Tartarus Intercept – Session 2

Scene #2(CF:3) – Check in – 11am
Greene wants to get the check in over with so he visits the Doc.

Is the Doc in the medbay > very likely > Yes
Anyone else getting a check up? > 50/50 > No

Dr. Chandler:”Ah, Mr. Greene. The early worm catches the bird.”

Does Greene senses anything off with Dr. Chandler? > One human Die > 6 > The Agent succeeds brilliantly and gets something extra. Maybe more than they bargained for. The Handler may confront them with a difficult truth.

As Dr. Chandler speaks Greene hears a slight buzzing in his voice also he seems to sweat continuously even though it is slightly fresh insight of the medbay. And there is a faint scent of rotten eggs in the air.
Greene:”Is all well with you Doc? You seem nervous?
Dr Chandler starts to laugh, seemingly a little bit to forced:”No no, all is fine. I thought I mentioned my accident at the Jupiter gas mines some years ago. Unfortunately it left me with some unfortunate qualities. My voice comes from an artificial voice box with outdated tech. The acid gas ripped right through my vocal cords. Also my Thyroid gland was injured. For me it is always sommer!” Dr. Chandler proceeds with a fake smile.
Just as Dr. Chandler finishes up the check up, red alarm bells are waking up from their long slumber.
Captain Stone:”Alarm! All Crew on Deck immediately. We have an situation!”

Scene #3(CF:4) – The Black Hole – 11:30am
All Crew members are scrambling into their seats.
Captain Stone:”Ortiz status!”
Ortiz:”Captain the Orpheus entered the system on a parabolic course that provided optimal sensor coverage, with the goal to pass between the two planets and begins orbiting Nyx. But as soon as the main engines shut down in preparation for survey scans, the ship began accelerating unexpectedly. The ship’s navigation system reports multiple warnings that indicate that the initial surveys of the system were wrong. The gravity distribution is not as expected, and both planets are less massive than previously estimated. Our current course has us passing between Erebus and Nyx.”
Captain Stone:”Passing to where?”
Ortiz:”Directly into a primordial black hole!”
Dark Die against Stress > 2 vs 1 > rises to 2
Greene:”A black hole. Are you kidding me Ortiz?”
Captain Stone:”Concentrate people. We make it, but only if we work together!
Ortiz, calculate a new route including the new data. The faster the better!”
Ortiz:”Ay, Captain!”
Banes the Science officer a small and stocky gal with dark brown eyes and hair spills into the  silence full of tension:”It seems that Erebus and Nyx are not as massive as the data seemed to indicate. The two planets are actually in orbit around a primordial black hole equal to 16.1 Earth Masses (ME), while Erebus and Nyx are only 2.11 ME and 1.15 ME, respectively. The moons and a spherical halo of dark matter make up the remainder of the mass in the system, zeroing out the sum nicely.”
Greene:”Interesting Banes, but will that save our asses?”
Ortiz:”May be. At least we have accurate readings now. Compiling new route!”
Is Ortiz new route correct? > 50/50 > Yes
Captain Stone:”Greene, now is your turn! Redistribute power and prepare for a hard engine burn!
Greene:”Ay, Sir!”
Potential Failure:
The Engines overload, causing
significant damage to two of the
four engines. This requires 1d4 x 7
days to repair, and leaves the
Orpheus in a decaying orbit around
the black hole.
Human Die + Occupation vs Failure > 2,6,3 > The Agent succeeds brilliantly and gets something extra. Maybe more than they bargained for. The Handler may confront them with a difficult truth.

With routine coming from years of expertise Greene execute his task.
Greene:”Power redistributed, engines ready for hard burn!”
Captain Stone:”Excellent! Ortiz! I know I asking much of you today but you have to get this piece of junk out of this mess now!”
Ortiz:”Initiating path correction maneuver, Sir!”
Does the maneuver succeeds? > 50/50 > No > 1-4 Normal Fail, 5-6 Fumble > 2 > The gravitational shear causes
structural damage to the Orpheus.
The pilot should make a Luck check,
and if they fail, there is a random
hull breach (Keeper’s discretion). > Luck 50% > 60 > Fail  > Hull Breach > Where? > Bridge, Galley
Dark Die against Stress > 4 vs 2 > rises to 3

Greene feels a darkness deep inside him, as if something would touch his core and freezes it inside out. As the experience makes him shiver he sees a hull breach alarm on his console and gets sucked back into reality.

Greene:”Fuck, we have a breach on the Bridge Section!”
Cpt. Stone:”Everyone to the Vac Suits! You have one minute before it gets tight!”

Potential Failure:
Not putting the Vacsuit on in under a minute or start to asphyxiating
Human Die + Occupation vs Failure > 1,3,1 > The Agent barely succeeds

Greene stumbles out of his seat to the Vacc Suit Locker. He put this suit on a thousands times, still under the presure to potentialy suoffocate putting it on gets more difficult as expected.

Anyone else still struggles with the Vacc Suits? > Somewhat Likely > No

The whole crew seems to remeber their trainig well and is suited up in no time.

Cpt. Stone:”Very good people! I’m proud of you! But now is no time to relax! Greene! Cooper! Fix that damn hole!”
Greene and Cooper:”Ay Sir!”

Scene #4(CF:5) – Fixing the hole – 12:00am
Greene is accessing the damage of the hull. (1-2 Slight, 3-5 Medium, 6 Massive )> 1=Slight
Greene:”Damn, such a small hole, so much trouble. But we should be able to easily fix that.”
Does Cooper agrees? Very Likely > Exceptional Yes
Cooper:”I’m sure you would be able to fix it with some gum. Want some?” Cooper is pointing at the window in his Vacc Suit, grining with some gum in his mouth.
Greene:”Thanks, I pass. Let’s get some real tools to patch it up”
Are the necessary tools available in the Galley/Bridge? Very likely > Yes
Greene:”Cooper can you hand me over the emergency patch kit from the wall to your left?”
Cooper:”Of course! Here you go!”
Cpt. Stone via Coms:”Good news. Ortiz successfully uses Erebus to slow us down via an aerobraking procedure that should put us in a stable orbit around Nyx. Once that happened we can start with our first objective to collect data.”

Scene #5 (CF:4) – Analyzing Data -9:00 am
Bridge of the Orpheus three days later
Cpt. Stone:”So Mrs. Banes, do you have good news for me today?”
Banes:”<…She pauses…> I have indeed. The planetary survey was finalized. When analyzing the data, we detected significant deposits of valuable ores on Nyx and Aether, with trace indications on the other moons. The most significant find is a massive palladium deposit on Nyx, which makes it the optimal landing spot based on our mission parameters.”
Ortiz:”We could land there immediatly.”

Any Objections? > unlikely > Exceptional No

Cpt Stone:” Bring us down there Ortiz!” The crew is sheering in union!

Scene #6(CF:3) – Touching Ground – 11:00am
Scene is altered -> Powerfully, Exotic -> A storm is approaching from the west. Announcing itselves with low, rumbing thunder in the distance, followed by flashes of purple lightning.

Does Ortiz landing the Orpheus without issue? > likely > No

When Ortiz gets closer to the surface orpheus is rumbling and shaking violently. As the ship toches the ground everyone is pushed heavily into the ground and a loud bang can be heard.

Everyone ok > Likely > No
How many got injured? 1d3 > 1 > Who?> Banes > What happned? >(1-2 Minor, 3-4 Medium, 5-6 Critical) 2=2 Minor
Banes:”Fuck!”
Cpt. Stone:”All good Banes?”
Banes:”I fucking hit my head. I might have a concussion Captain. Thanks for the gentle landing Ortiz!”
Ortiz:”I’m very sorry about that!”
Cpt. Stone:”Banes I think you are not part of the expedition then. Doc, you have a look at her once we settled in!”
Dr. Chandler:”Of course!”
Cpt. Stone:”Greene what is the status?”
Greene:”We have light damage on the landing buffers. Repairing those is not a big deal, but we should do it before we start. Or we will not be able to land again.”
Cpt. Stone:” How long does it take?”
Greene:”Can do it in an hour or two if Cooper assists.”
Cpt. Stone:”Ok that is reasonable. Greene, Cooper! You repair the buffers. Banes you go with the Doc. The rest is making everything ready for a land trip. We meeting in two hours for lunch and status!
Crew:”Ay Sir!”

Scene #7(CF:4) – Buffering up – 11:00am
Scene is interupted > NPC Action S. Cooper Haggle Exterior factors

Greene and Cooper are exiting the Orpheus to repair the buffers.
Nyx is extremely dark and is only reluctantly illuminated by her big brother Erebus. The deep red light that manages to reach the surface through the sulfurous clouds bath the landscape in a ghastly yellow-orange hue. The rock near the landing site is black and shiny with an oily sheen reminiscent of petroleum.

Cooper:”What the hell was that?”
Greene:”What do you mean?”
Cooper:”I think I saw something move there, at the distance?
Greene:”Don’t be silly!”
Cooper:”No, really. I saw something skitter away into the darkness!”
Greene:”Even if thats the case, let’s concentrate on our job first! We can hunt aliens when we are ready to deal with the consequences!”

Does Cooper listen to Greene? Very Likely > Yes
Cooper:”Yeah, you right. Let’s move on.”
Greene:”Ah there we have it. Ortiz was pretty ruff on the buffers. Some decompressioning should do the trick!”

Do the repairs going well? Very likely > Exceptional Yes!

30 minutes later Greene seems to be satisfied with his work.
Greene: “And we are done! So we can finally get to hunt some aliens Cooper, isn’t that nice?”
Cooper:”You are not as funny as you think, Greene!”
Greene:”Ah come on, just pulling your leg! Captain! The Buffers are decompressed and ready to go. We can continue with our mission!”

Does the Captain answer? > Very Likely > Yes
Cpt. Stone:”Wow, that was quick! You cant even have a quiet coffe around here! Greene, Cooper get in. Fresh up and then we get ready for field trip!”

Scene #8(CF:4) – Field Trip – 12:00am

The whole crew sits at the Galley.
Captain Stone explains what comes next.
Cpt. Stone:”So everyone listen! No comes the fun part! We have to position the five claim beacons we brought with us. The Allied Earth Council (AEC) must verify each claim, so we should place the first beacon at the most promising location first since the first choice is often the default if the claim is challenged.

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