smoothly turns the conversation around and teasingly flusters Tami by bringing up her “future husband,” Midnight Haze.
Following their meal, Double makes good on the Countess’ plan and takes Tundra and the Jammers downtown to find appropriate attire for the party. Swimsuits and boxer shorts won’t suffice for this one.
Session #67 - “Soap”
With ludicrously expensive outfits (plus complementary jewellery for the ladies and a suitably oversized tuxedo for Kerfuffle) chosen, ordered and on their way, the Jammers have a little time to burn before the event. Double Time helpfully gives everyone a crash course on etiquette, correctly deducing that high society events aren’t exactly the norm in their line of work. The Solar Empire’s upper classes are very big on formality. Fumbling with titles and intricate social rituals brings back all sorts of anxiety-inducing memories from Tami’s time at VIP Flight Academy.
Importantly, Double Time explains that the rules of the event require each attendee to have an escort or partner. And, much to Trigger’s annoyance, the Countess already has her eye on Tundra. That leaves Trigger, Smile, Tami and Kerfuffle to pair off amongst themselves. It’s also tradition to dance together. But of course, these pairings are merely a formality and don’t imply any romantic connections. The arrival of each guest is also to be announced, so everyone’s going to need a title, even if it’s as simple as Mister or Miss. Smile entertains the possibility of posing as a duchess, but Kerfuffle points out that arriving as guests of the Countess is already going to draw attention - better to keep a relatively low profile.
Lastly, Double advises them to steer clear of controversial topics in conversation with the other guests. No politics. The gathering is a charity ball aimed at supporting the protection of pre-space-age Equestrian artifacts, so the tone is supposed to be quite friendly. Nothing to worry about, except for offending impossibly rich people and/or falling foul of Nightmare Star’s secret police. And Sidewinder, of course.
Everyone heads back to Karmelita’s luxury apartment to get some sleep before the big party. Tami and Smile are surprised to find small boxes on their nightstands, unaddressed save for a small tag that says “Stay Classy”. The contents are well-wrapped and smell strongly of dark chocolate, piquing Smile’s curiosity and Tami’s excitement. After a slow, suspenseful unwrapping process, the mystery gifts are revealed to be… life-sized, realistically moulded chocolate horse dongs. Pirate humor at its finest, apparently? Or a dirty-minded captain playing a prank?
Smile puts hers away with a little quiet disgust, while Tami immediately becomes flustered and almost drops hers. The noise attracts attention, so she does her absolute best to hide it and pass it off to the others as an unusually large piece of complementary soap. Trigger and Tundra aren’t fooled for a moment, but Kerfuffle goes to check his own room for zucchini-sized mystery gifts of soap and comes up empty handed. Alas, the disappointment.
Trigger and Tami use the opportunity to relax a little in the pool before turning in. Tami, especially, could really use a bit of de-stressing. Kerfuffle joins them, but is too busy grappling with the completely unfamiliar experience of being immersed in water to contribute to the conversation. Trigger reminds Tami that unlike at the Academy, her goal at the party isn’t to impress anyone. She also jokingly compliments Tami’s butt, which actually helps to build up the hippogriff’s confidence in its own special way. The two are close enough by now that the message is taken as it was intended.
Eventually, everyone gets the rest they need. Between the party itself and then being “betrayed” to Sidewinder, the next day promises to be very busy.
Session #68 - At the Gala
Following some much-needed sleep, Double Time assists Tundra and the Jammers in preparing for the party. First come the outfits, each of which is worth more than any of the Jammers would earn in a year. Kerfuffle’s had his claws trimmed and, by some miracle, managed to tidy and neatly compress his fluff into a sharp-looking suit. Tami’s wearing an elaborate black and dark blue dress with starry patterns around the back end. Smile has a colourful, form-fitting blouse and long skirt; a traditional dress from her homeworld of Tourmaline. Trigger’s in a short, revealing black dress with foreleg wraps. Certainly a new look for what is ostensibly a group of space truckers. Tundra and Karmelita are likewise ostentatiously dressed; a tuxedo, tophat and cane for him and a backless red dress for her.
Next is pairings - Karmelita has already taken Tundra, and Smile asks Kerfuffle to accompany her, leaving Trigger and Tami as the last two. Kerfuffle’s a little surprised by the offer, but Tami’s glad to be with the captain; perhaps that was the plan all along?
Finally, there’s the question of the plan to pass the Jammers to Sidewinder. Karmelita withholds the tracking devices for the moment; they’ll get those once she’s made sure that Sidewinder have operatives in attendance. That aside, all they need to do is socialise and blend in. Once the “betrayal” is ready to go, she’ll give them the devices - to be swallowed at an appropriately private time.
A short drive later, Double Time drops everyone off at the venue: an appropriately opulent two-storey mansion. It’s still fairly early in the proceedings, so other guests are still arriving as well. The sophisticated inner surface of the dome is simulating a beautiful starry night; perfect for a ball. Inside, the group is led to a high-ceilinged ballroom the size of a small hangar, accessed by a descending flight of stairs. From high up, they can see a collection of distinguished guests already mingling, including - to Tami’s immediate trepidation - Duke Midnight Haze. She tries to hide behind Trigger; the small unicorn doesn’t conceal her very much.
While Karmelita and Tundra go ahead to get announced and join the party, the Jammers try to calm Tami’s nerves. Trigger doesn’t exactly help by pointing out Midnight and specifically using the words “future husband”. Kerfuffle assumes that this is a legitimate attempt to help rather than a joke and starts to join in, so VS drags him off to get announced before he makes Tami’s anxiety any worse.
While Trigger gets Tami breathing at a healthy rate again, Smile and Kerfuffle encounter Lady Right as Rain, the “business associate” of Karmelita’s they met at the top of the space elevator. With her is a mare named Hibiscus Flow - she looks oddly familiar, but neither of them can recall where they’ve seen her before. Polite introductions are made, and it becomes apparent that Hibiscus is the face of the Imperial News Network, or in less polite terms, the Solar Empire’s galactic propaganda machine. Smile and Kerfuffle have already outed themselves as clueless foreigners. Whoops.
Trigger and Tami find that Tundra and Karmelita have already found themselves a table. The Countess knows the event and the people in attendance better than any of them - perhaps she can offer a few pointers as to who’s who? She points out that the Sidewinder Syndicate usually sends a representative to this annual event, but Sidewinder themselves doesn’t typically attend. This year’s an exception. She doesn’t know Sidewinder’s identity, so step one is figuring out who they are. They should socialise a bit; this is a recurring event and most of the guests are familiar with one another, so the trick is finding someone that nobody else knows.
Smile awkwardly excuses herself and Kerfuffle from the conversation with Right and Hibiscus, joining the rest of the group at the table while the Countess carries on advising the group and identifying those she recognises from previous events.
Trigger and Tami head for the buffet and start making small talk with some of the ponies there. Tami’s still tripping over her words and trying to avoid slipping into her old deferent Academy habits, but fortunately her conversation partner is a tolerant sort willing to give her some space. Meanwhile, Trigger meets Harsh Lessons, an imperial army captain who seems completely lost amongst all the formality and protocol of a high society event. Karmelita, left alone, leaves to carry on with her side of the plan.
Smile and Kerfuffle decide to try their luck with Hibiscus again, this time with Tundra’s assistance; he’s an Empire native, so surely he can help smooth over their social missteps. While they’re introducing themselves however, the majordomo announces two new guests - and the name of one of them makes Tundra freeze up on the spot...
Session #69 - 0.00001%
Tundra, obviously spooked, makes a very hasty apology and an equally hasty retreat to the nearest toilet. Kerfuffle goes to check on him at Smile’s suggestion, leaving the crystal pony to try and salvage some dignity from their conversation a second time. Of course, Tundra isn’t actually using the toilet, just hiding from somebody that just came in. He asks Kerfuffle to - quietly - go and fetch the captain. Which he does, though the quietness might be up for debate. Trigger goes to see what’s up with Tundra, leaving Kerfuffle with the difficult choice between politely apologising to the army officer she was conversing with… and the buffet table.
Tundra explains his distress to Trigger - one of the mares that just came in is an imperial commodore by the name of Corona Gleam - Tundra’s handler. As far as she knows, he’s still in the Periphery. If she spots him there’ll be all sorts of difficult questions to answer, possibly even going all the way up to the Æther Corps. Tundra insists that Trigger cannot let Corona know that he’s in attendance. She promises to figure something out and goes to confer with Smile.
Tami, having recovered some measure of composure, not-so-subtly asks her conversation partner what she knows about Lord Gossamer Haze and his son, the Duke. Lord Haze is a long-time regular of this event; Midnight is his designated heir and - if rumors are to be believed - only legitimate son, following the recent death of Lord Haze’s wife. Apparently, Lord Haze has been trying to find an appropriate wife for Midnight for some time now. Tami excuses herself; not only is the stallion she’s interested in unexpectedly present, she also has competition...
Kerfuffle compromises on his own little dilemma by introducing himself to Captain Harsh Lessons while at the same time filling a plate with morsels from the buffet. Captain Lessons is just as clueless as to the proper etiquette as he is, and his simpleminded approach to simply eating whatever looks good actually helps her lighten up a bit. This attracts the attention of Lessons’ partner, Commandant Spearhead - a uniformed and very strict-looking member of the Empire’s secret police. Kerfuffle, oblivious to the fact that he’s being sized up by one of the most dangerous people in the room, carries on making nice with the pair of them. Eventually, with a cryptic promise that he may be seeing them again very soon, they leave him alone with the snacks. Kerfuffle is okay with this.
Trigger finds Smile still conversing with Hibiscus Flow and Right as Rain. She takes her aside and explains the Tundra situation, and the pair of them begin coming up with possible plans to get Tundra out of the ballroom without being noticed by the Commodore. This turns out to be moot when Corona specifically motions for Trigger to join her and her partner at their table. They’re better-informed than Tundra expected - they know that he’s here, along with the reason why.
In fact, Corona and her companion have come with a proposition for Tundra and the Jammers: rather than going ahead with the original plan to allow the Countess to betray them to Sidewinder, they could simply betray the Countess into the Empire’s hands instead. The Empire has an interest in turning Karmelita’s organisation to certain roles other than simple piracy. It’s obvious that they’re not telling the full story, but Corona specifically asks to speak to Tundra before going on. There’s not much point in leaving him to hide in the toilets all night.
Meanwhile, Tami is surprised to find Midnight Haze casually approaching her. He wants to talk, but somewhere quieter - out of earshot of his father. They meet up again at the top of the stairs, away from the main ballroom floor. Midnight apologises for not greeting her earlier; he was unwillingly caught up in his father’s idea of romance: introducing him to a couple of rich, glamorous mares and hoping they’d hit it off. He has mixed feelings; his father may have good intentions, but he seems to be putting the needs of the family bloodline and business above those of Midnight as a person. Tami empathises with having to live with great expectations and pressure on one’s shoulders, and the two gradually ease up and start talking more informally for the brief time before he needs to get back to his father. Protocol unfortunately dictates that they can’t be seen together for too long.
Kerfuffle rejoins Trigger - and a very nervous Tundra Gem - at their table with Corona midway through their conversation, bearing two heaped plates of snacks. Corona passes Tundra a folder containing a briefing and information he may find useful, including the location of Whisper Step. The Empire has no personal stake in saving Whisper, but they appreciate that the Jammers do, and that Tundra could use whatever assistance they can offer in freeing her.
Further conversation is cut short however, as the lights dim and the ball majordomo announces the beginning of the official reception. He introduces the patron of the event, head of the Manehattan Galactic Archeological Society: Miss Star Kisser. Star Kisser is a thin, even fragile-looking middle aged earth pony mare in a form-fitting green dress, and she welcomes the assembled guests with thanks for their patronage. Not one to stand on ceremony or long-winded speeches, she steps aside to welcome someone else - the event’s very own guest of honor…
Princess Flurry Heart.
Session #70 - A Flurry of Excitement
Sure enough, the next pony to take the stage is a genuine, in-the-flesh, thousand-year-old alicorn princess. Flurry Heart is known to the public, but has a fairly small media presence. Unusually, her status as a princess is officially recognised by both the Empire and Republic; she’s known mostly as a diplomatic mediator between Princess-Regent Luna and Empress Nightmare Star.
Flurry Heart kindly welcomes the ball’s various guests, to both gracious and surprised applause. After a brief introduction and a request that veterans of the event make the newcomers feel welcome, she and Star Kisser descend from the stage and begin mingling amongst the tables. More than a few ponies are staring. Tami’s anxiety flares up again as she joins Kerfuffle and Trigger at their table; she once read an article that said alicorns can read minds.
Once the initial buzz has died down, Corona Gleam lays out her offer to the Jammers in more detail. The Imperial Intelligence Corps has been monitoring Tundra’s mission and decided to step in. If the Jammers agree to betray the Countess, all they have to do is simply enjoy the party as if nothing is unusual. The Countess will be brought under the Empire’s control, and Sidewinder will be none the wiser. Her pirates will be turned to following the Empire’s interests rather than raiding. From there, the Jammers will be given a lift to Whisper Step’s location and allowed to rescue her through whatever means they see fit. Meanwhile, Karmelita will be gently persuaded to return Claudia. Either way, Tundra will be required to follow the lead on Whisper’s location as part of his own assignment.
In other words, Trigger deduces, it’s a simple question of who the Jammers trust more (or less) - the pirate queen willing to use them as bait, or the Empire’s jackboot brigade.
Further discussion is cut short, for the moment, by the arrival of dinner. While the first course is being served, Flurry Heart and Star Kisser approach the table where Smile is still sitting with Right as Rain and Hibiscus Flow; they’re making a point of speaking to everyone they can. Right in particular is extremely excited to meet the princess, and asks what brought her to the event. Flurry politely explains that she met Star Kisser a few days ago at a similar event and spontaneously decided to join her. One of the advantages of being a princess is that you can go wherever you like, invitation or not.
While Tami and Kerfuffle eat their food and chat with the Commodore’s companion, Trigger ponders her options with Tundra. He, of course, favors working with the Empire, but warns the captain that there may be ulterior motives in play. She takes Smile aside to explain the situation and confer; the crystal pony isn’t happy with either choice, but finally agrees to follow Trigger’s instincts and side with the Empire.
Session #71 - Dances With Griffons
Decision made, Trigger returns to inform Corona of her choice. Smile, rather than returning to her own table, has a moment of inspiration and heads for the bathroom to look up some information on her multiband. Sure enough, there’s a corporate paper trail connecting the Manehattan Galactic Archeological Society to the Sidewinder Conglomerate, and thus the Sidewinder Syndicate. Several months ago there was a controversial change to the preservation status of a Periphery world, followed by an exclusive buyout of strip mining rights by a Sidewinder subsidiary. It’s a circumstantial connection at best on its own, but enough to raise a few new questions.
Meanwhile, back in the ballroom, Princess Flurry Heart and Star Kisser approach the Jammers’ table. Despite receiving some helpful(ish) advice on calming her anxiety from Kerfuffle, Tami is practically frozen in her seat. The princess choosing to sit right next to her doesn’t help in the slightest. Following some brief introductions, Flurry quickly picks up on the hippogriff’s nervousness.
Fortunately for Tami’s blood pressure, things ease off just a little after that. Trigger takes over to explain that the Jammers are associates of Countess Karmelita. Flurry expresses disappointment that she’s yet to meet the Countess, and nobody tells her that said countess has probably been picked up by the Empire’s intelligence services already. Star Kisser is mostly quiet throughout the conversation, but she does pipe up at one point to express her gratitude that the party’s recently been opened to ponies who aren’t part of the nobility - like her. Seems this might also be Star Kisser’s first time.
Eventually - to Tami’s immense relief - the princess and her friend take their leave. Corona expresses some appreciation of how smoothly Trigger handled the interaction, while the poor hippogriff blushes and babbles about how embarrassing her behavior must have been in front of royalty. The commodore explains what the Jammers need to do next: once the party’s over and they’ve rested up, her ship - the Fafnir - will be waiting at the top of the space elevator. It will give them a lift to where Whisper’s being held, and from there they can do as they wish. With that settled, Corona also leaves the table; she has important business to discuss with her partner.
With the initial excitement over Flurry Heart’s appearance having settled, Smile and her two tablemates move on to an equally important topic - the hunt for eligible stallions. The lights begin to dim and music starts to play, with various guests starting to make their way towards the dance floor. And didn’t someone say that Lord Gossamer Haze was a widower...?
Now that the Countess is out of their hair for the evening, Trigger wastes no time in offering to dance with Tundra. Midnight Haze is already paired off with one of his paternal-issue supermodels, so Kerfuffle offers Tami a dance instead. He’s seen enough of Tami’s difficulty in socialising with the Duke to have ideas - and talks Tami through some adorably awkward spaceship metaphors to communicate them. If the gallant duke sees a girl dancing with a giant inelegant lump of fluff and meat like him, perhaps he’d be obligated to step in and offer himself as a more competent dance partner for the sake of her dignity? Wink wink nudge nudge.
After a clumsy start, Tundra and Trigger find their rhythm. Trigger encourages him, and soon finds that the nerdy spy-wizard is a far better dancer than he initially appeared. They quickly begin to genuinely enjoy themselves, just socialising together as a couple. Everyone’s taken by surprise when Smile joins them on the dance floor, having successfully solicited a dance of her own with the esteemed (and surprisingly muscular) Lord Haze.
Kerfuffle’s gambit pays off, and Tami catches Midnight’s eye. A moment later, they’re quickly distracted by the sight of Tundra and Trigger leaning in to kiss one another for the first time. As the dance draws to a close and Kerfuffle tactically retreats to his seat, the duke approaches Tami to ask just how long she’ll be sticking around at the party...
Session #72 - One for the Road
When the dancing is finished, Tundra and the Jammers reconvene at their table as dinner is served. The party seems to be quietening down at this point. Corona returns to inform them that all has proceeded as planned: Karmelita has been picked up by Imperial Intelligence. The Fafnir will be waiting to depart from the space elevator tomorrow at noon, ready to take them to Whisper Step’s location so that they can finally mount her rescue. As it turns out she’s being held in the Empire, only a few jumps away. Tundra’s briefing has the details, to be discussed in a more secure location.
Left to their own devices for the remainder of the evening, the Jammers talk amongst themselves and Smile lets the others in on her own little acts of snooping. Though there’s little they can do to act on the information at the moment, she suspects that the connection between the Manehattan Galactic Archeological Society and the Sidewinder Conglomerate is no coincidence; Miss Star Kisser seems a likely possibility as Sidewinder herself - leader of the syndicate. Nothing’s for certain, but if Sidewinder has the ear of a princess, that makes them very dangerous indeed.
Surprisingly, their conversation is cut short as Duke Midnight Haze approaches the table with a pair of obviously very rich mares in tow. Polite introductions are made, and Midnight asks Trigger if she might regale his lady friends with tales of her adventures. Quickly realising that the duke’s simply trying to ditch his floozies so that he can get a quiet moment with Tami, everyone plays along. As the pair of them abscond to the garden one after another, Trigger plays up the story of their encounter with the Black Sun Empire pirates on the Republic border. Of course, she leaves out the fact that one of said pirates was actually Countess Karmelita. The bigshot actress and singer who were vying for Midnight’s affection just a minute ago completely miss him leaving, enthralled by the captain’s swashbuckling tale.
Outside, Tami finds Midnight waiting for her with wine for two. The garden is deserted and almost silent, save for the muffled sounds of gossip and music from indoors. Once her anxiety’s dulled somewhat by the alcohol and peaceful atmosphere, the duke asks how she’s been. He seems genuinely interested in her life out on the Periphery, despite the occasional injury she’s picked up along the way. Tami replies that she’s living out her dream, despite the danger.
When she reverses the question, Midnight admits that his position leaves him feeling trapped, and that he envies Tami’s happy, carefree attitude and ability to go on adventures, even if they are sometimes more dangerous than anything he’s used to. The pair of them share a little informal hug, just in time for the music to pick back up...
Minisession - Midnight Under the Moonlight
Tami finds the duke to be a much better dance partner than Kerfuffle, especially now that she’s somewhere quiet enough to take a little of the edge off her performance anxiety. The wine helps. Both of them express to one another that it’s good to have some time to just be themselves.
As their dancing gradually grows closer and more familiar - almost intimate, even - their little dance at the beach party comes up. Tami admits that she only got that badly drunk once before, at her graduation prom, and woke up in a very different place to where she remembered being. Midnight decides to share a scandalous little story of his own - two years back, he and some friends were on a trip in his family’s yacht, and they ill-advisedly decided to take a detour through the Chrysalis Cluster.
The Chrysalis Cluster is a heavily defended imperial system where the shapeshifting race of changelings and their malevolent queen are kept under continuous blockade and observation for the safety of the galaxy. After jumping past the blockade so that the wayward young nobles could get a glimpse of the system, Midnight’s yacht promptly broke down and remained immobilised for several days. It took Lord Gossamer’s mobilisation of an entire garrison fleet to find and recover them, resulting in a mass panic and rumors that Midnight had been kidnapped by changelings.
And that’s why Midnight can’t go anywhere without his father or a bodyguard any more.
Tami puts a positive spin on it - they both have dads who’d turn the galaxy upside down to help them if it came to that. They discuss the possibility of going on an adventure of their own together… cut short by Midnight starting to plant little kisses on Tami’s neck. Eager to make the most of the limited time they still have, Tami escalates things.
Now officially - if secretly - together, the pair of them resolve to enjoy themselves and dance the rest of the evening away. Elsewhere, Trigger feels an inexplicable little glow of pride.
Session #73 - The Fafnir
After an unexpectedly pleasant end to their time at the party, the Jammers spend the remainder of the night sleeping it off at Karmelita’s apartment. They purposefully neglect to tell Double Time where his boss is. Luckily for them, he doesn’t ask too many questions. The following afternoon, they ride back up the space elevator to catch Corona Gleam’s offered ride. Everyone’s in good spirits, particularly Tami, in contrast to her prior nervousness.
Tundra fills them in on the information he’s received on Whisper’s location. Sidewinder are holding her on Nova’s Contrast II, a planet just a few jumps away. They have a hidden safehouse in the slum district of the planet’s capital. As if on cue, an imperial navy unicorn approaches them and introduces himself as Lieutenant Commander Vortex Twist, here to escort them to the Fafnir. He’s all smiles, very pretty, and seems to know Tundra very well. Trigger quickly gets a hunch as to why.
Vortex is eager to introduce the Jammers to the commodore’s ship, and Tami and Kerfuffle are equally eager to see it. The Fafnir is a destroyer, one of only two active models in her class commissioned by the naval detachment of Nightmare Star’s royal guard. She serves as a mobile command center for operations in support of the Æther Corps and Imperial Intelligence. She’s also surprisingly opulent for a warship - a beautifully stylised white and gold vessel in the Empire’s preferred aesthetic, looking almost as much like an ancient galleon as a starship, complete with alicorn figurehead. Tami is suitably impressed, but Kerfuffle finds himself a little put off by all the glamour. Despite Fafnir’s artsy appearance, Vortex assures the Jammers that she’s heavily armed for her class and capable of surprising speed.
Boarding the vessel, Vortex shows the Jammers to their quarters for the trip. The ship’s just as pretty on the inside as on the outside. Trigger correctly deduces that Vortex is Tundra’s old flame, which might explain why he’s being so friendly. Unfortunately for him, Trigger and Tundra are together now. A few hints get him to back off a little.
Session #74 - Underbelly
On the Fafnir’s observation deck the Jammers meet Corona Gleam once again, who explains the remaining details of their next mission. Due to the secrecy involved, the Empire’s direct assistance will end as soon as they disembark at Nova’s Contrast. In the meantime, they’ll be given access to Fafnir’s armory and Claudia will be delivered to the local starport. Corona gives Smile a datastick containing the information they’ve gathered on Cascavel’s safehouse. Judging by the limited footage and data gathered on the complex, it looks like he’s set up in an old factory or warehouse building with a dozen or so guards and perhaps some automated security. If she’s still alive, Whisper is most likely in there too.
Nova’s Contrast II is a tomb world: a formerly habitable planet ruined during the Wyrm Wars. Its capital - and only city - was founded as part of an effort to reclaim the otherwise dead planet, and is practically two enormous cities stacked one on the other. The upper city is supposed to be quite nice, but the lower, ground-level city where the safehouse is located is - to put it diplomatically - a giant slum. There shouldn’t be any issues with the authorities, which is just as well, since Corona won’t be staying on station to tidy up any legal mess.
The Jammers suit up in Fafnir’s armory, according to their usual loadouts. In addition, Kerfuffle and Trigger don some heavier armor and the captain also picks up a mixed handful of grenades - flashbang, EMP and fragmentation - which she shares with Smile. Tami doesn’t have the skill or confidence for a true firearm, but brings a taser, tech kit, and a fair amount of first aid supplies so that she can play medic in Patch’s absence. Tundra needs nothing but his magic. In addition, everyone takes a wireless headset so that they can stay in contact easily.
Upon arrival, the Jammers rent a hover-van and make their way to the slum district where Whisper is supposed to be kept. True to Corona’s intel, the lower city is run down and largely devoid of police presence. Hookers, gangs and other less than desirable company abound; it’s a far cry from the glistening opulence of the Silver Dome. Smile parks the van around the block from Cascavel’s hideout, and the crew disembark to do a little preliminary scouting. Tami and Kerfuffle, as the resident fliers, quickly take off to get a birds-eye view (and away from the filthy streets), while Trigger and Smile check a nearby alleyway for possible entrances. Tundra stays to keep an eye on their vehicle; they’ll probably be needing it to make a hasty getaway.
The building in question appears to be abandoned. It’s boarded up and lightless, two stories tall, with roof and ground access. Tami’s unsettled by the state of the area; Kerfuffle does his best to keep her mind off the poverty around them and on the task at hand. They speculate that if Cascavel’s got things he wants to hide, they’re probably tucked away in the basement.
Meanwhile, Trigger and Smile find themselves approached by a group of local thugs. They’re not with Sidewinder, just hoodlums looking for a ‘good time’, but the two mares have no time nor interest to spare them. The leader, upset at being sassed, pulls a knife. Trigger, her temper quickly pushed to its limit, explodes into an expletive-filled series of insults and threats...
Session #75 - Clock is Ticking
Trigger’s furious screeching catches the thugs off guard, and when she threatens to get violent with them they wisely decide to go somewhere else. Left to get on with their mission, Trigger and Smile look for ways to get up to the nearby roof so that they can get a better view.
Tami needs a moment to collect herself, but she and Kerfuffle carry on their aerial scouting. Tami spots lightly armed and armored ponies moving around inside the upper floor of the safehouse through one of the boarded up windows. Suddenly there’s a shout from the parking lot out front; they worry they might have been spotted, but it’s just a local bum.
Shortly afterwards, one of the Sidewinder guards exits the front door of the building to yell at the noisy vagrant. If nothing else, this confirms that the safehouse is definitely under guard. Going in through the front door might not be the best idea.
The Jammers return to their rented van to discuss options. The one thing they haven’t really tried yet is the vents. It would obviously be difficult to get out that way, particularly with a very likely injured pony in tow, but perhaps the building’s vent system could be used to do a little snooping? They head around to the back of the Sidewinder building, and sure enough there’s basement-level vent access. There’s room for a pony to crawl in - just barely - and getting Kerfuffle through is a complete no-go, but once again Trigger’s small stature comes in handy. The captain crawls into the vents, sending the others back to the van so that they’re ready to move in if she gets into trouble. The rest of the crew wish her luck; Smile tells her to ‘break a leg’, an expression whose meaning escapes Kerfuffle entirely.
Moving through the vents as quietly as she can, Trigger finds herself beneath the floor of the safehouse’s basement. After passing a few intersections, she hears a familiar voice. Cascavel is speaking with an authoritative-sounding mare, possibly Cobra. She’s frustrated that it’s been taking Cascavel so long to finish interrogating Whisper Step. He retorts that he’d have done a better job if she’d given him more time rather than rushing ahead with the Delta C. They’re concerned that Whisper’s investigation means the Empire and NLR are closing in on Project Snowdrop. Regardless, Whisper is useless to them now. The mare leaves - with disconcertingly heavy hoofsteps - noting that she’ll be sending Agent Taipan from the League to assist Cascavel from now on.
Fearing that Whisper might be out of time, Trigger sends the others some hasty orders through her multiband. If the rest of the crew land the hover-van on the roof of the building and draw the Sidewinder goons upstairs, hopefully she’ll be able to rescue Whisper in the confusion. Smile answers in the affirmative and tells everyone to hold onto their seats...
Session #76 - Big Darn Heroes
While Trigger waits for an opportunity to emerge from the vents, Smile lifts the hover-van off the street and sets it down on the safehouse roof. Everyone disembarks, Tundra included, but for the moment it looks like their intrusion has gone unnoticed. The roof has gone untouched for quite some time; the single door down into the building is sealed by a rusty old chain and padlock, which come apart easily once Kerfuffle gets his hands on them.
The interior is quiet and nondescript, so the group proceeds as quietly as they can while Smile takes point. There don’t seem to be any cameras or other security measures. Eventually they open a door to find an armored pony distracted with a mobile device. Tundra incapacitates him with his magic before he notices the group, and the Jammers quickly disarm the sleeping guard and move on. So far, so good.
Meanwhile, in the basement, Cascavel is finally called away from his makeshift office, giving Trigger the opportunity she needs to exit the vent. The room’s well-lit and mostly featureless, save for a simple desk with a laptop computer that has some sort of strange device attached. Risking a peek out into the adjoining corridor, Trigger spies a sleeping guard and some sort of dog-shaped security robot. Fortunately, the robot is inactive. Trigger slips into a mess of pipes and cables passing through a nearby access corridor, searching for places that Sidewinder might be using to store prisoners. On the far side, she finds two more Sidewinder guards playing cards and talking amongst themselves - there’s no sign of Whisper yet.
Upstairs, Smile rounds a corner and almost walks straight into another Sidewinder guard, who immediately demands she identify herself. Smile turns on the bullshit.
The guard doesn’t buy it for a second. She yells an alarm and dives for cover, opening fire with her shotgun. Smile takes the hit across her flank and retaliates with her rifle, landing a nasty wound of her own.
Down in the basement, Trigger and the idle Sidewinder guards hear the gunshot sounds coming from above. Cascavel comes running and orders them to investigate, not noticing Trigger’s hiding spot. The guards grab their gear and head upstairs, so Trigger takes the opportunity to follow the batpony instead. Cascavel moves back in the direction of his office and activates the canine robot she saw earlier, which begins to follow him. The formerly sleeping guard begins to move in Trigger’s direction, forcing her to duck back into cover and lose sight of Cascavel.
Now that the cat’s out of the bag, Kerfuffle moves quickly to subdue the guard that shot Smile. A solid blow from his fist leaves her out cold. Smile waves off the others’ concern for her injury; it hurts, but she’ll live, and they can hear the sound of approaching hoofsteps. Tami cries out and hides behind a pillar as two more guards arrive on the scene, opening up with automatic weapons as the Jammers scramble for cover. Once again, Tundra’s magic proves to be a valuable wild card, as he stuns one of them and deprives the other of their cover. Between Smile’s rifle and Kerfuffle’s shotgun the pair are quickly dispatched, and the group carries on moving forward to try and link up with the captain.
Downstairs, Trigger holds her breath as the lone guard slowly patrols in her direction. She can only stay hidden for so long with the entire building on alert, so she takes a chance and guns down the guard as they pass the crate she’s hiding behind. It’s a brutal neck hit - obviously but not immediately terminal - so Trigger, wrestling with her conscience for shooting someone in cold blood, finishes them off with a second shot. She ducks into the nearest room - one with heavy metal doors that are sitting ajar - and closes them behind her. To her increasing horror, Trigger realises she may have found what she was looking for.
At the center of the room is a deeply unpleasant-looking chair, complete with restraints. There’s also a variety of tools displayed nearby: needles, pliers and the like, even a battery, as well as a large, empty syringe. Everything’s covered in dried blood. At the back of the room is a shipping container, locked tight with a padlock…
The rest of the group run into some trouble - several more Sidewinder guards shooting at them from the far end of a thin, dark corridor with no cover. While Kerfuffle, Smile and Tundra keep their heads down, Tami hacks her way through the keypad locking an adjacent room, looking for an alternate route. Inside she finds a small, empty room containing a ventilation grate. Taser at the ready, she crawls inside the vent, moving parallel to the corridor.
Fed up with being pinned down, Smile tosses a flashbang grenade down the corridor, allowing the group to move up as the guards find themselves stunned and blinded by the blast. Tami emerges from the vent just above them, and between her taser and Kerfuffle’s not-entirely-gentle hands, the three guards are quickly subdued and disarmed.
Trigger shoots the padlock off the shipping container and opens it up. The first thing that hits her is the smell. Whisper Step’s inside - Cascavel’s obviously been keeping her locked in there - but she’s in an atrocious state, curled into a fetal position with clear signs of torture. She’s been in Sidewinder’s custody for weeks, and mercilessly interrogated.
Whisper, clearly very weak, responds to Trigger’s voice but can’t seem to summon the strength to move on her own. Trigger helps her up and contacts the others on her headset, updating them on the situation and telling them to hurry.
While Smile, Kerfuffle and Tami descend into the basement, Tundra remains behind to restrain the various stunned or unconscious guards and make sure they’re not pursued. Tami is terribly concerned for Whisper’s condition and actually rushes ahead, clutching a first aid kit. This turns out to have been a costly mistake, as she rounds a corner and finds herself face to face with one of the dog-like security robots, which howls an alarm. Tami freezes for just a moment, before quickly taking off and trying to reach Trigger by another route.
Smile opens fire at the robot, but despite a solid hit it rushes her at speed, leaping over a crate and tackling the crystal pony to the ground, constricting her with its cable-like tail. Smile yells at Kerfuffle to shoot it off her; the griffon’s spray of buckshot pings off its armor and catches her as well. It doesn’t penetrate her ballistic mesh, but the blunt force is enough to knock the wind out of her. Kerfuffle promptly drops his gun, while the robot carries on struggling with Smile. Try as she might she can’t manage to break free, and finds herself losing consciousness in its crushing grip. Kerfuffle brings his claws to bear and finishes the security robot off, but by this point Smile is already passing out. He mumbles an apology, trying to pull her out from under the broken machine.
Trigger pokes her head out into the corridor to assist as best she can, unwilling to leave Whisper unprotected, just in time to see Tami flying at her, first aid kit in hand. In the distance behind her, Kerfuffle’s doing his best to help Smile. The hippogriff lands to hurry towards the captain on hoof, and passes by the open door to Cascavel’s office...
Session #77 - Still Here
A beam rifle shot lances out of Cascavel’s office, striking Tami’s side and sending her sprawling. Though only a glancing hit, the laser burn goes right through Tami’s protective vest. Framed in the doorway is Cascavel himself: the batpony behind Whisper Step’s kidnap and torture, the reason for the Jammers’ reluctant foray into piracy, and the indirect source of all their misery over the past few weeks. Between the pain of her wound and the terror of seeing the cause of so much suffering up close - and focused on her - Tami freezes. With a smug, dismissive glance, he promises her that she’ll be joining Whisper soon enough...
Cascavel leans out into the corridor and takes a second shot, this time at Trigger, and mocks her as he lands a solid hit. Even without his guards, his sophisticated armor and powerful rifle make him a deadly threat - and the Jammers are down two of their members already.
Trigger returns fire with her pistol; the first shot only glances, but the second scores a small wound and wipes the smirk off Cascavel’s face. There’s a snap of wings from the other end of the corridor, and Kerfuffle comes roaring - figuratively and almost literally - at him from the opposite direction. The big guy doesn’t take kindly to seeing his friends get hurt. Cascavel’s a slippery fighter and skilled in hand to hand, but the griffon bowls him over with sheer mass and he loses hold of his weapon in the struggle.
Cascavel’s not alone, however - there’s another of the canine security robots in the office with him, which promptly joins the fray and grabs onto Kerfuffle with its tail. Despite his strength, the griffon struggles to grapple with two opponents at once and Cascavel wriggles free, thrashing at Kerfuffle’s face with his wings. He recovers his rifle and retreats into the office.
Trigger moves in to assist, dragging Tami out of the fray and yelling for Smile, but the crystal pony’s still well and truly out cold. Fighting to avoid going catatonic with fear, Tami downs some painkillers for her burn, still trying to work her way in Whisper’s direction.
Kerfuffle fights his way free of the robot’s hold and the pair square off - claws and muscle trade blows with steel and pneumatics, but the robot gains the upper hand; Kerfuffle blocks a blow and there’s a sharp, nauseating sound as something snaps inside his foreleg. With the machine covering the doorway for him, Cascavel can fire away with impunity, landing a nasty burn across the griffon’s chest. Kerfuffle remains standing, but only just.
Trigger, yelling insults, tosses a flashbang grenade over the melee and through the doorway. As it turns out, batponies don’t react well to bright flashes and loud noises; Cascavel yells in pain and covers his eyes as it goes off in his face. The captain, seething with rage at this point, comes to Kerfuffle’s assistance and finishes off the robot with two well-placed shots from her pistol. Kerfuffle moves into the office, intent on separating Cascavel from his weapon once again, but between the batpony’s disoriented thrashing and his own broken arm, he has trouble getting in close enough to do the job. Trigger quickly enters after him, still firing away.
Out in the corridor, Tami is still cowering from the sounds of combat and her own fear of Cascavel when she sees a figure slowly and unsteadily approaching. Whisper is staggering in the direction of the fight, and Tami catches her first sight of the sheer volume of injuries Whisper’s sustained. Tami shakily tries to get the agent to stop so that she can assist her with her wounds, but Whisper pushes past. She has only one thing in mind…
In the office, Kerfuffle puts a decisive end to the battle; Cascavel’s in no state to defend himself as the griffon grabs his head with his good hand and slams it face-first into the surface of the desk. The batpony crumples to the ground, conscious but far too badly stunned to put up any more resistance. Trigger moves up and holds Cascavel at gunpoint, debating what to do with him. As it turns out, someone else has settled on an answer to that question already. Whisper enters the room, still struggling with her injuries, and approaches her tormentor with grim purpose.
Whisper draws back her hoof, holding the spent Delta C syringe, and drives it into Cascavel’s eye with all the strength she has left. He dies instantly. A moment later, Whisper all but collapses from exhaustion, and quietly asks if they can all please leave now. Nobody objects to this request; even with Cascavel’s gruesome fate, for the moment they’re simply relieved to have the ugly business done.
Trigger, not at all saddened by the circumstances of Cascavel’s death, takes whatever she can find from his body before leaving, including his fancy laser rifle. Tami grabs the laptop and the strange device attached to it, then lets Kerfuffle lead her to help Smile while the captain supports Whisper. A stimulant shot gets Smile back on her hooves - she’s battered and tired, but doesn’t seem to have any lasting injuries. As they meet up with Tundra and get back into the van, Whisper passes out completely.
Given the nature of what just transpired, they can’t just take the injured straight to the nearest hospital. Instead, Tundra drives them to the starport, while Tami administers whatever first aid she can manage in the back of the van. True to her word, Corona Gleam’s had Claudia delivered while the Jammers were in transit and rescuing Whisper. The Countess also made good on the offer to have her people repair the vessel while they were en route to the Silver Dome. The Jammers have never been so glad to see a ship.
Once aboard, Trigger lays Whisper down on the sofa while Tami seeks out and reactivates Patch, guiding the drone to attend to Whisper. Everyone’s nursing sore spots and injuries - including Kerfuffle’s foreleg, which is clearly broken - but stabilizing Whisper is the priority for now. Tami and Patch work together to clean and bind her wounds as best they can.
Tundra makes tea for everyone, inquiring about the events that transpired in the basement. Trigger recounts what happened in brief, with a note not to ever make Kerfuffle angry. The griffon seems a little ashamed at that, and dodges the rest of the conversation to assist with Whisper. He suggests that they get her off the sofa and into a room of her own once she’s safe to move.
Trigger, Smile and Tundra go through Cascavel’s belongings. There’s various types of ammunition and a set of ID cards, but what really catches everyone’s attention is a set of keys and a vehicle parking registration, addressed at the same starport. Tundra offers to go and investigate after he returns the rental van. Trigger can’t resist the opportunity to flirt - she loves it when Tundra calls her ‘captain’. Lastly, Smile takes Cascavel’s fancy laser rifle at the captain’s suggestion. Energy weapons are typically military-issue only or flat-out illegal in most empires, but she relishes the chance to try out a non-conventional firearm for a change.
Once Whisper’s been treated to the best of the crew’s ability, they move her into one of the spare quarters. After Kerfuffle helps her undress so that Patch can see to her burn, Tami has an idea and heads up to the bridge, bringing down as many drapes, rugs and generally comfy and colourful things as she can find to decorate Whisper’s room. She wants it to be as far a cry from the container Cascavel had her trapped in as possible. Once that’s done, Tami asks Trigger for permission to… fall over. And have a nice long nap.
Half an hour later, everyone’s been treated and the Jammers’ medical supplies are completely exhausted. Trigger thanks Kerfuffle for putting himself in harm’s way, appreciating that the griffon was willing to risk himself even in spite of his dislike for violence. Kerfuffle’s pretty moody, especially now that he has one of his front legs in a cast and sling, but takes the captain’s thanks as graciously as he can. In turn, he apologises to Smile for accidentally shooting her and promises to never do it again.
Conversation is cut off, however, when Tundra Gem returns - with a radical new acquisition. It turns out that Cascavel was the proud owner of a very sleek and powerful sports electrocycle. For the first time, Tundra looks like an action hero rather than a nerd. Vigorous captain-on-wizard snogging ensues.
Eventually though, it’s time to leave. Trigger and Tami head up to the bridge, and Trigger commends her pilot’s bravery in spite of the fact that she didn’t do any direct fighting. Taking the controls, they plot a course for Port Medusa. For a moment the crew doesn’t have a plan, but getting out of the Empire (and hopefully off Sidewinder’s radar) would be a good start.
As Claudia lifts clear of Nova’s Contrast II and the autopilot takes over, everyone collapses into bed (or the nearest analogue) for a much-needed rest. Tami sleeps on her beanbag in Whisper’s room so that she doesn’t have to be alone. The only ones that aren’t quickly fast asleep are Tundra and Trigger, who retreat to the captain’s quarters for some one-on-one “magic tuition”...
STORY: Castle of Glass, by Napalm Goat
Session #78 - Cracked
The following morning, Claudia finally passes out of the Solar Empire and back into Periphery space. The Jammers wake up to find Whisper Step already awake, using a knife from the kitchen to cut her mane short again. Despite her injuries, she’s eager to avoid having to stay in bed if she doesn’t need to. Breakfast is awkward. Most of the crew are still dealing with various injuries, and Whisper - though grateful - is emotionally distant. Trigger explains the events leading up to her rescue, carefully leaving out anything that relates to the Solar Empire. Tundra gets up late, and Whisper is immediately distrustful of him. He bluffs that he’s an information broker, with limited success, and Whisper only gets off his case when Trigger assures her that she trusts Tundra with her life.
Whisper asks to use Claudia’s long range transmitter - she has to contact her superiors and figure out what happened to her ship. Tami leads her upstairs to the bridge, sheepishly explaining that Regulus is probably still on Isla del Dragón. That’s not a problem for Whisper - so long as they know its approximate location, she can send Regulus a remote signal and have it return on its own. Tami’s impressed, reminded of just why she looked up to Whisper’s stoic competence and awesome spy persona in the first place. Struggling to control her emotions a little, she gives Whisper a careful hug - just to be sure that she’s okay and confirm that the nightmare is all over. Whisper coldly states that it’s far from over, but thanks Tami for coming all the same.
Downstairs, the rest of the crew discuss their next move. Tundra is uneasy about his rocky start with Whisper, noting that a lot of Æther Corps magi have vanished after attracting the attention of NLR agents. In addition, now that his mission to assist Whisper Step on her own assignment is complete, he’s worried that he may be reassigned. Whether or not that’s actually the case has yet to be confirmed - at the very least, he won’t know until he gets back to Port Medusa and the Lady of the Lake.
There’s also the question of Cascavel’s laptop and the strange device that was attached to it. Nobody can identify the odd device - it looks like some sort of drive or other peripheral - but getting into the laptop would be a good start. Nobody in attendance has any hacking skills either, and the desktop password isn’t ‘cascavel’ or ‘Cascavel1’, so for the moment they’re stumped. Fortunately, Tami comes back downstairs just then, having left Whisper on the bridge to make her transmissions. Still haunted by memories of the fear Cascavel caused her, she jumps at the chance to get one over him and crack open all his secrets.
Unfortunately for Tami, Cascavel’s laptop is better-protected against intrusion than the average desktop. Her usual methods don’t accomplish anything, but she’s determined to break on through and has a new idea. With a little help from Kerfuffle and another laptop borrowed from Smile, she rigs up Claudia’s FTL navigation computer to brute-force the access code. There’s a little bit of poetic justice in Claudia hacking a Sidewinder computer after what happened back at Isla del Dragón. It’ll take hours of processing time, but Tami is excited nonetheless - anything to be more than a victim of that awful batpony...
Session #79 - Better Not to Know
In the early hours of the following morning, most of the crew are in bed. Kerfuffle is awake, toying with his multiband in his room, which is unusual. He’s normally a workaholic, so being out of action with a broken foreleg has left him restless and bored.
Up on the bridge, Tami is woken up by a loud beeping sound from Claudia’s computer systems - the hack is complete. Shaking herself awake, she gets up and changes Cascavel’s password to the name of her favorite singer (incidentally, one of the celebrities she met at the Silver Dome).
Against her better judgment, perhaps due to the excitement of finally defeating Cascavel in her own little way, Tami logs into the laptop to see what she can find. The first thing that strikes her is the desktop background. It’s not a sinister corporate logo or the edgy symbolism one might expect from a sadistic syndicate assassin; it’s a photograph of a young batpony mare and foal, looking happy and perfectly normal. Tami quickly opens Cascavel’s mail, more to avoid having to think any more about the saddening implications of that than to investigate further.
Cascavel kept his mail pretty clean; the stored history only goes back a few days. For the most part, it’s things that she already knows about: confirmation of Whisper’s capture and the Jammers’ arrest, a notification from Asp about the hack he carried out on Claudia’s computer systems immediately after their release from prison, and related correspondence between Cascavel, Cobra and a third party called ‘HUB-SOL’, presumably a Sidewinder operations center somewhere in the Solar Empire. They note Whisper Step’s great resilience to interrogation, and include an order to terminate her once the Delta C has run its course.
What really catches Tami’s eye, though, is a video file that Cascavel sent to Cobra and HUB-SOL the day before his death: a recording containing the results of Whisper’s most recent ‘session’. Tami opens it, expecting a video message - a VLOG, even - where Cascavel reports on what he managed to learn from Whisper. The reality is worse: it’s a recording of the interrogation itself. Once it starts, Tami can’t bring herself to look away.
In the recording, Whisper is seen bound to the chair Trigger saw before - fearful, in pain, with fresher-looking wounds. From her visible confusion and disorientation, she’s also heavily drugged. Cascavel, speaking from the darkness out of frame, tells her that he can make the pain stop if only she tells him what the New Lunar Republic knows about Project Snowdrop. Whisper rambles semi-coherently in response to his questioning, giving only partial answers in her compromised state. From what little can be made out, she believes that Sidewinder have found a powerful source of magic. There’s something about robots and a hidden lab, but little more. Cascavel is unsatisfied with her answers and leaves her alone, restrained in the darkness. There’s another forty minutes of footage beyond that point, but there’s little to be seen except Whisper staring, terrified and broken, into the camera.
The moment she summons up the strength of will to do so, Tami pushes the laptop away, almost shoving it clear onto the floor. She starts to hyperventilate and breaks down in tears, emotionally overwhelmed by the brutality of what she just watched and the sight of someone she respects so much for their confidence and professionalism being brought so low. To say nothing of the fact that Cascavel promised her the same fate. Noticing that Kerfuffle is currently active on the ship’s network, she tearfully sends him a message asking him to come upstairs.
Kerfuffle heads to the bridge as quickly as his broken leg allows, and gathers that Cascavel’s laptop is to blame. He turns it away and offers to take Tami somewhere else. Anything to get her mind off what she just saw. Kerfuffle leads the still sobbing Tami downstairs to the common room, where - surprisingly - Tundra Gem is also awake. He’s watching a trashy fortune telling show on the television and playing along with his own tarot cards. Seeing the state Tami’s in, Tundra wisely makes himself scarce. He’s been sharing Trigger’s room, so he heads there and starts to carefully wake her up.
Kerfuffle and Tami curl up on the sofa; he mostly stays quiet and tries to support her while she lets her emotions out. He assures her that despite all that happened, Cascavel won’t be hurting anybody any more, still expressing some shame for his role in the way things turned out.
A short time later, Trigger joins them in the common room. The captain gets the pair of them hot chocolate with marshmallows (extra for Tami, of course) while she pieces together what happened, then goes upstairs to see the recording for herself. Swallowing her anger, she checks the laptop for further information but finds nothing. Eventually Trigger rejoins Tami and Kerfuffle downstairs, where Tami has started to calm down - as much from exhaustion as from the support she’s getting. They all agree that the contents of the laptop should be set aside for a time when everyone’s awake and better prepared. After that, Trigger looks forward to throwing it into a garbage grinder.
Trigger returns to her room and thanks Tundra for bringing the situation to her attention. Tami would prefer not to be alone for the rest of the night, so she sleeps on the sofa with Kerfuffle instead. He tells her a little story about a restaurant he and his sister used to visit back home - one with a view of the stars - and between that and the emotional exhaustion she soon falls asleep.
The following morning, Claudia wakes the Jammers up again, this time with a notification that they’ve arrived in the Saphiban system, not far from Port Medusa. Kerfuffle’s still fast asleep on the sofa, having dropped off far later than normal, which gives Tami an opportunity. When he wakes up he finds that a certain hippogriff has painted all over the cast on his broken leg, making it look like a cybernetic replacement. At the elbow there’s a little nebula, with the words 'Hero to me ~ Tam' written in it. Lost for words, he gives her a great big one-armed hug.
Session #80 - Now Hiring
A new player joins the game here, but due to out-of-game conflicts they don’t stick around for very long. Their character will be getting less focus than he would otherwise.
For the first time in what feels like forever, the Jammers touch down aboard Port Medusa. Trigger requests a meeting with Sweet Alyssum, who - as luck would have it - turns out to have the morning free. They ride the elevator up to the director’s office, looking quite a bit more motley than when they left. Tami, still shaken, stays close to Kerfuffle much of the time.
They find Alyssum in the middle of her breakfast, and she invites them in to recount the details of their recent mission. Fortunately, she’s more accommodating than Trigger previously feared. Countess Karmelita’s operation falling under the control of the Solar Empire isn’t an optimal outcome, but it’s still favorable - though it does increase the Empire’s influence over the Periphery. In addition, while Alyssum’s association with Whisper Step ended once Copperhead was out of the picture, she nonetheless congratulates the Jammers on their successful rescue, and for putting Cascavel down for good. Smile makes the director’s morning even better by forwarding her two hundred thousand credits, the first payment towards the Jammers’ grant, and promising that more will be forthcoming on a monthly basis.
With immediate business out of the way, Trigger has a request to make. Losing Niko has left the Jammers without a dedicated security officer - someone who can dedicate their time to ensuring the safety of ship and crew. She’s looking to hire a mercenary to fill the role, and wonders whether Alyssum has any recommendations. As a matter of fact, she does - there’s a rather notable hippogriff mercenary named Swan looking for work at the moment, though he’s currently in the station’s brig for his involvement in a bar brawl. Alyssum has Gerhard release him, to meet up with the Jammers in the hangar and discuss potential employment.
Swan by Kalemon
Finally, Alyssum has some good news. She’s assembled a small dossier of safe, simple jobs for the Jammers to do, and has also figured out the address of Jelly Biscuit’s uncle. She sends Trigger’s multiband both, for the Jammers to do with as they wish.
With the meeting adjourned the Jammers return to the hangar to meet their potential new hire. Tami worries, mostly jokingly, that she might not be Claudia’s designated cute hippogriff any more. Fortunately, her cuteness crown isn’t in question - handcuffed to officer Gazer is the Jammers’ new prospect, Swan: a coarse, middle-aged male hippogriff. He’s a former Solar Empire soldier with something of an attitude problem, and terse introductions are made. Tami and Kerfuffle stay tactful, but are obviously a little put off by his bluntness.
The mood is quickly lightened when Jelly Biscuit and Verbena Mint show up. Jelly is eager to see everyone again, especially Trigger, who’s equally glad to see him after so long away. Verbena’s been looking after him, and he’s looking much happier and more animated than he used to. Tami brightens up too, happily recounting the less violent parts of her recent adventure to Verbena. Swan seems a little perturbed when he learns that Jelly’s parents are gone, so Kerfuffle takes him to one side and does his best to change the subject.
Eventually, everyone heads for Crazy D’s to get a much-needed meal, taking the opportunity to socialize, catch up and make introductions.
Session #81 - Vigilance
After lunch, the Jammers bring Swan to get acquainted with Claudia and discuss terms of employment. They walk in on Whisper and Tundra having a heated conversation in the common room, but the two agents stop talking as soon as they’re interrupted. Trigger makes introductions and Smile shows Swan to his room.
Whisper has a favor to ask - Regulus has responded to her remote signal and is en route to Saphiban. She needs the Jammers to spare a short trip to meet up with it and pick it up. She’s already planning something new, despite her injuries. Trigger agrees to pick up Whisper’s ship once they head out to do Alyssum’s jobs, but encourages her to take it easy. Likewise, Tami encourages Kerfuffle to avoid doing anything strenuous for some time too.
Now that everyone’s together, they sit down at the table to bring Swan up to speed on recent events - at least insofar as he needs to know. Tundra keeps up the guise of an information broker, while Whisper mostly stays quiet about who she is and what she does. Whether or not Whisper’s figured out who Tundra really works for, there’s a lot of subsurface tension between the two. The Jammers explain to Swan about their antagonistic relationship with Sidewinder, and how that necessitates their hiring of someone with his skillset. Swan, in turn, lays out that he takes his job very seriously and requires some level of authority and respect if he’s going to be working with a civilian outfit.
Swan crosses a line, however, when he insinuates that Tami’s physical and emotional fragility are going to make his job more difficult than it needs to be. To everyone’s surprise, it’s the stoic, usually emotionless Whisper that speaks up most firmly in her defense.
Swan wisely reads the room and backs off after that. Patch arrives to give him a preliminary examination, concludes on an excess of testosterone, and recommends he drink more soy.
Trigger considers the information she received from Sweet Alyssum. Specifically, the identity and location of Jelly Biscuit’s Uncle Creamy. He’s a factory engineer living in the Solar Empire, close to the border with the Crystal League. She now finally has the option to return the lost colt to his family, and finds her own feelings unexpectedly mixed on the issue. She’s grown quite attached to him. They put aside that question for the time being - though it wouldn’t hurt to at the very least contact this uncle and inform him of the situation.
The conversation moves onto possible upgrades for Claudia, now that the Jammers have her back in working condition, along with a little time and money to spare. Tami and Kerfuffle discuss the possibility of making her faster and more maneuverable. Whisper points out that another confrontation with Sidewinder might be inevitable, and recommends missile countermeasures. That dulls the mood a little.
After a while, Whisper returns to her room with Patch to have her bandages changed. Once she’s out of earshot, Tundra suggests that someone should probably tell her about the video they saw on Cascavel’s laptop. Cascavel almost broke her and Sidewinder might know something the NLR would prefer to remain secret. Better to break it to her gently than for her to discover it on her own. With that subject broached, Smile takes the opportunity to ask Tundra what he knows about Project Snowdrop. All he knows - or at least claims to know - is that it’s a project that the Sidewinder Syndicate have been throwing enormous amounts of resources at, in utmost secrecy, for over a decade. Anything a group like that is willing to invest so heavily in must be worth investigating. Curiously though, there’s been no sign of results from the project so far.
Smile points out that Sidewinder seem to have a lot of investments in geological surveying. There’s not enough information to reach any firm conclusions, but they have ties to the Manehattan Galactic Archeological Society, and a vested interest in whatever happened aboard the Starweaver, which was a survey ship. Perhaps they found something important and dug it up? Either way, if Sidewinder’s investors found out that they’d been funneling trillions into a secret project with no apparent results...
Session #82 - Handle With Care
The next few days pass uneventfully. The crew collect Regulus, resupply, and are happy to pursue some simple hauling and delivery jobs for a week or so. Tami and Trigger are on the bridge, Tundra’s sleeping in, and everyone else is getting some breakfast. Smile asks Kerfuffle and Swan about Cascavel’s laser rifle - now hers. She’d like to try it out, but ideally without using up their limited supply of weapons-grade power cells. She wonders whether the rifle could be hooked up to Claudia’s own internal power supply.
Whisper gets herself some coffee - or at least tries to. Midway through, she stops completely, staring straight ahead with an expression of total confusion. When the others notice and ask what’s wrong, she gives them a lost look and says that she’s forgotten how. Swan walks her through the process while Smile and Kerfuffle share a moment of concern.
Whisper insists that she’s fine, and joins in on the discussion of Cascavel’s rifle. Quickly putting the lapse behind her, she shows Smile how to disassemble the weapon and explains what she knows about its properties and how to operate it. Kerfuffle agrees to see what he can do about building a power adapter and perhaps a little shooting range for the hold, though it may take a while given that he’s still wearing a cast.
Swan heads up to the bridge and finds Trigger and Tami in conversation about the strange device that came with Cascavel’s laptop. Eventually, they decide to simply plug it into said laptop and see what happens. There’s a simple executable attached to the device, titled ‘Digital Timer’. It tracks 'Charge Status', 'Connectivity', and 'Yield' as 'OK', and offers the option to set a timer, along with 'ARM', 'FAKE' and 'EXIT'. Disconcerted but still unsure of the device’s purpose, they quickly exit the program and disconnect the device. As Swan correctly points out, it’s probably not a good idea to go pressing buttons like ‘ARM’ on a ship in flight.
With the device added to their growing list of mysteries, Trigger and Tami decide to try and speak to Whisper about the video on the laptop, now that she’s had a little time to recover. They ask her up to the bridge to speak in private and send Swan back to the common room. Once they’re alone, Whisper picks up on their nervousness and demands to know what’s going on. The pair come clean and explain what they saw as carefully as they can manage. Whisper was drugged, likely damaged psychologically, and may have given up information in her compromised state. Whisper immediately snaps at them and terminates the conversation - she doesn’t want to talk about what happened, at all, under any circumstances. With nothing further to say she storms out of the bridge and locks herself in her quarters, slamming the door behind her.
The Jammers meet downstairs, all deeply concerned about Whisper’s mental and emotional state. Tundra joins them, having finally woken up. Everyone reasonably suspected that Whisper had been badly hurt by her experiences, but judging from her lapses in memory it looks like the Delta C may also have had lasting effects. She needs help from medical professionals, but it seems unlikely that she’d be open to something like that in her current state. It’s a tricky situation, and for the time being, the Jammers decide to simply be patient and keep an eye on her.
Now that Tundra’s up, Tami seizes the opportunity to lighten the mood. Back on Medusa, she took the time to buy him and Whisper gifts. Whisper’s will have to wait, but she can give Tundra his right away. It’s a book: The Ultimate Compendium of Galactic Secrets, Conspiracies, and Mysteries, detailing various popular tales of nonsense like dragons existing on Equestria and hippogriffs sharing an ancestry with fish. They share a little hug (with Trigger’s amused permission), and Tundra offers to give her a tarot reading in return. He enjoys the opportunity to entertain everyone with a little mundane-magical showmanship.
STORY: One of Those Days, by Fuzzy
Session #83 - Adjustments
Almost a fortnight passes - ten days of easy and relatively well-paying work. Whisper spends much of that time avoiding people, but eventually begins to open up again just a little. She’s mostly active during the night, treating people with indifference rather than anger. Kerfuffle’s mood improves once his leg’s sufficiently healed to take off the cast (which he keeps, because he can’t bear to throw away any of Tami’s artwork), and he and Tami perform thorough checks of Claudia’s software and hardware. There’s work still to do, but it looks like the ship’s well on her way back to being her old self.
On their way back to Saphiban with a load of legal-ish tech equipment, Tundra alerts the Jammers to an alarming situation in the cargo hold. Whisper’s bashing away at Regulus’ underside with a crowbar. They gather around and look down into the floor airlock, where Whisper is violently tearing cables and components out of her own ship. When the Jammers worriedly ask exactly what she’s trying to do (Kerfuffle in particular cringing the whole time), she claims to be “just making some adjustments”. Swan overreacts and draws his rifle, earning himself a swift reprimand from Trigger and Smile. Eventually Whisper pulls out a specific device, thoroughly ruined by the rough treatment she gave it with the crowbar, and tosses it to one side. With a smile that borders on manic, she declares that “they” can’t track her any more.
Satisfied with her handiwork, Whisper sits everyone down in the common room to explain herself. The device she tore out of Regulus - now damaged beyond repair - was a tracking beacon that allowed her superiors to track her movement. She suspects that Sidewinder caught her the first time because they managed to gain access to the device. With it removed and broken, Whisper believes she’s become completely untrackable. And with that done, she can tell the Jammers what she knows about Project Snowdrop. Tundra, of course, stays very quiet.
Whisper largely confirms what Tundra said previously. Snowdrop is a top secret Sidewinder project dedicated to the study and development of magic. The original Snowdrop facility was destroyed and abandoned under unknown circumstances some time ago. Whisper’s mission all along has been to uncover the project for the Republic, and now she believes that she has a potential lead on the location of their new facility.
On Crystal Heart, the station-capital of the Crystal League, Sidewinder have a largely legitimate subsidiary company that also plays host to a large server farm. It’s one of the syndicate’s primary data centers, and will likely contain information necessary to track down the project’s new location. Whisper intends to pull off a heist on that data center and, no longer trusting official NLR channels with the necessary secrecy, wants the Jammers to help her out.
The initial responses are largely negative. Trigger and Kerfuffle try to politely suggest that Whisper may not be thinking straight; she’s still recovering from a very traumatic event and just spent a week not talking to anyone. Swan suggests the same thing - less than politely - and quickly devolves the conversation into a shouting match between himself and Whisper. Eventually she simply walks out; she has a hole in her ship to fix. Swan, likewise, storms off upstairs to the bridge to listen to music and sulk. At Trigger’s suggestion, Kerfuffle goes to see if he can offer Whisper any help with the repairs. Tami joins him, quietly worried for the spy’s state of mind.
This leaves Trigger, Smile and Tundra to discuss things a little more soberly. Smile is skeptical of Whisper’s plan and doesn’t feel comfortable trusting her with the crew’s lives. She’s concerned that there could be a lot more going on in Whisper’s head than she’s letting on; what if she’s going rogue from the NLR? The Republic is on good terms with the League - would they authorise that sort of operation in the League’s capital? Tundra tacitly admits that despite his tactless approach, Swan made one good point. If Whisper is truly as unhinged as they fear she could be, she’s a danger to herself and others.
Trigger offers counterpoints: from what she can gather, Whisper has become completely dedicated to destroying Sidewinder. Provided that her intel is correct, the information contained in that data vault could give the Republic and the Empire all the legal ammunition they need to dismantle the syndicate entirely. She suggests giving Whisper time to think and plan; if it looks like there’s likely to be a serious problem, they can address it at the time. Smile resolves to pay close attention to whatever it is that Whisper decides to do next.
Aside from the morning’s initial commotion, Tundra Gem has some unfortunate news to share. His superiors will be recalling him to the Solar Empire within the next week or two. Given the nature of his work, it’s possible that he may never see Trigger or the others again. He still needs to talk to Corona to be certain, but it’s not looking good for his relationship with the captain. She resolves to make the best she can of the time they have left together. Tundra assures her that the communication device he gave her will still work, should it be needed.
In the hold, Kerfuffle and Tami offer what help they can with repairing the messy hole Whisper crowbarred in Regulus’ hardware. Midway through, Whisper has another mental lapse. Kerfuffle walks her through it and insists that she take some time off work to let herself recover.
While the two of them fix the damage, Tami heads up to the bridge and is surprised to see Swan sitting in the captain’s chair, watching the view. She still finds him quite intimidating, so their conversation is brief and tense. When he doesn’t get the hint and move out of her space, she heads back downstairs instead.
Now that Whisper’s opened back up a little, Tami takes the opportunity to give her her present - a set of soft republic blue slippers. Genuinely pleased and surprised, the stoic agent lets the mask drop a little. Tami assures Whisper that the Jammers consider her a friend, not just an associate, to which Kerfuffle quickly agrees. Whisper admits that she sees them the same way, even though Tundra and Swan have yet to earn her trust. Tami gives her a hug, which she returns in her own restrained, subtle way. For his help and support, Kerfuffle gets one too.
Whisper, in the first good mood the Jammers have ever seen from her, has an idea. Now that Regulus is practically untrackable, perhaps a certain hippogriff wants to buzz the proverbial tower when they arrive at Port Medusa...
Session #84 - Loose Ends
Claudia and Regulus dock at Medusa, following a short stop so that Tami can take a joyride in the high-tech fighter. Needless to say, she’s absolutely ecstatic (and sore from all the g-forces she subjected herself to). Tundra and Whisper leave to attend to their own business; Swan follows Whisper to try and apologise to her for their argument the other day, but gets a frosty response.
Entering the station proper, the Jammers unexpectedly run into Sweet Alyssum, along with Verbena Mint and Jelly Biscuit, at Crazy D’s food place. Alyssum, as luck would have it, has another job for them. She needs transport to the Vigilance system in the Solar Empire in order to attend a high profile art auction. Jelly’s uncle lives on the next planet along in the same system. The Jammers could - if they wished - earn some money by carrying Alyssum to the event and back, and reunite Jelly with his family in the same trip. Verbena insists on coming along too, and to her glee (and Tami’s) Alyssum agrees.
Trigger breaks the news about Jelly’s uncle to the colt himself. Jelly’s reluctant to leave Port Medusa and the Jammers behind, and Trigger’s equally reluctant at the thought of losing him, but a freeport station in the middle of nowhere isn’t exactly the best place for an orphaned pony to grow up. Trigger assures Jelly that as far as she’s concerned, he’s a full member of the crew and always welcome on Claudia.
Smile, Kerfuffle and Swan head back to Claudia to prepare for the upcoming trip, while Trigger takes Jelly shopping and Tami stays to gossip with Verbena. In the hangar, the trio run into some familiar faces - it’s Dust Bunny and Lay again. The pair of them are, once again, in the market for a new ship. Their old (new) one got seized by the Solar Empire when they moved in to take control of Isla del Dragón. On the bright side, they managed to hire two more crew members of their own - a pair that the Countess had to let go. Smile correctly guesses that this means Donner and Blitz, the Countess’ giant winged cat bodyguards.
Back at D’s, Tami and Verbena’s gossiping gets a bit more liberal thanks to copious consumption of alcohol. After learning about Vantage Vair, Tami’s old flame from flight school, Verbena promptly commandeers Tami’s multiband to send him a message. Embarrassment ensues. The two of them, assisted by far too much drink, stagger off to have a fun girls’ night around the station.
Minisession - Not So Itty Bitty Kitty Committee
That evening, the Jammers (minus Tami, who’s still off getting smashed with Verbena somewhere) meet up with Dust and Lay at the bar. Their trip to Vigilance isn’t scheduled until tomorrow, so they’ve got some time to relax and socialise.
The two pirates are frustrated that the Countess let her organisation come under imperial control; it’s badly shaken up the Periphery’s status quo. The Jammers avoid mentioning their own role in things and press for details. Dust explains that imperial ships simply showed up out of nowhere around Isla del Dragón, and the Countess ordered everyone to cooperate. The imperial fleet began an immediate sweep for contraband and the like, at which point Dust and Lay scuttled their ship and ran.
Lay adds that Alyssum and Karmelita - though rivals - were originally the main authorities in Periphery space, and kept the region more or less independent. Karmelita and the Empire working together puts additional pressure on the Republic, and possibly Port Medusa too. This could lead to the Republic approaching Alyssum to try and even the playing field, and from there trigger a proxy war in the Periphery - through trade or otherwise.
Talk of politics is interrupted when Blitz and Donner enter the bar. It’s hard to miss the two massive armored creatures. They join everyone at the table and it turns out that despite having hired them, Dust and Lay haven’t actually met them in person yet. Lay is suitably terrified. The two order an entire keg between them.
After a few surprisingly friendly greetings and reintroductions, the duo explain their side of things. Karmelita was reluctant to let them go, but as they’re technically property of the Solar Empire there was no way she could keep them around. Better to let them go their own way than let them be taken back to the Empire’s fighting pits. There is a catch, however: Blitz insists that he and Donner must have a master. Dust objects - she just wanted to hire them, not own them. It seems they’ve got a few things left to work out.
Donner, as is her custom, mocks the effect Swan’s age might have on his fighting ability and tests his mettle with a riddle. To his credit, he gets it right.
A barrel of water weighs 75 pounds. What must you add to it to make it weigh 60 pounds?
Holes.
Trigger mentions that the Jammers might be planning another big job soon, and asks if the two of them could maybe not cause too much chaos while they’re staying on Port Medusa. Donner is looking for something to carve up, but Blitz promises that there won’t be any carnage.
Session #85 - It’s Not Goodbye
The following morning, the Jammers meet for breakfast and to prepare for their next job: taking Sweet Alyssum to her art auction. And, more importantly, getting Jelly Biscuit back to his family. Swan cooks bacon and eggs for everyone (the former much to Kerfuffle and Trigger’s delight). Meanwhile, Tami sleeps in - she’s nursing a beast of a hangover on top of `the morning-after aches and pains of high-G flight. Even when she pulls herself together enough to meet the others downstairs, she’s a complete and utter mess.
Tundra and Whisper both have business on Medusa, so they’ll be staying behind while the Jammers make their trip to the Empire. It’s due to take a few days, during which time Whisper hopes settle on the final details of her plan. Tundra and Trigger share a goodbye hug and a little kiss, and he promises to see everyone again once they get back. The two agents leave the Jammers to their breakfast.
Impressed by Swan’s cooking, Trigger asks him about his domestic skills. As the conversation continues, it turns out that the mercenary has a family of his own - a wife and daughter, back on Equestria itself. He hasn’t spoken to them in over a decade, citing the pressures of his work and the difficulty of getting communications through imperial security. It’s obvious, though, that the separation is causing him a lot of internal conflict. Kerfuffle sympathises and suggests Swan contact his family while they pass through the Empire. Swan shrugs off the question and turns it around, asking why Kerfuffle is out working in space when he could be at home with his own family. Kerfuffle clams up and offers a non-committal answer. He’s saved from further questioning as Alyssum, Verbena and Jelly arrive for their trip.
Sweet Alyssum is as poised and professional as ever, Jelly fluctuates back and forth between nervous and excited, and Verbena is hung over. Very hung over. With Tami similarly indisposed, it falls to the captain to fly them out to the Empire.
Fortunately, the trip itself is simple and easy, even pleasant for everyone once Tami and Verbena recover from their hangovers. Even Trigger has an easy time at the helm, since the Jammers’ association with Corona Gleam and Tundra Gem means minimal hassle from imperial border patrols. Claudia arrives in the Vigilance system two days later. En route, the Jammers call ahead to inform Jelly’s uncle, Creamy Cookie, that his nephew is alive and well. After the initial shock wears off he agrees to meet them later in the afternoon, at his home on Vigilance V.
Tami shares the mystery of Claudia’s hidden lockbox with Verbena, but sadly she’s just as clueless as anyone else when it comes to what ‘core code’ might mean. She wonders if it might have something to do with Claudia’s computer coding, but any useful information - if it’s even there - would be buried under terabytes of raw data. Another line of investigation might be to ask Raw Deal about the ship’s previous owners.
Soon, they arrive at Vigilance VI to drop off Sweet Alyssum at her auction. While that’s going on, it’s a short flight to Vigilance V...
Minisession - The Family He Needs
Smile and Swan stay with Alyssum and Verbena on Vigilance VI to offer assistance and security as necessary. This leaves Trigger, Tami and Kerfuffle with the task of meeting Jelly Biscuit’s uncle. When they arrive at the comfortable outer-city suburban address, the mood is subdued. While everyone’s in agreement that Jelly should be with what family he has left, they’ve grown quite fond of the colt. Saying goodbye - even if it’s not forever - is going to be difficult.
At the door, they’re greeted by a young mare named Roly Poly: Creamy’s fiancee. Brief introductions are made, and Roly explains that she’s one of Creamy’s coworkers. The two became closer after Creamy’s brother and his wife - Jelly’s parents - disappeared in the Starweaver incident. Having someone to share his life with helped to ameliorate the pain of losing his brother and (he thought) nephew so suddenly. Creamy himself appears shortly afterwards; Jelly immediately gives him a hug and excitedly introduces everyone.
Roly takes Jelly out for a short walk around the neighborhood, giving the Jammers an opportunity to speak with Creamy privately. In all honesty, he’s very nervous - he’s willing to raise Jelly, both for the colt’s sake and for the sake of his brother’s memory, but has no idea how to handle a child. The Jammers admit that they’re putting him in an awkward position, but they’re in even less of a position to offer Jelly a stable home. He needs friends his own age and a school to attend, and he won’t get those on Medusa, or touring the galaxy with the Jammers on their often dangerous missions.
Trigger explains that she bought Jelly a new multiband of his own, hardcoded with the Jammers’ contact details, and that he’s always welcome aboard Claudia. If the crew’s ever passing by and Jelly’s family wants a short holiday off-world, that option’s open too. Despite the difficulty, everyone agrees that this arrangement is for the best.
Roly and Jelly return from their walk, and the Jammers make their reluctant goodbyes. Trigger in particular is very emotional - she gives Jelly her hat to keep, and there’s a final round of hugs.
Kerfuffle takes Creamy aside for a moment to give him an additional set of contact details - those of his own father, who has experience with adopting a child on short notice.
Eventually though, with Claudia waiting at the starport and Alyssum’s group needing pickup from the next planet over, the three Jammers take their leave. Creamy, Roly and Jelly see them off at the porch, and despite the personal and emotional difficulty it feels like they’ve finally resolved something meaningful that had been hanging over their heads for a long time.
Kerfuffle does his best to keep a straight face for the sake of the others, but once they’re out of sight of the house Trigger starts crying openly. On the way back to the starport, Tami makes sure to pull her aside for a hot chocolate pitstop at one of the local cafes. The captain gets the one with extra marshmallows this time.
Session #86 - Frailties of the Mind
(Note: This session and #87 were run as a sort of ‘halloween special’. They verge a little further into grimdark territory than the rest of the campaign. It’s back to business as usual afterwards.)
Two days later, the Jammers arrive back at Port Medusa. Alyssum, now in possession of a priceless piece of artwork she’d been chasing for quite some time, deducts their payment from their debt. Soon after landing they’re contacted by Whisper Step, who wants to meet them at the Lady of the Lake - Tundra’s ship.
Whisper’s looking a lot better; a few weeks’ rest and healing have receded the various wounds she suffered in Cascavel’s clutches. She’s even gotten herself some nice, shiny replacement teeth. However, she’s frustrated. Tundra was supposed to meet with her an hour ago and didn’t show up. More strangely, Whisper is certain she saw him board the Lady the night before, and equally certain that he didn’t leave since then. But Tundra’s not on his ship any more. He even left the door open, and Whisper’s searched the Lady thoroughly already. Apart from his weird taste in decoration and the fact that his belongings are a complete mess, nothing seems unusual save for the fact that Tundra is missing; it’s like he vanished completely.
Whisper leaves to double check Medusa’s security footage, suggesting that the Jammers take a look around the ship. They know Tundra better than she does; perhaps they’d spot something she missed? The crew spread out - the Lady of the Lake is only a corvette, smaller than Claudia, so there’s only so many places to check.
It soon becomes apparent that something isn’t right aboard the Lady. Smile sees flickering lights out of the corner of her eye that disappear when she turns to look. Kerfuffle finds the bathroom mirror fogged up despite the fact that the ship’s systems are cold and the bathroom hasn’t been used in hours. On the bridge, Tami sees the Lady’s status indicators spike into the red for a fraction of a second. In the dim light, everyone gets the feeling that they’re being watched…
As Kerfuffle goes to leave the bathroom, movement catches his attention. Parts of the fog clear from the mirror, as if an invisible hand is writing on it. Slowly, it spells out the word ‘HELP’. A moment later, the mirror spontaneously shatters. Spooked, he loudly calls out for the others and awkwardly tries to explain what he just saw. Smile is skeptical; Kerfuffle’s not the lying sort, but his story sounds ridiculous. He sheepishly apologises, suddenly a lot more fearful than usual.
Concerned by the noise, Tami picks up the bridge PA to try and ask if everyone’s alright. To her shock, the handset starts whispering. It tells her to go back to the main room - to the orb on the table. Trigger hears her terrified response over the PA and hurries to check on her. She’s fine - if badly scared - and the entire crew reconvene in the main room, suddenly far less comfortable with the idea of being alone. A chill, unnatural wind passes through the ship’s interior.
On the table is a crystal orb, faintly glowing in the darkness. It doesn’t really stand out from all the other magical paraphernalia lying around, but it’s the only lead they have. As they go to inspect it, though, they find that they can’t look away, as if their eyes are anchored to its center. All but Swan, who’s quick enough to realise what’s happening and avert his gaze. He tries to shove and push the others out of the orb’s line of sight, but it’s no use - there’s a sudden snap of air, and the entire crew disappears. An unseen force grabs hold of Swan, forcing him to look into the orb as well, and a moment later he’s gone too…
***
Volatility Smile finds herself in a familiar place, but with no memory of what just happened or how she got there. She’s in the boardroom of the Manticore Fund, the corporation she worked for - and was fired from - before heading to the Periphery and helping to found Space Jammers Incorporated. The board members are all present, staring at her with judgmental, even hostile intent. Before she has time to get her bearings, a shadowy figure at the far end of the table begins angrily ranting at her, demanding an explanation for how and why she managed to lose the company hundreds of millions of credits.
Smile does her best to argue in her own defense, explaining that the risk she took was calculated and justified by the potential return, but that just makes the apparition of her old boss even more furious. The atmosphere in the room starts to feel actively malevolent, as if something is about to hurt her, and badly. Suddenly, the apparition becomes very calm. Deathly calm. It firmly points out that all of the blame lies on her and her recklessness.
Smile, yelping in surprise and trying to shield her eyes, feels herself grabbed and propelled forward by an unseen force - straight into the maw of the terrifying icon of hubris before her. Just as it’s about to bite down and swallow her, everything goes black…
***
Tami comes to in a small, dimly-lit room. She’s in a distressingly familiar chair, not restrained yet unable to move. The room reeks of blood and worse, and somewhere in the distance a mare is screaming in pain, like she did down a certain phone line weeks ago. Tami panics immediately, struggling against her invisible bonds, but it’s no use.
A familiar and very unwelcome pony emerges from the shadows: Cascavel, alive and well. He advances on Tami with his trademark smug smirk, cheerfully informing her that nobody is coming to save her. She begs for mercy, and Cascavel wonders aloud how he might go after her friends next; is Captain Trigger really as tough as she says she is? When Tami answers in the affirmative, he turns on her with malice. Trigger had better show up soon in that case, because Tami simply isn’t strong enough to save herself.
Tearfully, Tami agrees. Cascavel turns away, mocking her weakness and naivety to think she’d find anything but pain in space. When he turns back, the Delta C syringe is impaled in his eye.
Cascavel begins to laugh, then choke - there’s motion in his mouth and the empty holes that were his eyes. Snakes begin to emerge, one at a time at first, but then faster and faster. As the batpony twitches and convulses, the sound of his laughter echoing from all directions without end, a tide of living, writhing snakes pours endlessly from his mouth. Enough to fill the room, and to bury a screaming, helpless hippogriff alive...
Session #87 - Matters of the Heart
Swan opens his eyes to see a barren, dusty grey plain, and quickly recognises it as the surface of Equestra’s moon. Somehow, he’s breathing empty space. And the space around him truly is empty - there’s no sign of Equestria in the lunar sky, nor even any of the stars. No buildings or land features are visible in the distance. He’s alone with the dust and the near-total darkness. He tries to take off and get a better view of his surroundings, but his wings can’t seem to lift his body off the ground.
A deep, unknown but somehow vaguely familiar voice mocks him as useless. Swan responds by picking up several rocks and hurling them in random directions, demanding that the speaker show themselves rather than lurking in the dark. The voice changes its angle - it teases him for leaving his family behind. Then, as Swan reels from that emotional gut punch, it reveals itself - a monster from ancient Equestrian legend: Nightmare Moon. Only this isn’t the Nightmare Moon Swan read about in the history books; it towers over him, several times his size and sizzling with malice, and when it speaks, it’s with the alternating voices of his wife and daughter. A living manifestation of his own shame.
The Nightmare asks Swan why he left, when he’s coming home, if he ever thought about his family’s feelings and how much they suffered for his neglect. He tries to argue that he took up mercenary work to provide for them, but the Nightmare retorts that he was blinded by the hatred that drove him in the War of the Two Crowns and could never let go of fighting. It accuses him of forgetting the love he had for his family - and resolves to remind him. With overwhelming force, it pins him to the ground and envelops him in its wings. His attempts to struggle are futile.
As Swan’s vision fades into total darkness, leaving nothing but the Nightmare’s fearsome cat-like eyes, the voice of his wife gently asks him to forgive himself...
***
Kerfuffle finds himself in a strange, yet oddly comfortable and unthreatening place: an open field of sweet-smelling flowers. In front of him, there’s a large machine - one that only a mad mechanic might have assembled. Its design makes no sense. By any conventional understanding of engineering it shouldn’t function at all. And yet, the machine appears to be operating. It carries a strange sense of presence, as if it’s a living, breathing organism rather than a collection of mechanical parts.
But what really catches Kerfuffle’s attention is what lies at the machine’s center - a hospital bed, occupied by a frail-looking female griffon: his little sister, Galena. She waves and greets him; he hurries to her side, distressed to see her bedridden in this strange place far from home. She deflects his requests for an explanation - all that’s important to her is that they’re together again. She’s been feeling particularly unwell, but she just wants to be with him one last time.
Kerfuffle is taken off guard by her fatalistic attitude - Galena was always sick, but to be in this condition she must have declined very sharply. He tries to encourage her to hold on - she’ll be cured as soon as he’s done enough work and earned enough money.
Galena smiles at his optimism and calls him a softie, but then turns serious again - he has to come to terms with the fact that she’s going to die, and be ready to live his own life for his own sake rather than suffering for hers. The machine sounds a patient alarm, but when Kerfuffle, now openly crying, orders it to help his sister or call for someone, it returns an error.
Galena, still insisting that she’s okay and that Kerfuffle should live for himself, weakly coughs and then slowly passes away in her brother’s arms. Petals start to break off and float away from the sweet-smelling flowers surrounding them; a moment later, the flowers themselves begin to die as well. Kerfuffle collapses, wracked by confusion and despair, as the swirling petals converge and engulf him...
***
Trigger comes to in a world of darkness and quiet - quiet that’s soon interrupted by a foal’s scream. Jelly Biscuit. A door appears in front of her; she hurries through, calling for him, and finds herself in a familiar place: Creamy Cookie’s house. But it’s not the comfortable suburban home she remembers; it’s cold and cloaked in shadow, just like the inside of the Starweaver. As Trigger explores the house, following the sound of Jelly’s voice, she finds Creamy Cookie himself - dead, hung by the neck by a thick electric cable. She presses on, trying to find Jelly despite the darkness muffling her sight and sense of direction.
Eventually she finds Jelly huddled in a corner, crying uncontrollably. She tries to embrace and comfort him, but he inches away from her, protesting. He doesn’t trust her; she’s going to leave him again, just like before and just like everyone else. Trigger promises - on her life and those of her ship and crew - that she’ll never leave him alone again.
With sickening sounds of crunching bone and shifting flesh, Jelly Biscuit begins to change. He grows larger, morphing and twisting into a hideous monstrosity: an incarnation of Trigger’s guilt. A sense of pain begins to steadily grow at the base of Trigger’s skull as Jelly declares that the child he once was died back on the Starweaver; that he became a monster because he was never given a choice. Trigger insists that there is always a choice, reaffirming that she could never abandon him, no matter how bad things get.
The pain fades, the shadow recedes, and before long all Trigger can see is bright white light...
***
The entire crew find themselves in a strange limbo, overlooking a giant chess board. Above the board on either side, behind their respective pieces, are the equally oversized faces of Tundra Gem and an older, graying unicorn mare.
The pawns on the board are all generic-looking royal guards, but the major white pieces - Tundra’s pieces - are represented by people that Tundra knows. In fact, several of them are represented by the Jammers themselves. Kerfuffle and Vortex Twist are the rooks, Whisper Step and Swan are the knights, Tami and Volatility Smile are the bishops, Corona Gleam is the queen and Hair Trigger is the king. On the black side, the strange mare’s major pieces are represented by unfamiliar ponies - all unicorns - and one zebra. As the Jammers watch, unable to intervene directly, Tundra and the stranger play out their game and talk amongst themselves, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they’re being observed.
The older mare tuts, disappointed that her tests only scored one and a half out of five. Tundra seems disoriented, almost amnesiac, but slowly remembers what he was doing. He used the orb to magically contact the mare - his mentor - for advice on a question that’s been bothering him. The question of Whisper Step. He wants to get closer to her, both as a friend and for the sake of his work as an Empire agent, but fears that she might seriously harm herself and others. He’s concerned that her experiences in Sidewinder’s custody may have made her unstable - even volatile - and wants to know how best to proceed.
The mare responds by pointing out that she’s merely a magical simulacrum of Tundra’s mentor; she’s not the real thing, and even if she were, she’s not in much of a position to offer psychological or relationship advice. Nonetheless, she notes his love for Hair Trigger (to his embarrassment) and suggests he try to reach Whisper through their mutual friends in the Jammers, rather than directly. She reaffirms that Tundra is the most resourceful unicorn she’s ever met - he’ll find a way, somehow.
Tundra wins the chess game and accepts the praise with good-humored sarcasm. The pair seem to have a close relationship, almost - but not quite - mother and son. With their game and conversation concluded, Tundra’s mentor ushers him off to get on with his job. Finally, the illusion shatters…
***
The Jammers find themselves strewn around the main room of the Lady of the Lake, feeling sore and tired as if they’d just awoken from a particularly uncomfortable sleep. Tundra’s there as well, sprawled uncomfortably on top of Smile. The memories of their recent experiences are already starting to fade, like in the morning after an especially powerful nightmare, but the emotions still linger. Swan, ever the one to react quickly and inappropriately, immediately pulls a knife and starts to threaten Tundra. Tundra quickly tosses the orb away into one of the nearby rooms, restraining Swan with his magic and trying to explain himself; he’d been trying to use the orb in private and this, clearly, was not intended to happen. Swan, still fuming, isolates himself in the bathroom.
Explanations can wait, though - while Smile and Trigger are mostly capable of shrugging off the nightmare and functioning normally for the moment, Tami is still gripped with terror and Kerfuffle is curled up off to one side, unrestrainedly crying. Smile does what she can to calm Tami down, while Trigger speaks to Kerfuffle; he’s normally very composed and good at controlling his emotions, so seeing him completely broken down comes as a shock. Trigger repeats Tundra’s limited explanation of what happened - that what they just experienced was only a dream.
Tundra, awkwardly trying to make amends for the situation, is suddenly called away to the Lady’s bridge by a priority transmission - the voice of the mare they saw him playing chess with is demanding an explanation for why he performed a haunting ritual. Regretfully, he goes to answer it, giving the Jammers the privacy they need to pull one another together and calm down.
Session #88 - Plans and Pacts
A few hours later, still reeling from their experience aboard the Lady, the Jammers reconvene with Whisper Step aboard Claudia. Their stony moods - and the fact that Tami is purposefully secluding herself on the bridge - quickly clue the spy in on the fact that pushing the subject would be unwise. Fortunately for Tundra, she’s still unaware of his powers and true allegiance.
Whisper has almost finished preparing for the heist she intends to pull off on Sidewinder’s Crystal Heart data center, and is eager to share her plans so far. She’d like to go ahead as soon as possible, provided the Jammers aren’t too busy. They’re not - though they were planning to try and get in touch with Leopold, Dust and Lay’s supplier, at some point in the next few days. Discussing the plan helps to take their minds off the nightmare they just went through, and they have no intention of discussing it openly, so they let Whisper go ahead.
The first step is the simplest: arriving at Crystal Heart itself. Crystal Heart is the capital of the Crystal League and one of the largest space stations in the galaxy, so it shouldn’t be too difficult for them to find a legitimate hauling job to justify their trip to the authorities. The Jammers can take Claudia, with Whisper bringing Regulus as escort and - if necessary - backup.
The data center itself is located inside the Sidewinder Software Security (SSS) building, a mid-sized office complex that puts up the mostly legitimate front of a cybersecurity company. With that in mind, hacking the data center is probably out of the question. Instead, the goal will be to infiltrate the building under cover and physically access the data center. In other words, to steal the data drives right out of their main computer. Whisper is confident that information vital to Project Snowdrop is inside.
Light security is expected, but the real danger is local police. If the Jammers get bogged down in a firefight with Sidewinder’s guards, they’ll just be swarmed by the capital’s legitimate civilian officers. Therefore, ideally, the heist should take place with little to no confrontation or violence. To that end, Whisper proposes that the group split into three teams: The first simply walks into the building disguised as white collar workers. The second disables the dedicated power generators in the building’s basement to allow the first team access to the vault, and the third stands by in case backup is needed. There’s more to it, but Whisper promises to go into greater detail closer to the mission itself. Ideally, she intends to leave for Crystal Heart within the next couple of days.
Smile admits that she’s come around to the idea of a little corporate espionage. To her mind at least, it should be cleaner and easier than storming Cascavel’s safehouse. Kerfuffle on the other hand, still unusually moody, is skeptical of the plan, though he mostly keeps his concerns to himself until after Whisper has left. He’s worried about all sorts of things - Whisper’s motive, possible collateral damage, a return to openly flaunting the law, and the fact that if successful, this mission would just antagonize Sidewinder even more. Trigger and Smile might be dedicated to helping Whisper on her mission at this point, but at what risk and cost?
The somber mood is interrupted by Claudia’s airlock buzzer. Dust Bunny’s arrived with some news, and she brought Donner and Blitz with her to visit. The Jammers are the only people on Port Medusa that the duo know, and most tend to react to them with fear. Making friends is hard. Dust’s finally managed to arrange a meeting between the Jammers and her supplier, Leopold. They now have the option of visiting him to arm up - if necessary - and perhaps even buy some further upgrades for their ship.
As it turns out, Donner and Blitz are bored. They’re eager for a fight, to the point that they both attempt to ask a riddle at the same time and attack one another for the interruption.
What do you use to cut water?
What tastes better than it smells?
No harm’s done - it’s just a cat fight - but considering these particular cats are the size of manticores it gets the message across quite clearly. Kerfuffle, himself sufficiently feline to empathise, admits that the pair are a lot more fun to be around now that they’re not working for the Countess any more. Though they should maybe invest in a safer way to express their extra energy.
Once things settle back down, Kerfuffle takes Trigger to one side. He’s still deeply hurt by what happened on the Lady, and would like the captain to speak to Tundra and try to get a proper explanation. Though the precise memories have already faded, whatever went on aboard that ship was both intensely personal and painful. Trigger agrees - it wouldn’t be wise to leave something like that without some sense of closure.
Minisession - Truth and Reconciliation
The Jammers, including Tami - having been gently coaxed back out of the bridge - meet with Tundra Gem in Claudia’s common room later that evening. Tundra once again apologizes for the accident and hears out their side of things, then does his best to explain what happened.
Originally, he had intended to use the orb aboard the Lady to speak with a magical simulacrum of his mentor. In order to gather the magical energy necessary to function, the orb was set to draw from Tundra’s own magical essence. As it turned out, he screwed up the math and inadvertently set the orb to draw substantially more power than it needed. Tundra himself wasn’t enough, so it instead drew attention to itself and ensnared the first beings it could get a hold of - Trigger and her crew. It siphoned off the energy it needed using their worst fears and greatest personal flaws as a sort of metaphysical vector.
Tundra assures everyone that despite the very real terror they felt, what they experienced was not real, once again profusely apologising for his own mistake. He assures them that it won’t happen again. Swan grumbles, but everyone else lightens up just a little. Tami and Kerfuffle are more forgiving now that they understand what happened; they each have plenty of experience in work where miscalculations can mean disaster.
Sadly, the bad news isn’t quite over yet. Tundra informs everyone that he’s been recalled to the Solar Empire and will need to leave very soon, though he can at least stick around until they leave for Crystal Heart. Trigger orders him to stay safe, and Tami gives him a shy little hug.
A short time later, once Tundra has departed, Swan heads up to the bridge to try and clear the air with Tami a little. It’s no secret that she finds him intimidating and tries to avoid him when she can, especially in her current emotional state. Unfortunately for him, his clumsy attempts to empathise just repulse her even more. In the end he awkwardly leaves the bridge, mumbling an apology. Tami locks the door behind him.
STORY: The Last Promise, by Fuzzy
STORY: Most Wonderful Time of Manufacture, by Fuzzy
Session #89 - Repossession
Swan’s player drops out of the game here. Perhaps the mercenary’s experience aboard the Lady of the Lake galvanized him to go and try to make amends with his family, or perhaps he decided that the Jammers were in too deep to justify following. Perhaps failing to protect Tami’s smile caused the GM to make him implode.
The next day, the Jammers find themselves inconvenienced by Swan’s sudden departure. Being a person down a day before they’re due to set off on Whisper’s heist mission isn’t exactly the best of starts. On the bright side, Leopold contacts them - he’s selling his wares down on one of Medusa’s lower levels, and invites them to visit and browse at their leisure. Tami resolves to buy herself an actual weapon for self-defense; she’s no expert, but VIP pilot training covered the basics and she’s tired of feeling helpless.
When they set out, however, the Jammers run into quite a scene unfolding in the hangar. Donner and Blitz are back to back, in a standoff with Chief Sulfurgrin and a dozen security drones. Trigger demands an explanation, and it transpires that someone with royal connections in the Solar Empire has gotten wind of their presence aboard Port Medusa. That someone wants their property back, and is leaning some heavy diplomatic weight on Alyssum to see them returned. Donner and Blitz, pledged as they are to Dust Bunny, have no intention of being taken back and are ready for a fight.
Smile successfully appeals to Gerhard’s better side, so he sends them to take the matter to Sweet Alyssum directly. The uneasy stalemate can be maintained until they get back. Leopold will have to wait for now.
Alyssum isn’t taking visitors, but Trigger’s insistence that there might wind up being a bloodbath in the docking bay gets her to grant them an audience. Dust Bunny and Lay arrive shortly after, suitably angry at the mistreatment of their two new crew members, and when they’re informed of the situation things start to look even worse. Their own work is about to take them deep into the Empire for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, Alyssum’s hooves are tied; much as she’d like to, she doesn’t have the power to openly defy the Empire. Unless, of course, Donner and Blitz were to suddenly and mysteriously disappear before their extradition…
One thing is clear: Donner and Blitz can’t stay on Medusa, and they can’t carry on working for Dust Bunny and Lay. Tami suggests trying to help them find asylum; the Republic is well known for taking ponies fleeing from the Empire. Kerfuffle recommends the Confederacy; the minotaurs pay little heed to pony politics and have no shortage of work for strong people, including those that know how to fight. Smile, however, correctly points out that any such discussion ought to involve the pair as well.
Alyssum orders Gerhard to stand down and release Donner and Blitz into the Jammers’ custody. As far as she’s concerned, they’re their problem now. The crew head back down to the hangar to get the pair’s thoughts on what they ought to do next.
Though they’re quietly thankful for the peaceful resolution to the hangar situation, Donner and Blitz insist that they must serve a master, or at the very least be given direction by somebody else. They will stand their ground and kill anyone that tries to take them away against the will of their owner, and no amount of reasoning from Trigger or emotional pleas from Tami can change their minds.
...or can it? Tami tries a different angle: nervously but with purpose, she asks Donner a riddle.
I am a ship. I can cross the harshest space, and endure the roughest of travels. But I am not held together by metal, nor hull, but by minds. What am I?"
The Jammers may not be interested in owning Donner and Blitz, but they can at least welcome them aboard Claudia for as long as it takes to find them a new home. Ideally one far from the Empire, where they’ll be treated like people rather than property. Donner returns Tami’s hug, and after a little deliberation the pair announce that they find the arrangement acceptable.
Session #90 - A Place For Everyone
A few minutes later, the Jammers and their two very large and deadly new friends convene in Claudia’s common room. They bring Donner and Blitz up to speed on their recent dealings, particularly with Sidewinder, and the impending heist. Smile suggests that the two might be able to serve as backup in case something goes wrong - as unlikely as that might be.
Whisper arrives, eager to go over the finer details of her plan, and stops short when she meets the new arrivals. One awkward set of introductions later, she sits down to walk everyone through their roles in things. Crystal Heart is a massive cylindrical space station similar to an O’neill cylinder: a series of tube-shaped structures with a city covering the inner surface, with entrances separated from the void of space by selectively permeable force fields. Whisper has already booked a place for them to dock at a starport less than a kilometer from the Sidewinder Security Solutions building. The building itself is technically a civilian business, but armed guards are expected, along with a moderate contingent of automated defenses.
After arriving, the crew will need to split into three teams, each with their own objective:
There’s an additional complication, however: because the site runs on its own internal network and local communications are closely monitored, the teams won’t be able to contact one another by radio during the mission. Whisper gives Tami a sophisticated hacking tool that will ease her access to the vault’s software. It can also piggyback a program off Sidewinder’s network that will re-enable them to communicate safely. But in simple terms, there will be no communication between the teams in the time between entering the building and accessing the data vault.
A few people have concerns; Tami in particular is nervous about walking straight into a Sidewinder building with nothing to protect her except Smile and a fake identity. Nonetheless, everyone agrees that the plan seems more or less solid. Kerfuffle asks Whisper where she’ll be during the operation, and she points out that she was originally planning to have Swan join her in the lobby as Backup Team. That aside, she dodges the question.
Once the briefing is complete, Whisper leaves to continue her own preparations. The question arises of where Donner and Blitz are going to sleep. Last time the pair of them seemed content to simply curl up in the cargo bay, but that’s hardly a comfortable arrangement for new friends or honorary crewmates. Tami mischievously suggests that since Trigger has the biggest bed… The obvious joke ensues.
With that little arrangement out of the way, the Jammers finally take the opportunity to visit Leopold, the Totally Legit™ equipment dealer Dust Bunny pointed them to. Leo is a friendly, charismatic griffon that puts on all the airs of a gracious businessman, but the sheer number of helmeted, heavily armored guards standing around belie his status as a successful arms trader.
The Jammers peruse Leo’s stock, and to everyone’s surprise Tami settles on a light submachine gun for herself. When Leo explains that it’s a customised model that special forces - like Whisper Step - might use, it’s practically an instant sale. Kerfuffle inquires about her sudden interest in weapons, and Tami explains that she had basic firearms training at VIP Flight Academy. Vantage Vair, an old boyfriend from those times who bolstered her confidence, also gave her some informal lessons; she still thinks of him fondly. Fed up with feeling helpless, Tami resolves to take care of herself from now on rather than being a burden to others.
Session #91 - Shards
As it turns out, Tami isn’t just interested in buying a weapon. She also purchases an armful of supplies, tech tools and first aid equipment. Trigger picks up a laser pistol, along with a silencer for her old conventional one. Leo’s also offering upgraded ship systems for Claudia, and the Jammers purchase a few using funds from the company account. A chaff anti-missile system and improved communication suite to complement the upgraded sensors are fairly simple choices, but Smile initially balks at the idea of adding a rocket-assisted cargo winch. That is, of course, until Tami points out that the winch could be used to collect cargo without having to land. Think of all the money saved on docking fees!
The remainder of the day is spent at Leo’s freighter, floating a short distance outside Port Medusa, where Claudia is given an in-space refit to install the new upgrades. Then, at long last, it’s off to the Crystal League to carry out Whisper Step’s daring plan. With Regulus docked to Claudia’s underside, they set off for a trip of several days.
Yet, on the way, something unsettling happens. Trigger is woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of something shattering out in the common room. Easing herself up and out from between the massive, fuzzy bodies of Donner and Blitz, she goes to investigate. Inside, she finds a plate broken on the floor, an untouched meal and bloody knife by the sink, and Whisper huddled in the corner behind the sofa, bleeding from a shallow cut in one of her fetlocks. She’s having another psychological episode - and it’s a bad one.
Whisper seems badly disoriented, once again suffering from confusion and memory lapses. Trigger gently consoles her and applies a bandage to her injury. But then, Whisper’s attitude quickly shifts; she’s obsessed with making Sidewinder pay for what they did to her, raising her voice to a shout in sudden fury. The noise is enough to wake Kerfuffle up as well, though he only peeks in on the end of the conversation rather than joining it directly. As Whisper calms back down, Trigger asks her if she’s absolutely sure she doesn’t want to bunk with someone, but Whisper blows her off with humor and returns to her own room.
As Trigger sets to cleaning up Whisper’s mess, Kerfuffle expresses his own concern for Whisper’s mental health, and brings up how she dodged his question at the briefing before. Trigger shrugs, suggesting that Whisper might never truly be herself again if she doesn’t get back at Sidewinder somehow.
The following morning at breakfast, the mood is subdued and anxious. Tami and Smile pick up on the fact that something happened that night, so Trigger does her best to explain. Tami speaks up in Whisper’s defense; she desperately wants to believe that Whisper can recover and be her old self again. Anything else would just be unfair. When Kerfuffle sullenly points out that what’s fair and what’s true aren’t always the same, she storms upstairs in frustration and starts pacing up and down the dorsal corridor.
Smile calls a private meeting between her, Kerfuffle and Trigger; she doesn’t believe that Whisper is in a fit state of mind to go ahead with the mission. The others are inclined to agree. It’s unlikely that anyone would be able to talk her out of going, and she’s “just” supposed to be waiting in reserve if something goes wrong, but even so - Whisper being mentally compromised puts everyone at risk. Smile agrees to speak with Whisper in private before their arrival at Crystal Heart. Kerfuffle excuses himself, wanting to apologise to Tami for upsetting her earlier.
Tami, meanwhile, looks down the ladder into the cargo hold and sees Donner and Blitz working out some frustration with one of their usual cat fights. They notice her watching, and Donner asks her if she’d like to join in. Tami heads down, not looking for a fight, but advice on how to deal with her own tumultuous thoughts.
The two hear her out, and Donner quickly recognises the problem - Tami is feeling an intense, unfamiliar emotion that she doesn’t know how to express: fury. At her own sense of powerlessness, and at the injustice of what Sidewinder did to Whisper. She advises the hippogriff to channel her rage into conviction and direct it at something constructive. When Tami bitterly points out that she already tried her usual hobbies and almost wound up breaking something, Donner presents her with something she cannot break. Herself.
After a little coaxing, Tami finally lets her emotions out, punching Donner repeatedly yet harmlessly in the chest. For all that it hurts her hands more than the big cat, the opportunity to cut loose actually does improve her mood and allow her to focus. Donner and Blitz offer to stand guard outside the bridge so that she can prepare for the mission in privacy. Tami agrees and thanks them, pledging to do better - for Whisper’s sake.
Minisession - No More Heroes
Later that morning, Kerfuffle heads to the bridge to apologise to Tami and finds Donner and Blitz blocking his way. They’re taking their protection of Tami’s privacy very seriously. Eventually, with Tami’s go-ahead, they let him in. The atmosphere between them is a little strained; Tami’s taken Donner’s advice to heart and is pouring her emotions and concentration into preparing her new equipment (despite the fact that she won’t be needing it during the heist itself).
Eventually, the mood softens - Tami accepts Kerfuffle’s apology and apologizes in turn for taking out her frustration on him. She takes the opportunity to show off what she’s been working on: among other things, she’s been personalising her new submachine gun (dubbed ‘Tsunami’) with her parents’ crossed-wings family crest.
The two share a sentimental moment and, of course, a big hug. Once that’s done, Tami’s eager to show off her new “big serious mission” outfit and wiggles her way into a form-fitting protective mesh jumpsuit, gearing up with the Tsunami and all the various tools she might need as a Professional Space Secret Agent™. Kerfuffle is impressed, but - of course - the one Tami really wants to notice her newfound enthusiasm is Whisper Step. She worries that Whisper might laugh, but he suggests that there’s nobody better to point out whether she’s doing things correctly or not.
Tami sets off to find Whisper, leaving Kerfuffle alone with Donner and Blitz. They note that Tami’s earnest attempt to overcome her own weakness has earned their respect. Additionally, Kerfuffle’s been doing a little research, and has an idea for where the pair might want to go in the future. The Confederacy hosts an enormous combat league; it’s not his sort of thing, but perhaps something the pair of them might be interested in. Wary of the exposure it might bring, they nonetheless agree to consider the possibility.
Downstairs, Tami - essentially dressed like a cuter, rounder Whisper - finds the agent having just woken up after a poor night’s sleep. Whisper does her best to put a positive face on, impressed at Tami’s eagerness but also gently pointing out a number of ways in which the hippogriff’s attempt to emulate her are, to put it mildly, pretty amateurish. Tami may be good at her own specialist subject, but she’s a long way off cutting it as a hardened spy. Even so, Whisper does take the time to give her a little advice, particularly on how to handle and operate her weapon more comfortably.
Whisper assures Tami that once they get to Crystal Heart, all she’ll need to do is wear a disguise, smile and act natural, and do a little hacking. Tami blushes and admits that it does feel almost like she’s wearing a costume - she just wants to be more like Whisper. Whisper’s response is weary and awkward; she thinks Tami should concentrate on being less like her and more like herself. She walks away, regretfully asking Tami to stop looking up to her.
That evening, Smile stays up late under the pretense of doing some particularly complex paperwork. The real reason, of course, is to get some time alone with Whisper. Smile lays out her concerns about the mission, particularly with regard to Whisper’s mental health, and tries to convince her to stay aboard Claudia and sit the mission out. She’s planned and organized it all from the start; surely that’s enough? Whisper’s mind, however, remains unchanged. She has a job to do, and no intention of sitting to one side while others cover for her.
While she’s being open and honest with Whisper, Smile has another card to play. One that the rest of the crew might not appreciate her laying down without their knowledge. She explains to Whisper that Tundra Gem is a member of the Æther Corps, and represents the Solar Empire’s interests in Project Snowdrop and her own mission. That little fact gets the agent’s complete and total attention. The crew’s come to feel quite closely for both Tundra and Whisper. Therefore, Smile reasons, it would be better not to get into a situation where the Jammers - particularly Trigger - would have to defy Tundra and the Empire. If Whisper were to take Snowdrop out of the picture, that conflict would be resolved before it could start.
Whisper points out that the simplest way to get Tundra off her back without directly eliminating him would be to take out the next step up in the chain of command: Tundra’s handler, Corona Gleam. Nonetheless, that’s a matter for another time. They arrive at Crystal Heart in the morning, and tomorrow promises to be a very busy day...
Session #92 - Incognito
Finally, Claudia arrives in the Crystal Heart system - home to the station-city of the same name and capital of the Crystal League. Everyone meets in the common room to discuss the final details of their plan. Power Team - Trigger and Kerfuffle - will disguise themselves as blue collar workers, concealing their tools and combat gear in backpacks, and enter the city’s water system from a maintenance access point close to the Sidewinder building. Once they cut through to the basement, the mission officially begins and everyone will go radio silent.
Precisely forty minutes after Power Team enters the basement, they’ll disable the building’s dedicated generator. Vault Team - Smile and Tami - will use that time to enter the building disguised as attendees for the day’s business conference and find their way to the data vault. Whisper’s already gone to the trouble of getting them suitable IDs. Once the power drops, they’ll have approximately a minute to enter the vault. From there, the hack tool Whisper gave Tami will give them control of local systems and communications will be restored. Then it’s a simple case of pulling a few drives and getting clear before Sidewinder can respond.
Backup Team - Donner and Blitz - will wait with Claudia at the nearby starport. They’ll be called in if an emergency occurs, and ensure that the ship is safe and ready to go in the meantime. Once the mission is underway, Whisper herself will return to Regulus, ready to offer air support in case Claudia comes under pursuit on the way out. Once the mission is complete, the two ships will split up and rendezvous in the Kalamata system - several jumps away on the far side of the Confederate border.
With the plan settled, Whisper detaches Regulus from Claudia and the two ships come in to dock at Crystal Heart. The station is a marvel of engineering - an enormous city inside a series of massive constructed tubes, with space traffic passing through the ‘sky’ and openings in the ‘ground’ amongst the modern urban sprawl. After a brief foray to the business district to suit up (literally, for Tami and Smile), the crew separate. Kerfuffle and Trigger head down into the maintenance tunnels, while Tami and Smile go to rendezvous with Whisper in front of the Sidewinder Security Solutions building. It’s a comfortable public plaza complete with a large decorative fountain (shaped, of course, like a giant snake).
Tami’s nervous, which suits her geeky intern disguise. Smile helps to relieve her tension a little with a pep talk and shoulder massage while they wait. Eventually Whisper arrives to run them through their role in things one last time. Tami leaves briefly to get everyone some coffee from a nearby street vendor, and as she does, Smile catches sight of a deer and griffon leaving the Sidewinder building accompanied by armed guards. Whisper recognises them as Sidewinder Syndicate agents, so she and Smile pretend to be passionately kissing to deny them a good look at her face. The ruse works, and the group passes by without incident.
The deer, however, joins the queue for coffee right behind Tami. And she recognises him. He was the one she caught working on Claudia’s computer systems back at the impound dock in Avalon. On his own. In the dark. Right after Whisper was captured. She quickly puts two and two together - the deer can only be Asp, the Sidewinder agent who hacked Claudia’s computers and nearly doomed the entire crew to a slow death in deep space. She has a minor panic attack on the spot, but fortunately Asp doesn’t recall her face and she’s able to pass it off as nervousness over work. As an IT intern. Which she is. Obviously.
Tami hurries back to the others and explains what she saw. Whisper, pausing in the midst of expressing a little personal respect for Smile, gets her to slow down and calm herself. Syndicate agents being on site makes things dangerous, but the plan shouldn’t need to change. So long as Tami follows Whisper’s plan and keeps her cool, everything is accounted for and under control. Whisper, as per the plan, heads back to Regulus to stand by...
***
Meanwhile, Trigger and Kerfuffle make their way down into the station’s water tunnels. The stretch of tunnel connecting to the Sidewinder building is offline due to maintenance further down the line, so there’s no obstacles in their way and no reason to expect to run into anyone. Except, as the pair near the point where they’re meant to cut through the tunnel wall into the basement, they see torchlight and hear voices.
A male hippogriff and pegasus mare from the Crystal Heart Underground Maintenance service are standing close to the cut point. At Trigger’s direction, she and Kerfuffle quietly listen in. One of the station’s automated service drones has broken down, and it’s lying defunct in a shallow stream of water. The two CHUM techs are supposed to retrieve it, but it’s far too heavy for them to move and they’re arguing about how best to handle the situation. They’re liable to be standing there for ages, and would certainly notice someone trying to cut through the tunnel wall.
After a little thought, Trigger hatches a tenuous plan. If they help the two CHUM techs with their problem, they won’t need to stick around any longer. Plan B, obviously, is less elegant and ethical, but Trigger doesn’t state that aloud.
Posing as independent contractors brought in by Sidewinder to investigate reports of a leak, Trigger and Kerfuffle introduce themselves and offer to assist with the drone problem. It’s a big, heavy machine stuck in an awkward spot, and the CHUM workers, though surprised and suspicious, aren’t opposed to receiving assistance.
Kerfuffle’s strength and mechanical skills come in handy; he hauls the drone out of the water and spends a few minutes poking around inside. Though the machine is both damaged and heavily customized from the stock design, he just barely manages to restore its basic functions.
With the maintenance drone slowly buzzing away towards the nearest maintenance depot under its own power, the pleased and impressed CHUM duo offer to buy Trigger and Kerfuffle drinks after work. The pegasus even gives Kerfuffle her number, which quickly elicits a lot of self-conscious blushing from the big griffon. Finally though, the pair take their leave and head down the tunnel towards their next assignment. Trigger and Kerfuffle, left to their own devices at last, equip their combat gear. While Kerfuffle begins cutting through the wall, Trigger contacts the others; the mission has officially begun...
Session #93 - Basement Battle (Power Team)
Cutting through the metal wall of the tunnel only takes Kerfuffle a few minutes, and he and Trigger soon emerge in the basement of the Sidewinder Security Solutions building. It’s dark and dusty, filled with crates and heaps of old junk. It looks like the basement itself actually incorporates part of a separate tunnel network, sealed off from the rest of the station and used as a dumping ground for old office equipment. It’s not a big open space like they might have expected; more a series of abandoned rooms and corridors arranged like a small maze.
No security is immediately evident, so they start searching for any sign of the generator. A padlocked door proves no obstacle, but the forcefield emitter on the other side stops their progress completely. With no apparent way of disabling the field, they double back to look for a way around.
A few minutes’ wandering the tunnels later, the two pick up on the sound of rotors and soon spot an armed security drone approaching out of the gloom. A simple armored quadcopter model armed with a shotgun, the drone demands an ID. Kerfuffle lunges at it, pinning the drone to the ground in an attempt to quickly disable it. Trigger finishes the job for him, quickly stepping up and coring the drone with her new laser pistol at point blank range. Kerfuffle’s not too happy about Trigger being so brutal with the drone, but they have a mission to get on with.
A little wandering later, the two come to a cleaner, more actively maintained section of the basement. Hopeful that they’re on the right track, they walk straight into range of a ceiling-mounted turret. Trigger dives out of the way, but bullets pepper Kerfuffle’s armor and leave him with a couple of nasty bruises. Between Kerfuffle’s shotgun and Trigger’s pistol, they manage to disable it before it can fire another burst.
The next room they come to is quite large, filled with massive fluid tanks. It looks like a storage area for the building’s sprinkler and coolant systems. Speculation can wait, though, as two more turrets activate in response to their intrusion. To make matters worse, the room’s sprinkler system activates as well, further hampering their already poor vision. Trigger and Kerfuffle separate in the confusion, running for cover behind seperate tanks.
Trigger, to her shock and immense frustration, runs straight into another of the shotgun drones in the process. Quick reflexes and a well-placed shot practically blast the drone in half.
A second drone comes at Kerfuffle, its weapon adding even more blunt trauma underneath his heavy gear. The drone’s mistake is getting close - Kerfuffle grabs it and tears out its sensor cluster, leaving it disabled.
While the two turrets continue to pepper the pair’s cover, a third drone comes at Trigger. She reacts quickly, dodging away from its shots and returning fire. The fragile machine explodes after one good hit, but Trigger catches a graze from one of the turrets’ shots in the process. Kerfuffle yells that they can’t stay where they are - they don’t know what might leak out of the tanks they’re hiding behind if a stray shot manages to penetrate.
With the drones out of the picture, though, the pair are free to easily disable the turrets before that happens. They’re finally alone again, soaking wet and sore, but free to proceed. After taking stock of their injuries - fortunately only minor ones - they pass through the storage room and find themselves on the far side of the forcefield that blocked their path earlier. A second forcefield blocks their access to the generator room, but the controls are on their side now. Fortunately, the forcefield controls aren’t password protected and serve as a simple on/off switch.
Finally at the generator room itself, Trigger and Kerfuffle check their watches. They have seventeen minutes left to complete the sabotage if Vault Team are going to get inside at the prearranged time. Also, as it turns out, there are three generators rather than the singular module they expected. Kerfuffle starts to overthink things, far more versed in the art of repair than sabotage, until Trigger points out the simple solution of introducing a heavy wrench to things.
Between them, they disable and partly disassemble one of the generators, then access the control software and arrange for another to shut down at the designated time. Two generators produce enough power between them to keep the building powered, but there’s no way just one could handle that much system load. All being well, the shutdown should cause a severe brownout until someone manages to manually restore the system.
Their leg of the mission complete, Kerfuffle and Trigger quickly retrace their steps and head back towards the plaza. So far, so good...
Session #94 - Bring Your Pilot to Work Day (Vault Team)
While Trigger and Kerfuffle fight their way through the basement, Smile and Tami put their own part of the plan into action. Aside from the security checkpoint at the entrance and the occasional armed guard, the Sidewinder Security Solutions building looks much like a regular office complex; quite comfortable with civilian workers and IT techs coming and going. The receptionist at the welcome desk looks incredibly bored.
With Smile taking the lead, she and Tami make their way through the checkpoint using their fake IDs and identities. Smile is ‘Madam Iridea’ and Tami is ‘Kattalee’, her junior intern. As they pass through the security scan, they notice that the equipment worn by the security personnel looks oddly familiar. There’s no trouble on the way in - Whisper’s IDs hold up - though Tami does struggle with the turnstile for a moment. Her sweet tooth has a habit of coming back to bite her in narrow spaces.
They pass into a large seating area, assured that someone will be with them shortly. The seating area has a large security robot on patrol - one that is, again, strangely familiar. Tami recalls that she saw similar gear in use once before, on the offshore landing platform back on Courage V. But that was weeks if not months ago, and well inside the New Lunar Republic. How strange.
While they wait, they talk quietly amongst themselves. Smile has a request to make of Tami - one that falls a little outside the original goals of their mission. While the Snowdrop data is still their top priority, perhaps they could look for some of Sidewinder’s financial data as well? Getting an insight into their investments and tax status would give her a powerful weapon to use as blackmail. It might help keep Sidewinder off their backs in the future. Tami agrees, with some trepidation, and Smile promises to take full responsibility should the move backfire.
A short time later, the pair are finally approached by a colourful and formally-dressed hippogriff employee, who introduces herself as Flima. She explains that they’re a little early for the conference, which isn’t due to start for another half hour, and offers them a short tour of the R&D level while they wait. Fortunately, R&D is on the same level as the data vault, so they make a show of graciously accepting.
After a short elevator ride to the third floor, Flima shows the two around while they make small talk about the business. Smile makes note of the entrance to the data vault as they go. It’s a big place, and looks for all the world like an entirely ordinary, if rich, tech company. This floor alone, Flima explains, houses around three hundred employees, but most of them are on the floor above preparing for the conference. Eventually, the tour brings them back to the lobby, where Flima leaves them with a promise that someone will be along to see them into the conference room once they’re ready to begin.
Smile notes that, provided Power Team get the power disabled at the correct time, the conference is due to start five minutes before. They don’t have time to wait around and get roped into the conference itself, which is liable to take far more than just five minutes, so they make their move for the data vault. The outer door is locked, but the hack tool Whisper provided to Tami makes quick work of it. The door leads out into a new corridor; one that runs along the outside edge of the building, its glass wall giving them a clear overview of the plaza outside.
Another door leads into a security reception. There’s a guard at the desk, but he’s asleep. Cautiously, Tami and Smile sneak past without waking him. Finally, they arrive in a small antechamber beyond the checkpoint, looking at the outer door to the data vault itself. All that’s left to do now is wait for the power to go out; should be in fifteen minutes or so. After a tense wait that feels far longer than it actually is… the power drops.
Tami and Smile, remembering Whisper’s warning that the security systems should reboot from backup power in about a minute, quickly haul open the heavy vault door. On the far side is a reinforced corridor with fearsome-looking heavy turrets on every corner. To their immense relief, the turrets are offline. They hurry ahead, past the turrets and through a final armored door into the vault itself. As if on cue, the power reboots and the computers all start back up.
With Whisper’s hack tool firmly in hand, Tami begins cracking into the vault’s computer systems, looking for anything she can find that might relate to Project Snowdrop. Getting in is easy enough, but the system is craftily designed, so acquiring the data she needs is likely to take some time.
There’s a loud and ominous clanking sound from the door as it automatically locks behind them. Smile spots a manual release, but using it would alert the guard on duty...
***
Meanwhile, Trigger and Kerfuffle have made it back to street level after their little adventure in the tunnels, still wet and nursing some small injuries. They make their way to the plaza outside the Sidewinder building; if all goes according to plan, Tami’s hacking should shortly restore their ability to communicate by radio. As they arrive though, they’re shocked to see the entire building enter a state of total security lockdown. Heavy metal shutters slide down to cover every single window and door.
But before they have time to react, there’s a sudden roar of engines. A shadow falls over the plaza. Hovering just above, training all of its considerable and fully deployed arsenal on the Sidewinder building, is Regulus...
Session #95 - Heartbreak
(Note: Strap in, this is a long one.)
A crowd of onlookers begins to gather in the plaza, staring up at the high-spec fighter training a massive amount of firepower on Sidewinder Security Solutions’ fourth floor. Tami’s hacking efforts finally reestablish radio communication between the Jammers. Trigger fills Smile and Tami in on what’s happening outside, then tries to contact Whisper. The agent picks up but doesn’t respond - all Trigger can hear is the ambient noise of Regulus’ cockpit and Whisper’s own shallow breathing.
Tami’s hacking locates their objective - a drive containing information on Project Snowdrop. Smile goes to grab it, doing her best to keep Tami focused on also finding one with Sidewinder’s financial data. They get it, but there’s no time to gather more.
Trigger agrees to Kerfuffle’s idea and calls Donner and Blitz in for good measure. With Trigger riding on his back, Kerfuffle takes off and tries to put himself between Regulus and the building. A moment later, Whisper invites everyone to a conference call - to apologize.
Struggling to speak through tears of remorse and anger, Whisper explains that she lied to everyone. All along, there was another step to the plan. With the Sidewinder building in lockdown, many of the Syndicate’s agents are trapped inside. There was no exit strategy for Smile and Tami: the data vault is fortified heavily enough to withstand Regulus’ weapons. The Snowdrop data was always just a secondary objective; if not for her own tumultuous emotions and Kerfuffle’s impulsive attempt at self-sacrifice, Whisper would already be levelling the building with the intent of killing everyone inside.
The Jammers object, particularly Tami and Smile. Quite apart from the fact that Whisper might kill some Sidewinder agents, the building is still a civilian business filled with hundreds of innocent people. Tami insists that Whisper is above that; that giving in to brutal revenge just means that Cascavel won. Whisper is adamant that she lost herself weeks ago, but her hesitation to actually open fire gives Tami one more card to play. The hippogriff gets up, crosses the vault, and hits the emergency door release.
This catches Whisper completely off guard. She screams at the pair of them, telling them to get back inside. Her conflicted rage turns to legitimate panic as Tami and Smile march out of the armored vault and into the outer corridor, straight into the sights of several armed guards.
Outside, local police are starting to arrive. Nothing substantial just yet, only small hovercars, but the tension quickly rises now that all four of the Jammers stand between Whisper’s guns and her target. Trigger and Kerfuffle, thanks to their position in the air, spot Donner and Blitz approaching from the direction of the spaceport.
Inside, the guards hold Smile and Tami at the points of several assault rifles and demand they surrender immediately. They’re outnumbered two to one, unarmed and unprotected. Smile, ever the one to think recklessly on the spot, whispers to Tami - she’s to run for the exit as fast as she can as soon as Smile moves. Rather than surrendering, Smile asks the guards if they’re aware of the heavily armed ship hovering right behind them. One of them approaches and hits her with the butt of his weapon, repeating the command for her to get on the ground. She was counting on this. Smile rushes the guard, trying to disarm him; surely the others wouldn’t fire with one of their own between them and the target.
Unfortunately for Smile, she’s underestimated the Sidewinder guards. Not only does the guard she attacked keep hold of his gun despite being taken by surprise, the others have the skill and discipline to open fire. Smile hits the deck quickly enough to avoid being hit immediately, but Tami pumps her wings and goes for the door - and takes a bullet square in the chest. Her business blouse offers no protection and she goes down hard, bleeding heavily and already struggling to stay conscious. (Note: In game terms, Tami is one damage short of critical injury).
Whisper doesn’t take this well. Giving Kerfuffle just enough time to fly himself and Trigger out of her way, she retracts Regulus’ weapons and fires the engines, ramming through the armored window and crashing into the corridor. The three guards that hung back are crushed beneath the ship; the one accosting Smile is too stunned to react before Whisper pops open the canopy and guns him down. The new hole in the side of the building gives Kerfuffle, Blitz and Donner space to fly inside.
The Jammers do their best to attend to Tami, but she’s in bad shape and none of them are trained first-aiders. Whisper’s in something of a daze; all her plans have fallen apart, and now the one person that always believed in her is suffering - perhaps dying - for her sake. It takes a round of very pointed shouting from Smile and an actual slap upside the face from Trigger to snap her out of it and get her to help. While she attends to Tami’s wound, Donner and Blitz go to hold off incoming reinforcements from the Sidewinder security team.
Given a little time to think and appraise the situation, Kerfuffle points out that first aid won’t cut it. Tami needs Patch’s help at the very least, and they need to get clear of Crystal Heart as soon as possible. Whisper makes a tearful apology and offers what help she can - Tami is stable and she can fly her to the spaceport, but there’s only room for one passenger aboard Regulus. Left with few other options, the Jammers agree, just in time for Donner and Blitz to return. They’re covered in blood - most of it the usual red and therefore not theirs.
Whisper has one final message for Trigger. She left her personal tablet computer aboard Claudia, and she gives Trigger the password. Something to look into once this is all over. With Tami aboard, Whisper backs Regulus out of the Sidewinder building and fires a few warning shots to scatter the assembled police vehicles, making for the spaceport at best possible speed. Kerfuffle radios ahead to tell Patch to be ready for Tami’s arrival.
With police attention focused on Whisper, the crew take the hard way back to the spaceport. Donner, Blitz and Kerfuffle make use of their wings to carry Trigger and Smile by air. When they arrive back at Claudia fifteen minutes later, Whisper’s already dropped Tami off; she’s gone to raise hell and draw off pursuit. Trigger and Kerfuffle head to the bridge and engineering respectively to try and make a quick departure, while Smile attends to Tami as best she can.
Patch has turned the common room’s pool table into a makeshift surgical bed, and is in the process of extracting the bullet from the hippogriff’s disquietingly deep wound. Between the shock and the painkillers, Tami is only semi-conscious.
Meanwhile, Claudia lifts off and heads for the nearest exit from the station. But of course, escape couldn’t possibly be that easy. All exits in this section of the station are being locked down due to reports of a dangerous criminal on the loose - no doubt referring to Whisper. Trigger has a plan, however. A reckless, dangerous, stupid plan. She starts digging through Claudia’s log files, specifically looking for whatever series of commands Asp’s hack used to make the ship perform a blind, short range jump...
Trigger engages Claudia’s FTL systems, with an order for the others to secure Tami and hold onto something, and the ship prepares to jump… but with a burst of feedback, a new voice mocks her through Claudia’s PA system. A high-tech, blazingly fast red interceptor streaks past - Sidewinder no doubt - and announces its presence by launching a missile. The captain throws the ship into a clumsy lurch, barely managing to dodge.
With the Sidewinder pilot in close pursuit and actively jamming her attempts to jump, Trigger looks for alternative exits - the nearest opening in the station’s hull is roughly ten kilometers away. With no other options immediately presenting themselves, Trigger drops Claudia’s altitude almost to street level and does her best to head for the nearest exit, using the buildings as cover. Going up against a state of the art interceptor in an unarmed cargo frigate would be suicide, especially in the open. Even with buildings to complicate his lines of sight, the attacker has an enormous speed and agility advantage, which he demonstrates by making another pass and raking Claudia’s hull with his autocannons.
In the common room, Smile racks her brains for a solution. All she can think of is the remote possibility of somehow getting Tami back up and moving again - Tami’s a much better pilot than Trigger. Blitz agrees: he and Donner have an idea as well. Their blood could reinvigorate her, at least for a little while. Patch, the sole voice of sanity in the room as per usual, flatly refuses to set up a transfusion. Smile - and to her surprise, Tami as well - overrides Patch’s recommendation and orders him to get it done. And so he does.
Once Blitz’s unnatural orange blood starts flowing into her body, Tami experiences a burst of mental clarity and raw energy that borders on manic. The pair of them awkwardly make their way up to the bridge connected by medical tubing, just in time to catch Kerfuffle activating the new chaff system to ward off another missile attack. Tami takes her seat and seizes primary control from Trigger, who’s momentarily too shocked to respond. Tami brings Claudia even lower, ordering the rather bemused griffon manning the engineering section to shunt as much power into the maneuvering systems as he can. She wants everything.
Quickly taking stock of the situation, Tami looks for a route that’ll deprive the Sidewinder interceptor of his ability to attack from any angle. She finds one: a covered, multilevel shopping center. Claudia thunders straight through the glass facing. The interceptor doesn’t pursue.
As it turns out, the Sidewinder pilot doesn’t need to pursue Claudia directly. A solid jade laser beam punches through the mall’s ceiling, directly in their path. Tami dodges it with a swift barrel roll, only to come straight up against another obstacle dead ahead: a giant animated billboard. She pulls up, trusting the ship to handle the building’s glass skylight better than the billboard and whatever might be hidden behind it. As soon as the frigate bursts back out into the open air, another missile comes at them, and even despite the chaff firing the explosion is close enough to take a solid chunk out of the hull.
Tami dips Claudia back into the streets, taking a straight and narrow path. She asks Kerfuffle if he can try to create some smoke cover. He replies that he might be able to induce a minor overload to flare one of the engine outlets; Tami orders him to flare all four of them. While he works, several police cruisers come into view at the mouth of the street straight ahead. Above them and directly behind, the Sidewinder interceptor comes in for another run.
Kerfuffle’s hasty overriding of various safety mechanisms works as intended, spewing a massive continuous cloud of smoke and flame in Claudia’s path. With the ship’s course growing worryingly erratic thanks to the engines overloading, Tami orders Trigger to get ready with the rocket winch. Meanwhile, Kerfuffle does his best to bring Claudia’s systems back to a safe operating level before something breaks.
Something breaks. Two of Claudia’s four engines cut out, dramatically reducing maneuverability. Tami does her best to compensate while he works to bring them back online, telling Trigger to fire the winch directly at the ground as soon as they pass out from between the rows of buildings. She’ll use it to make a sharp turn, hopefully leading their pursuer directly into the police’s line of fire while he’s blinded by the smoke. As if on cue, the police cutters open up, their lighter weapons rattling off Claudia’s stern. Tami executes the assisted turn despite the suffering engines, earning a backhanded compliment from the interceptor pilot. He asks whether she learned that trick at the academy - he knows who she is.
Back in engineering, Kerfuffle works to correct whatever mistake he may have made and get the engines working properly again. All his hard work, freakish mechanical intuition and experience with making Claudia’s systems do things they really probably shouldn’t earns him…
An electric shock and a total flameout in engine #3. Whoops. At this point Claudia’s struggling to stay airborne, let alone maintain a weaving low-altitude course at high speed.
Sweating profusely, Kerfuffle finally manages to properly correct for the induced overload on his third try. Claudia’s still floundering compared to her usual capabilities, but Tami recovers some semblance of control. The Sidewinder interceptor returns, gaining fast from directly behind them. The smaller ship does show minor signs of damage from the stunt Tami pulled earlier, but it’s still fast and deadly enough to present a threat. They’re getting close to the station’s exit, but Claudia won’t make it if she keeps taking fire.
Suddenly, a new contact hails the Jammers. It’s Whisper, having managed to momentarily shake her own police pursuers. She’s aware that they’re under attack, and orders them to head for a nearby landmark - an open plaza. Tami guides the ship in that direction, and soon sees what Whisper’s planning. Regulus is dead ahead, hovering in place with all guns bared. It’s a deadly game of chicken.
Using Claudia’s bulk and none-too-healthy engine exhaust to hide Regulus from view, Tami guns it directly towards the plaza and Whisper’s ship. But the Sidewinder pilot, still gaining ground, has one last dirty trick to play. A shot from some kind of electromagnetic cannon glances the frigate’s side, shutting down secondary systems and pilot aids. All of a sudden, Tami finds herself in a terrifyingly familiar situation: rushing towards a solid object in a ship that’s running purely on manual guidance. She starts to panic.
Only this time, she has friends at her side to remind her that she’s got all the skill, confidence and support she needs to pull it off. Even Blitz, who’d been silent ever since the transfusion was set up, assures her that she can do it.
At the last possible second, Tami pulls back on the controls and lifts Claudia up and over Regulus - which releases a hailstorm of firepower into the frigate’s wake. Taken by surprise, the Sidewinder pilot veers off sharply; still flying, but with pieces of his ship visibly falling away after several good hits.
Whisper urges the Jammers to make use of the opportunity: the interceptor will have to commit fully against her. The post-mission rendezvous won’t be happening as planned, but Whisper promises that she’ll come and find the Jammers as soon as she can. There are some emotional - if hasty - farewells on both sides, as Whisper turns to engage once again and Claudia finally makes it clear of Crystal Heart.
Tami plots a course for Confederate space and starts Claudia on a series of jumps. Once Blitz rather unceremoniously breaks the link connecting his own veins to hers, it isn’t long before the weight of exhaustion and her own partly-treated injury catch up with her, and she collapses in her seat, crying and vulnerable. At Patch’s recommendation, Smile carefully carries Tami downstairs to one of the spare rooms, aiming to convert it into a temporary infirmary.
With Tami out of action Trigger takes the helm, guiding Claudia - badly damaged but still flying - towards what they can only hope is safety...
