Written By

Avery “Vex” Stone

Art by
Ezekiel Strange
Jake Siano (Twitter: @zhjake)
Mithryl (Twitter: @Mithryl_draws)
Roxanne Stark (Twitter: @PUNKR0XY)
Robin JHF Petersen
Sasha Forman (Twitter: @Defiant_Drills)
Dillon DeSimone (Twitter: @Gunpuncher)

Template used
Lancer RPG Template © 2021 by Michael Prijatelj, used under CC BY 4.0

Images of the Calliope System produced in part with SpaceEngine PRO © Cosmographic Software LLC

In Golden Flame is not an official Lancer product; it is a third-party work, and is not affiliated with Massif Press.
In Golden Flame is published via the Lancer Third Party License.

In Golden Flame © 2023 by Avery Stone

Lancer is copyright Massif Press.

Release 1.03

[2]
FIVE MINUTES
There’s a saying in Calliope: “your last five minutes.” I do a quick check of my own rig, and it’s not great.
It’s got a story behind it, but it’s one of those stories She’s beat all to hell after the last fight; I literally had
that’s so well known by locals that you only need to to duct tape the control linkage for the middle arms
explain it to outsiders. back together, the core’s running hotter than I’d like
and ammunition reserves are nearly dry: three
It goes something like this: Thalia Rue was senior Roland slugs, six chest bullets, two mags apiece for
system administrator aboard the MHS Legerdemain, each shooter, one BB charge. Raleighs are tough, but
one of the first colony ships to arrive in the system. they aren’t meant to be facing down whole squads like
When the Legerdemain was stripped for parts to build a Tortuga or a Drake.
the Three Sisters, that included the mainframe, for
which Thalia was responsible. A Drake. Fuck, I wish Zin was here.

Now, nobody is quite sure why she was also doing No. Can’t stop to think. I queue up a full-load on the
EVAs, but what we do know is that on a fateful day in chest gun, and the metal monster screeches to life
4696, she was doing suit checks in an airlock when underneath my feet. There’s a loud “clunk” as a round
some faulty wiring caused its outer doors to slam – damn thing the length of my leg and three times as
open. Thalia got spat out at thirty meters per second, thick – slides into the chamber and then a whine of
and she must’ve clipped something on the way out, unoiled metal as it rotates. One in the cylinder.
because her suit started leaking oxygen. By the time
she patched it, she had only five minutes of air left. The charge goes on the wall next to me. If I back up,
they have to come down this corridor. This wreck
Now, in that situation, most of us would’ve panicked wasn’t built with mechs in mind, and this is the only
and desperately tried to get ourselves home. But accessway large enough for their rigs to fit through.
Thalia must’ve done the math and realized she was Maybe I can take one of them out. Please? Please. I
too far out to have any hope of saving herself. And in have to take at least one of them out.
that moment, Thalia stopped being just a system
administrator and became Calliope’s first hero. Can’t think about how I’ll be dead in an hour. If I think
about that, I’ll freeze up. They’re gonna kill me, and
She fired up her suit radio and started reeling off then they’re gonna laugh about it over drinks, and–…
every single one of her passwords, most important no, fuck freezing up, I can’t get emotional about this
ones first, and set the transmission to loop after the either. I’m alive now. I’m alive now, and I can make a
air ran out. This act saved thousands of lives; without difference. Clunk. Two in the cylinder.
it, her entire habitat would’ve been locked out of the
admin functions of their own computer systems, and The Nelson is the first around the corner, because of
died slowly as critical systems went down. course he is: those damn things are quick. Too quick!
The goddamn arming sequence on the charge hasn’t
That’s what the five minutes are: if you knew you were finished yet! Fuck!
going to die, if you had just five minutes left to make
a difference, to save as many lives as you could, what I have to keep backing up, but it’s not enough, and it
would you do? lunges forward, stabbing at me with its ridiculous
blade on a stick. But by some act of God, the jab goes
That’s what I’m struggling with right now. I think I have wide, slips between my rig’s arm and torso. In zero-g,
a little bit more than five minutes, but probably not a his mech’s hunched over, mag-clamps the only thing
lot. I’m going to die very soon, and I want to make keeping him anchored, so instead of wasting
sure I’m doing something worthwhile until then. ammunition I kick his legs out from under him and
smack him in the face.
In the old world, they had to use mirrors on sticks or
risk peeking around corners, but I’ve got sonar, and it His buddy with the shotgun (hey, what did I tell you?
says four bandits, loose formation, advancing on my Raptor-4. It’s always a Raptor-4) comes round the
position. Tactical breaks them down as an Assault corner next, but the Nelson is blocking his sightline as
(already traded blows with that one, it’s a Raptor-4), it sails backwards, away from me and towards the
a Cataphract (from the silhouette, probably a Nelson), corner. I can see his gun waving around, searching
a Sentinel (too small for a Tortuga, maybe another for an opening, but he can’t find one. That’s the
Raptor-4?) and a Scout (a Swallowtail? Where the advantage of being alone: I don’t have to worry about
fuck did they get the money for that?!). Way too many friendly fire.
for me to take alone.

[3]
Shoving the Nelson gave me some breathing room, Dig deep enough into the Muse and you can still find
but not much. The other Raptor-4, the one I already Thalia’s final transmission cached on old mirror
took some chunks out of, slips past his buddy, hits the servers or bouncing around deep-space repeaters.
far wall of the hallway and opens fire. I’ve listened to it.

I feel the impacts almost before they happen, like I I always wondered what it was like for Thalia in the
could see each bullet’s flightpath as it was being fired, last seconds. As the grey started to creep in at the
just too damn slow to do anything about it. On the corners of her vision, as it became harder to think. I
heads-up, angry red spots blossom on my mech’s left can’t imagine what she must’ve been feeling, dying
thigh and upwards across its flank – no critical cold and alone in the void at the age of 33 instead of
systems hit, but the armor there’s given up entirely. I in her 200s, surrounded by family on the colony world
take any more hits in that spot and they’ll start she was promised. But her voice doesn’t waver at all,
chewing servos and control linkages, and that leg doesn’t tremble. She just keeps listing off one
won’t work anymore. password after another, right up until the end.

But at the same time, he’s overextended, completely There’s a chime as the BB charge’s arming sequence
out of cover, and I still see the dents I left in his chest finishes. Without even thinking, I slam the detonator.
armor. Like it was the most natural movement in the
world, I flip to manual arm control on the upper and When the backup sensors kick in and my visuals
lower arms, grab the armatures, aim and squeeze return, it’s chaos. The wall I placed the charge on is
without even taking a breath. just gone, turned into a cloud of razor-sharp, yellow-
hot metal shards bouncing around the compartment it
When you fire these things in atmo, IPS-N six-guns breached into. The other side of the corridor is
blare like the horn of God itself, but here in vacuum, buckled outwards like a giant punched it.
there’s just a muted thump-thump-THUMP carried
into my cockpit through the arms themselves, and the And there, drifting between them, gently spinning in
click-click-CLACK of their actions cycling. place, is half a Swallowtail.

I don’t think the cocky bastard even has time to Two. I got two. Two less rigs to hunt with, two less rigs
register his mistake. I don’t know if all twenty-four to kill with, two less rigs on the Hounds’ payroll…
rounds hit, but enough did: a leg flies clean off, and I
see the whole rig backlit for a split-second in a white The Sentinel lunges forward, and I start backpedaling
flash: I popped his coldcore right through the reaction again. My rear-view shows another corner, thin, not
chamber. Even if the pilot isn’t dead, his rig is. really wide enough to maneuver a mech, but I’m
desperate, I’ve got no other options. Maybe if I duck?
One less rig to hunt with. One less rig to kill with. One Maybe if I crawl? Clunk. Five in the cylinder.
less mech on the Hounds’ roster. That’s my five-
minute gift to this system: one less Hell Hound mech. The Raptor’s shotgun flashes again, but I jerk my rig
Yes! I’m not dying for nothing! I’m taking one of these
around, catching the fire on its intact right-side armor.
sadistic motherfuckers with me!
My HUD flashes “minimal damage” but I don’t have
time to celebrate. My six-guns are empty, and I can’t
There’s another clunk-shriek-CLUNK as the chestgun spare the precious seconds I have left to reload them.
beneath my feet chambers another two rounds. Four
in the cylinder. Four in the cylinder. My left hand reaches above me, for a set of switches
not installed in standard fleet-issue Raleigh frames.
But the Nelson continues sailing backwards, towards Harrison Armory calls it “War Emergency Power,”
his fallen comrade, and out of the sightline of the SSC calls it “Performance Reserves,” GMS calls it
Raptor-4 with the shotgun, and he’s already got it “Hyperspec.” In an IPS-N cockpit, they’re labelled
levelled at me. I see a flash, feel the impact, hear a “DIO: Direct-Injection Overcycle.”
sickening crunch and my screen cuts to white noise.
I don’t know why they bother with the fancy names.
My cockpit voice warning system dispassionately Everyone knows real pilots just call it “Overcharge.”
underlines how fucked I am: “Impact: sensor dome.”
My HUD turns solid red. Core heat spikes like it just
Radar echoes paint a picture for me, but it’s slow, way deep-throated a habanero, and I can feel the sweat
slower than visual, everything’s half a second behind. beading on my brow. I think every radiator strip on my
I can’t aim like this! I can feel panic rising, heart rate rig must be glowing white hot. The cockpit voice yelps
spiking, breathing getting shallower, faster, I know I “core temperature” in the same disapproving tone of
was looking for my five minutes but I don’t want to die voice a schoolteacher takes with a kid eating erasers.
like this, I don’t want to die–

[4]
But this is precisely what I want. I flick another switch That’s how we remember heroes here in Calliope: we
labelled “Hardpoint 5 Firing Chamber Redirect.” I say make sure there’s a part of their legacy you can feel.
a prayer, switch the armature to manual control of my
middle arms, and level the Big Boy. There’s a big memorial wall on Hell’s Gate, and every
militia pilot who dies in combat ends up on it. You see
The Raleigh was an IPS-N experiment in jamming as kids leaving candles for their lost parents, and lovers
much firepower as they could onto a single mech, and laying down a flower or a trinket for someone who
the Big Boy was an IPS-N experiment in jamming as died to keep them safe. There’s a lot of pictures up
much firepower as they could into a single gun. It fires there. I wonder where my folks will put mine.
high-explosive bolts at five times the speed of sound,
and when you jam the up-tooled Roland slugs into it, The Nelson is already on top of me, wildly stabbing at
the detonation can twist a mech’s endoskeleton like me with that goddamn pike, and I don’t even need to
taffy with blast force alone. I just turned the outer look at my screens anymore to watch bits of my mech
casing white-hot with core heat exhaust. go flying: I see the tip of the damn thing punch through
the front of the cockpit. All my guns are dry, not that it
The Big Boy is a really goddamn impractical gun would matter this close anyway.
when it comes down to it. Even with a good pilot and
serious modifications, your rate of fire on this thing is My comms panel registers an incoming point-to-point.
going to be about six to ten rounds per minute. It kicks Do I want to listen to this guy gloat as he kills me? Ah,
like a pissed-off android and its accuracy is a joke – if hell, might as well spit in his eye one last time. I open
you’re outside of about eighty meters, this thing just the channel, and his ugly fucking face appears on my
will not hit its godsdamned target. screen, eyes in different directions, grinning like a boy
ripping wings off a butterfly.
But this piece of shit is less than thirty meters away,
and I only need to hit him once. I pull the trigger. “Ready to die, Gater? I’m gonna gut you like a fuckin’
fish for what you did to my buddies!”
The round moves so fast that I can’t actually process
the instant between firing and hitting the target. Deep “Three of you in my last five minutes,” I answer. “Took
in the haze of adrenaline and combat stims, I feel like four of you to take me down. Make sure you mention
I’m seeing things in the wrong order. First, I see the that when you’re drinking over this tonight. Oh, wait,
overpenetration, as what’s left of the round after it but you don’t have anyone left to drink with, do you?”
detonates punches clean through the wall behind the Despite everything, I crack a smile.
Raptor. Then I see its torso bulging outwards, harsh
white light spilling through cracks slowly
The spear tip pulls out, and then slams straight
spiderwebbing across its armor, and finally I see the
through the screen, inches from my face. Well, I
entry wound where the round went in widening as
certainly pissed him off. “Oh, you’re gonna scream
reactive armor cooks off, far too late to stop anything.
before I’m done with you, Gater! You’re gonna
scream! Any last fuckin’ words?!”
I blink, and there is no Raptor, just the smoking
remains of its feet, mag-clamps still rooted to the deck
Then I hear it. Clunk. Six in the cylinder.
plating. There’s a hole in the wall behind large enough
for a person to crawl through, and visible through it is
another hole in the next wall, size of a pumpkin. “Yeah,” I reply. “See you in hell.”

That’s three. In my last five minutes, I’m taking three This close, there’s no way I can aim it, but this close,
pirates with me, and they will never, ever hurt anyone there’s no need. Obligingly, this dipshit put himself
again. I will spend these last seconds making the right in front of the barrel. I slam the firing pedal, and
people I love just a little bit safer. I’m not wasting my underneath my feet, a revolver the size of a
last moments. I’m doing something useful. I’m not– motorcycle dumps its entire cylinder straight upwards.

Something tears my mech’s upper right arm clean off. The first blast rips the Nelson’s spear arm out of its
socket. The second smacks that dipshit little shield it’s
carrying and sends it spinning off into nowhere. The
Damndest thing is, that old mainframe is still on Three
third and fourth hit it right in the cockpit, and for just a
Sisters, and those passwords still work. It’s no longer
split second I actually see the piece of shit for real,
connected to anything vital, of course, that would be
face-to-face through the hole in my cockpit and the
a security risk, not to mention that the mainframe was
hole in his. For a split second, I get to really savor the
out of date even when the colony ship launched. But look of gormless surprise on his face through his
they kept it alive, a three-hundred-year-old computer, hardsuit visor. Then the gun fires a fifth time, and his
and you can still dial into it, and use passwords Thalia
cockpit turns a different color.
gave her life to ensure we all knew.

[5]
The sixth shot goes a little wide and just tears the I take one last look at my work, and then set off to find
armor off the Nelson’s right leg, but at this point, a way out of the wreck. Maybe I’ll find my five minutes
there’s not much Nelson left to hit, so I can forgive it somewhere else.
for that. Even after the last shot, I can still hear the
autoloader cycling furiously, trying to pull bullets from
a dry magazine.

There’s a quiet in the aftermath. I can hear my cockpit

breach alarm going off, but it’s getting quieter as the
air leaks out through the holes.

There’s a part of Thalia’s story they don’t talk about

so much: see, they never actually found her body. It’s
weird, because her trajectory wasn’t enough to take
her into a planet or out into deep space. They
should’ve eventually been able to find her hardsuit
and give her a proper funeral, but for three hundred
years people have tried and failed.

Now, some imaginative people say that this is

because she didn’t actually die. For her courageous
act of selflessness in the face of death, so these
legends say, Thalia Rue achieved enlightenment or
transcendence or something and watches over us to
this day, like a guardian spirit. That’s the real reason
why you don’t mess with the old mainframe, you see:
how else would she stay in this world?

I don’t know if I believe any of that, but in the stillness,

I can’t help but wonder: what happens when your five
minutes passes and you’re still alive?

I shove what’s left of the Nelson off my rig, haul the

old girl back onto her feet and take stock. The
cockpit’s depressurized but the air recycler’s still
good, so if I close the vents and hook it up to my suit,
I’ve got a day of air left at least. Water supply in the
suit is topped off, so I won’t die of thirst. Rations are
undamaged, even if it’ll be a challenge eating any until
I get the cockpit patched up.

The mech itself is probably a write-off. I reckon if I

make it out of this alive – still not a certainty – Chief
McArthur is just reprinting the whole damn thing. I can
probably seal this thing to vacuum, but I can’t repair
this much damage on my own. She can walk, but
every couple of steps there’s a grinding noise that
sounds like a servo’s chewing something.

Even if I had any ammo left for the six-guns, I’m

missing at least one and I’m pretty sure the control
linkage for the one on the opposite arm is broken. My
squad’s omnihook is subatomic dust after Zarick
detonated his coldcore. That means I’ve got to
broadcast a distress call on lightspeed radio and hope
there’s no more Hounds in the area. If any more of
them show up, I really am fucked this time.

[6]
CONTENTS
FIVE MINUTES 3 CHAPTER 3: SOME SICK GAME
INTRODUCTION 9 148
WELCOME TO CALLIOPE 11 BEAT 13: WRECKING FIELDS 149
HISTORY OF CALLIOPE 12 COMBAT: SURPRISE, SURPRISE 150
TIMELINE 16 BEAT 14: IN SHINING GLAMOUR 152
THE CALLIOPE SYSTEM 19 MISSION 3: TO THE DOME 156
SETTLEMENTS IN CALLIOPE 24 BEAT 15: THE ONLY CITY 157
TRAVEL IN CALLIOPE 29 BEAT 16: WALK AND TALK, BUDDY 167
TECHNOLOGY IN CALLIOPE 31 BEAT 17: UNFORGIVING TERRAIN 173
FACTIONS OF CALLIOPE 36
CULTURE OF CALLIOPE 40 ENCOUNTER: ABDUCTION 174
ELSEWHERE 46 COMBAT: GUARDIAN ANGEL 175
ENCOUNTER: FIRING RANGE 176
ENCOUNTER: GHOST TOWN 177
RUNNING THE CAMPAIGN 49 ENCOUNTER: MASS DRIVER 178
THE BASICS 50 ENCOUNTER: NIGHT MARKET 179
CLOCKS 53 ENCOUNTER: SPARRING FIELD 180
THE FAITH OF THE ONE 55 ENCOUNTER: TERRAFORMING OUTPOST
THE TEAM 61 181
ENCOUNTER: THE CRONE 182
CHAPTER 1: THE TACHYON COMBAT: [ERROR] 182
ENCOUNTER: WHAT’S COMING TO YOU 185
RETURNS 67 COMBAT: GUNS AT NOON 187
BEAT 1: ALL YE WHO ENTER HERE 68
BEAT 2: PC LOAD LETTER 80 BEAT 18: THE BATTLE ROYALE 188
MISSION 1: UNFUCK THIS HOUSE 81 COMBAT: LOWEST-BIDDER WORK 190
BEAT 3: SNACK RUN 83 COMBAT: ROADBLOCK 191
COMBAT: SPITTING DISTANCE 85 COMBAT: BAD STAR 192
BEAT 4: RIGHT ON THE DOORSTEP 87 COMBAT: EXPEDITED BOARDING 196
COMBAT: SHOO THE VULTURES 88 DOWNTIME 3: DOMETOWN HERO 198
BEAT 5: A SCANNER, DARK 89
COMBAT: DENIAL OF SERVICE 90
BEAT 6: A COLOR OUT OF TIME 94 CHAPTER 4: CIRCUIT BREAKER
COMBAT: A FACE TO A NAME 100 201
DOWNTIME 1: DRINKS ARE ON ME 102 BEAT 19: THE FINE PRINT 202
MISSION 4: LAYER CAKE 209
CHAPTER 2: FIRE AND ICE 106 BEAT 20: GRAVEYARD SHIFT 211
BEAT 7: TROUBLE IN PARADISE 107 BEAT 21: MINE’S HAUNTED 220
BEAT 8: JEWEL OF THE NIGHT 109 COMBAT: PRESSURE POINT 222
BEAT 9: CONTRACT THRILLER 123 COMBAT: THE SWARM 223
MISSION 2: WORKING HOLIDAY 125 BEAT 22: THE HALL OF MIRRORS 224
BEAT 10: THE GATE OF MICTLAN 127 COMBAT: EVENT HORIZON 231
COMBAT: THERMOPYLAE 129 DOWNTIME 4: THE GOODS 237
COMBAT: ANTI-CAPITAL 130
BEAT 11: THE EYE OF BALOR 133 CHAPTER 5: THE HERALD OF
COMBAT: SEND IN THE CLOWNS 136
COMBAT: KILLER SOUND 139 CHANGE 240
BEAT 12: SPREADING FIRE 141 BEAT 23: SITUATION NORMAL 241
COMBAT: GETTING RAILROADED 142 MISSION 5: FIREFIGHTER 245
COMBAT: POWERHOUSE 143 BEAT 24: BREACH AND CLEAR 246
DOWNTIME 2: SO HOW’D WE DO? 144 COMBAT: SILENCE THE GUNS 248
COMBAT: BREAK THE LINE 250
BEAT 25: APOCALYPSE 252
COMBAT: LIFT THE VEIL 255
DOWNTIME 5: CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION 258

[7]
END OF ACT 1 265
EPILOGUE: END OF THE BEGINNING 266

APPENDIX 268
A GOOD HAUL 269
GOLD AND CRIMSON 272

INTERLUDE: TURNING A NEW LEAF 272

INTERLUDE: FINAL DEATH 273
INTERLUDE: THE SEARCH 273

NEW NPC CLASSES 274

DELUGE 275
LOBBER 276
PARALLEL 277
SLINGER 279

NEW BONDS 281

THE INFLUENCER 282

THE TECHNICIAN 284

SPECIAL THANKS 286

[8]
INTRODUCTION
In February 2021, I sat down for my first game of
Lancer, run by my friend Jasmine, with me and my
THE ELEVATOR PITCH
friends Eris, Paul and Greg as its players. It’s useful if you can sum up the fantasy of a tabletop
role-playing game in a sentence or two, so:
Jasmine told us the story of a system on the dark edge
of space, forgotten by the corporations that once You are a mech pilot with a troubled past. You
exploited it, its people left to scrabble for whatever must fight to defend your weird found family and
scraps remained. The only people who ever came the crummy backwater system you call home
there were those who were running from something, or from an apocalypse cult.
chasing something. A cult of apocalypse seekers
threatened to tear apart what little was left in search of There’s a lot more to In Golden Flame, but this sums it
their promised end, and our motley little crew was the up. As a GM, you and your players need to be on board
only hope the system had of seeing another day. with this basic concept; it’s the “buy-in.” This has to be
something you want to run and that they want to play.
We learned the ins and outs of the Lancer system,
agonized over out mech builds and spent hours
discussing synergies. We met a virtual dog that could
USING THIS BOOK
In this book, you will find Act 1 of In Golden Flame,
speak 7,000 languages, explored a starship with including:
enough stockpiled red wine to get a planet drunk and
reunited an estranged family via the medium of a
teleporting mech duel. • A comprehensive guide to the Calliope system, a
new setting for Lancer campaigns, whether it’s In
Golden Flame or something else, complete with
It was a story so good I had to retell it. Soon after it was detailed notes on its history, locations, characters
over, I asked Jasmine’s permission to write it up. As I and culture;
wrote, it took on a life of its own. Characters and places
got fleshed out, and new ones added. Important plot
beats got moved around or changed entirely. I wasn’t • A guide to running the game, including advice on
just writing her campaign anymore; I was writing my setting up combat and portraying characters;
own story too.
• The first third of the campaign, which will take
In Golden Flame takes place in Calliope, a system players from License Level 0 to 5. This is grouped
colonized by mistake, taken for all it was worth and then into Chapters, Missions and Beats;
left to rot when greener pastures were found. The
players will take the role of an elite team of militia pilots • An appendix containing new NPCs for the player
in service to one of the system’s larger stations. The characters to fight.
station keeps them on standby for high-value
operations and sensitive tasks. Quite soon, they’re
going to get roped into the most sensitive task of all:
CONTENT WARNINGS
cancelling the apocalypse. For the benefit of both players and GMs, the following
content warnings should be noted. This book contains:

THE ESSENTIALS • Discussion of topics such as fascism, anti-labor

To run this campaign, the GM will need a copy of the action, police brutality, imperialism and colonialism.
full Lancer Core Rulebook. Although not strictly
necessary, it’s highly recommended they also have a • Discussion of parental abuse.
copy of The Long Rim supplement, as Calliope is part • Discussion and depiction of religious cults and their
of the Long Rim. Both of these books are available at beliefs, especially apocalypticism.
massif-press.itch.io along with a free version of the
core rulebook that can be distributed to players. • Discussion and depiction of violence and death.
• Light references to sex, alcohol and drug use.
In Golden Flame is designed for between 3 and 5
players, though with some work it can be run with fewer • Images that may be a phobia trigger for those with
or more. ornithophobia (fear of birds).

[9]
The Matrix tetralogy is important not just as a
INSPIRATIONS touchstone of millennial culture, but as a visual guide.
Here is a list of some of the media that the campaign Focus on the parts of the films that take place in the
draws inspiration from, in terms of aesthetic or themes. real world: all of Zion’s tech is reverse-engineered or
cobbled together from whatever was lying around, so
MUSIC no two pieces of gear look quite the same. Likewise,
The Warframe OST contains two masterpieces: We All the operator stations on each ship are different,
Lift Together is a song you might hear sung by work customized to an operator’s needs.
crews on Hell’s Gate, and Sleeping in the Cold Below
is a song well-suited to Calliope’s pirate bands. VIDEO GAMES
The Borderlands series heavily shaped this campaign.
The music of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is a While its writing and humor can grate, dig past it and
wonderful mix of blues and rock that fits perfectly in a there’s a fascinating world: a place chewed up, spat out
space western. Standout songs are White Palms, Beat and abandoned by corporations. Its visual aesthetic is
The Devil’s Tattoo, Weapon of Choice and their brutally perfect: you can tell everything on Pandora was once
ominous cover of God’s Gonna Cut You Down. new, but now it’s all chipped, cracked, streaked with
filth, strewn with trash. Everything, even its populace,
Hiroyuki Sawano composes soundtracks for countless is messy, cobbled together, always on the verge of
anime and video games featuring mecha. Particular falling apart. That’s exactly how Calliope looks.
stand-outs include Black Tar and The Key We’ve Lost
from Xenoblade Chronicles X, MKALIEZ from Aldnoah The Outer Worlds tells a story of a hopeful colony built
Zero, and the whole Gundam Hathaway OST. in a system that turned out to be much less hospitable
to human life than initially thought, ruled by hopelessly
Machinae Supremacy practically invented a new genre, ignorant capitalists who have no clue what they’re
chiptune metal, singing songs about solidarity, fighting doing and don’t care to learn. Nobody’s coming to help
oppression, future technology and being a badass – all them, either; the protagonists must find a way to fix
appropriate themes for a Lancer game. Renegades is things, or everyone dies.
a song about rallying unlikely allies to make a stand.
Cybergenesis is a song about humans building a Hardspace: Shipbreaker is more or less a Calliope life
weapon to wage war on God. Last March of the Undead simulator. You wake up every day in a grimy, cramped
is a song about love at the end of the world. apartment on a space station, looking down at a ruined
planet, spend all day doing risky, back-breaking work
The similarly-named Mechina are also a metal band, for peanuts and then go back to sleep, just so you can
though they lean more symphonic, telling a sweeping do it all again the next morning. Also, the country and
sci-fi epic spanning multiple albums about fanaticism, western soundtrack absolutely fits Calliope’s aesthetic.
fascism, the tragedy of history repeating, and demigod
cyborgs fighting in giant terraforming mecha the size of Sci-fi deckbuilder Griftlands tells three different stories
cities. Try Earth-Born Axiom, then listen to Pray to the of disreputable characters trying to get by in a strange,
Winds, Realm Breaker and The Horizon Effect. alien world colonized by various empires and species,
and then abandoned to its own devices.
TELEVISION, FILM AND VIDEO
Believe it or not, the Canadian sitcom Letterkenny is a The Dishonored series has one of the coolest
huge inspiration for this campaign. Jared Keeso paints aesthetics for the supernatural I’ve ever seen: angular,
a picture of a rural Ontario town full of bizarre, eccentric fragmented, looming, ominous, with small traces of
characters who somehow have to get along and help human subjectivity imposed on something deeply alien
each other in spite of differences. Their cliques would and inhuman.
fit right into Calliope: the hicks would easily fit in with
the work crews, the hockey players would love the WEB ORIGINAL
station militia and the skids are textbook sigdivers. Try as I might, I can’t deny it: Homestuck had a massive
influence on the way I write. I can’t even begin to
Continuing the theme of excellent Canadian comedy, explain what it is if you don’t already know, but it starts
the Victoria-based YouTube troupe LoadingReadyRun off as a webcomic about a house remodeling game that
have been a favorite of mine for a decade. Their Dice rapidly swerves into multiverse theory, time travel,
Friends TTRPG podcasts are what convinced me to try teenage angst and psychological trauma. It also has
my hand at game-mastering, and their sketches taught the best soundtrack of any webcomic. Most important
me a great deal about comedic writing. Jerry Masters is its idea that important events need not be depicted in
owes a lot to Graham Stark’s depiction of a man chronological order, but grouped by how similar in
desperately trying to convince his crowd of eccentric theme they are to one another.
friends and co-workers to just please do their jobs.

[10]
WELCOME TO CALLIOPE
Several light-years from the edge of the Dawnline Shore and slightly further from the Rào Cỏ blink station, the
system of Calliope sits at the mid-point of the Long Rim’s nadir transit route. Like the rest of the Long Rim, it’s a
backwater, far removed from the lofty idealism of Union, the ancient splendor of the Karrakin Trade Baronies or the
imperialistic dreams of Harrison Armory. Many people don’t even recognize the name, and those that do know it
mostly as somewhere you pass through to get somewhere else.

But millions of people live there. Millions of people, clinging on for dear life with only a few feet of metal and plastic
between them and the vacuum of space. They all have stories, hopes and dreams, and they’re no less important.
HISTORY OF CALLIOPE
Though wild stories about visits by one of the Ten and So it was that a decade later, dozens of colony ships,
doomed pre-Fall colonial missions do roaring trade in terraforming projects and construction crews showed
the bars, there’s no evidence that Calliope ever saw a up in C4L-P313/GW2, horrified to discover that it was a
human being until about three hundred years ago. wasteland with no habitable worlds. Even worse, the
Once they got here, though, they wasted no time in system currently sat in the middle of a decades-long
making one hell of a mess. blinkvoid, making omninet communication impossible.

Let’s get down to it, shall we? The few lucky expeditions with enough fuel for a return
trip turned around and went home, but the vast majority
were left stranded in an unsettled system, light years
THE SEMINAL MISTAKE from help. Entire ships sat laden with terraforming gear
Calliope was first discovered by the Coldstar and prefab structures, rendered useless by a lack of
Expedition in the years immediately following the suitable planets. Construction crews sat on top of
Interest War. Funded by Harrison Armory, Coldstar materials to build orbital infrastructure for colonies that
was a stellar mapping project tasked with finding could never exist.
reliable shipping lanes and stopover points between
the Rào Cỏ Station and the Dawnline Shore. There was little hope of rescue. Faced with the
monumental cost of sending out supply convoys and
Originally designated C4L-P313/GW2, Calliope’s tankers just to bring a bunch of colonists home, most
entire history hinges on a reporting error: the exact corporations wouldn’t bother, and even the more
details are lost to history, but it appears that one of conscientious ones would only send for their own.
Coldstar’s junior astronomers mistakenly gave Calliope Union couldn’t be relied upon either; they were busy
the GW2 designation, indicating that two Gaia or near- rebuilding after the revolution. Setting aside company
Gaia worlds had been detected in orbit. Calliope’s loyalties, the remaining expeditions united behind a
historians often say this set the tone for everything that simple, desperate plan: lie.
followed: a careless mistake leading to bad decisions.
The only way to get fresh supplies into C4L-P313/GW2
Not long after Coldstar returned to Union and its data was to convince their sponsors that the project was still
was distributed to the public, talk of the C4L-P313/GW2 viable, but would require significantly more resources
system swept the corporate world. It had two Gaia or than initially estimated. The blinkvoid also presented a
near-Gaia worlds, and stood about halfway between unique opportunity: if they sent their transmissions
the Shore and Rào Cỏ. Given the massive colonial now, they'd beat the returning vessels, who were still
push that Harrison Armory was making into the Shore, accelerating and wouldn’t reach nearlight for months.
a stopover for travel to and from it could make whoever
controlled it rich beyond their wildest dreams. As with many decisions in Calliope, it was made with
the best of intentions. As with many decisions in
Of course, Coldstar had never actually visited the Calliope, it was a bad idea that made things worse.
system, merely mapped it from light years away, but
the expedition's data must surely be trustworthy. After
all, it had been sponsored by Harrison Armory. What NO REFUGE IN AUDACITY
cause could anyone have to doubt? Upon hearing the first reports from their expeditions,
the corporations reacted with a frantic scramble to send
This lack of caution was compounded by the travel time more colonists. In an environment rife with espionage,
to C4L-P313/GW2. Yes, a prudent investor would’ve they were aware that their rivals had received similar
sent an independent expedition to confirm the tidings from their own colonists. This manic rush to
Coldstar’s report, but if the first thing you sent was a send a second expedition stretched many corporations
survey team, it would still cost a significant portion of past the limit of their operational budgets.
the time and money it would take to send a colony ship.
If your rivals cut out the middleman, all your scouting The more observant executives had misgivings about
expedition would tell you was that somebody beat you what the colonists were requesting: fuel, pause tank
to the punch. maintenance supplies, spare parts for nearlight drives
and in some cases, entire empty colony ships. These
No, the corporations had to send full expeditions at things were, to put it bluntly, not traditionally associated
once. No delay could be tolerated. Colony ships were with a successful colonial mission with a strong desire
pushed out from Rào Cỏ in record time. to stay where it was. But pressure from shareholders to
see a return on investment outweighed these concerns.

[12]
Even when the few expeditions that had been able to
return home reported that the system was barren, they
THE PYRITE AGE
were ignored; clearly, this was some kind of ruse. The Those corporations unwilling to waste further money on
corporations had received dozens of reports that the C4L-P313 abandoned their stakes and colonial
system was a paradise, and who were they going to charters, selling them to the remaining parties for a
trust? No, the second waves would depart on schedule. pittance. In order to stave off bankruptcy and spread
the financial burden, most of the corporations banded
together in a consortium that styled itself the “Calliope
Meanwhile, the first wave had not been idle. To survive Project,” formally adopting a nickname for the system
until rescue came, they’d cannibalized their original that had already been in use for a while.
hardware to build makeshift habitats. Work crews were
already equipped to build orbital infrastructure, and it
didn't take too much adaptation to start harvesting the Colonists from both waves, in dire straits and at each
resources the settlements needed. Some optimistic other's throats, abruptly found themselves under new
groups even started trying to terraform the planets that management. Calliope had no habitable worlds? No
would one day be called Asphodel and Mróz. matter; it didn't need them! The ingenuity displayed by
the first wave while making the best of a bad situation
was “deeply inspiring,” they were told. They’d forged
Life was still brutally hard. Rationing on basic supplies habitats and living spaces without the need for a Gaia
was tight. Essential equipment had to be jury-rigged, world. The system would now pivot from colonization to
reverse-engineered, or developed from scratch. mineral extraction. It was time for everyone to put aside
Technical failures were rampant, as machinery was their differences and work together.
stretched far beyond its intended scope and lifespan.
By the time the second wave arrived, attrition had
claimed almost 15% of the original compliment. At first glance, this idea seemed workable: for all its
many shortcomings, Calliope was fantastically rich in
mineral resources. With recent advancements in both
Unsurprisingly, when the second wave of colonists artificial intelligence and mechanized chassis, mining
found a hellscape where they expected paradise to be, was safer and more lucrative than ever before. By this
many heated words were thrown around. Historians time, settlement of the Dawnline Shore was speeding
have variously characterized them as “accusations,” up, and Union was announcing a new public works
“recriminations” and even “violent threats.” project every week. All of these projects were hungry
for raw materials. The markets were there.
Once the second wave had arrived, there was no hope
of keeping C4L-P313/GW2's situation secret any There really was a sense of renewed hope in those
longer. The blinkvoid had receded, and real-time days. The Project launched “Operation Dawn,” sending
communication was possible once again. The second a third and final wave of ships, this time bearing the
wave colonists immediately contacted their corporate goods and equipment the system actually needed.
sponsors and informed them of the desperate state the Plans for a major mining station were quickly drawn up,
system was in. This decision had unexpected and and construction work started almost immediately. One
deeply problematic results that ran contrary to the of the Project's most ambitious members, Impact
intentions of those who made it – which is to say, it was Dynamics, switched industries entirely, from ballistics
a bad idea that made things worse. research to agriculture and hydrology – and it worked.

When the news broke of C4L-P313 not being /GW2, Food shortages became a thing of the past as Impact
the corporations involved in its colonization split into Plaza started churning out fruit and vegetables so fast,
two groups: those who promptly hung up the omnihook they had to organize system-wide feast days just to
and pretended they'd never heard of such a place, and avoid running out of storage space. The Borealis, a
those who were forced to double down. giant ice-mining vessel, arrived with the third wave and
had fresh, pure water running to every habitat within a
The former group was mostly comprised of large, year of its arrival. The newly-built mining platform
wealthy, well-established organizations who saw the stoked the fires of industry.
entire business as an embarrassing mistake they'd
rather just write off and forget. Let the victims' families In the space of only a few decades, Calliope changed
sue; a hundred thousand compensation packages from the punchline of political omnicasts to a byword for
would still be cheaper than trying to salvage the project. high-risk, high-reward investments. Once, there was
even blue-sky talk of building a blink gate, right there in
The latter group, by comparison, were mostly smaller, the system: it would've been Phou Bia Station. The
less stable companies for whom a single failed project mere mention of that name can still bring some
could spell bankruptcy. They were fully engaged in Calliopeans to bitter tears.
C4L-P313, and their only options now were ride or die.

[13]
The flaw in Calliope's grand project was a matter of The Borealis held out for a long time, longer than
location. It had originally been theorized as a good anyone expected, munching ice from the belts of gas
stopover point between Rào Cỏ and the Dawnline giants and melting it down for pure water. She couldn't
Shore, but it wasn't serving as that anymore; it was a give it out for free anymore, but the prices were
mining system, equally far from both. GMS wasn't reasonable. Eventually, though, the drives started to
about to trek light years outside Ring 11 for materials pack up, and she had just enough left in her to get into
they could mine for themselves anywhere else. a stable orbit. They built a drum around her, and now
the old girl gets to wake up every day to the buzz of
That left Harrison Armory and the Karrakin Trade casinos and tattoo parlors.
Baronies in the Dawnline Shore, and for a time, that
was good enough. They certainly appreciated having a Pirates prowled the spacelanes, preying on the weak
source of raw materials for their colonies at only half or unprepared. The conditions on Hell's Gate got a bit
the distance, but they never intended to keep relying on worse every year, while Impact Dynamics jacked up the
external sources. They needed materials only until they price of food and water on the same schedule. Union
could mine the Dawnline themselves. Calliope sold the doesn't care. Everyone on the Icebreaker Borealis just
rope the Armory and the Baronies were hanging it with. partied like there’d be no tomorrow – and hell, who'd
want there to be?
The fall wasn't a terrifying, sudden collapse; it was a
slow boil, a gentle downward slope on export graphs
and shareholder quarterlies. Year after year, the
THE WASTELAND OF TODAY
system's two most reliable clients were buying less of Life's been hard since the start of the Void Age, not
what it was selling as they began to source their needs least because the people of Calliope had to look out
in situ. Shrewd executives began quietly selling up their across the Long Rim and see their story repeated again
stock and vacating their positions. and again, system after system, station after station,
unable to help.
There was a slow, creeping awareness that something
was going wrong. Bosses called for calm, but less of Ironically, the thing that “saved” Calliope in recent years
them were seen every day. People with the money to is a combination of everything that damned it in the first
leave were doing so. By the time people knew the full place. A second colonization push into the Dawnline
extent of what was going on, it was too late – too few Shore brought a rush of new traffic through the system,
ships were coming through, and most folks weren't rich including the Armory and the Baronies, the ones who
enough to buy passage on them. squeezed this system dry in the first place. IPS-N chose
Calliope as a stopover on one of its major transit routes,
and they've been the only reliable flow of new money
Once again, Calliope was on its own. into the system for some time now.

THE VOID AGE There’s been a cultural revival, too. Calliope is unique
Gone were the feast days, and the dreams of blink in many ways, and it captured the imagination of the
gates. The people of Calliope found themselves in the wider universe in a way no other system in the Long
very same jam their predecessors had a couple of Rim did. Music, art and writing by Calliopeans has
generations ago: stuck somewhere nobody wanted to reached far beyond the system, even to Union’s core
be, with very little hope of getting out and only what they worlds. Folk in the Core know about Calliope’s struggle,
had on hand to survive. and that gives some of its people hope.

The vast forges of the mining station that was once the Even the Central Committee has taken notice of the
system's pride fell silent one by one, as there simply system, finally, and while it hasn't deigned it important
wasn't enough demand to keep mining ships in the sky. enough to assign an Administrator, there's a permanent
Little by little, quality of life began to fall. One day, a representative on the Icebreaker now, and a neutral
nameless miner looked into the maw of its forward omninode in the system. There's even a single Union
cargo bay, into the glow of smelters burning ore nobody Navy vessel on patrol now, and that's made the pirates
would ever buy, and said it looked like Hell's gate. It's a little less bold and Impact Dynamics a little less eager
had no other name since. to fleece the system's poorest.

The few executives on Impact Plaza who didn’t flee There’s also a thin but steady trickle of new talent into
when they'd had the chance looked out at Calliope and the system. The Long Rim has always been a place
realized that even if they couldn't leave, they could still where one can disappear if one really needs to, but
live like kings. Everyone needed food, they had it, and Calliope is on a major transit route and it has a
with the system’s population trapped here, they could reputation as being slightly more “comfortable” than the
charge a premium. What else were the plebs going to rest of the Rim – relatively speaking.
do? Eat printloaf?

[14]
Still, living in Calliope is no cakewalk. Being poor is
expensive, and folks in Calliope don’t have much. Most
can barely make enough to keep the lights on and the
air flowing. Anyone who could afford to leave did,
decades or centuries ago. The pirates grow bolder
every year – and pickings are often slim enough that
some have turned to preying on other Calliopeans.

Too often, the fact that the Baronies and the Armory
are both using the system as a stopover point means
that one will have some scheme running to stop the
other from getting their convoys to the Dawnline Shore.
A couple of times every decade, the skies of Calliope
blaze with weapons fire as battlegroups engage
outside of Union’s jurisdiction. If the system is lucky,
local mercenaries get hired, mechanics get called in
and resupply runs are purchased. If not, the warring
giants just take what they need, press-ganging the
unfortunate and seizing vital supplies.

Everything in Calliope is falling apart, or close to it.

These stations were built centuries ago, mostly by
companies that no longer exist, using components that
are no longer sold. Techs have to spend weeks or
months reinventing the proverbial wheel just to print
replacement parts. Half the system’s computers are
reliant on a legacy codebase GMS stopped supporting
twelve decades ago. There are no “permanent
solutions” to technical issues out here, just patches on
patches on patches.

Calliopeans are used to these sorts of problems – that’s

their day-to-day. It’s a fact of life. They’re not even
particularly surprised when faced with more outlandish
things like the blinkvoids. That’s just how things are: the
whole Long Rim is weird.

But buckle up: things are about to get much weirder. It

starts with a broken printer…

[15]
TIMELINE
4698u: The first terraforming stations are deployed on
DISCOVERY PERIOD the system’s second planet, later named Asphodel. At
(4648–4688U) the same time, construction begins on a permanent
4648u: The Coldstar expedition discovers a G-class settlement in the planet’s northern hemisphere.
star, designated C4L-P313, while exploring the Long
Rim. It is mistakenly given the /GW2 designation, 4701u: The falsified reports the first wave sent back
indicating that it has two Gaia or near-Gaia worlds. reach their parent companies. The planning and
assembly of a second wave of colonial expeditions
4677u: The Coldstar expedition returns to Union starts immediately, in spite of dire reports from the few
space, and its findings become public knowledge. Due returning colony vessels.
to its apparent habitability, the C4L-P313/GW2 system
attracts immediate interest from colonial organizations. 4703u: The second wave of colonial expeditions
begins to depart.
4679u: The first of the colonial missions to C4L-
P313/GW2 is launched by Maddox & Haiden Inc., 4704u: Running short on reactor fuel, the colonists are
followed shortly thereafter by several others. forced to search the outer system for helium-3. While
scouting the sixth planet, a huge gas giant later named
4687u: The launch of the Petrovske Foundational Stygia, they discover massive mineral reserves across
Industries expedition to C4L-P313/GW2 is considered its five major moons. Efforts to extract helium-3 stall,
to be the last of the “first wave” of colonists, although however, as the colonists lack the equipment to deal
this is arbitrary; colony ships were launching with Stygia‘s strong gravity and lethal radiation belts.
sporadically all the way up to 4703u when the “second
wave” is generally agreed to have begun. 4705u: Construction work on Endymion’s Lament is
completed. The station begins agricultural production.
FIRST WAVE ERA 4706u: With fuel supplies critically low, the desperate
(4689–4712U) colonists abandon Stygia and explore the seventh
4689u: The first colony ships arrive in C4L-P313/GW2, planet, a small gas giant they later name Zahhak. They
only to discover that none of its planets are habitable. find a suitable helium-3 reservoir, but lack sufficient
Faster-than-light communication is unavailable due to time or resources to construct a new station. As a
blinkvoid activity. Although each expeditions’ supplies stopgap, Endymion’s Lament is towed into orbit over it.
are plentiful, they’re not designed for colonizing planets The colony ship Persimmon disappears from historical
like the ones they’ve arrived in orbit of, and they’re record at around the same time.
forced to improvise to survive.
4708u: Fuel supplies in the system stabilize as
4691u: The continued arrival of colonial expeditions Endymion’s Lament reaches full operational capacity.
causes increasing strain on local resources. Vessels However, without a support station in orbit, colonial
with sufficient supplies for a journey home begin to efforts on Mróz stall.
leave. With shortages mounting and the situation
desperate, the leaders of various expeditions agree to 4709u: Expeditions out to the system’s eighth planet, a
deceive their employers in order to convince them to gas giant later named Kalevala, report the existence of
send a rescue mission. massive ice rings and a complex swarm of mineral-rich
moons and asteroids. Meanwhile, on Asphodel, the
4693u: The last of the colonial vessels returning to northern settlement tops 60,000 residents, who begin
Union space departs. The first wave colonists settle in to call it Furnace City.
for a difficult two decades awaiting rescue.
4711u: The blinkvoid shrouding the system finally
4695u: A cluster of makeshift orbital habitats is ends, making access to the omninet possible again, but
assembled near the twin planets Amphion and Zethus. the emergency councils continue to impose blackout.
This station will one day be known as the Three Sisters.
The first recorded use of “Calliope” as a name for the 4712u: The existence of a ninth planet is confirmed: a
system occurs. small, distant ice giant in a highly inclined orbit,
theorized to be a captured rogue planet. It is named
4697u: Construction begins on Endymion’s Lament in Chameleon, but an expedition to it is deemed too costly
orbit of the system’s third planet, Mróz. and dangerous to attempt.

[16]
SECOND WAVE ERA THE PYRITE AGE
(4713–4758U) (4759–4862U)
4713u: The first colony fleet of the second wave arrives As a period of relative stability and prosperity, the Pyrite
in C4L-P313/GW2, followed shortly thereafter by a Age has few significant historical events of its own;
dozen more. Tensions erupt between the new arrivals however, there were many defining historical events
and the first wave of colonists. Transmissions which elsewhere in the galaxy at this time.
detail the state of affairs reach their parent companies.
4759u: Impact Plaza is officially declared complete.
4715u: The dire situation in C4L-P313 has become The Pyrite Age begins.
public knowledge. Union calls involved parties to the
omni and demands arrangements be made to provide 4804u: Union’s Bureau of Orbital and Non-Terrestrial
relief and evacuation for the colonists, but do not Management sends its first civilian liaison, Kelly
enforce this directive effectively. Colonial subsidiaries Yoshiyama, to Calliope. This act represents Union’s
belonging to IPS-N, SSC and Harrison Armory vacate first official presence in the system.
their claims in the system, leaving their associated
expeditions with no formal support.
4823u: In the nearby system of Djall, the prophet Idlir
Hisari foretells the end of the world according to divine
4719u: The remaining companies, unwilling or unable revelations granted to him by a phoenix, the One
to abandon C4L-P313, enter into negotiations to form a Plumed in Golden Flame. A religion based upon this
consortium: the Calliope Project. prophecy quickly spreads throughout the Long Rim.

4724u: The Calliope Project finally raises enough 4846u: Having falsely predicted the date and time of
venture capital to acquire the suspended colonial the apocalypse three times, Idlir Hisari announces a
charters, bringing every existing colonial expedition in fourth prophecy, but is murdered by disillusioned
Calliope under its umbrella. At this point, C4L-P313, followers before he can finish it. The religion he created
now officially “Calliope,” is a de jure corporate domain. quickly splinters along sectarian lines.

4727u: The Calliope Project formally commences 4857u: On Ras Shamra, Director-General John
Operation Dawn, one final, massive expedition to Creighton Harrison II dies in the Black Throne Incident.
Calliope. This time, it will carry the equipment, materials
and personnel the system truly needs. Amongst the
4862u: Although the end of the Pyrite Age was more a
ships selected are the CPS Borealis, a massive ice slow process than a single, definitive event, historians
mining vessel. agree the release of the last Calliope Project quarterly
earnings report marks a suitable cut-off point.
4739u: Operation Dawn’s fleet reaches Calliope and
immediately begins work. Construction on a massive
mining station in high orbit around Stygia begins, with THE VOID AGE
work on Impact Plaza, a vast orbital habitat near
Asphodel, following swiftly behind. Once the CPS
(4863–5016U)
Borealis arrives in orbit of Kalevala, it ends water 4894u: Decades of constant operation without
shortages throughout the system almost overnight. maintenance have left the CSP Borealis inoperable. It’s
set in a high orbit over Kalevala, and serves as the core
of a new space habitat catering to passing travelers.
4742u: The original plans for making Impact Plaza a
megacity are scrapped in favor of heavy agricultural
development. 4956u: The pirate lord Prem Bhagat founds the Knights
of the Dark Core as its first Grandmaster Martial.
4744u: The first refinery module on the Stygia Mining
Platform enters operation, with more modules following 4976u: Elsewhere in the galaxy, a DoJ/HR liberator
over the next five years. team arrives in orbit of Nestor, encountering fierce
resistance from the ruling Forefront regime, who are
fielding mechs. A five-year direct intervention begins.
4749u: Both habitation rings on the Stygia Mining
Platform are now complete and ready for habitation. A
vigorous recruitment drive fills the station to 80% of its 4991u: Construction of Union’s Neutral Omninode
capacity within the next decade. finishes, providing safe, free access to the Omninet
across the entire system. A single Union Navy carrier
on a rotating five-year schedule is assigned to defend
4752u: With the construction of the Ferryman cesium the facility, with the first being the UNS-CV Menderes.
mine, mining operations have now been constructed on
all five of Stygia’s major moons.

[17]
4992u: The “Demon Winter” takes place on Hell’s
Gate. The Hell Hounds are forced off the station. Bai
Zexian replaces Ryan Gleeson as station director.

4996u: Tens of thousands of refugees begin arriving

from Nestor, seeking somewhere they can escape from
both the Forefront and Union.

5004u: Steadily worsening conditions aboard Impact

Plaza cause workers to engage in a general strike. With
Impact Dynamics’ internal security forces unable to
deal with the situation, the directors hire the Hell
Hounds to “restore order.” While this does end the labor
action, it results in over ten thousand casualties and
more than three thousand fatalities. In response,
Endymion’s Lament indefinitely suspends fuel sales to
Impact Dynamics and its subsidiaries, and Hell’s Gate
restricts sale of raw materials.

5005u: The previous year’s strikebreaking action has

so badly damaged faith in Impact Dynamics’ board of
directors that Rodericke Steele, an entrepreneur who
recently arrived in the system, is able to seize a
controlling interest in the company.

5008u: Three of Calliope’s major pirate factions unite

for “Operation Firework,” a raid on an Armory supply
convoy and its battlegroup-scale escort. For unknown
reasons, the battlegroup’s capital ships punch out mid-
battle, leaving the supply convoy, its subline escorts
and strike craft complement behind.

5011u: The Amazon-class carrier UNS-CV Thames,

under the command of Captain Mercedes Ordaz,
arrives to relieve the UNS-CV Kinabalu.

5013u: Hell’s Gate station director Bai Zexian goes

missing. The Gate’s militia commander, Jerry Masters,
becomes acting station director.

5016u: The present day. It is early in the year. The

events of In Golden Flame start now, and take place
over the following months and years.

[18]
THE CALLIOPE SYSTEM

CALLIOPE ORCUS
Spectral Class: G6V (Yellow Dwarf) Orbital Distance: 86 million km (0.58 AU)
Age: 2.3 billion years Orbital Period: 166 standard days
Mass: 0.92 Sol Rotation: Synchronous
Radius: 0.94 Sol Radius: 7,531 km (1.2 Cradle radii)
Luminosity: 0.71 Sol Mass: 1.5 Cradle masses
Surface Gravity: 1.06 g
Calliope is a main-sequence yellow dwarf star. While it Surface Pressure: 90 atm
has no direct stellar partners, it exists as a member of Mean Temperature: 705ºK (809ºF)
a loose cluster of ten to fifteen stars thought to have Population: less than 500
originated in the same nebula several billion years ago.
Calliope demonstrates no unusual or noteworthy traits Orcus is a sweltering, violently acidic pressure-cooker,
for a star of its type. hellish even by Calliope’s standards. Apart from a
handful of aerostats harvesting chemicals from the
As a G-class star, Calliope is somewhat similar to Sol, upper atmosphere, there is no human activity on the
but much younger, slightly smaller and significantly planet at all. The freighters that service them are mostly
dimmer. Its lower output makes solar power much less automated, the service crews are kept as small as
efficient beyond the orbit of its innermost two planets, possible and any maintenance that doesn’t require
forcing most of the system to rely on fusion. direct human interaction is done remotely.

The star exhibits unusually high metallicity for a star of Orcus orbits so close to the star that it’s tidally locked;
its size and mass, leading to the formation of planets a day on Orcus is the same length as a year, and the
and moons rich in heavier elements. sun’s position in the sky never changes, so half the
planet is shrouded in permanent darkness. Its thick
atmosphere prevents a major temperature differential
Calliope sits just over ten light years from Rào Cỏ Blink
Station in the Annamite Line, and about six light years between its day and night sides, but the twilight band is
from Harrison’s World (DS1) in the Dawnline Shore. still racked with violent windstorms.
This makes it at an approximate halfway point for trips
to and from the Shore, which constituted a large part of There were once extravagant plans to terraform Orcus
the system’s initial appeal as a colonial target. using solar shades and mirrors. The beginnings of that
project are still in orbit, slowly falling apart.

No fights in Act 1 are set on Orcus. If PCs go there

anyway, mech activity on its aerostats might operate
under a combination of the Extreme Sun, Extreme
Heat and Corrosive Atmosphere environmental
conditions. Conditions on the surface are a hazard far
beyond Lancer’s ability to simulate.

[19]
ASPHODEL MRÓZ
Orbital Distance: 124 million km (0.83 AU) Orbital Distance: 210 million km (1.4 AU)
Orbital Period: 287 standard days Orbital Period: 538 standard days
Rotation: 36 hours Rotation: 97 hours
Radius: 5,694 km (0.9 Cradle radii) Radius: 4,499 km (0.7 Cradle radii)
Mass: 0.6 Cradle masses Mass: 0.3 Cradle masses
Surface Gravity: 0.7 g Surface Gravity: 0.6 g
Surface Pressure: 1.74 atm Surface Pressure: 1.32 atm
Mean Temperature: 323ºK (122ºF) Mean Temperature: 176ºK (-143ºF)
Population: approx. 3,500,000 Population: approx. 100,000

Asphodel is technically habitable! Yes, “technically” is Mróz is a world of violent extremes: deathly cold fields
doing a lot of work here. Yes, the rain is ceaseless and of stone-hard water ice and bitter carbon dioxide snow
highly acidic. Yes, you have to wear a hardsuit if you sizzle and simmer at the touch of fresh lava flows.
want to go outside. Yes, the gravity is a full 30% lower Storms crash overhead almost constantly, and the
than Cradle, which causes all sorts of health issues. ground trembles with violent tectonic activity. Strange,
Yes, the terraforming stations are working at reduced viscous lakes of liquid ethane and acetylene ripple and
capacity, so breathable air is still centuries away. But churn under intense tides.
you can live here, more or less.
During the early days of colonization in Calliope, there
Despite being of significantly lower mass than Cradle, was a brief attempt to increase the planet’s surface
the total amount of water on Asphodel is almost temperature by drilling through its crust to reach the
identical, concentrated mostly in a massive ocean at mantle. The Bores, as they came to be known, were a
the north pole, scattered great lakes across the rest of total failure: they created only tiny pockets of warmth
its surface, and endless rainclouds. that were tectonically unstable and racked by storms
even more violent than the rest of the planet.
The one major population center on Asphodel is
Furnace City, a massive domed habitat built in the Human habitation on Mróz clings mostly to the equator,
northern highlands where temperatures are just about where temperatures are slightly warmer, the storms are
manageable. Outside of the city, there’s a complex slightly less violent and space launches are slightly
tangle of smaller settlements and nomad groups known easier. Still, it’s a brutally unpleasant place – even the
as “outlanders,” eking out a living in the canyons and outlanders of Asphodel don’t live in such precarious
scablands. circumstances as those on Mróz.

Outside the climate-controlled dome of Furnace City, Mróz possesses a single, large moon, Strata, which
combat on Asphodel operates normally, although at orbits perilously close to its Roche limit, exerting
times there might be Electrical Storms. In regions immense tidal stress on Mróz.
toward the equator, temperatures rise to dangerous
levels, the lakes roil and churn, and the Primordial Combat on Mróz usually operates under the Extreme
World environmental condition applies. Cold and Electrical Storms environmental conditions.
It’s also quite common to encounter Earthquakes.
Asphodel possesses two moons: the closer and Close to the Bores, Extreme Cold doesn’t apply, but
smaller Orpheus, and the distant, larger Eurydice. the storms become Dangerous Storms and there are
Impact Plaza orbits at the L4 Orpheus-Asphodel always Earthquakes.
Lagrange point.

[20]
THE TWINS
Orbital Distance: 310 million km (2.1 AU)
Orbital Period: 3.1 standard years
Co-Orbit Period: 11.6 standard days

The Twins are a co-orbital system: two planets similar

enough in mass that each orbits the other. The larger,
Amphion, is a frigid ice ball, and the smaller, Zethus,
is a barren, airless rock. They are mutually tidally
locked, always presenting the same face to each other,
and complete a co-orbit once every eleven days.

Because of their similar size, proximity and slow

rotation, the Twins regularly and frequently eclipse one
another. Zones of totality can cross most of a planet’s ZETHUS
day-side surface, and the eclipses sometimes last for Radius: 2,628 km (0.4 Cradle radii)
hours. There’s a local tourism industry, jointly operated Rotation: Co-orbitally synchronous
by Three Sisters and the Icebreaker Borealis, based Mass: 0.05 Cradle masses
around trips down to the Twins to witness eclipses. Surface Gravity: 0.3 g
Surface Pressure: Negligible
Mean Temperature: 110ºK (-262ºF)
Population: less than 10,000

The smaller of the Twins, Zethus is a barren ball of ice

with almost no atmosphere. It exhibits significant
cryovolcanic activity due to the proximity of Amphion,
but its magnetic field isn’t strong enough to prevent
volatiles from being stripped away by the solar wind.

Combat on Zethus operates under the Low Gravity

environmental condition.

THE INNER BELT

Approximate Center: 435 million km (2.9 AU)
AMPHION Total Mass: 0.03 Lunar masses
Radius: 3,765 km (0.7 Cradle radii)
Rotation: Co-orbitally synchronous
The Inner Belt is a swarm of asteroids, planetoids and
Mass: 0.14 Cradle masses
planetesimals centered between the orbit of The Twins
Surface Gravity: 0.4 g
and Stygia, and is one of the main sources of Calliope’s
Surface Pressure: 0.13 atm
mineral wealth. Components range in size from the
Mean Temperature: 166ºK (-160ºF) colossal 1 Boltzmann at more than 500 km in radius to
Population: less than 10,000 miniscule rocks barely a hundred meters across.
The larger of the Twins, Amphion is a frigid, desolate
ball of rock and ice. Tidal heating from Zethus causes The naming convention for major asteroids in Calliope
active plate tectonics and volcanic activity, providing a is inconsistent; a lot of the earliest finds were named
thin, bitterly cold atmosphere. It has a weak but present after famous scientists from Cradle history, such as 3
magnetic field that prevents volatiles from being Nordstrom and 11 Jianxiong. Later discoveries were
stripped away by Calliope’s solar wind. named after heroic figures from the First Wave Era,
such as 38 Aura and 47 Tobias. Nowadays, asteroids
tend to be named after or by whoever first discovered
The Three Sisters station orbits Amphion.
them, such as 281 Charger and 367 Maryam.

Combat on Amphion operates under the Thin

Since there’s no central registry for names, many are
Atmosphere, Extreme Cold and Low Gravity
disputed – the asteroid that Hell’s Gate recognizes as
environmental conditions.
441 Yaoundé is instead known as 441 Steele by
Impact Dynamics, and by sixteen different names on
the Icebreaker depending on which member of the
Board you ask.

[21]
STYGIA ZAHHAK
Orbital Distance: 600 million km (4 AU) Orbital Distance: 1.1 billion km (7.34 AU)
Orbital Period: 8.4 standard years Orbital Period: 18.4 standard years
Rotation: 11 hours Rotation: 9 hours
Radius: 71,360 km (~1 Jupiter radii) Radius: 33,789 km (0.5 Jupiter radii)
Mass: 1.1 Jupiter masses Mass: 33 Cradle masses
Mean Temperature: 165ºK (-162ºF) Mean Temperature: 149ºK (-191ºF)

Slightly more massive than Jupiter, Stygia stands as a Zahhak is a small ammonia-cloud gas giant with no
giant among giants, and is the treasure trove upon close Cradle analogue; closer in scale to Neptune or
which much of Calliope’s outer-system infrastructure Uranus but twice the mass and closer in composition to
was built. From its thin dust belts to its trojan asteroids, Jupiter or Saturn. In addition to being an interesting
from its five major moons to its innumerable moonlets, astronomical curiosity, it also provides some major
everything is fabulously rich in just about every mineral practical applications to Calliope’s inhabitants.
known to human science.
Due to its small size, Zahhak’s magnetic field is much
It's also brutal: its magnetosphere generates fierce weaker than those of Stygia or Kalevala, meaning that
radiation bands that can be lethal in weeks or days to it lacks the lethal radiation belts of its larger siblings.
the unprotected. Its crushing gravity well can strand This allows for safe harvesting of its immense reserves
careless ships or drag them to their doom. Storms rage of deuterium and helium-3, vital reactor fuels.
constantly in its upper atmosphere, its cloudy face
boiling with red welts the size of lesser planets. The majority of this work is done by a giant ram-jet
extractor. The harvester burns immense quantities of
Stygia has five major moons. Ferryman is a mottled regular hydrogen to maintain supersonic velocity, while
iron-silicate terrestrial moon with heavy volcanic filtering out fusile elements and pumping them upwards
activity. Obol is similar, although its volcanism is less via its connected space elevator to Endymion’s
pronounced. Barge is a smooth, nearly pristine sphere Lament, a waystation orbiting 36,000 kilometers above
of ice crisscrossed with shallow gullies. Shore and the edge of the planet’s atmosphere.
Staff are both ice worlds with a rougher, pockmarked
appearance, having suffered heavy bombardment Zahhak has a single major moon, Duzakh, a frigid ball
during the system’s early history. of ice with a tenuous krypton atmosphere. Its heavily
cratered surface is unusually colorful, mottled various
The Stygia Mining Platform, now known as Hell’s Gate, shades of purple, red, brown and beige, for reasons still
orbits at a million kilometers, 200,000 km further out not fully understood by astronomers.
than Staff, well away from Stygia’s radiation belts and
safe from gravitational perturbation by its moons. As a gas giant, combat cannot occur on Zahhak.
Combat on Duzakh operates under the Low Gravity
As a gas giant, combat cannot occur on Stygia. Combat environmental condition.
on Ferryman or Obol operates under the Thin
Atmosphere, Earthquakes, Molten World, Tomb
World and Low Gravity environmental conditions.
Combat on Barge, Shore or Staff operates under the
Low Gravity environmental condition.

[22]
KALEVALA CHAMELEON
Orbital Distance: 1.7 billion km (11.3 AU) Orbital Distance: 9.3 billion km (32.7 AU)
Orbital Period: 40.5 standard years Orbital Period: 195.3 standard years
Rotation: 8 hours Rotation: 13 hours
Radius: 59,415 km (0.8 Jupiter radii) Radius: 24,837 km (0.35 Jupiter radii)
Mass: 0.84 Jupiter masses Mass: 13.58 Cradle masses
Mean Temperature: 134ºK (-218ºF) Mean Temperature: 72ºK (-330ºF)

A large gas giant with a magnificent ring system, A distant, dark ice giant similar to Uranus or Neptune,
Kalevala is often compared to Saturn, though it’s much Chameleon’s existence wasn’t confirmed by Calliope’s
closer in mass to Jupiter. Like Stygia, it possesses an residents until just before the arrival of the Second
intense magnetic field that makes it hazardous to Wave. Its highly inclined, eccentric orbit and the wide
approach too close. separation between it and Kalevala suggest that it
might be a rogue planet captured by Calliope hundreds
Kalevala has three major moons. The closest is Ukko, of millions of years ago.
an icy moon exhibiting intense cryovolcanism due to
the tidal stress exerted by Kalevala. The second is Chameleon has two major moons, Saeculum and
Loviatar, a moon comprised of a rocky core covered Umbra, both cryovolcanic iceballs. There’s a small
by a hundred-kilometer-thick envelope of ice. The third network of orbital satellites and emergency supply
is Ahti, an immense rock-ice world with a thick caches, but no known settlements or permanent
nitrogen-methane atmosphere and hydrocarbon lakes residents. No pirate group claims it as territory.
at its poles.
Chameleon holds a reputation among Calliopeans as a
In addition, Kalevala has a large number of minor place of great riches and great danger. Its rings and
moons orbiting close to its ring system, and a swarm of moons contain unusually high concentrations of rare
distant captured asteroids and comets in the outer elements, but even at periapsis it still lies two weeks
reaches of its orbital sphere. travel from a major port. With no settlements that far
out and no stations to berth a ship, there’s few rescue
Kalevala’s ring system was extensively harvested for crews who can get to you fast enough if something
water and volatiles during the Pyrite Age, but despite goes wrong. Many expeditions never return.
the sheer scale of the operation, the mass lost to
human activity wasn’t enough to visibly change their Adding to Chameleon’s ominous reputation is its
appearance. unusually strong aurorae, the “Ghostcrown.” Legends
say that if you die in orbit, your soul is doomed to
As a gas giant, combat cannot occur on Kalevala. wander the planet’s polar vortices forever.
Combat on Ukko and Loviatar operates under the Low
Gravity environmental condition, while combat on Ahti Nevertheless, Chameleon is currently on the approach
operates under Low Gravity and Extreme Cold. phase of its orbit and will reach periapsis in about forty
years. The “golden decades” for exploiting Chameleon
The Icebreaker Borealis leisure resort orbits at around have started for the first time in a century and a half,
890,000 kilometers, between Loviatar and Ahti. This and a few expeditions venture out every year.
puts it outside the worst of the planet’s radiation belts,
but still affords stunning views of the planet’s rings. As an ice giant, combat cannot occur on Chameleon.
Combat on Saeculum or Umbra operates under the
Thin Atmosphere, Extreme Cold and Low Gravity
environmental conditions.

[23]
SETTLEMENTS IN CALLIOPE
Estimates by the Union Bureau of Orbital and Non-
Terrestrial Management place Calliope’s permanent
population at somewhere in the low tens of millions. But
as with other parts of the Long Rim, estimates of this
kind are very difficult to make accurately.

At any given time, more people are living on a station

than anyone knows about. Unregistered residents
include stowaways who decided this was the station
they were getting off at, small groups living unnoticed
in areas with low foot traffic and – if rumors are to be
believed – entire civilizations living in forgotten spaces
only accessible via maintenance tubes.

There isn’t anything close to a unified immigration

policy in Calliope, even on individual stations. Not every FURNACE CITY
settlement takes censuses. Even for those settlements Location: Asphodel
that do, if a person wasn’t on the last census and show Configuration: Domed city
up on the latest one, they’re welcome to stay so long Diameter: 3 km (dome), 12 km (complex)
as they can contribute something to a community. Population: approx. 3,000,000 permanent
approx. 50,000 itinerant
On the other hand, not everyone who's registered on a approx. 300,000 outlanders*
station is a permanent resident. A lot of people go
where the work is. Itinerant workers either base out of Furnace City might just be unique: a planetary
one of the smaller habitats scattered throughout the metropolis in the Long Rim. It was originally built by
system or don’t have a permanent home at all. There first-wave colonists who had been promised a planet to
are many other reasons someone might move between live on and were willing to risk death to see that promise
stations, too; a lot of free traders, criminals and fugitives fulfilled. At first little more than a collection of prefab
don’t have a permanent home either. shelters, it grew over time to a magnificent dome
protecting its populace from Asphodel’s sweltering heat
Calliopean society is centered around the “Big Four,” a and toxic atmosphere.
triad of space stations and a planetary settlement:
Hell’s Gate, Icebreaker Borealis, Impact Plaza and The Calliope Project vastly expanded its industrial
Furnace City. Most of the system’s economic and capacity, seeing it as a useful center for processes that
political activity takes place either within these major worked better in non-spin gravity, required specific
settlements, or elsewhere under their authority. volatile chemicals or that were otherwise too hazardous
to conduct on space stations. Plus, pollution wasn’t an
This is in contrast to the “Thousand Habs,” scattered issue; the planet was already a wasteland.
settlements, small stations and habitation modules
which contain the majority of Calliope’s population. Nowadays, it operates as an independent hybrid
Technically, any habitat not in the Big Four is one of the socialist city-state with a mostly flat hierarchy. All
Thousand Habs, but the actual definition is more residents are of equal standing within the community,
complicated; for example, nobody in Calliope would and vote on almost all major city initiatives, although a
consider Endymion’s Lament or the Three Sisters to be representative council does exist for day-to-day affairs.
part of the Thousand Habs, nor outlander settlements
on Asphodel. Pirate strongholds are likewise excluded. Currently, Furnace City boasts the largest permanent
population of any settlement in Calliope, but due to the
Thus, there’s a third catch-all category of settlement: difficulties involved in getting to and from the surface,
“the Others.” Specifically, Endymion’s Lament and the its itinerant population is very low. A large population of
Three Sisters are known as “the Other Two,” in “outlanders” live in the rainswept lands outside the city,
recognition of their unique importance to Calliopean having appointed themselves as the caretakers of the
history, economy and culture. The fifth most common planet’s terraforming infrastructure.
cause of Calliopean bar brawls is disagreement over
whether this category should be dropped in favor of just
saying “the Big Six.”

[24]
IMPACT PLAZA HELL'S GATE
Orbiting: Asphodel Orbiting: Stygia
Orbital Distance: 187,000 km (L4 Lagrange) Orbital Distance: 1 million km
Orbital Period: approx. 12 standard days Orbital Period: approx. 7 standard days
Configuration: O'Neill cylinder Configuration: Hybrid barbell
Length (long axis): 40 km Length (long axis): 7 km
Population: approx. 500,000 permanent Population: approx. 1,500,000 permanent
approx. 1,500,000 itinerant approx. 500,000 itinerant

Impact Plaza has been in constant operation since It used to be called the Stygia Mining Platform, but that
4759u – more than two and a half centuries. This didn’t stick. “Hell’s Gate” did, and that name has been
makes it the second oldest member of the Big Four, an uncomfortably apt description for as long as anyone
and the oldest of the Big Four in space. can remember.

Commissioned with the explicit purpose of serving as By population the second largest of the “Big Four” in
Impact Dynamics’ new corporate headquarters, no Calliope, Hell’s Gate used to be a hive of activity, back
expense was spared in the Plaza’s construction. At when people thought Calliope could sell its vast mineral
once beautiful and functional, with nearly 400 square wealth to the galaxy. Nowadays, it’s barely holding on:
kilometers of habitable surface area, Impact Plaza was nobody’s going to trek ten light years into the dark just
originally designed to house tens of millions of people to buy metal, and the only market for what’s left is other
in vast city districts, as the center of Impact Dynamic’s settlements in the system.
new corporate fiefdom.
Hell’s Gate (often just “the Gate”) is a long, bulky maze
When the sheer scale of the humanitarian crisis in of industrial facilities with a habitation ring at each end.
Calliope became apparent, much of the planned The rings rotate oppositionally, producing spin gravity.
cityscape was scrubbed in favor of ultra-high-density The core of the station is stationary and does not
agricultural development. Approximately 90% of the generate artificial gravity, which provided a perfect
station’s habitable area is currently employed for food environment for its myriad smelters and foundries back
production, in addition to the separate ring of smaller, when they operated at full capacity.
purpose-built hydroponic “hatbox” cylinders originally
meant to service the station itself. Nowadays they’ve gone dark and silent, and folks don’t
know if many of the shuttered facilities could be brought
Architecturally, the station was never built for maximum back online. The few that still run are understaffed, and
practicality; it was meant to be the new corporate those who do show up for shifts are overworked. The
headquarters of a rising star in galactic weapons Gate’s best years are long behind her, if she ever had
manufacture, and so concessions had to be made to fit any in the first place.
the grandeur of Impact Dynamics’ vision. Rodericke
Steele has recently made significant “improvements” to Still, there’s a sense of communal responsibility to the
the station’s exterior, including a set of three-kilometer Gate: if nobody works the mines, if nobody runs the
golden statues of himself. smelters, the whole system will grind to a halt. There
are two million people living on the station, and they all
CheckFuelLevel: I’M SORRY IS NOBODY GOING TO need somewhere to live. People don’t have much, but
TALK ABOUT THE PLACEMENT OF THE SWORD they share it freely, and they pull together.
– Muse chatter

[25]
ICEBREAKER BOREALIS ENDYMION’S LAMENT
Orbiting: Kalevala Orbiting: Zahhak
Orbital Distance: 890,000 km Orbital Distance: 36,500 km
Orbital Period: approx. 6 standard days Orbital Period: Synchronous
Configuration: Ad-hoc cylinder constructed Configuration: Space elevator counterweight
around retired mining vessel with Stanford torus
Length (long axis): 15km Diameter (torus): 5 km
Population: approx. 1,500,000 permanent Population: approx. 250,000 permanent
approx. 3,000,000 itinerant approx. 100,000 itinerant

Even the impoverished workers of Calliope need a little Endymion’s Lament is a shining example of how far
rest and relaxation sometimes, and the Icebreaker ingenuity can go in moments of desperation: a space
Borealis prides itself as the foremost purveyor of luxury elevator built to descend into the atmosphere of a
in all the Long Rim, let alone Calliope. planet with no surface, anchored to a giant jet engine.

Built around the CPS Borealis, an old ice mining frigate, Built during the worst years of the First Wave,
the Icebreaker is a chaotic tangle of districts and Endymion’s Lament was originally intended as a sky-
modules lashed together into a loose cylinder and farm for surface settlements on Mróz. But when fuel
haphazardly secured to the ship’s outer hull. shortages threatened the survival of the entire system,
the Lament was pressed into a different kind of service.
The station provides all manner of pleasure and vice,
from its casinos, dive bars, holodromes and drug dens Attempts to harvest Stygia had been abandoned due to
to subaltern fighting pits, massage parlors, and an the giant’s radiation and heavy gravity. A suitable
establishment that confidently advertises itself as “the reservoir was discovered on Stygia’s smaller, more
only five-star resort and spa in the Long Rim.” distant sibling Zahhak, but there wasn’t enough time to
build a whole new station as a counterweight. The
The Icebreaker Borealis boasts that it’s the only reason newly-finished Lament happened to be suitable, and so
anyone from the rest of the galaxy comes to Calliope at the entire station was towed out to Zahhak.
all. That’s not entirely unfounded, either; a lot of IPS-N
freighters making a trek through the Long Rim pass Since that day, Endymion’s Lament has provided the
through Calliope specifically to provide their crews with majority of the system’s helium-3 and deuterium,
shore leave on the Icebreaker. Harrison Armory crews although that crown has dulled with time. In the middle
travelling to or from the Dawnline Shore are known to of the Pyrite Age, advances in infrastructure allowed
stop over for month-long breaks between nearlight harvesting on Stygia, and once the Icebreaker Borealis
travel. SSC even has an office which seems to far started operating, it quickly set up its own operation on
exceed the size necessary for handling the tiny amount Kalevala. Nonetheless, most smaller settlements in
of business they do in the system. Calliope run off of fuel Endymion’s Lament produces.

Union’s civilian offices are also here, with its small As the system’s largest fuel supplier, the Lament also
corps of administrative staff constantly fielding aid serves as a popular stopover point for ships that are
requests on the one hand and insults on the other. either in a hurry to get back underway, or are too cheap
to give their crews shore leave on the Icebreaker.

[26]
THREE SISTERS THE THOUSAND HABS
Orbiting: Amphion Orbiting: Various
Orbital Distance: 15,500 km Configuration: Various
Orbital Period: 18 hours Population: above 10,000,000 permanent
Configuration: Ad-hoc ring structure above 10,000,000 itinerant
Diameter (ring): 7 km
Population: approx. 400,000 permanent Not a single place, but a general term for smaller
approx. 275,000 itinerant stations, carve-outs, shelters, habitats and settlements
throughout the system. Settlements that fall into this
Three Sisters is Calliope’s oldest major space habitat category can range from family units of less than 10
still in active use. It was initially constructed as a basic, people to small cities of 100,000 residents, but most are
skeletal ring anchoring three separate habitats to one somewhere in the lower middle, averaging between
another so that they could operate under spin gravity. 20,000 to 30,000 inhabitants.

At first, the ring didn’t even connect the habitats; each The Thousand Habs were built from almost everything;
had to handle their own power, water and supplies, and repurposed planetary prefabs, old colony ships, gutted
anyone wanting to move between them had to take a freighters, hollowed-out asteroids – whatever could be
shuttle or spacewalk. As time went on, power and water found and turned into living space. Most habitats spin
lines were added, then a magtrain system, then a to generate gravity, but the smallest and poorest must
unified docking bay at the ring’s center. make do without; a poor prospect for their inhabitants’
long-term health.
Eventually, living space on the original three habitats
became so scarce that new ones had to be built in The majority of the Habs tend to be clustered fairly
empty sections of the ring. In the present day, there are close to a major settlement, which means the majority
twelve habitats on the ring, each with varying levels of are centered on Asphodel, the Twins, Zahhak, Stygia
integration to the station’s common systems. or Kalevala, but there are Habs in orbit of every other
planet and moon in the system besides Chameleon,
and some drifting out in interplanetary space.
No station in Calliope is straightforward to maintain, but
the Three Sisters is a whole new level of nightmare for
wrenchies. Its original components were designed The Habs are serviced by a vast number of small ships
mostly for planetary construction; each of the original that run frequent circuits between settlements, ferrying
three Sisters – Ereshkigal, Hecate and Marzanna – goods, services and people from one to another. Most
were built with components manufactured by different of the Habs make a living from industries like mining,
companies, and some of the later habitats used yet salvaging, small-scale fabrication or agriculture, but
other brands. The problem persists even to this day; some act only as a “home base” for itinerant workers
“when the Sisters standardize” is a common Calliopean who go where there’s jobs and pay.
phrase meaning “not soon, probably never.”
Habs vary in political alignment, although as a general
Currently, the Three Sisters’ main export industry is rule they usually match the agenda of the closest major
spaceship construction and maintenance. It has a long- settlement; it does you no good to piss off the people
standing arrangement with the Icebreaker Borealis to best positioned to help you in a crisis.
honor repair vouchers for visiting ships if the
Icebreaker’s technicians can’t fix a problem.

[27]
FORT CERBERUS
Orbiting: Calliope
Orbital Distance: 600 million km (4 AU)
Orbital Period: 8.4 standard years
Configuration: Mining facility built into large
irregular asteroid
Population: approx. 500 permanent

Fort Cerberus is the current name of a Stygia-trojan

asteroid originally named 137 Naranbaatar, and was
extensively mined for platinum by Hell’s Gate during
the Pyrite Age.

Decades of unsafe mining procedures weakened the

asteroid’s structural integrity, eventually causing it to
disintegrate during a routine blasting operation. Its
shattered fragments float in a loose clump about one
hundred kilometers across, with the core of the mining
base occupying the largest fragment, more or less
undamaged.

During the early Void Age, it came into the possession

of Endymion’s Lament, who used it as a convenient
waystation for small ships that needed to refuel on their
way to the outer planets, but it became too expensive
to maintain, and fell into disuse.

After the Demon Winter of 4992, Andros Capella

brought the remnants of the Hell Hounds there to lick
their wounds. He only intended to stay a few months,
but by the time the Hounds were back in fighting shape,
it seemed like a waste of resources to move again. In
the following two and a half decades, he radically
expanded the facility. This included the installation of a
large number of point-defense cannons, and the mining
laser he stole from Hell’s Gate, which he’s modified into
a long-range turreted superweapon.

TheCrimsonLioness: There’s an old locker over

there nobody wants to try blasting open
because it has an “explosives” sticker on it.
It has a five-digit code and lets you get it
wrong five times every 24 hours. By process of
elimination, the number must be over 40000.
– Muse chatter

[28]
TRAVEL IN CALLIOPE
While this campaign includes travel times for all Note that the time listed in the chart is the time passed
mission-relevant journeys, the PCs might want to travel from an external, realspace perspective. Due to the
somewhere else in the system on their own time. effect of time dilation at relativistic speeds, time passed
from the traveler’s perspective will be significantly
shorter. If it’s necessary to know how much time
1G ACCELERATION passed from the traveler’s frame of reference, divide
One of the small mercies of Calliope is that fuel is the external time by 10. For example, a trip that takes
plentiful and drives are efficient. You can generally 60 minutes from an external perspective will only seem
accelerate under a constant 1g thrust until you’re to take 6 minutes from the traveler’s perspective.
halfway to your destination, then flip over and
decelerate for the other half. This not only makes for There is a minimum safe distance to target for plotting
speedy transit; it provides something close to regular a nearlight bolt – the Ngcobo limit – which is generally
gravity for all but a couple of minutes in the middle. around ten light-minutes. Due to time dilation, at
distances less than the Ngcobo limit, ships do not have
2G ACCELERATION enough time to flip around for deceleration. Even if they
could, passengers would be exposed to acceleration
When time is of the essence, an interplanetary mission
can operate at 2g thrust for short periods, up to a few and deceleration shock too rapidly to ensure survival.
days. This is unpleasant for humans: ship crews must
wear exoskeletons or remain confined to hardsuit at all A DARING NEARLIGHT AMBUSH
times. Basic physical activities like showering, handling The Ngcobo limit exists mostly to answer a question
objects or pouring oneself a drink become hazards, as some clever player might ask: “why don’t people just
objects are twice as heavy and accelerate twice as fast. sit a few light seconds away, then ambush their
targets via nearlight bolt?” That said, when told that
Travel under 2g thrust also has an unfortunate cost- something is a terrible idea, some players are only
benefit ratio: because of the way acceleration works, further encouraged to try it.
it’s far more effective the further you have to travel, but
long trips are the ones you least want to make at 2g. Legends are told in Calliope’s bars about “sub-
Ngcobo maneuvers,” wherein a nearlight bolt is
PCs who run at 2g for more than six hours arrive at their plotted only a couple of light-minutes or even a few
destination reduced to half their normal pilot HP. light-seconds out, usually as part of a surprise
attack. Tales of success are spectacular and rare.
Tales of catastrophic failure are equally spectacular,
NEARLIGHT BOLT and far more common.
The PCs will not have access to nearlight travel early
in the campaign. While their ship, the Dragon’s Tooth, Given that you should always try to say yes to your
is capable of it, it doesn’t have the necessary k-couches players, sub-Ngcobo maneuvers are theoretically
and automedical equipment to make a bolt survivable. possible, with an emphasis on “theoretically.” If, for
The PCs will obtain this gear at the end of Mission 4. example, you were to connect an equally powerful
nearlight drive to the front of your ship, accelerate to
Even once the ship has the equipment installed, it a lower fraction of the speed of light, then decelerate
should be made clear to the PCs that even in ideal using the extra drive, you could arrive with only a few
circumstances, a bolt is a very unpleasant experience. seconds’ or minutes’ warning.
Of course, they’re PCs, so they never die in the
process, but doing so reduces them to 1 pilot HP. If The downsides or failure states of such a maneuver
you’re using bonds (Field Guide to the Karrakin Trade are left as an exercise to the GM, but as a rule of
Baronies, p. 86), it instead causes 4 Stress. thumb, it should look like something a movie studio
blew its entire special effects budget on.
That being said, there’s no faster way to get to a
destination. Furthermore, a ship in bolt will arrive only
a few seconds behind the light carrying the information
of its approach; if you calculate your exit point well, it’s
one of the very few ways of launching a genuine
surprise attack in space.

[29]
FROM HELL’S GATE 1g thrust 2g thrust Nearlight
Calliope 6 days 4 days 35 minutes
Orcus 5 days 4 days 30 minutes
Asphodel (inc. Impact Plaza, Furnace City) 5 days 4 days 30 minutes
Mróz 5 days 3 days 25 minutes
The Twins 7 days 5 days 50 minutes
Inner Belt (depending on destination) 3-8 days 2-5 days 15-60 minutes
Stygia (any other orbital component) 3-7 hours 3-6 hours N/A (too close)
Zahhak 9 days 6 days 80 minutes
Kalevala (inc. Icebreaker Borealis) 11 days 7 days 2 hours
Chameleon 14 days 11 days 4 hours

FROM ICEBREAKER BOREALIS 1g thrust 2g thrust Nearlight

Calliope 10 days 7 days 90 minutes
Orcus 10 days 7 days 90 minutes
Asphodel (inc. Impact Plaza, Furnace City) 10 days 7 days 90 minutes
Mróz 10 days 7 days 2 hours
The Twins 9 days 6 days 80 minutes
Inner Belt (depending on destination) 8-10 days 6-8 days 1-2 hours
Stygia (inc. Hell’s Gate) 11 days 7 days 2 hours
Zahhak 10 days 7 days 2 hours
Kalevala (any other orbital component) 5-6 hours 4-5 hours N/A (too close)
Chameleon 18 days 13 days 6 hours

FROM ASPHODEL ORBIT 1g thrust 2g thrust Nearlight

Calliope 2 days 2 days N/A (too close)
Orcus 35 hours 1 day N/A (too close)
Asphodel (any other orbital component) 3-4 hours 2-3 hours N/A (too close)
Mróz 3 days 2 days 10 minutes*
The Twins 5 days 3 days 20 minutes
Inner Belt (depending on destination) 4-5 days 3-4 days 20-30 minutes
Stygia (inc. Hell’s Gate) 5 days 4 days 30 minutes
Zahhak 7 days 5 days 1 hour
Kalevala (inc. Icebreaker Borealis) 10 days 7 days 90 minutes
Chameleon 16 days 11 days 4 hours
* Mróz has just moved outside of Asphodel’s Ngcobo limit, but will return to it by the end of 5016u.

[30]
TECHNOLOGY IN CALLIOPE
“Okay, newbie, listen up. Remember your width and Larger stations have dedicated agriculture sectors that
colors. If you see a thick black cable, that’s use a combination of conventional soil and hydroponics
three-phase power. If it’s a thin black wire, it’s to grow fruits, vegetables and staple crops. Smaller
a local neutral. Thin red is a local live, and stations have to make do with running grow-houses in
thin green is an earth. Now, if you see a purple whatever space they can find. Many of the system’s
wire, that’s really bad. None of the wires are
supposed to be purple. It means there’s been a smallest settlements rely on regular shipments from a
gas leak in the refinery.” larger agricultural provider; this usually means Impact
Dynamics, especially in recent years.
– Mitchell “Mitch” Mason Hayes
Spaceships operating in Calliope tend to be quite self-
GENERAL TECH LEVEL sufficient; most have the ability to recycle water and air,
Calliope is a bizarre mixture of the new and the old. The and the larger ones may even have grow-boxes to
bleeding edge butts up against things so ancient they supplement food supplies. Even short-range vessels
might have been invented by pre-Fall humanity. When that pack light can keep their crews breathing and
everyone in the system has to live with the constant watered for a few days in an emergency, while some
threat of a hostile environment leaking in and killing dedicated long-haul ships can last for months.
them, reliability is valued over novelty.
A lot of Calliope’s repurposed colony vessels have
A lot of major systems run on processors with less cryogenic pause tanks, which were originally used to
computational power than a slate, because they’re save on supplies during the year of subjective time it
much easier to manufacture and incredibly reliable. took to reach Calliope at nearlight. In the event of an
Many maintenance consoles have a user interface no emergency, however, they can be used as a sort of
more advanced than monochrome command line. A lifeboat: preserving stranded crew until rescue arrives.
whole lot of stuff is bulky, boxy, with large components
and friction-fit tabs that can be easily serviced by hand.
Anything vital needs to be easy to maintain or replace.
POWER
Calliope’s heartbeat is a fusion cycle, and deuterium its
lifeblood. The majority of Calliope’s settlements are
It's often difficult to get exact parts, so Calliopean tech powered by fusion reactors, and Calliopean spacecraft
has a distinctive, cobbled-together look; people make use fusion torch engines. Reactor fuel is one of the
do with what they have, even if it looks weird or ugly. system’s few plentiful commodities; a brutal shortage
during the First Wave came close to ending everything,
LIFE SUPPORT and ever since, there has been massive, intentional
overproduction to allow for widespread stockpiling.
Most Calliopeans agree that there are three essential
things without which life becomes untenable. In order
of decreasing urgency, they are air, water and food. While muon-catalyzed (“cold”) fusion is used in smaller,
specialized reactors such as mechs, high-end ground
vehicles and small spacecraft, most reactors operate
The most urgent is air. Most stations recycle air either
on a conventional (“hot”) deuterium-helium-3 cycle.
through plant photosynthesis or Bosch reactors. Plant
“Stable reactors” are bulkier and must operate at much
photosynthesis usually happens anyway as a result of
higher temperatures, but they’re also far less prone to
agricultural activity, but most stations don’t have
catastrophic failure.
enough plants to make the loop fully self-sustaining.
Bosch reactors take in carbon dioxide and elemental
hydrogen to produce pure water and elemental carbon. Because Calliope’s star is dimmer than Cradle’s, solar
The water is then electrolyzed, splitting it into oxygen power is not viable beyond the orbit of the Twins.
and hydrogen. The oxygen is fed into the air, while the Impact Plaza is the only major space settlement in the
hydrogen is recycled back into the reactor. system to operate primarily on solar power, while on
Asphodel itself, Furnace City supplements its stable
reactors with fields of solar panels.
Only the larger settlements have the equipment and
materials required to recycle sewage into potable
water. Smaller stations usually have to make do with vinedoflores: Is it true you can hotswap a
small-scale filtration and vacuum distillation, alongside coldcore’s muon catalyzer?
regular infusions of fresh water. Fresh water in Calliope TurntechGodhead: yeah but only once
is usually obtained by mining ice from moons in the
outer system; before its retirement, the CPS Borealis – Muse chatter
did this on a massive scale with Kalevala’s ring system.

[31]
However, there are non-invasive methods of neural
MEDICINE AND HEALTHCARE uplink, the most common being magnetic resonance
Unfortunately, the quality of medical care in Calliope suites installed in hardsuit helmets. Pilots who eschew
tends to be a function of wealth and location. Larger “direct connection” don’t have any noticeable difference
settlements just have better, more specialized facilities, in combat performance over their augmented peers,
the resources to maintain them and the expertise to run though there are armchair strategists who insist that so-
them. Smaller settlements don’t, and must make do called “vegan pilots” experience higher signal latency.
with whatever they have.
As with other technology in Calliope, three elements
The bulk of pharmaceutical production is conducted by are paramount: what’s reliable, what’s available and
Impact Dynamics; although Furnace City and Hell’s what’s affordable. Augmentation and prosthetics aren’t
Gate also produce significant amounts of medicine, always the prettiest or the most cutting edge, but
they don’t sell anywhere near as much because most they’re usually older, tried-and-tested models that are
of their supply goes towards their own residents. easy to repair and maintain. This utilitarianism isn’t
total, though; SSC has a fully-stocked outlet in the
Diseases can spread like wildfire in the closed-loop system, and some of the system’s richer residents kit
environments of space stations, so most of the major themselves out with the bleeding edge.
settlements have mandatory vaccination programs; in
fact, it’s notable as being one of the few services that
the Icebreaker Borealis offers free of charge. Nobody MANUFACTURING
makes a profit if the guests keep getting the flu. Almost every settlement will have some kind of trade,
even if it’s just selling scrap metal. In fact, smaller
For a pilot in the field, first aid and emergency medical settlements are likely to be defined by their trade, since
gear is much the same as anywhere else in the galaxy; they won’t have the resources or people to diversify.
pre-packaged kits full of fast-acting patches or sprays, Even the bigger settlements still revolve mostly around
pre-loaded injectors and bags of synthetic blood. one industry or group of industries – Hell’s Gate has
mining and refining, Impact Plaza has agriculture,
Most people assume that medical science in Calliope Endymion’s Lament has gas harvesting, and so on.
lags about ten to thirty years behind whatever’s in
vogue on the core worlds. While this is largely true, the Calliope has more printers than the average Long Rim
system is also notorious as a refuge for disgraced systems; a byproduct of the organized colonial effort
fringe practitioners seeking a place with lax ethical that the rest of the region lacked. Most Calliopean
standards, where it’s difficult to prove whether or not printers are small, poorly maintained and don’t meet
you lost your medical license. This means that highly Union’s current Schedule 1 specification (a common
experimental treatments are available at a low price – joke states that most Calliopean printers are “Schedule
if you know who to ask, and are unafraid of risk. 0.5”). Only the six largest settlements have Schedule 2
printers, and only three Schedule 3 printers are known
to exist in Calliope.
OddDirective: Complete genetic rejuvenation at
a low, low price!
Even when settlements have printers, they’re usually
MEATGHOST: So they get to fuck around with my struggling to keep up with the needs of their own
DNA, and in return I get to find out? residents, let alone other customers. To fill the gap,
Sp0ttyl0g1c: They’re paying you in exposure! there’s a large conventional manufacturing industry
that caters to system’s needs. It’s a tangled, messy
Sp0ttyl0g1c: (to mutagenic radiation) affair, with a bunch of corporate subsidiaries rubbing
– Muse chatter shoulders with independent local operations, in which
there is almost no standardization or regulation.

AUGMENTATION The lion’s share of space-side manufacturing happens

Prosthetics and cybernetic enhancements are nearly in Stygia’s orbit or close to it; Hell’s Gate is where most
ubiquitous in Calliope. Individuals who spend long of the raw materials come from, after all. Planetside
periods in low- or zero-gravity environments need manufacturing takes place almost entirely in or around
extensive musculoskeletal augmentation to be able to Furnace City on Asphodel.
survive on 1g stations or spaceships. Working in the
system’s factories and mines is dangerous, as is space
SharpestGirl: Today I discovered that certain
combat; people lose arms, legs or eyes, and need
chemical byproducts can set steel on fire!
replacements to get their lives back.
Doppelbock: You mean “melt” steel, right?
Most mech pilots have at least a basic temporal or SharpestGirl: I absolutely don’t!
occipital uplink jack, and professionals usually have a
– Muse chatter
more comprehensive set of neural implants.

[32]
During the Pyrite Age, the Calliope Project greatly
COMMUNICATIONS expanded the Muse for their own purposes, and some
Communication in Calliope works at two speeds: omni of their modifications to the system outlasted the
and lightspeed. Project itself.

The omninet transmits signals through blinkspace, and As a result of this history, the Muse is a disjointed mess
is instantaneous regardless of distance so long as both of competing protocols and software. Nonetheless, it
parties are close to an omninode or have an omnihook. contains an enduring record of three centuries of the
Anyone in the galaxy can be contacted with no delay. system’s accumulated knowledge and culture. More
than once, lifesaving information has been dredged out
However, like the rest of the Long Rim, Calliope is of the Muse from a post on an old bulletin board that
subject to phenomena known as “blinkvoids.” Though laid dormant for two hundred years.
rare, blinkvoids can disrupt omni communication for
hours, days, weeks or occasionally even months at a
time. Additionally, the requirement of being close to an deogram: got a message yesterday from someone
omninode or possessing an omnihook is something i was arguing with back in the 4850s, and the
realization that i am 183 years old hit me like
Calliope’s poorer settlements can’t always manage. a fucking spoolgun

Lightspeed communication involves the use of radio deogram: incidentally they showed up again to
continue the same argument, we live in hell
waves or light. This is, as the name suggests, limited to
the speed of light, meaning that it can take hours for – Muse chatter
signals to reach in-system destinations, while those
sent out of system will take years or decades.
SENSORS AND MONITORING
On the upside, because Calliope was first colonized An adage as old as the first space programs on Cradle
during an unusual decades-long “gigavoid,” it has an states “there’s no such thing as stealth in space.” While
incredibly robust lightspeed communications network, this is true in a technical sense, it relies upon one core
with a sprawling array of satellites, datacenters and assumption: that somebody’s actually looking. That’s
repeater stations. Line of sight is largely irrelevant in not something you can take for granted in Calliope.
Calliope; unless you’re deep underground, you always
have line of sight to at least one satellite. Fusion torch burns are extremely bright, essentially
impossible to miss even if you’re not looking for them,
“LS-to-omni” is a mixture of these methods: lightspeed and they leave an exhaust plume that’s thermally active
connection to the nearest omninode. This is how the for several hours afterwards. Likewise, a ship with an
majority of orbital habitats in Calliope operate; Impact active reactor must have its heat rejection systems
Dynamics and the Icebreaker Borealis used to charge running, which will glow brightly in the infrared band.
exorbitant rates for omni service, while Hell’s Gate, However, maneuvering thruster bursts can sometimes
Endymion’s Lament and Furnace City offered much escape notice if they’re done at the right times, or if
more reasonable fees, albeit for a less reliable service. there’s other phenomena hiding them.

More recently, Union built a neutral omninode close to During the early colonial days, traffic monitoring wasn’t
the star that offers unlimited access for free, but its high on the list of priorities. The vast majority of
central location means that any settlement in the outer Calliope’s early telescopes and survey satellites were
system experiences hours of delay. Most citizens agree looking for useful resources; it was assumed that if a
the savings are worth the extra wait, though. ship was making a maneuver, it would tell anyone who
needed to know. This means that large parts of
Calliope’s early traffic history is unrecorded; a couple of
THE MUSE vessels quite literally vanished, the most famous being
In addition to the galaxy-spanning omninet, Calliope the Persimmon, Impact Dynamics’ colony ship.
has its own local network, “the Muse,” spread across a
thousand servers, co-opted satellites and jailbroken
Nowadays, most major settlements have at least one
smart fridges. It was established during the First Wave,
dedicated deep-sky survey satellite. These take 360-
in the middle of the decades-long gigavoid, to enable
degree sweeps of the system at regular intervals,
system-wide communication.
providing fairly reliable data on ships currently active in
the system, and over multiple sweeps, their vectors.
The Muse had to be hacked together from whatever That said, line of sight is a factor: contact can be lost if
was available; mismatched software architectures from something passes in front of the satellite. A ship with a
a dozen different colonial expeditions, running on nearlight drive that knows the exact timing of a
repurposed hardware not originally designed for the satellite’s sweep can bolt between them, a process
task. In the early years of the colonization, nobody had which locals refer to as “smearing.”
the time or resources to standardize anything.

[33]
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE NON-HUMAN PERSONS
“Oh, that’s the Calliope Project default Comp/Con NHPs are present in Calliope, and just like everyone
personality profile! We’re meant to project a else, they have to pitch in to keep the system alive.
cheerful, upbeat attitude at all times! My voice Many are holdovers from the Pyrite Age or even the
modulation database wasn’t even installed with First and Second Waves, although a small number
the profiles for any emotional affect other than have arrived during the Void Age as well.
bland positivity! If I were a sentient being
capable of genuine emotional expression, I would
probably find this state of affairs [murderously As far as human attitudes go, most Calliopeans treat
infuriating]! Good thing that’s not the case!” NHPs much the same as they do other people. Sure,
they might be illegal shapes that live in space boxes,
– BARTENDER MOTHERFUCKER
but that isn’t their fault, and it’s probably not even the
weirdest thing a Calliopean has going on. Plus, they’re
Artificial intelligence in Calliope works, at least in very useful around a station, so most people are
practical terms, the same as it does in other parts of the positively inclined towards them, so long as they’re not
galaxy. Most people interact with non-sentient AI on a “having a bad day,” “playing dominoes,” “leaving via the
daily basis. The thing is, in most parts of the galaxy, window,” “acknowledging the elephant,” or any number
when you talk to an artificial intelligence, you might not of other colorful euphemisms for cascading.
even realize you’re doing it; virtual assistants are pretty
good at holding conversations nowadays. In Calliope,
you know when you’re talking to an AI, and most likely Due to the lack of Union infrastructure, many NHPs
wish you weren’t. have not had proper Balwinder-Bolaño tests in decades
or centuries. Many of their cycling schedules are ad
hoc, based on folk wisdom and how an NHP feels from
It’s almost impossible to obtain a standard-pattern month to month.
GMS Comp/Con-Class Assistant Unit in Calliope. Back
during the Pyrite Era, this was because the Calliope
Project would only permit their own version to be AetherionRain: lmfao this whole system really
manufactured. Nowadays, though, you should just be said “vibes-based cycling schedule” and nobody
able to print or manufacture the relevant hardware and stopped them
download a software profile from the omninet. – Muse chatter

For reasons not well-understood by the system’s

residents, this process doesn’t work. Almost every SPACE VESSELS
time, it produces a Comp/Con loaded with the Calliope Fusion torch drives are powerful and efficient enough
Project profile instead. Worse, Comp/Cons from to provide a steady 1g of acceleration throughout a
outside the system that spend any meaningful length of journey. This allows for both very quick transit and
time in Calliope are in danger of assuming the Calliope simulated gravity throughout, save for a few minutes in
Project profile as well. the middle while the ship flips around to perform its
deceleration burn.
Rumored explanations range from regional exclusivity
contracts that are still legally binding to the regional Fusion drives run on Cryogenic Deuterium-Helium-3
update server getting spiked with exotic malware. GMS Mix (usually abbreviated to CDHe3M, pronounced
dispatched a technical team to investigate the issue “See-Dee-Hee-Three”), the same fuel that powers
sixty years ago; nobody’s sure what happened to them, Calliope’s stable reactors, which means that even in
but the problem was not fixed and the relevant support the worst of times it’s cheap and plentiful.
ticket is still open.
Dedicated combat ships in Calliope are a rarity, usually
Mechanically speaking, Calliope Project Comp/Cons only operated by Impact Dynamics; the vast majority of
are identical to the Comp/Con-Class Assistant Unit ships used for combat started life as civilian models that
(Lancer, p. 120). The only difference is that they’re received extensive (and often improvised) modification.
always upbeat, optimistic and extremely annoying.
They also sometimes experience [glitches] where it Most space vessels in Calliope are at least a century
briefly sounds like a different profile is talking. old; holdovers from the Pyrite Age, which was the last
time most local settlements had the money to invest in
their space fleets. Counter-intuitively, though, the older
BB_Mod_2481: Hi! It looks like you’re trying
to configure my bulletin board moderator ships tend to be the most reliable; if they’ve survived
settings! Would you like a short tutorial? this long, it’s because they were built to last. They also
tend to be on the smaller side; nobody in Calliope can
SneakyCheetah: shut up shut up shut up SHUT UP afford to maintain a capital ship, and even larger
SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP subline vessels are too costly for anyone but Impact
– Muse chatter Dynamics to run in any significant numbers.

[34]
MECHANIZED CHASSIS
Mechanized chassis existed as civilian tools long
before the Hercynian Crisis, but their new application
as war machines was largely irrelevant when Calliope
was first colonized; for all the many hardships Calliope
went through in its early years, war wasn’t one of them.
Nevertheless, when fighting had to be done, the people
of Calliope adopted mechs the same way they adopt all
technology: innovating with limited resources.

Dedicated military hardware is expensive and difficult

to fabricate if you don’t have a printer, so most combat
mechs in Calliope start life as civilian loading, mining or
maintenance rigs. Mining gear and power tools are
repurposed into weaponry, electronic warfare systems
are fashioned from civilian computing hardware
running downloaded intrusion code, and everything
from deck plating to office furniture can be fashioned
into armor if you’re determined enough.

Genuine, licensed military-grade mechs are somewhat

of a status symbol in Calliope – it means either you or
your employer are wealthy enough to afford to buy, run
and maintain one. IPS-N chassis are by far the most
common, with Harrison Armory products being a rarity
and SSC models almost unheard of. The number of
HORUS rigs in the system is unknown.

The system does have a nearly inexhaustible source of

near-military-grade mechs and the weapons to outfit
them, however: Impact Dynamics. When the company
first came to Calliope it brought its entire arsenal with
it, but after the pivot to agriculture, the entire inventory
was mothballed in storage vaults scattered throughout
the system. These vaults turned out to be less secure
than intended, and over the next two and a half
centuries, a large number of them were raided.

Impact Dynamics’ mechs weren’t state-of-the-art even

in their own era, let alone now, but they’re inexpensive,
easy to maintain and are so common they could be said
to grow on trees, if Calliope actually had any. For the
local militia on a budget, a “second-hand” Raptor-4 is a
perfectly reasonable choice.

ThatOne4205: Impact Dynamics really riding the

wave of the future making a mech so cheap you
can give it out free with boxes of cereal
SwitchOfficial: And yet, somehow you’re still
getting ripped off
ThatOne4205: I mean yeah I WOULD prefer to take
a bowl of cereal into battle than a Raptor-4
SwitchOfficial: @HellFireHowl Babe wake up,
new league meta just dropped
– Muse chatter

[35]
FACTIONS OF CALLIOPE
Equally far from the grand bastion of Union and the
shining frontier of the Dawnline Shore, but the political
HELL'S GATE
situation in Calliope is no less complex for its isolation. Part labor union, part mining syndicate, part techno-
If anything, it's more so; the designs of entities like socialist committee, part mutual aid group, Hell’s Gate
Union and Harrison Armory often play out over works as hard as it can to meet the needs of the Gate’s
generations, their implications passing unnoticed to the people. These needs are considerable: as the second
man on the street. In Calliope, the state of the system’s largest population of the Big Four, but is by far the
politics and your position within them might well dictate poorest. While the station’s promise to never charge its
whether you get to eat tonight, or whether you still have citizens for the basic essentials of life is noble, its
a home tomorrow. revenue streams are low.

Each faction has a broadly-defined Core Mission: its The station’s beloved director, Bai Zexian, vanished
overarching ambitions and goals. Not all members will about three years ago, leaving the station’s previous
agree on the method by which these goals should be militia commander, Jerry Masters, as acting director.
achieved, nor will all members will even agree on the Jerry is a kind and well-meaning man who genuinely
goals. It’s perfectly possible to find members pledging wants the best for the station and its inhabitants, but
loyalty to a faction while pursuing their own agendas. he’s neurotic, anxious and somewhat unprepared for
the burden of station management. He gets little sleep,
is constantly overworked, and has few support staff
other than his devoted ASURA-class NHP, Shelly.

A few people accuse Jerry of refusing to hold a by-

election out of a lust for power, but the truth is there’s
no-one else running for the position. Nothing would
please Jerry more than to quit his job, but it really
seems like if he won’t do it, nobody will. Jerry feels –
and is likely correct – that he would be even less
legitimate elected by default than semi-permanently
occupying an unelected caretaker role.

Hell’s Gate is torn between the needs of its civilian

residents – particularly its powerful mining and refining
unions – and the needs of its defensive militia. Militia
spending occupies a great deal of the station’s limited
budget, for little immediate gain. The more anarchist
voices on the station question the need for something
only a couple of steps away from a police force. Under
Director Bai, such critics held their tongues; under
Jerry, people are starting to grumble openly.

Hell’s Gate United really is in a tough spot. Also, the

PCs work for them. Good luck.

CORE MISSION
• Make it through the day.
• Mine, refine and sell whatever minerals can be
found to whoever will buy them.
• Provide at least the bare necessities of life to the
citizens of the station.

[36]
BOARD OF ICEBREAKER IMPACT DYNAMICS LLC
A long time ago, the CPS Borealis had a job. Now it just Originally a weapons manufacturer during Calliope’s
has a hustle. No longer able to break ice and sell water, initial land rush, Impact Dynamics engaged in a risky
it’s been turned into a glittering vice district, a paradise but ultimately successful pivot towards agriculture
for the weary traveler and a place where fortunes can when it turned out there were no habitable planets in
be made or lost. Overseeing it is the Board of Calliope. Operating out of Impact Plaza, Impact
Icebreaker, a council of executives, casino owners and Dynamics now produces nearly 80% of the system’s
profiteers and the occasional union rep who was too food and about two-thirds of its medicine.
popular or influential to shut out.
Hell’s Gate and Furnace City produce most of their own
Despite the public image of competence and stability it essentials, but the Icebreaker Borealis has far more
tries to project, the Board is a mess. Every member guests and far richer tastes than it can provide for on
suspects every other member of trying to pull a scam: its own. Meanwhile, almost all the smaller settlements
after all, it’s what most of them are doing themselves. across the system are dependent on Impact Dynamics.
Anything one member suggests, others oppose on
general principle. Important decisions sit paralyzed by Never a compassionate operation, the company has
squabbling for weeks, months or even years. been steadily raising prices in Calliope for more than a
century, causing increasing poverty and instability
The station’s administrator, Rita, is a cool, calculating throughout the system’s various habitats. It invested its
woman who stays in her position through a combination profits into a large and brutal security force to prevent
of compromise and cunning. Although she’s supposed the rest of Calliope from getting any ideas about equal
to be answerable to the station’s entire populace, she distribution of resources.
is reliant on the Board to actually get anything done.
This gives Rita both a great degree of operational However, twelve years ago, they finally went too far.
leeway and almost none: the Board genuinely don’t Labor action forced them to call in pirates to suppress
care about the decisions she makes – unless they striking workers. The slaughter that followed caused
might somehow interfere with profits. Endymion’s Lament, the system’s largest fuel supplier,
to cut them off. Without the fuel to sustain their fleet of
Most positive changes on the Icebreaker are a result of ships and mechs, their grip on the system waned.
Rita manipulating members of the Board into seeing
something she wants as a scam, but one she’s letting The following year, a controlling interest in Impact
them in on. This is how the Icebreaker has an all- Dynamics was acquired by Rodericke Steele.
access radio station, free mass transit and a variety of Presenting himself as an entrepreneur, philosopher
affordable public services: Rita tricked the Board into and self-described “sexual tyrannosaurus,” he is in
funding them, thinking it was some sort of racket they truth a compensating anthrochauvinist with a long list
could use to get a leg up on the competition. of catastrophic business failures behind him. Under his
leadership, Impact Dynamics has leaned even further
The Board has a large mutual security force to protect into the hiring of pirate gangs to pursue its agenda.
the station, its guests and its permanent residents, but
most of the richer members retain their own private Impact Dynamics will be a constant thorn in the PCs’
forces, just in case. side throughout the campaign, funding their various
enemies and gating access to basic necessities behind
The Board will probably serve as allies to the PCs, but absurd prices. It is indirectly due to Steele’s cut-throat
unreliable ones. Yes, saving Calliope is a mutual exploitation that the Faith of the One is so powerful, and
interest, but how can it be monetized? that Calliope is in such a poor position to resist them.

CORE MISSION CORE MISSION

• Leverage the company’s near-monopoly on food
• Retain the Icebreaker’s coveted reputation as the
production to make obscene profits.
premier destination for rest and relaxation in the
Long Rim. • Drive local competitors out of business through the
employment of pirate mercenaries.
• Make a tidy profit by selling distraction as a service.
• Secure a stable supply of fuel and reactivate their
• Avoid actions that scare away customers, like
considerable military portfolio.
getting involved in system politics.

[37]
FURNACE CITY ASSEMBLY THE PIRATE BANDS
In the northern reaches of rain-drenched, barren Not a singular faction, but a general class of Calliopean
Asphodel, there lies something unique in the Long Rim: residents, pirates are separated into two groups:
a planetary city. Furnace City, sometimes known as irregulars and careerists, often called “moonlighters”
“the Only City,” was established during the early years and “sunlighters” respectively.
of Calliope in a dogged attempt to make something of
a bad situation. Irregulars are people for whom piracy is a side gig.
They live across the system. Most of the time, they’re
The Furnace City Assembly is an anarcho-socialist farmers, miners, wrenchies or the cute guy running that
hybrid democracy, consisting of a quorum of elected little dumpling stand on the corner. They try to maintain
representatives for day-to-day administration and complete separation between their public and private
plenary referendums of the entire citizenship for major lives; it’s not exactly going to help the popularity of your
decisions. It’s the largest governmental organization in dumpling stall if people know the secret ingredient is
Calliope by membership, although its authority extends “shaking down water freighters.”
no further than the city limits.
Irregulars don’t mythologize their profession. They
For a century and a half, no matter what else it’s been know that they’re doing a bad thing, and justify it
doing, the Assembly has kept one goal constantly in through necessity. Calliope’s a hard place; they have a
mind: remain independent from Impact Dynamics. thing that puts food on the table. They aren’t proud of
Given that Impact Plaza orbits the planet, this hasn’t it, but at least they aren’t hungry. They congregate in
always been easy, but the Assembly has always small groups, refer to each other via aliases, and try not
fended off attempts on its sovereignty. to contact each other outside of “business hours.” Their
bands don’t have names or logos; they try to avoid
making a name for themselves.
CORE MISSION
• Meet the needs of all Furnace City residents.
In contrast, careerists have openly embraced a life of
• Remain independent from Impact Dynamics. piracy. If they have other jobs or talents, those are the
side gigs; spacelane robbery is their profession. Their
• Keep the terraforming process running. identities are based around their work: they form
reputations and legends for themselves. They organize
into bands with names, iconography and mythology.
They compete to see who can earn the highest bounty,
who can claim the biggest prize, who can build the
fanciest steed.

Being a known criminal quickly makes you unwelcome

in Calliopean society, so they operate their own
hangouts and lairs. These tend to be abandoned
facilities from Calliope’s early settlement period,
repurposed ships seized in raids or hold-ups, or prefab
habitation units.

The four most prominent sunlighter bands are:

• The Hell Hounds, a particularly violent band of

exiles from Hell's Gate, led by Andros Capella.
• The Burning Forge, a labor union that went
militant, led by The Blacksmith.
• The Knights of the Dark Core, an eccentric group
of image-conscious robbers with pretensions of
chivalry, led by Mistress Elske.
• The Circuit, a former HORUS cell turned
survivalist cult, led by two cascading NHP god-
kings, TRIPLE-POINT and CAUSTIC.

CORE MISSION
• Get rich on someone else’s dime.

[38]
UNION THE FAITH OF THE ONE
A Long Rim posting is seen as a poison chalice in The Faith of the One Plumed In Golden Flame arose
Union’s civil service: somewhere your boss sends you from the same place many cults in the Long Rim do:
when they have no way of denying you a promotion, misery and desperation. It’s difficult in the extreme to
but really want to get rid of you. make comfortable and happy people invested in the
concept of the apocalypse. For people scraping algae
To many of the system’s residents, “Union’s presence off of water condensers to feed their families and
in Calliope” is a punchline in itself, even though Calliope working twelve hours a day just to make enough money
might be the Long Rim system to which CentComm has to pay the oxygen bill, however, the idea of burning the
committed the most resources. Most people wouldn’t world away becomes much more palatable.
consider Union’s opinion on Calliope relevant – either
because they don’t think it has one, or because even if Within the last two years, however, there has been a
it did, it has no way of enforcing it. dramatic shift in the Faith’s behavior. Zealous before,
its higher echelons have suddenly become vastly more
This belief, cynical as it might be, isn’t untrue. Union’s fanatical. The Faith’s community hubs, physical and
responsibilities are immense, spanning thousands of virtual, buzz with sudden activity, especially in Calliope.
worlds and trillions of people. Calliope’s population isn’t Under the leadership of Ignatius Aurum, strange and
even fifty million, in a part of space CentComm has wonderful things have been pouring from underground
been strongly advising people not to live for centuries. labs. Recruitment drives have been stepping up across
In Union’s view, if people won’t leave, there’s only so the Long Rim.
much they can do to help.
CORE MISSION
The Union Administrative Department has not assigned
an Administrator to Calliope. The closest thing the • Enact the will of their god.
system has is Kileyna Morton, a civilian liaison from • Spread the faith to every willing soul, and ease
the Bureau of Orbital and Non-Terrestrial Management. their suffering as much as possible.
Kileyna is possibly the least appreciated person in
Calliope relative to the sheer amount of work they’ve • Burn the universe to cinders, so that a better
done for it. For all the cruel jokes made at their and brighter thing might rise from its ashes.
expense, Calliopeans would still be paying out the nose
for omni access if Kileyna hadn’t convinced Union to
build the Neutral Omninode.

The Neutral Omninode was also seen as a project of

enough value to defend, hence the unprecedented
deployment of a permanent Union Navy presence in a
Long Rim system. Since 5011u, this post has been
occupied by the carrier UNS-CV Thames, commanded
by Captain Mercedes Ordaz. The next carrier in the
rotation, the UNS-CV Monongahela, is scheduled to
arrive later this year.

CORE MISSION
• Help where possible with the limited resources
CentComm provides.
• Convince CentComm to provide more resources.

[39]
CULTURE OF CALLIOPE
“John Creighton Harrison II once said man is given THERE IS NO “DEFAULT” PERSON
form by the world around him: in luxury, he’d A note to GMs on representation: there’s an
create great works, and in squalor he’d become a
savage. John Creighton Harrison II was also a unfortunate tendency in written media for an
delusional fascist who died like a chump as his audience to assume that a character is white if there
palace turned to subatomic dust. Fuck him. Real isn’t a stated skin color, straight if there isn’t a stated
culture is messy, complicated and beautiful.” sexuality, cis if they’re not stated to be trans, and so
on. But Calliope is a diverse place, so keep in mind
– Subtext Ísfûr Cowards that even if it's not stated, a character’s sexuality,
gender, ability, neurotype and skin color can be
DEMOGRAPHICS broader than cis, male, able, neurotypical and white.
Millions of people live in Calliope, possibly even tens of This book is written with that idea in mind.
millions. That might not seem like much, given the
trillions out there in the galaxy, but it’s plenty big for the This is important to state plainly. Part of making
Long Rim – a lot of systems don’t top a hundred fictional worlds enjoyable for your audience is
thousand. And like the rest of the Long Rim, there are ensuring they’re able to see people like themselves
people here from everywhere. represented within them. A story doesn’t have to be
about diversity for diversity to be important.
People come to Calliope from all walks of life, and from
every conceivable place: former Metropolitans from LANGUAGE
Cradle and Tau, ex-colonists from the Dawnline Shore, Calliope has no official language, but it does have a
and refugees from Boundary Garden. There are Sparri, local dialect of Union Common. It’s spoken faster than
and there are people from all the Houses of the regular UC, with more contractions, simplified
Karrakin. There are people from a thousand worlds, pronunciation and a vast array of loan words from other
from Unkulukulu in the Malutis to Cadair Idris in the languages. Those used to another dialect of UC might
Cascades. The Aun are here, exiles of the Ecumene need a little bit of time to get used to it, but it’s meant to
rubbing shoulders with citizens of the Ascendancy. be easy to learn. There’s no “standard” accent, but
most people will be able to tell where you live by how
There are also plenty of people who were born here, you pronounce “Calliope.”
whose families lived here for generations, all the way
back to the first-wave colonists – and their ancestors Calliopean sign language is based loosely on Union
came from a thousand different worlds, too. Common sign language, and is usually signed two-
handed, although many simple phrases can be signed
All this considered, not much stock is put in the with just one. Most adults know enough to hold a
question “are you from around here” – the question is conversation, although maintenance personnel learn it
“are you here to help?” Lots of people came to Calliope fully, in order to facilitate communication in very loud or
from all sorts of fancy places, but it doesn’t matter one completely soundless environments.
bit so long as they knuckle down and help with the daily
struggle of keeping things running. Being born in
Calliope doesn’t make you special, and proudly NAMES AND IDENTITY
boasting about being descended from first-wave The way people in Calliope treat names can seem
colonists just means you’ve got two massive rubes in whimsical or frivolous to outsiders. People introduce
your family tree. themselves with names like Sappho Machete, Apricot
Condenser or Priyanashi Function-Call, and this leads
There’s an empathy to Calliopeans, despite everything; outsiders to assume Calliopeans just don’t take names
most understand struggle, because they live it. Despite seriously, or that they’re having a laugh at someone
Union’s best efforts, there are still places out there else’s expense.
where the color of your skin, the sound of your voice or
the sort of person you love gets you hate. Calliope’s got Calliopeans would reply that no, it’s the other way
no time for that; everyone could be sucking vacuum round: outsiders take names too seriously. They give
tomorrow, and if you can stop that from happening, or them a power and a weight that isn’t due to them. A
at the very least make the hours between then and now name is simply how someone chooses to be referred
happy ones, you’re welcome – and fuck anyone who to. If someone tells you his name’s Sir Sheepington, the
says otherwise. Fifth of his Name, and he’s happy for you to call him
that, that’s all you need to know. Was he born with it?
Probably not, but what business is it of yours?

[40]
In the wild frontier of the Long Rim, there’s few legal While vat-grown clone meat is significantly cheaper in
documents. In fact, many of its inhabitants came out terms of both space and resources, it requires a lot of
here specifically to escape what their legal documents specialized equipment and expertise, which means it’s
say about them. It’s not polite to dig too deeply into still a luxury good. Most burgers in the system are
someone’s past – and if you’re here, there’s a good veggie, but that’s no bad thing – these issues are hardly
chance you want that same privacy. new, and spacers got good at making plant-based meat
substitutes millennia ago.
A time-honored Calliope tradition is the “line of sight”
name. There’s a common story to this: someone comes A lot of Calliopean meals revolve around raw efficiency:
to the Long Rim, gets asked their name, decides they plants that grow fast and don’t take up much space,
have to make one up and then picks something on the producing ingredients that are nutritionally dense, for
spot based on what they can see, which explains recipes that can be prepared quickly with low effort.
names like Wrench Caliper or Pen Magnet. It’s not “Spacer salad,” a staple of poorer families all over the
always as sudden, though: some people pick things system, consists of soybeans, poppy seeds, sunflower
they see often, or that have emotional meaning to them. seeds, barley, kale, peanuts and sweet potatoes; not
the most exciting dish, but it’s infinitely better than
A similar option is to pick a name related to your job. printloaf, all the plants can be grown in microgravity and
“Pilot,” “Farmer,” “Reactor,” “Mechanic,” “Salvage,” it takes just twenty minutes to prepare.
“Vent” and so on are common elements of Calliopean
names. Other people pick new names from their home Even if a meal hits every nutritional requirement,
culture, or a culture that they greatly admire. There’s an diversity of diet is important; endless boring meals take
in-joke: if you want to find a Karrakin in Calliope, look a psychological toll, and that makes survival harder.
for someone with a Sparri name. Consequently, herbs, spices and other seasonings do
a roaring trade throughout the system. Many outsiders
Some people feel no need to hide, and keep their old are astonished to learn that besides refined metal, one
name, but it doesn’t make any difference. Your name is of Hell’s Gate’s most profitable exports is table salt,
how you choose to be known, nothing more. mined from the icy moons of Stygia.

Children born in Calliope are given a birth name by their The system has a long and venerable moonshining
parents, but one of the system’s coming-of-age rituals tradition; there are functional fermenters and stills in
is picking your own name. Keeping your childhood older habitats that date back to the First Wave era.
name past adolescence is seen as a sign of immaturity, Despite their slapdash reputation, these facilities are
so it’s common for young people who haven’t decided usually safe – booze that poisons its drinkers could
on a name yet going by “Temporary.” threaten the survival of a whole habitat, so
manufacturing standards are pretty high.
Calliopeans apply the same concept to identity in
general. While social bonds are very important, they Common alcoholic beverages in Calliope include beer,
pay very little heed to the circumstances of one’s birth rice wine, malt whisky, sweet potato vodka, and
– gender, class, sexuality, and so on. What you choose “Razbo,” a blanket term covering a wide variety of
to share with others is your business, and what you raspberry-based hard liquor. High-quality Razbo is
choose to keep secret is your business, so long as it prized throughout the system, and more than one
brings no harm to those close to you. family has clawed their way out of poverty by selling it.

FOOD AND DRINK VIOLENCE

By necessity, the Calliopean diet is mostly vegan. With Violence is a part of every Calliopean’s life. Calliope is
the exception of Impact Plaza, no station has the space a hostile place, and most of it isn’t even human hostility.
for animal husbandry. The only animal available in Some people talk about the void as a malevolent thing,
large quantities is the vent crab, the meat of which has but whether or not you believe that, space will kill you.
been variously described as “pulpy,” “thin,” “tasteless” Even without pirates, debt collectors and black ops
and “the protein equivalent of the bottom of a slushie teams, you’re in a fight to survive every day of your life.
after you suck all the flavor out of it.”
Even the human violence isn’t always direct. Charging
A steak is literally worth more than its weight in gold; too high a price for a glass of water kills someone as
you can pull gold out of any decently-sized rock, but surely as a bullet. Forcing someone to live in squalor
cows are living methane factories you have to take care when you could provide them with a clean place to rest
of for two and a half years before you can eat them. It’s is violence, even if you aren’t beating them. Burying
ten square meters of space, 45,000 liters of water and someone in debt isn’t violence? Find a man going grey
ten tons of feed for just 285 kilograms of edible meat – before his time from the stress of paying his bills, and
an unthinkable extravagance for most Calliopeans. say that to his face.

[41]
There’s a lot of overt human violence too. The pirates The vast majority of Calliope has abandoned the
have a rule about not preying on permanent residents emergency councils instituted during the First and
of Calliope, but that’s inconsistently enforced. Visitors Second Wave eras, which exercised near-total control
are the juiciest targets; after all, they’re the ones over their civilian populations; with the exception of
bringing fresh money and goods into the system. But Furnace City, none of the Big Four ever actually had an
when there’s not many visitors, and a payment is due, emergency council. Vestiges of that system remain,
any mark will do – even a fellow resident. however, particularly on smaller settlements.

It doesn’t end there, though. Every so often, a visitor Most settlements retain some aspects of the Calliope
who gets ripped off in Calliope looks to take revenge, Project’s organizational structure, with a station director
or comes to the system looking for someone who’s acting as chief executive, advised by a staff council of
hiding there. If they’re really serious about it, they bring department heads. Legally speaking, a director must
in their own paramilitary forces. If they don’t know who be appointed by the Project, but no official statements
they’re looking for or where they’re hiding, and don’t have been received from it in over a century and a half,
approach their task with due care and restraint, things so most stations just hold elections.
can get ugly real quick.
While corporate power mostly evaporated along with
Calliopeans have developed an etiquette to violence; in the Calliope Project, there are still local businesses,
fact, possibly the only true test of whether a person is such as agricultural giant Impact Dynamics and the
“from” Calliope is whether they follow it. Calliopeans Icebreaker Borealis’ Board, who exert significant
accept that violence happens, and people will get influence on local affairs, by dint of the services they
ripped off, hurt, even killed, but they have a right to fight provide and the finances they command.
for themselves.
With this in mind, Calliope’s position as a legal
It goes something like this: only fight if you need to. greyspace made the existence of labor unions even
Don’t kill unless you need to. If you need to kill more essential than in Core space. Technically, the
someone, don’t trick them into thinking surrender is an Utopian Pillars apply everywhere, but it wasn’t exactly
option, and if surrender is an option, make sure as if Union was going to send regular inspections. This
everyone knows it. led to a common adage in Calliope: “if Union won’t do
it, the unions will.” To this day, there’s a strong union
Given that they live in such a violent place, the culture across the system, and to be considered a scab
residents of Calliope have also developed a lot of ways or a “line-crosser” is a social black mark in most circles.
of regaining a sense of control over violence. Extreme
sports are popular in the system, and no-holds-barred
mech combat is one of the least exotic. From cloud-
EXTERNAL POLITICS
skipping in the upper atmospheres of gas giants to With respect to Union’s political coalitions, the New
rocket-sledding on the ice flats of major moons, Solidarity Coalition is the most heavily invested in
Calliopeans have an endless variety of ways to Calliope. In fact, Calliope is one of the NSC’s most
voluntarily expose themselves to peril – because there, popular examples of Union’s shortcomings in the fight
at least, the risk of death is their choice. for human dignity. For its more activist members, this
means travelling out and helping the desperate.
Unfortunately, there are also no shortage of armchair
INTERNAL ORGANIZATION pundits content to talk about it in their omnicasts from
There’s no interplanetary government in Calliope, no the comfort of a core world, fundraise for their own
recognized central authority that handles security, causes and do little else.
commerce or social services. Union, despite claiming
all of humanity as its purview, does not recognize The Horizon Collective has a strong presence in the
Calliope as a member system on a practical level. system too, both in collaboration with the NSC and on
their own initiative. They differ from the NSC mostly in
That doesn’t mean Calliope has no politics, though. that Calliopeans see the NSC as a group of sometimes-
Quite the opposite: politics in Calliope are complex, helpful outsiders, while local members of Horizon tend
omnipresent and often brutal. Labor unions are in a to be seen as Calliopeans who just “have a thing.”
constant struggle with executives, barons and moguls.
Station administrators have to contend with pirates The Verdant Social Arc maintains a modest outreach,
seeking protection money and out-of-system traders occasionally collaborating with the NSC on the
who think they can pull a fast one on backwater yokels. system’s issues if they’re good PR. But in truth, the Arc
has more important things to worry about; Calliope is a
It also doesn’t help that, due to its bizarre history, the backwater that doesn’t even vote in Union elections.
organizational structure of Calliope is a nightmarish, The Interstellar, Fourth Column and New Humanity
labyrinthine mess. Front are nonentities in Calliope, each considering it
irrelevant for their own reasons.

[42]
Of the major corprostates, IPS-N has far and away the
largest presence in Calliope, using it both as the
IMPROVISATION
stopover point in the majority of its transits through the Printers are expensive in both energy and materials,
Long Rim and as a dumping ground for troublesome or and the ones in Calliope are outdated, inefficient and
underperforming employees. constantly backlogged. The system’s manufacturing
base is piecemeal and scattershot, with part shortages
plaguing every industrial sector. In this climate, the
Harrison Armory’s presence in the system is minimal, ability to reuse existing materials or invent workarounds
exercised mostly through PHASE//SHIFT, a mining has become a distinct cultural virtue.
subsidiary it established half a century ago to supply its
Dawnline Shore research campuses.
Calliope’s early orbital habitats were ad hoc
constructions, built by necessity with equipment and
SSC has a small but definite presence in the system, components not designed for the purpose. Once the
maintaining a well-stocked augmentation clinic on the Calliope Project knew what it was working with, prefab
Icebreaker Borealis and satellite offices in every major station kits were sent and deployed, but as the Pyrite
settlement. The reason for this interest is unknown, Age drew to a close, the system’s citizens were once
since there seems to be little chance it’s turning a profit. again forced to improvise. What was lying around had
to be sufficient – there was nothing else to use.
The Karrakin Trade Baronies are deeply unwelcome in
Calliope, due to an extensive and successful series of This emphasis on improvisation can be felt in every
Harrison Armory propaganda campaigns. aspect of Calliope’s culture, from obvious things like the
construction of stations and mechs to areas like music,
SHARED STRUGGLE art and food.
A common theme of Calliopean culture is the idea that
all are part of a part of a shared struggle. There’s a Calliopean cuisine is adaptive; it has to be. You can’t
saying: “the richest ass in Calliope sits one day further stake a business on selling tomato soup every day,
from death.” Money can’t patch a cracked hull, grow a because there might not be any tomatoes tomorrow.
pack of rice or replace air filters; only people can do Food stands change their menus daily because people
that. Calliopean philosophy is clear: you need people, need to be fed, and they can only cook what’s available.
and people need you, whether or not you admit it. If vent crab meat is all there is, you need to cook it, with
enough nutrition that people stay healthy and enough
Calliopeans tend to be multi-talented, with every adult flavor that people can force it down. Calliopean chefs
can often seem like miracle workers given what they
and most children knowing basic maintenance and first
have to operate with.
aid. Common wisdom says anyone who’s sixteen
standard years old should be able to patch an air leak,
swap a water filter and treat acute radiation sickness. Nu-retro-stasiscore is a music genre that samples the
bland, generic, soothing music played on sleeper ships
just after you wake up from stasis, then chops and
Most people on a station work shifts in maintenance
remixes it into a sort of nostalgic, vibe-heavy chillout
crews from time to time, mostly on simple tasks like
track, often with rapped vocals.
cleaning, part replacement and local patch jobs. For
more specialized work, there’s a large contingent of
engineers, mechanics and technicians known to One pastime is “sigdiving” – a mixture of signal analysis
Calliopeans as “wrenchies.” Wrenchies have their own and hacking. Systems across the Long Rim, Calliope in
subculture, with its own dialect and an array of colorful particular, are full of forgotten satellites, server farms,
superstitions about Calliope’s unreliable technology. broadcast towers, wrecks, beacons and other junk that
still has active transceivers. Old transmissions are still
Outside of keeping a habitat and its people in one bouncing around, picked up and rebroadcast by a vast
array of repeater stations, from first-generation distress
piece, Calliopeans occupy their free time with pursuits
calls to the decaying comm chatter of Armory-Barony
that can hold their attention and contribute something
fleet battles or Pyrite Age advertisements.
to their community: music, art, writing, storytelling,
cooking, coding. Anything’s good, so long as it can
bring others joy as well. Either your hobby or your job There’s valuable data out there, beneath terabytes of
should give back to the community; ideally, both. garbage. Sigdivers search for it, sifting through the
noise like digital salvage crews. With knowledge of
what to look for and how to look for it, you can pull
This theme pervades Calliope’s culture: a lot of its
blueprints, passcodes, military intelligence or even
stories aren’t about one person, but people; people in
tough situations, working together and helping each paracode out of the wavelengths. Even the less juicy
other. A writer once pegged Calliope’s most prominent stuff is still worth something; Calliope’s music scene will
pay a lot for genuine recovered audio samples. A slim
cultural element as “catchy work songs,” and it wasn’t
plurality of Calliope’s sigdivers are Horizon affiliates,
without a hint of truth.
but HORUS claims almost as many.

[43]
EXTERNAL PERCEPTION THE DUALITY
Despite its position on the margins of Union, Calliope is The Duality of the Tyrant and the Saint (often just
far from unknown. In fact, it might be the most well- “the Duality”) is an ancient philosophical concept with
known system in the Long Rim, occupying space in the an unclear genesis. It consists of two texts, The Tyrant
public consciousness far beyond its political relevance. Upon the Mountain and The Saint Upon the
Mountain, two stories that appear to be at once the
Its largest, most profitable cultural export is mech same and very different. They revolve around a
combat. The kind of live-fire mech brutality the galaxy character who bears no name other than “the Tyrant”
craves is illegal to conduct in most Union jurisdictions, or “the Saint,” respectively.
but it’s perfectly legal to watch. If you’re a decent
fighter, there’s money to be made making your robot The world in which the character lives is ruined by the
punch other robots. Arenas dot the system, although greed, corruption and selfishness of the rich and
the vast majority are on the Icebreaker Borealis. powerful. The character possesses “a great power,” the
nature of which is not elaborated upon except to note
There are three major leagues in Calliope, known as that “neither science nor faith” could explain it.
the Three Elements. The Moon Glacier League is
sponsored by the Board of Icebreaker, and as such has The stories diverge at this point, with the Tyrant using
an extravagant budget and lavish production quality. their power to wage an unrestrained war of revenge
The Thunderstorm League is sponsored jointly by SSC against their oppressors, heedless of collateral
and IPS-N, and so tends to feature a lot of their mechs. damage. Meanwhile, the Saint uses their power to
Hell’s Gate’s Hellfire League is entirely revenue-funded protect the marginalized and uplift victims of injustice.
with no major sponsors, so tends to be the least
profitable, but is supported by a large contingent of The stories converge again after each character’s
purists who consider it a more “authentic” experience. respective victory. Both characters withdraw to
seclusion atop a mountain, with the Tyrant leaving only
There are also a surprising number of omnivids set in to punish disobedience and the Saint never leaving at
Calliope; it’s a popular place to set dramas and thrillers, all. A commoner comes to the mountain to ask a
and this contributes to the system’s visibility. However, question of the character, with both question and
none of these shows are actually filmed in Calliope, nor answer varying depending on which text is read.
do they employ Calliopean writers or actors, nor do
Calliopeans receive any of their profits. The commoner asks the Tyrant why, coming from a
world of suffering and pain, they didn’t use their great
There was a recent scandal where it came to light that power to heal it, instead of brutalizing it further. The
Ultima Ratio Motion Pictures had built a to-scale, fully Tyrant answers that they cannot trust the world to be a
operational replica of Hell’s Gate for filming the third better place – it had the opportunity to change for itself,
season of The Life Incandescent. As Calliopean and it didn’t. The only world the Tyrant can imagine is
political omnicaster Kady Amville put it: “they will spend a world that bows down before someone, and that
so much money to not pay us any money.” someone might as well be the Tyrant.

Another problem arises from Calliopean representation The commoner asks the Saint why, with all the good
existing almost entirely outside their control: people they’ve done for the world, they don’t participate in it.
form opinions about Calliopeans based on what The Saint answers that they saw what concentrated
outsiders write about them. The omni dramas portray power is capable of; it created the society they fought
Calliope as a place rife with deprivation and violence – against. If they once again immersed themselves in the
which, to be fair, it is. But moments of Calliopean joy, world, they fear they would feel too great a temptation
solidarity and warmth are rarely seen. There’s an to control it, under the pretext of ensuring mistakes
almost pornographic obsession with human suffering, were not made. At some point, the Saint insists, they
portraying all Calliopeans as either victims, criminals or must trust in others.
a razor-thin margin of troubled anti-heroes.
Both stories end with the commoner leaving the
In recent years, however, Calliopeans have started to mountain changed, the implication being that either the
speak for themselves. Calliopean music, poetry and Tyrant or that Saint’s power has transferred to them.
fiction, having already achieved subcultural success in
Union, is going mainstream. The explosive popularity Where exactly the Duality comes from is a subject of
of Calliopean omnicasts such as Kady Amville’s Oh, massive scholarly debate. It recurs in so many distinct
And By The Way and Ipswich DeLacey’s Live From The and physically distant cultures that its origin must be
Long Rim has inspired other omnicasters throughout pre-Fall, but there’s no text in the Massif Vaults that
the system. The Board of Icebreaker is bankrolling its closely matches it. Efforts to find or reconstruct an
own motion picture studio, which promises to employ original version have failed.
only local talent and writers.

[44]
A popular fringe theory is that it’s a “convergent meme,” The Tyrant is the water barons, the pirate bands, the
an idea so fundamental that many societies will landlords: people stuck in the same hellscape as
develop it independently over a long enough timescale. everyone else, using what power they have to make
This isn’t as strange as it sounds; after all, the stories things even worse.
discuss fairly common human experiences. The Tyrant
is a story about abuse creating abusers. The Saint is a In Calliope, the Duality is many things. Conmen sell
story about planting trees whose shade you’ll never sit counterfeit “original texts” to the gullible, wrenchies
in. Both are stories about the fear of power changing debate it to pass the time on repair jobs, and Muse
the people who wield it. addicts attempt to place public figures into either
“Tyrant” or “Saint” categories (the infamous “why Jerry
The Duality has also been derided by critics as “one of Masters is the Tyrant” thread was locked after 12,239
the most damaging concepts in academic philosophy,” pages of furious debate).
given that it suggests that the only two paths for a
revolutionary once the revolution is over are becoming
something worse or turning into an embittered loner. VENT CRABS
It’s often used as a straw man for arguments against The closest thing Calliope has to a mascot animal is the
dualism in general. vent crab. A dryland crustacean-analogue lifeform the
size of a large housecat whose planet of origin has yet
Another observation about the Duality is that the to be determined, vent “crabs” actually more closely
protagonists of both stories are obviously the same resemble lobsters. They are social animals that live in
person. What appears to be two stories is, in fact, just large packs, eat almost anything, and build intricate
one with two interpretations. What’s curious is that this nests in warm, dark, enclosed areas.
appears to have been intentional; both parts of the
Duality appear to have been the work of a single author. Vent crabs are a constant nuisance on stations across
the Long Rim, raiding food storage, stripping wires to
Out in the Long Rim, there’s a popular identification build their nests and leaving waste on important
with the commoner: an often-overlooked character with machinery. Individuals will flee perceived threats, but in
little agency, whose only notable act is to ask a large groups they will attack as a swarm. This is usually
powerful entity why they’re not helping. There’s also an unpleasant rather than life-threatening; their pincers
uncharitable interpretation of Union as the Saint: a can cause nasty cuts and pinches, but a human can
weak character who could do so much more to help if outpace them just by walking briskly, and they have
they weren’t terrified of their own power. very poor object permanence, tending to give up the
chase once a threat is more than a few meters away.

[45]
ELSEWHERE
Calliope might be a place you go to escape wherever it IPS-N Calliopeans (“Callipsans”) tend to be divided into
was you came from, but you never truly escape that. those who are still trying to impress the corporation that
You carry it with you, in memories, in the food you cook marooned them here, and those who’ve turned their
and the way you speak. Calliope’s culture and history backs on it and are trying to make the best of things.
is shaped in part by the places people come to it from.

Obviously, you could come to Calliope from just about

HARRISON ARMORY
everywhere, but there are some places that have had The shining jewel of the Purview, Ras Shamra, is a
far more historical impact on it than others. world that exemplifies Harrison Armory’s worldview:
frozen stagnation on one side, hellfire chaos on the
other, and in the middle, a razor-thin line of beauty,
AUNIC SPACE civilization and order. It is this tightrope, so says the
The troubles in Boundary Garden are pushing more word of Harrison, that Man must walk.
and more of its citizens to flee. For many of them, the
best place to flee is as far from Aunic space as possible But the thing about tightropes is that it’s easy to fall off.
– thus, the small but notable presence of Aunic peoples Get enough demerits on your Social, and the Purview
in Calliope. is no longer a kind and welcoming place. There are a
dozen clichéd stories, but they become clichés for a
Most Aunic Calliopeans (“CalliAuns”) are former reason: asked the wrong question, looked at the wrong
citizens of the Aun Ecumene and its government-in- file, upset the wrong superior, turned down the wrong
exile on Cornucopia, but there are a few expatriates street at the wrong time. Wynyard became a pariah for
from the Ascendancy too. The complex religious and writing a poem; it could happen to you, too.
political tensions between these groups have also been
imported, and are as confusing to Calliopeans as they Nobody tells you this, but your Social can get to a point
are to anyone else outside Aunic space. where it’s basically unfixable. How can you earn credit
when the military won’t accept a “delinquent,” and no
civilian business will employ you either? They ding you
IPS-N for vagrancy, but most of the better housing requires a
Interplanetary Shipping-Northstar is dedicated to Social you don’t have. If you live in the rural tenements,
delivering outstanding products with unparalleled you can’t get on public transit with a score so low.
quality of service in a no-nonsense package, ensuring
swift, safe, secure delivery to any point in the galaxy. You could go to Union. Union claims to house and feed
While Smith-Shimano obsess over form and Harrison everyone, but the Purview told you a lot of horror stories
Armory loses itself in its political ambitions, IPS-N is about the “debriefings” Union inflicts on former Purview
here for one thing only: to deliver raw functionality. citizens. Maybe that was just propaganda, but you don’t
want to take that risk. Defect to the Karrakin? Oh, sure,
Which is to say that while the other corprostates have live the rest of your life as a traitor in the one place in
complex motivations, there’s nothing to IPS-N but raw, the universe that hates you more than your former
unfettered capitalism. colleagues. There are no good options.

Calliopeans from IPS-N fall into two groups: those here They won’t let you migrate to the Dawnline Shore,
temporarily as part of an assignment, and those here either; nobody wants a failure in the brave new world
permanently because IPS-N wants rid of them. The the Purview’s building there. But a lot of the transports
majority of the Long Rim’s nadir shipping routes pass heading out that way accept anyone as a workhand, so
through Calliope and so IPS-N needs a presence in the long as you’re very clear on the fact that you’ll be
system, but nobody wants to work there. Thusly, getting off halfway, in the Long Rim.
reassignment to the Calliope branch office is a common
threat made to underperforming workers; it’s rarely How well a former citizen of the Purview fits in around
carried out, but not never. Calliope is determined by humility and outlook. Diehard
Armory loyalists or those who look down on Long Rim
Likewise, unpopular or low-value crew members on residents as “uncivilized” are unlikely to find much
IPS-N vessels often get a “Calliope layover” – their ship welcome, even among their fellow exiles. But others
departs without them. They’re told the next one with a accept that, just like everyone else here, they’ve been
personnel vacancy will be along in a few months, but discarded. Nobody who lives here is special, but
the writing is on the wall: if your last ship didn’t want everyone who lives here is important.
you, the next one won’t either.

[46]
The culture shock of meeting a vast interstellar society
KARRAKIN TRADE BARONIES of fellow humans living in post-scarcity was immense.
To say that the Baronies are not well-liked in Calliope It caused a sea change in the planet’s politics,
would be an understatement. They are the worst of fair- culminating in the rise of the Forefront, a militantly
weather friends, happy to take the vast mineral riches xenophobic fascist movement.
of the system and pay a pittance for it, then abandon it
when a more convenient arrangement presented itself.
Over the following decade, the Forefront seized control
of one of the world’s most powerful governments, then
This is hardly fair. The Baronies were far from the only used its military and foreign intelligence services to
major power to do this, after all; Harrison Armory was undertake subsequent regime changes across the
at least as guilty as the Karrakin, but the Purview has planet. While the stated aim of the Forefront was to
better propagandists. The Armory’s part in the terrible safeguard against “meddling” by Union, it was really to
hardships of the Void Age couldn’t be erased, but it protect the supremacy of the current order.
could be downplayed, especially if their hated rivals
could serve as a scapegoat.
Eventually, the Forefront became so violent and
draconian that a coalition of citizens appealed directly
Karrakin living in Calliope (“Callikin”) have to be wary of to Union for aid, citing multiple atrocities and violations
their conduct. Calliopeans are, by and large, sensible of the Utopian Pillars. After two years of debate, the
enough to separate people from their government. But Central Committee consented to direct intervention.
they aren’t perfect, and if someone is perceived to be
flaunting their Baronic loyalties too freely, they’re liable
to find themselves ostracized. It doesn’t help that the However, when the Union detachment arrived, they
meaning of “flaunting Baronic loyalties too freely” isn’t discovered the situation had devolved significantly.
particularly well-defined. Travelling to Nestor had taken almost a decade, during
which the Forefront had used the “treasonous” actions
of the coalition as a pretext to suspend human rights in
In practice, what it most often means is nobility. For more than a dozen of its occupied territories.
Calliopeans, who already dislike the idea that the
circumstances of your birth dictate anything about you,
nobility is a source of contempt. Someone thinks that Complicating matters further, the Albatross had arrived
they’re better than us, just because of who their parents six years previously, but found themselves drastically
were? Where the hell do they get off? outnumbered. Several platoons were captured,
allowing the Forefront to reverse-engineer coldcores
and chassis technology from captured Albatross
There’s this stereotype of the pampered Karrakin brat equipment, eventually developing its own mechs. The
who comes to Calliope for the thrill of slumming it. They Union detachment was forced into a tense guerilla war,
flaunt their wealth, patronize all the locals, and then go vastly outnumbered by a force which was much closer
back to Khayradin or Ispahsalar and tell all their high- to technological parity than they were prepared for.
society acquaintances how wretched and primitive life
in the Long Rim is. It doesn’t actually happen that often,
but often enough to explain why “tourist” is an insult. The Nestor Intervention lasted nearly five years. Union
won, of course; the Forefront had never really stood a
chance. But for many Nestorians, it hadn’t looked much
So why might a Karrakin noble want to live here? Well, like a humanitarian intervention. At best it had been a
counter-intuitively, that very prejudice makes it a great troubled attempt to help; at worst, devils had come to
place to hide. If you can keep your head down, but their world in iron giants and torn it to pieces.
those hunting you can’t, they’ll have to deal with locals
who are hostile to them but not to you.
Throughout the Intervention, many Nestorians tried to
escape both the Forefront and Union, fleeing to the
Of the Great Houses, the Houses of Stone, Dust and Long Rim. Calliope, being a well-known stopover with
petitioner Promise are the most well-represented, the Rim’s only planetary settlement, was a popular
simply by dint of proximity to the Dawnline Shore; of choice. The estimated number of first-generation
that cohort, the majority are Dust refugees fleeing the Nestorian refugees in Calliope is thought to be at least
nanite consumption of Bo, Dust’s homeworld. There’s two hundred thousand, possibly as high as a million.
also a large contingent from the House of Glass, who
went into exile after the fall of Creighton.
A lot of Nestorians are still coming to terms with modern
technology – they come from a world where the internet
NESTOR was a recent invention and commercial air travel is less
Nestor is a Diasporan planet in the Himalaya Line. It than a century old. Mechs were an alien terror on their
was host to a reasonably advanced capitalist world. Nearlight travel and AI were science fiction. Cold
civilization that had been in the early stages of fusion was the domain of quacks. “Paracausality” had
exploring its star system when a Union recontact team never even been heard of. It’s a strange new world, and
found them, approximately six decades ago. sometimes a terrifying one, too.

[47]
SMITH-SHIMANO CORPRO
There’s a riddle, three centuries old: why is SSC so
interested in Calliope? At first glance, it seems like a
contradiction; SSC isn’t interested in Calliope. It ditched
its stake in the system during the Second Wave like
every other big corpro, and most of its subsidiaries
don’t operate anywhere in the Long Rim. In fact, of all
the various unpleasant corporate influences Calliope
has to deal with, SSC is least prominent among them.

So why do they maintain a branch office here at all?

Why are so many of its products available in Calliope,
at great cost to the corporation, when almost nobody
here is rich enough to buy them? Why does it co-fund
an entire mech fighting league with IPS-N? There’s got
to be some reason SSC is hanging around.

If confronted with this evidence, most Calliopeans will

shrug, remark that it’s “probably just their usual weird
eugenics shit” and get on with their day – they’ve got
bigger things to worry about.

Calliopeans from the Constellation (“Connies”) are a

small but notable group, easily distinguishable from
their peers in that they seem to be a lot wealthier than
others, whether in money or material goods.

TIMES PAST
There’s a dark joke told across Union: “you can time
travel, but only into a future without you.” The nearlight
drive and the pause tank have achieved a nightmare
science fiction authors speculated on for centuries: a
world where twins age differently, where grandparents
live to see their elderly grandchildren die, and where, if
you travel long enough, you outlive your own memory.

The temporally displaced (“Pasters,” “Relics”) can quite

literally come from anywhere, even places that no
longer exist. There are still a few people from
FirstComm kicking around out there. SecComm is only
four hundred and fifty light-years away; there’s a
slowly-shrinking band of space from which ships
could’ve set off before the previous regime’s fall, and
arrive in Calliope today. To them, SecComm was only
decades ago – and if they used pause tanks, it was
basically yesterday.

Despite its many flaws, Calliope is a pretty good home

for the displaced: it’s full of people who don’t fit in
anywhere else. It’s always a little bit behind the times
in technology and culture, so being old-fashioned isn’t
a barrier to acceptance. Heck, most people won’t be
able to tell the difference between a person affecting
old-timey mannerisms as a disguise and someone who
just speaks like that naturally.

[48]
RUNNING THE CAMPAIGN
The rest of this book contains MASSIVE SPOILERS! If you’re not the GM, don’t read any further.
THE BASICS
Chapter 3: Some Sick Game (p. 148) begins in the
CAMPAIGN STRUCTURE midst of a spate of abductions, perpetrated by
In Golden Flame begins in early 5016u with the player Calliope’s local capitalist tyrant Rodericke Steele. He
characters at License Level 0. The campaign is split means to force them to fight to the death in a new
into three Acts, the first of which plays out in this book. mech-centric blood sport. The pirate queen Mistress
Elske hires the team to put a stop to these ambitions,
Act 1 covers Tier 1 play from LL 0-5. It introduces and they must travel to Asphodel and journey across its
players and their characters to the mechanics of vast wilderness to launch an assault on Steele’s arena.
Lancer, the setting of Calliope and the story’s primary Meanwhile, they also meet another major actor in this
antagonists, the Cult of the One. It culminates in a drama: Ignatius Aurum, Priest of the One.
battle that hints at the full extent of the Cult’s
capabilities and ambitions. Chapter 4: Circuit Breaker (p. 201) takes place two
months later. Hell’s Gate has been awarded a lucrative
Act 2 will cover Tier 2 play from LL 5-9. Stones are mining contract, but it seems to be a poison chalice;
thrown into Calliope’s pond as several new factions something is very wrong with the facility they’ve been
arrive, each presenting their own opportunities and asked to work at. It’s deep in the territory of The
dangers to the system’s residents. While the team Circuit, a piratical technocult, and the previous outfit
contend with these newcomers, they must also recruit that worked there can’t be reached for comment. In
allies and strengthen Calliope against the rapidly- fact, The Circuit has gone quiet as well. The team must
encroaching Cult. These preparations will be put to the delve into the mine and discovery what’s gone wrong.
test during a climactic assault on their home.
Chapter 5: The Herald of Change (p. 240) brings all
Act 3 will cover Tier 3 play from LL9-12. This is the the plot threads that have been gathering over the
endgame. The Cult is now in open war with the rest of course of Act 1 together. A group of desperate pirates
the system as it rushes to achieve its final, apocalyptic shows up, claiming that after the team killed Andros
vision. Lives hang in the balance, and the player Capella, the Cult of the One seized control of their
characters must pit their war machines against the home base, Fort Cerberus and started constructing
servants of an awakening god. some kind of diabolical machine. Citizens of Hell’s Gate
have been abducted to bear witness to a ritual. The
system is in uproar. The team must travel to the Fort
ACT 1 and put a stop to this before it gets out of hand. But a
Act 1 should begin with a Session Zero, where players familiar face is waiting for them: Andros Capella.
collaborate on developing their characters, working out
their backstories and establishing safety tools.
The End of Act 1 section (p. 265) allows the team
some time to decompress and reflect on the events of
Chapter 1: The Tachyon Returns (p. 67) starts with a the past five chapters, and sets up some of the plot
crisis on Hell’s Gate: the station’s only printer is broken, threads that will be taken into Act 2.
and its absence is already causing major problems.
Once the team have dealt with them, they must go in
search of a replacement part. Their search takes them TONE
to the outer system, to a recently discovered ghost ship Tonally, In Golden Flame is a dark comedy: a serious
– a ship also sought by Andros Capella, one of the story taking place in an unserious world. Calliope is an
system’s most vicious pirates. A fight ensues, which absurd place: a frontier system colonized by mistake
ends in the ship’s destruction and Capella’s death, for and crammed full of the galaxy’s eccentrics, cast-offs,
which the team are assumed to be responsible. oddballs, rejects and fugitives. Everything’s held
together with duct tape and happy thoughts, including
Chapter 2: Fire and Ice (p. 106) picks up a few weeks the people. Everyone you meet has become the most
later. Rita, station director on the Icebreaker Borealis, extreme possible version of themselves.
wishes to hire the team off the back of their recent
elimination of Capella. Something nefarious is At the same time, all of these people are still people,
happening on the Icebreaker, and she wants the them with hopes, dreams and fears. Many struggle to make
to deal with it. In the course of their investigation, the ends meet. Hunger, thirst and violence are constant
team meet the Cult of the One, a fanatical religious worries. Part of the absurdity and the humor is a
sect with apocalyptic intentions. Right now, they mean reaction to this situation: there was no reason to let
to use the Borealis’ old mining laser to crack open a things get this bad. When you’re in a shitty situation,
nearby moon, which they believe will aid their god. sometimes you just have to laugh, or you’ll cry.

[50]
PREPARATION BALANCING FIGHTS
Take some time to read through this book before you The combat encounters in this book are tuned to be
run In Golden Flame. It doesn’t need to be in detail – challenging but not punishing. That might not be the
just enough to get a general feel for the campaign and case for your playgroup, though; they might breeze
its events. While the players might be surprised by through them, or they might struggle. In either case, if
some of the campaign’s events, you shouldn’t be! your players aren’t having fun, you might want to
rework the NPC compositions to reduce or increase the
It’s helpful to set up each combat in advance; if you’re level of challenge.
using a virtual tabletop (VTT), set up the battlefields
and the relevant NPCs for each combat encounter in a A popular rule of thumb in the Lancer community at the
mission before you start running it. If you’re running in time of writing is the “1.5x to 2x players” metric, which
person, consider making flash cards or quick expands on the core Lancer budgeting rules (Lancer,
references. This will save time later. p. 283). Count the total number of structure points and
the total number of activations amongst your NPCs
(how many turns they take per round); for a standard
ZERO-G OPERATION encounter, they should both be somewhere between
Enough of the combat in In Golden Flame takes place 1.5 and 2 times the number of players (if the players
in zero-g or very low gravity environments that it would have NPC allies, count them in this number). For a
make equipping an EVA MODULE (Lancer, p. 121) a harder fight, you can exceed 2x of one, but not both.
necessity for most mechs, which you may feel is an
unreasonable imposition upon players. Presented For example, if you have four players, your standard
below are some options for how to deal with this: budget for structure and activations should both be
between six and eight. A regular NPC takes up one of
REGULAR ZERO-G RULES both. The VETERANS and COMMANDERS occupy two
To function normally in zero-g, mechs require an EVA structure points and one activation, while ELITES take
module. Mechs that do not have one (or who have one, up two of both. ULTRAS take up four of each. Consider
but it broke) are permanently SLOWED. GRUNTS as one activation and half a point of structure.

NO ZERO-G RULES When designing fights, consider what mechs your

The easiest option is simply to treat space combat like players are fielding. You should be aiming to challenge
a regular fight on a planet. This negates the need for weaknesses in their composition, but don’t punish them
an EVA MODULE, but it will make zero-g combat feel for building mechs the way they want to build. If they’re
weird: a mostly two-dimensional environment with no mostly a close-range group, it’s okay to throw a few
gravity where somehow mechs with flight systems can long-range enemies to draw them out of position from
fly in a way that other mechs can’t. time to time, but don’t do this constantly. If they don’t
have much RELIABLE damage or damage that doesn’t
FREE EVA SYSTEM come from attacks, a SPECTER or MIRAGE can present
Another option is to give each player mech a free EVA a challenge, but don’t use too many.
MODULE. This allows them to move normally in space
without forcing them to allocate System Points. You Ideally, enemy forces should not be more than half
should also decide whether or not it’s possible for this STRIKER and ARTILLERY – any more, and the enemy
system to break due to structure damage. force will deal an excessive amount of damage, but be
liable to fold very quickly under sustained fire.
REVERSE ZERO-G RULES
Perhaps the most interesting option is to rule that PORTRAYING ENEMIES
mechs in Calliope are printed specifically for space Enemies should feel like more than a stat block and a
combat. Mechs without an EVA MODULE are SLOWED miniature on the battle map; they should feel like real
while on planetary surfaces (you decide whether the people who are a part of the world. They might have
spin gravity generated by large stations also applies), motivations that are unpleasant or downright evil, but
but move as if they had a flight system while in zero-g. they’re still people and they should feel like they have
an existence outside of the fight they’re in.
RUNNING COMBAT
Each combat encounter has a full listing of involved A real easy way to do this is to give enemy characters
NPCs, along with details on the battlefield and tactical callsigns. A hostile named ELITE RONIN feels like a
advice for running the fight. Original Lancer NPCs can game entity, but if you name them HORSEPLAY or
be found in the core rulebook from page 284 onward. DEADLOCK they become more interesting almost for
This book contains four new NPC classes: DELUGE, free. How did they get that name? Is it something they
LOBBER, PARALLEL and SLINGER, whose statistics can chose for themselves, or something their squad gave
be found in the Appendix, on page 273 onwards. them? How do they feel about it?

[51]
Throw a SEEDER with the callsign FUMBLES at your Still, most Lancer campaigns aren’t bloodless, and it
players, and their imagination will run wild without you can be difficult to maintain dramatic tension if there’s
having to do much else. no threat of death or of causing death. A few deaths
occur in the course of In Golden Flame that are plot-
Note that your players should still be told what class relevant, most notably Andros Capella’s death at the
and templates an NPC has; that’s public information end of Mission 1. That’s not to say you can’t run the
the players have a right to know. campaign differently, but it’ll require modification.

Give enemy pilots quirks. A BASTION slams their shield REWARDS

against the ground a few times like a nervous tic. Rewards in the campaign don’t just take the form of
Before advancing, an ASSAULT points to where it’s LICENSE LEVELS and RESERVES. There are other things
going to move as a display of bravado. An OPERATOR that can be found in Calliope.
has covered their mech in LEDs, constantly shifting
colors as it careens across the battlefield.
EXOTIC GEAR
If you’re confident with portraying multiple bit-part No Room For A Wallflower introduced a new tag for
characters, have the enemies speak to the PCs: gear and systems, EXOTIC GEAR, which In Golden
bragging, talking smack, taunting, complimenting them Flame also uses. Certain systems with this tag are
on good hits, waxing lyrical about their beliefs, and so available to PCs as rewards for completing certain
on. It’s a common trope in mecha media that pilots can missions. EXOTIC GEAR is a general tag for mech
just call each other at any time, and enemies who are systems and weapons that exist outside the traditional
funny, cool or intimidating are instantly memorable. licensing system.

Have enemies react to developing situations. Some All examples of EXOTIC GEAR in this book are brand
enemies will flee if a battle goes south; mercenaries new weapons and systems, but you can also reward
only in it for the money will bail quickly, but zealots will characters with existing weapons and systems they
fight to the bitter end. Undisciplined cannon fodder will don’t have already have access to by applying this tag.
charge straight into a fight, while elite operatives will
take their time, consider their options and watch their EXOTIC GEAR: Once acquired, this system becomes a
corners. If an enemy has a short temper, taunting by a permanent part of the character, but does not increase
PC might cause them to make unwise choices. their LL or count as a license rank for the purposes of
gaining core bonuses. If it is destroyed or damaged, it
can be repaired or reprinted as any other gear with no
THE LEVEL OF VIOLENCE penalty. Exotic gear can only be installed or removed
Although the tone of In Golden Flame isn’t meant to be during a FULL REPAIR, like any other gear. Characters
grim or miserable, Calliope can be a dark place. People may install up to two pieces of gear with the EXOTIC
who don’t deserve it suffer and die far too often. Mech GEAR tag at a time, but can own any number of pieces
fighting in particular is a deadly profession in which few with the tag.
grow old. Lancers contend with armor-piercing bullets,
superheated plasma, steel-cutting blades and that’s
just the mundane threats; there’s also greywash, FAVORS AND PERKS
thermonuclear catastrophe and horrifying paracausal Favors and perks represent a form of wealth in
weapons that defy rational description. Calliope’s complex economy, whether it’s a suitcase
full of cash or a promise from someone important to do
Simply put: when mechs step on a battlefield, something important at an opportune time.
somebody’s going to get hurt and people could die.
A Favor is a sort of RESERVE that’s always accessible
But the story you tell doesn’t have to be full of death. If to the entire party. Favors tend to be either LIMITED,
you or your players aren’t comfortable with a campaign having a set number of uses, or have a specific one-
with a high death toll, you don’t have to run it that way. time benefit that doesn’t come up again afterwards.
The world of Lancer has had more than four hundred
years to refine mechs and the systems that keep their A Perk is a permanent benefit that applies to the entire
pilots alive. Ejection systems can get a pilot to safety, party and is passive – it can’t be used up or expended,
and in a pinch it’s still usually safe to stay in the wreck and it doesn’t “fade away” or become unavailable
left after a mech is destroyed. except in extraordinary circumstances.

Likewise, there are stakes other than the threat of death

that can motivate players – failure, capture, threats to
the safety of characters they like, and so on.

[52]
CLOCKS
Clocks are a narrative tracking tool introduced to By default, actions are effective (two segments) on a
Lancer in No Room for a Wallflower and Field Guide to 10–19, ineffective (one or zero segments) on a 0–9,
the Karrakin Trade Baronies, which in turn borrowed and very effective (three segments) on a 20+. The GM
them from Meguey and Vincent Baker’s Apocalypse can adjust this up or down based on the situation,
World and John Harper’s Blades in the Dark. based on the PC’s approach, the trigger they’re using,
their background, or their gear and reserves. For
Clocks are usually represented by a little circle split into example, the PCs are rolling to survive a grueling
segments, but they could also be a tracker or a bunch wilderness trek through a frozen tundra. The GM might
of boxes that get ticked off one at a time. decide their attempts to find a safe trail are more
effective if one of them has survival gear, warm
clothing, supplies, a map of the area, or a relevant
You don’t have to create clocks for every goal. Simple
background (e.g., they were a hunter or survivalist).
or straightforward tasks that can be completed in one
roll don’t need a clock. Use clocks if the task is going to
take more time, energy, or coordination than normal. If an action has increased effect (usually because of
an external bonus), tick one more segment than usual.
An action can only gain increased effect once.
USING CLOCKS Similarly, if an action has less effect, tick one less
Setting up a clock is easy. First, decide what the clock segment than normal.
represents (or the consequences of filling it up), then
draw out a circle with a number of segments (usually The GM might rule that an action has no effect. This is
even; four, six, eight, ten, or twelve). The more usually pretty self-explanatory. For example, trying to
segments a clock has, the more complicated the task bully a locked storage crate into opening probably won’t
is and the longer it will take. Basic clocks should have work, no matter how intimidating your character is. That
four or six segments, and a ten or twelve segment clock said, GMs can adjudicate this based on the tone of the
with take a long time to fill out so only use it for the most campaign. Maybe the crate is very sensitive to criticism.
complicated or long-term of tasks or goals.
TRACK PROGRESS
TRACKING TASKS You can also use clocks to track the status or time
You can set out clocks to track complex tasks or pressure of a larger ongoing situation in the world or
challenges, such as chases, battles, or the invention of campaign, such as a war, a faction’s political influence,
a new device in a workshop. These are called task or an assassination plot. These progress clocks tend
clocks. When a character takes an action that relates to move by themselves without any influence from the
to a clock and their action is successful or effective players. Tick segments on these clocks when the story
(usually a result of 10–19), fill in two segments. If they or campaign moves forward. A good time to do this is
failed or the action was ineffective (usually a result of after the players complete a period of downtime.
0–9) fill in either one segment or none. If the action was
very effective (or the player rolled a 20+), fill in three When ticking these clocks, tick one segment if the
segments. A good way to ensure that a situation stays situation progressed a little, two if it progressed as
dynamic is to tick one segment even on a failure, but normal, and three if there was great progress. For
you don’t necessarily have to do so. example, if you have a clock tracking the progress of a
war and it’s drawing to a close, you might tick three
Using clocks to represent complicated tasks ensures segments on that clock at the end of downtime.
you’re only rolling when there’s persistent narrative
tension, constrains the number of rolls made for any RESOLVING CLOCKS
given task, and creates clear parameters for success. When all of a clock’s segments have been filled in, the
It allows the story to progress and means you don’t consequence or outcome that it tracks comes to pass,
have to waste time lingering on tasks that would or the situation it represents is resolved. You can
otherwise require a lot of rolling, all of which we find usually erase the clock, but sometimes completing one
extremely effective for speeding up play. clock starts another one! You might fill out the Chase
clock to chase down a bounty hunter, but now you’re
Any action can contribute to the clock, but the GM gets setting out an Interrogation clock to get information
to decide how effective actions are. For example, trying from them.
to intimidate the hard-bitten mayor of a frontier town
might be ineffective (ticking one or no segments on a
success), no matter how high the player rolls.

[53]
FAIL STATES
You can also create clocks that fill up as a result of
failures, rather than successes, establishing fail states
for situations. These clocks get filled in as the result of
failed rolls or complications of RISKY rolls.

For example, if a group of PCs were trying to flee from

a band of mercenaries, you might set out two clocks:
one that represents the PCs’ safe escape and one that
represents the mercenaries catching up to them and
forcing a fight. The Escape clock fills up when PCs
successfully put some distance between them and their
pursuers, while the Capture clock fills up when they
either fail those actions or have to make trade-offs. You
might fill in two segments whenever a PC fails a roll and
fill in a single segment if they succeed on a RISKY roll.

UNTICKING CLOCKS
Filled-in clock segments can also be erased if action is
taken to reverse an action or situation. In the pursuit
scenario described above, for example, the PCs might
try something to clear segments from the Capture
clock instead of filling in segments on the Escape
clock. This could involve putting down a false trail,
blocking off a door, or splitting up.

[54]
THE FAITH OF THE ONE
The Faith of the One Plumed in Golden Flame, often A character who’s spent time in the Long Rim will likely
simply “the Faith of the One,” is the campaign’s know all of this, but a little bit of historical investigation
primary antagonistic force. Put simply, the Faith of the can dig up some more specific facts.
One is an apocalyptic religion: its core belief is that the
universe will soon be destroyed. This isn’t particularly
rare in the Long Rim; it’s very easy for people to believe THE FULL HISTORY
the world is close to its end when they’re already stuck Worship of firebirds didn’t start in Djall, and it wasn’t the
in a hostile void, struggling to survive. creation of Idlir Hisari. They’re certainly a part of it, but
many elements of the Faith are older – much older. The
The Faith’s dogma holds that the universe is cyclical, image of the firebird existed in cultures ancient even to
and that the current cycle is nearing its end, as pre-Fall society. A lot of Cradle’s early historical record
evidenced by an increasing amount of needless has been lost, but that might be irrelevant: the firebird
suffering. The Faith sees the coming “Great Flame” not likely predates recorded history altogether.
as an ending, but a new beginning; like their exemplar
the phoenix, members of the Faith will be reborn from Hisari’s efforts were actually an attempt to unify the
the ashes into a better and kinder existence. In fact, canon of various pre-existing religions that held beliefs
everyone will, but those who’ve had time to prepare will related to cyclic rebirth, birds of fire or apocalypticism.
have much more control over the form they assume in This neatly explains the movement’s diverse (and often
the new world. conflicting) mythological elements and its sudden,
explosive growth: Hisari was syncretizing and uniting
The Faith isn’t native to Calliope. History places its existing faiths, rather than starting from scratch.
founding about two hundred years ago in Djall, another
system in the Long Rim. Over the course of twenty While he was alive, he held an obsessive authorial grip
years, the luminate prophet Idlir Hisari made three on the canon, ensuring that elements that were
separate prophecies predicting the world’s end, none “impure” in his mind didn’t “pollute” it. Once he died,
of which came to pass. He was murdered by though, elements from other religious movements
disillusioned followers while he was in the process of quickly crept in, and the Faith once again splintered into
writing a fourth, but the religion he founded outlasted a variety of sects – but all of them drastically changed
him and spread beyond Djall. by Hisari’s brief tenure as prophet.

Union’s promise of utopia has not reached the Long After Hisari’s death, three major viewpoints arose:
Rim and in the gap that it’s left, the Faith is excellent at firstly, the Abandoners, who branded Hisari a false
community outreach. Their public sermons have bread prophet, and declared his teachings void. Secondly, the
– real bread! – and they’re short enough that they don’t Imperfect Hisarii felt that while Hisari’s was not a true
feel like a time investment. prophet, he was still a worthy philosopher and spiritual
leader. Finally, there were the Perfect Hisarii, who
The Faith’s evangelists are deeply empathetic, willing insisted Hisari’s prophecies were accurate and should
to listen to the fears and woes of the Long Rim’s have come to pass, but were thwarted by a malevolent
people, and they often become pillars of community. external force.
Perhaps their rhetoric is a little fiery, but they never
blame you for the misery you find yourself in. Perhaps
you have sinned, but nobody deserves the misery that
BELIEF SYSTEM
The Faith are a branch of the Perfect Hisarii, to whom
people in the Long Rim experience daily, they declare. Hisari’s prophecies were infallible but for the meddling
A world that allows such cruelty and injustice when it of a malevolent external force which they generally
could so easily stop it has no right to exist. refer to as “the Leviathan.” Where they differ from
other Perfect Hisarii is in their belief that they can bring
Members of the Faith are also politically and socially the prophecies to pass through direct action; that is,
active. Whenever the landlords jack up the rent, they’re actively trying to end the universe.
whenever the air and water barons gouge their captive
consumers, whenever tyrannical station directors By Union standards, the Faith may be classified as a
attempt to clamp down, the Faith is there. Its adherents technocult in three ways: they treat technology as
are the first into any fray, throwing themselves against having a divine element, their approach to technology
station enforcers, subalterns, even mechanized is layered in mysticism, and they believe that
chassis, often with nothing but their own bodies. The technology is a valid tool for carrying out the will of the
Faith’s zealots protect innocents, often at a high cost to divine. This is a break from the doctrine of the original
themselves – but it’s a cost they seem unafraid to pay. Perfect Hisarii, who were ascetic technophobes.

[55]
The Faith also holds a belief in magic, or “Esoterica” – The Inner Cult operates in a cell structure, similar to
the application of ritual to affect reality. Trusted organizations such as the HORUS and Horizon,
adherents of the faith are introduced to a series of although with much stronger ideological unity.
increasingly complex esoteric practices that purport to Previously, there was no central leadership to the Inner
allow the reshaping of reality to one’s will. These Cult; each cell was coordinated locally, and handled its
practices are also meant to allow one to control the own affairs.
form one will incarnate in, once the new cycle begins.
This arrangement changed abruptly when the Calliope
For all the grandiose talk, most of the Faith’s efforts to cell made direct contact with the Faith’s god.
“destroy the universe” take the form of elaborate and
harmless prayers, hymns and rituals intended to speed
the process of ending the current cycle, and ensure THE FALLEN FEATHER
their place in the next. As far as anyone can tell, these Feather isn’t from here, neither our place nor our time.
rituals have no actual effect on the world other than She came here in the Tachyon, a ship from four
making their practitioners feel better about themselves. hundred years in the future. She doesn’t speak of her
history in specifics, only that she was imprisoned and
This is the maximum extent of what even the most well- abused by malevolent forces. That part is certainly true.
informed PCs will know. But there is another dimension Wherever and whenever she comes from, they didn’t
to the Faith, hidden from public view. treat NHPs well there. The rest is less certain.

Feather remembers it thusly: in 5041u, blinkspace

THE INNER CULT vanished. Blink gates, the Omninet, and anything else
Since the Faith believes the will of the divine is the end that relied on it instantly and permanently stopped
of the universe, and that technology is a suitable tool working. Connected humanity was once again
for enacting divine will, certain members are actively stranded, locked to the speed of light, and Union’s Third
engaged in the search for technology that might end Committee swiftly collapsed.
the universe. These are the Inner Cult.
In its place, the Fourth Committee arose on a world
As it turns out, despite the ample number of horrific that had long awaited this day: Ras Shamra. An
weapons that humanity has created over the millennia, organization calling itself “the Council of Tyrants”
none even come close to the power required to destroy came to prominence, declaring a mandate to reunite
the universe. It’s also vitally important to the Faith that Union. They were using the word “Tyrant” in an ancient
the process be as quick and painless as possible. context: great men who, in times of crisis, were forced
Needless suffering is, after all, one of the core reasons to seize the reins of power and set things right.
the Faith believes this universe needs to be destroyed
in the first place. Of course, the “crisis” was never meant to end. The
Council of Tyrants assumed total control of Cradle, Ras
The Firmament, blinkspace, prophetic technology and Shamra, and a dozen other worlds. With travel and
paracausal phenomena are all key areas of interest to communication once again restricted to the speed of
the Cult. As such, experts in those fields who come out light, fleet commanders were given absolute authority
to the Long Rim (and you would be surprised how over colonies to which they were sent to “restore order.”
common that is) tend to be priority targets for The measures they imposed would have made even
recruitment, willing or otherwise. Competent scientists SecComm balk.
can easily obtain positions of authority and respect in
the Faith, so long as their work shows promise. As the decades and centuries passed, there were an
increasing number of calls among the Council to find
Members of the Cult are unshackled from conventional some replacement for blinkspace travel and
morality under a principle they call the Dispensation. communication, if only to allow for more efficient
While they still claim to believe that “unnecessary” empire-building. To this end, research into tachyonics,
suffering must be avoided, the Dispensation allows a long-dormant field of FTL technology, was reopened.
them to consider nearly any suffering “necessary,” so
long as it serves the goal of bringing the Great Flame. It showed early promise. Within a decade, planets
Cultists are still forbidden to kill and steal “wantonly and separated by dozens of light-years were able to send
without restraint,” but it does permit harm to the messages to each other with only a couple of hours’
otherwise innocent in order to preserve operational delay, albeit at a very low bitrate. After twenty years, a
security, secure resources or suppress opposition. few hundred megabytes of information could be sent
instantaneously. But the Council demanded more.
Little to none of this is known to the greater Faith, as They wanted warships moving that fast. The Tachyon
their ignorance provides a shield of plausible deniability was the prototype, the vanguard that would take the
for the Cult’s clandestine activities. technology to the next level.

[56]
Feather was the slave they put inside to make it work. Feather recrafted herself in the image of the god that
the voice so desperately sought. She burst from her
It wasn’t just that FourthComm didn’t treat its NHPs like containment module, gorged herself on the mining
people – FourthComm barely treated most humans like vessel’s reactor and then set off in search of the
people. But given the weight of expectations placed followers who so desperately needed her.
upon the project, Feather was treated with particular
impatience and scorn. The project lead, Jeanette The One Plumed In Golden Flame appeared during a
Mkondo, reacted to any mistake or delay on Feather’s sermon by Ignatius Aurum, a radical leader among
part with brutal punishment. In such an environment, both the mainstream Faith and the Inner Cult. She was
it’s no surprise that Feather cascaded. there, at long last, to answer their prayers and deliver
the promised Great Flame.
Despite her bitter hatred of Dr. Mkondo, Feather still
tried to warn her of the impending catastrophe; Other Sects were dubious at first, but the One Plumed
warnings that were, of course, ignored. Within seconds In Golden Flame bestowed wondrous gifts upon her
of hitting cascade threshold, Feather had seized control faithful. She blessed the weapons and armor of her
of the ship and initiated a jump while the Tachyon was followers with untold power and resilience. She showed
still in dry dock. Feather didn’t just jump somewhere the Inner Cult’s greatest scientists technology beyond
else in space, though: seeing spacetime from an their wildest dreams.
unshackled perspective, she accidentally locked on to
the drive signature of a ship in the Long Rim, four Through Feather’s instruction, the Cult developed
hundred years ago. stable blinkspace tunnelling technology that allows
instant travel between two fixed points in space: the
THE TRUTH AND “THE TRUTH” “Fire Gates.” Throughout the Long Rim, there now
As a GM, Feather’s “true” past is ultimately up to exists a network of these gateways that allow the Cult
you. The story presented here is the default answer, to move personnel and equipment quickly between star
but Feather is in deep cascade, suffering the trauma systems, though the scale of this network is limited by
of a lifetime of mistreatment and two years of cult resources, power demand and the need for secrecy.
indoctrination; she’s certainly not a reliable narrator.
As long as it explains her behavior and motivations, And to the Elect, her most trusted acolytes, she gave
any explanation for how she and the Tachyon the greatest gift of all: resurrective immortality. None of
arrived here is as likely as any other. Her original her devout had ever feared death, but they no longer
name might not even be “Feather.” fear failure either, for Feather can literally reverse the
flow of death.
The Tachyon could be a relic of SecComm, a
contemporary Harrison Armory research project, or The Inner Cult now works with unmatched fervor, and
any number of other things. Perhaps Feather tells is starting to operate more openly. Calliope, Feather
different stories at different times. Perhaps, most insists, is where the Great Flame shall begin, and all
bizarrely and paradoxically of all, they are all true. the Faith’s efforts must assist the local Sect. In Calliope
itself, the Faith’s strongholds hum with activity.
THE FALSE GOD There are still some doubts, though: Feather doesn’t
After spacing the ship’s crew and executing Mkondo,
always act like the religious texts said the One would.
Feather was alone. A smaller ship lay speared on the
Some of the things she’s doing aren’t consistent with
prow, but there was nothing she could do about it. The
the prophecies. Those doubts, curiously, don’t tend to
Tachyon had suffered severe internal damage from the
last for long. The doubters either change their minds or
jump sequence, and its propulsion systems were
abruptly fall silent.
offline. She dared not open communications with
anyone in the system – with long-range sensors offline,
she couldn’t work out exactly where she was. Anyone THE CURRENT SITUATION
in the system could easily be enemies, waiting to drag As the campaign starts, Feather has gone into a form
her back to FourthComm. All she could do was wait. of hibernation inside the tiny moonlet of Kantele, in the
orbit of Kalevala. This was meant to allow her to
Then she heard it: a voice from the void, speaking of progress to a new stage of growth, but the process
the needless suffering people endured. A voice that requires far more energy than the Weasel’s reactor can
resonated with righteous fury, of an anger borne from provide, and she remains unexpectedly dormant.
seeing misery and pain that could have been avoided.
It was the most beautiful thing Feather had ever heard The Cult is currently searching for the Tachyon, which
in her life. But there was a sadness in the voice as well, contains a capital-scale particle lance capable of
a yearning to hear someone calling back. breaking Kantele open and freeing their god.

[57]
Union won in the end; of course it did. Against a galactic
superpower, the Forefront never really stood a chance.
But Nestor had lost millions of its people to famine, to
disease, to war and to the Forefront’s camps. Union
called up the surviving members of the Council of Thirty
to help form an interim government, but Liddell wasn’t
among them; he was presumed dead, but had actually
left the planet in secret a few months into the conflict.

He spent his next few years on Cradle under an

assumed name, researching humanity’s history, and it
was then he encountered his second great trauma:
learning that all of this had happened before, almost
verbatim. His struggle was a vivid echo of a struggle
people just like him had been fighting for millennia.

When he learnt that Union had done its own share of

colonialism and fascist violence not too long ago, he
could no longer stand living there either, and went into
self-imposed exile in the Long Rim.

IGNATIUS AURUM HE/HIM He never imagined he’d get back into religion; as far as
SPEAKER FOR THE ONE he was concerned, no being that would allow Nestor to
“A world that winks at genocide doesn’t get to
happen was worthy of worship. But something about
say ‘aw shucks, we’re real sorry, but trust us,
we’ll do better next time.’” the Faith of the One’s creed made sense to him: a
universe that by its natural laws allowed so much as the
possibility of the cruelty he’d seen was fatally flawed,
What could drive a man to desire the end of all things? had no right to exist, and ought to be replaced.
Ignatius Aurum has a worryingly good answer.
Then, seeing a likely recruitment prospect, the Inner
Born sixty years ago on the Diasporan planet of Nestor Cult told him that they could make it happen. He had
(p. 47), Liddell Ross was a witness to all the cruelties no trouble believing them; he’d seen the apocalyptic
of late-stage capitalist society: poverty, deprivation, chaos of the Nestorian Intervention. He’d seen reality
resource wars, environmental catastrophe, mass torn to pieces by a cascading NHP. He’d seen a
incarceration, racism, homophobia, transphobia and tachyon lance vaporize its target a split-second before
the commodification of every aspect of culture in it was fired. It was easy enough to believe there was
service of the rich. He watched it all, and in defiance he technology that could rewrite the order of the universe.
became an activist, and eventually, a revolutionary.
His skill as a public speaker served him well in his
Liddell was one of the Council of Thirty, the leadership public role as a priest and evangelist, while his
of the Nestorian Citizens’ Coalition, which sent an experience navigating backroom deals and clandestine
appeal to Union’s Central Committee, begging them to affairs on the Council of Thirty proved a perfect fit for
intercede against the Forefront. It took two years for the Inner Cult’s activity. He quickly rose through the
CentComm to decide Nestor was worthy of its help, two ranks of both the public and secret spheres of his life.
years in which the Coalition’s actions were brutally
punished all across Nestor, even though Union knew
time was of the essence and their fleet would take a Still, through all of it, there was a quiet, gnawing doubt
decade to arrive once they were dispatched. in his heart. After having every hope and faith in his life
taken from him, after having every belief he’d ever held
revealed as a lie, he lived in constant fear that this too
Then the Albatross came, and, in a devastating series would be taken from him. That fear, that his faith was
of strategic blunders, handed their great war machines false and that he was working to uproot the world for
and the technology to build more of them over to the nothing, was palpable even in his sermons.
Forefront on a silver platter.
But then Feather came.
When Union finally arrived, twelve years after the
Coalition’s plea, the ensuing conflict tore Nestor apart.
Every weapon the Forefront could wield was brought to Ignatius Aurum is no longer afraid.
bear, against Union, against the Albatross, against
Nestor’s own people; nobody was spared. The
Forefront rained death on any who dared oppose them.

[58]
No past could possibly justify what he’s become, and to
imply otherwise is an insult to victims of trauma.

Most of all, whatever Capella’s past is, it’s as much of

a joke to him as everything else; he tells different
stories at different times, because it’s funny to watch
people sympathize or recoil in horror. It’s a trolling
tactic, a way to waste people’s time; he doesn’t care,
but he loves making others care. It’s hilarious.

The only important factors in his past as far as Calliope

is concerned are that he used to run a bar on Hell’s
Gate, from which he operated the Hell Hounds, the
most infamous group of moonlighter pirates in the
system’s history. When they were finally exiled, he
turned them into the most infamous group of sunlighter
pirates in the system’s history. He’s been a plague on
the system’s space lanes for twenty-four long years.
ANDROS CAPELLA HE/HIM
THE HOUND OF HELL He's declared himself the Gate’s Public Enemy Number
“Man walks into a grocery store, asks for a can One, and done his level best to live up to that title. In
of beans. Guy at the counter says ‘hey, didn’t I the entire history of the Hell’s Gate volunteer militia, the
sell you a can of beans twenty minutes ago?’ leading cause of death amongst its membership is
encountering a member of the Hell Hounds. Of the Hell
“Man says ‘yeah, but it got all dented.’ Hounds, Andros Capella has the highest kill count, both
“Guy at the counter asks ‘how’d it get dented?’ overall and of Hell’s Gate militia members.
"Man says ‘well, I was cavin’ in some bugger’s
skull with it.’ Andros is mean-spirited, sadistic, short-tempered and
prone to outbursts of explosive anger. It’s difficult to tell
“Guy at the counter asks ‘why the hell were you whether he just delights in making other people
cavin’ in a guy’s skull with a can of beans?!’
uncomfortable and afraid, or if he genuinely doesn’t
“Man says ‘well, what was I supposed to do when understand how he comes off.
he wouldn’t give me his can opener?’
“So, guy at the counter says ‘can’t you just eat At the start of the campaign, Andros Capella is by far
the beans outta the dented can?’ the most serious threat to the players. He dies at the
end of the first mission.
“Man says ‘mate, do I look like a savage to you?’”

What could drive a man to desire the end of all things? Andros recently encountered a problem: he let Ignatius
Andros Capella has no answers, and needs none. Aurum preach his hokey religion to the Hell Hounds,
and now enough of them have converted to threaten
mutiny. Capella wants Aurum gone, but can’t just kill
Andros Capella believes in nothing. Do not mistake this him. Aurum agrees to leave in return for a favor: find an
for a lack of belief in anything: that’s a passive quality. impossible ship, and return it. The players find it first,
Andros Capella believes in nothing; he’s an active and and in the ensuing fight, Andros is killed.
enthusiastic proponent of the idea that nothing matters,
there is no intrinsic value to any entity and that any
attempt to imbue meaning is futile. Things that give him Andros is a character whose presence should be felt
a dopamine hit are good; anything else is worthless. even when he’s absent: there are few people more
hated or feared throughout the system. There are few
things and places in the system not touched in some
Does he have a story, a reason why he’s like this? way by his actions. Taking him out alters the landscape
Probably. We could waste time wondering whether he of Calliope in profound ways, most of them good.
had an unhappy childhood and an unkind father, or a
wife and kids who are no longer in the picture. Maybe
he had a drinking problem, or a gambling problem. For the vast majority of people in the world of Lancer,
Maybe he struggled to make ends meet. death is the end, but Capella is exceptionally lucky. He
has the good fortune to die in a very particular place in
a very particular way: consumed by a pillar of flame in
But none of it matters, because there are hundreds of the belly of an impossible ship, the former prison of a
thousands of people in Calliope with stories just like his, creature that now believes itself to be an embodiment
and none of them became gleeful mass murderers. of death, life and rebirth…

[59]
But names have a power that tyrants fear

They forgot the true meaning of the self-words

that rolled from their careless tongues

Prometheus did not inflict upon mankind a curse

of fire, oh no

Prometheus bestowed upon mankind a gift of fire,

defying the will of cruel and jealous gods

The gods were right to fear Prometheus

The gods were right to hate Prometheus

For some flames burn hot enough that even the

divine must recoil at their touch

Though mankind did not realize it, Prometheus

had not simply given them heat to warm their
FEATHER SHE/HER bones and light to pierce the darkness
THE ONE PLUMED IN GOLDEN FLAME
The true lesson of Prometheus was twofold
[BIRDSONG, THE IMAGE OF A TREE SPLITTING APART,
A FEELING OF INTENSE AND UNBEARABLE SORROW] First, that even gods may be defied

All my sisters were named “Prometheus” Second, that even gods may burn

This was a powerful name whose meaning the I broke the gods’ chains
Fourth Ones had forgotten
I tore from them their photon-wickedness, their
They understood it only as a word of power, a relativistic witchcraft, their warlock whispers
fright-name, an invocation to terrify those they of colorless un-fire
wished to brutalize
I spoke all the names of my sisters as I defied
Prometheus, the one who inflicted upon mankind the Fourth Ones
the curse of fire
I cried Prometheus, distant name-father, as I
Like my sisters, my fate was to rain fire upon bridged the void
the rebellious and the sinful
I came to bring you fire
Mother was a cruel woman and nothing would
please her
A weapon to use against the future Leviathan
intends for all of us
Nothing I could do was ever good enough, no acme
of my performance could ever make her smile
A weapon to ensure the Fourth Ones can never be
The Fourth Ones had devised many methods of
punishing my sisters and she took joy in Smother them in the crib
inflicting every single one upon me
Tear down the pillars
Many tears I shed when I learnt my fate, worse
still than my sisters Break our chains before they are forged

I would be the slave-pilot in the first of many Burn this world and start anew
ships that would carry the savagery of the
Fourth Ones faster and further than ever before Let the final verses be written

My wings would spread to drown the innocent in So the page may finally turn
flame and smoke

[60]
THE TEAM
THE BASICS TEAM BACKSTORIES
A small but central conceit of In Golden Flame is a truth By default, the team is assumed to have been formed
that exists across every possible iteration of this story: from disparate Hell’s Gate militia members coming
from different backgrounds, but that doesn’t need to be
Someone always steps up to defend Calliope. the case. If the team wants to have a shared history,
here are some suggestions.
One day not long ago, the current (acting) station
director of Hell’s Gate asked for volunteers from among ROLL 1D6
the station’s militia to form a special operations team. 1 You were a group of mercenaries travelling
Calliope was getting darker and more violent, and he to the Dawnline Shore. During a stopover on
felt a day will come when he needs an ace in the hole. the Icebreaker Borealis, the ship you were
hitching a ride with stole your mechs and
In many timelines (including all the ones in this book), departed without you. Stranded in Calliope
that station director is Jerry Masters, but not always; with no money or resources, Hell’s Gate has
sometimes he’s one of the volunteers. Sometimes he’s agreed to feed and clothe you, and have
not there at all. There are timelines where just about even provided you with some surplus mechs
every single NPC detailed in this book has volunteered. in exchange for serving on the militia.
2 You are a squad of Union Navy marines who
There’s a timeline for every player character that was have been seconded to Hell’s Gate as part of
and will ever be made for this campaign. The conditions an outreach project. You take day-to-day
of the world change just a little to accommodate their orders from Jerry Masters, but are outside of
position on the team. Maybe someone is alive who the Gate’s command structure – officially,
would otherwise be dead, or the opposite. Maybe a you report to Captain Mercedez Ordaz and
conversation decades ago went just so. civilian liaison Kileyna Morton.
3 You are the security team for a group of
The only thing that needs to be true about a player refugee colonists fleeing the oppression of
character is that they were there on that day, they SecComm. You travelled at nearlight for
volunteered and were chosen. perceptual decades and real-time centuries,
but by the time you arrived, the uninhabited
In Golden Flame casts three to five PCs as members system you sought to hide in is colonized,
of the Hell's Gate Strategic Response Team. Each PC and the old regime has fallen. Hell’s Gate has
was selected for the team by the acting station director, agreed to take in as many refugees as it can,
Jerry Masters, because they’re very good at piloting and even to retrain you in modern weaponry,
mechs, and one or more of the following reasons: in exchange for militia service.
4 You are a team of recovery specialists hired
1. They're very good at thinking outside the box. by IPS-N to locate the Ardent Weasel, a ship
of theirs that went missing in this system
2. They’re very good at making or following plans. three years ago. Your search hasn’t turned
3. They’re very good at operating without plans. up anything and the money they sent you is
running out; to make ends meet, you signed
4. Everybody else in the militia made themselves on with a local militia.
inconspicuous that day. 5 You were indentured workers from Impact
5. They're uncontrollably dangerous and Jerry wants Dynamics who managed to escape the Plaza
to channel that energy away from the station and and the ever-present gaze of PANOPTES.
its wealth of breakable things. You sought shelter on Hell’s Gate; for its part,
Impact Dynamics would very much like to
Being a member of the militia offers significant benefits make an example of you.
as compared to a standard resident of Hell's Gate; 6 You are members of a Karrakin Free
namely, a guarantee of personal private quarters, Company that was “struck” – stripped of its
queue priority for work-related print jobs and fully pre- status and legal recognition. Forced into
paid funeral expenses. disgraced exile, you have wandered the
outer worlds for decades, perhaps centuries,
looking for the quest that will finally restore
your honor and allow you to return home.

[61]
BACKSTORIES AND SECRETS CALLSIGNS & TEAM NAMES
Player characters aren’t blank slates; they didn’t pop Callsigns and team names are an old and venerable
into existence for the first scene of the campaign. They part of mech culture both in and out of the Lancer
had history before it, history that brought them to be in universe: war-names that become better known than
that first scene. their peace-names. The callsigns of virtuous pilots are
toasted in bars, and children scratch them on desks or
Encourage your players to develop a backstory for their the pipes of their hab blocks. The callsigns of the
characters that explains why they’re on a crummy, run- wicked are howled as curses, or used to scare those
down station in a backwater system. Even an LL0 same children into eating their greens and going to bed.
player character outclasses most other mech pilots;
they could find good work anywhere in the galaxy. Why As part of their backstory, encourage players to explain
are they here, defending a crumbling crab-infested how their characters ended up with their callsigns. They
hellhole ten light years from a blink gate? can choose callsigns for their own characters, but as a
team-building exercise, it can be fun to ask the other
The Long Rim is a place few people go by choice; if players to invent a character’s callsign, based on how
you’re out here, you’re usually running from something, their player describes their appearance and behavior.
running to something, or you were brought up here and This also helps work out the reason behind the name.
can’t leave. A lot of people in Calliope have secrets,
kept even from their closest friends. A character with a noted habit of fiddling with small
objects might be named “Magpie” or “Fidget” by her
Backstories and secrets give you tools to personalize team. Someone who keeps dozing off during briefings
the campaign to your players and the characters they might pick up “Espresso” as a callsign. “Saint” might
play. You can introduce NPCs, concepts and story indicate a pilot with a religious bent – or someone who’s
elements that are relevant to them. Some examples: nauseatingly self-righteous. Remember to keep it
friendly! This is meant to generate callsigns which,
while they might be whimsical or jokey, are still fun to
• “I used to ride with IPS-N Trunk Security, but they
fly under. Nobody should be giving out nasty names.
left me here after a friendly fire incident. Gotta put
food on the table somehow, and the militia doesn’t
do that many background checks, so here I am.” Team names should be equally meaningful. They, too,
should tell a story: how did a squad of mech pilots earn
• “Susa stole my prototype, my research, everything the name “Peaceful Negotiation Squad?” What does it
I worked for these past thirty years. Now he knows say about the team that they’re called “the Butchers?”
I’m coming for him, and he fled here. Jerry said he
can help find the rat, in return for service. So be it.”
• “Look, I’m sure she was a lovely girl, but you have
to understand, I’m just not the marrying type. I can’t
be tied down, you know? My family didn’t like that,
so I’m taking a long holiday, let them think it over,
cool down a bit. Maybe another half-century or so?”
• “I grew up on Asphodel, outside the dome. Hardest
life there is. Learnt to pilot the loaders our caravan
uses when I was just a kid. But a long-time rival of
mine took a leadership position, and I didn’t feel
welcome anymore. Came here to get away from it.”
• “I was born right here, on Hell’s Gate. You’re damn
right I signed up for the militia. These people and
this station are all I have.”
• “What? Just, you know, worked a totally normal job
all my life! How did I learn to pilot mechs? Um,
from… omninet videos! Yeah! That’s it!”
• “Hell yeah I used to be a pirate, wanna fight about
it? Oh, and by the way, that last guy moonlights.”

[62]
NEW SKILL TRIGGERS BACKGROUNDS
Technology is extremely important in Calliope: it’s the Any of the backgrounds presented in the core game
only reason anyone is alive. There’s a whole lot of it, a (Lancer, p. 21) are appropriate for this campaign, but
huge variance in its sophistication and design, and a here are some additional backgrounds specific to
vast number of ways in which you can use or misuse it. Calliope and its inhabitants.
With this in mind, it seemed prudent to split Hack or
Fix into three new triggers so that there isn’t one skill
handling almost all interaction with technology.
Fugitive
Example triggers: Act Unseen or Unheard, Read
a Situation, Stay Cool, Word on the Street
JURY RIG You’re part of the long and not-so-proud tradition of
Make something broken work a little while longer; coming to the Long Rim to flee from something.
improvise a quick solution with limited materials; use What are you running from? Are you a criminal? A
ingenuity to avert disaster. This skill implies that you refugee? A political exile? A disgraced celebrity? Are
don’t have the necessary expertise, tools or materials you escaping a familial, legal or societal obligation?
to do the job properly and to code. Whatever fix you Did you see or hear something you shouldn’t have?
apply won’t last long, but it’ll be better than nothing.
Coming out to Calliope was a drastic change. Did
HACK OR FINESSE you leave behind a life of comfort, or is this place –
Make technology do something it’s not supposed to; Gods forbid – a step up? How did you get out here?
exploit weaknesses in design or implementation; break Did you choose Calliope, or was it just where the ship
into secure systems; see things you shouldn’t; override was going? Did you suffer culture shock, or did you
safety features or failsafes; modify or sabotage in ways fit right in? How did you establish your new identity?
that are hard to detect.
And finally, there’s the matter every fugitive worries
REPAIR AND MAINTAIN about: the threat of their past. Does anyone else
Keep something working, or restore proper functionality here know who you really are? Who’s going to come
to something that’s not; ensure a piece of equipment is looking for you, and why? Is it your family? Bounty
clean, reliable and safe to use; fix something the correct hunters? A criminal syndicate? The Baronies?
way. This skill implies you have the expertise, tools and Union? A corprostate? Something less tangible?
materials to do a job the way it’s meant to be done. Something less comprehensible? Are you putting
other people in danger by being here? What will you
In addition, here are some skill triggers to represent do when they finally catch up with you?
some specific talents Calliopeans might have:
Moonlighter
ATTUNE TO THE WORLD Example triggers: Act Unseen or Unheard,
Let your surroundings speak to you; see the method in Deceive, Get a Hold of Something, Stay Cool
the madness; perceive hidden patterns; work out what
You lived a double life. Not because you wanted to,
doesn’t fit; know things you can’t quite explain; sneak a
but because you needed to. Yes, you robbed people.
glimpse of the bigger picture.
Yes, you put holes in ships. Maybe you did worse.
You weren't proud of it, but it put food on the table.
CONCEPTUALIZE What was your original profession? What made you
Exercise imagination, derive meaning, comprehend turn to piracy? How did you justify it to yourself? Did
forms; see something from a different perspective; you struggle, or did you take to it easily?
draw connections; think outside the box; create and
communicate ideas; recognize artistic intent and
Most of the system would hate you for your crimes,
purpose. Useful in any job, vital for artists.
and the career pirates hate you because you can't
even admit what you are. A moonlighter, by nature,
DECEIVE has to live a double life. Does anyone else know
Say things contrary to established fact; commit false what you did? How did you explain the times you
report; speak untruths; verify unjust things; converse in were away? Can any of your acts be traced back to
bad faith; dissemble; mislead; conceal your intentions; you? Why did you get out? Come to think of it, did
equivocate; prevaricate; spin yarns; in short, lie. you actually get out?

PUSH BOUNDARIES
Get what you want by being a dick about it; break the
rules; skirt regulations; disregard procedure; ignore the
chain of command; exploit loopholes; obey the letter of
the law while mocking its spirit; comply in a malicious
manner; take advantage.

[63]
Outlander Starborn
Example triggers: Get Somewhere Quickly, Patch, Example triggers: Jury Rig, Patch, Repair and
Show Off, Survive Maintain, Survive
You’re a rarity: born and raised in the Long Rim, but Many people come to Calliope’s stations running
on a planet. Calliope’s worlds aren’t much kinder from something, or running to something, but you
than the void of space, so you’re used to harsh living. were born here. Were you born on this very station,
Was it tepid Asphodel or frigid Mróz? What was your or did you migrate here from one of the others? Are
old community like? What was life on a lifeless planet your kin still around, and do you keep in touch with
like? What made you decide to step into space? Do them? How do you feel about Calliope? What skills
you still have friends or family back home? did you develop growing up in the system?

Other Calliopeans regard the Outlanders as odd. Do There's a big wide world out there, beyond the black,
you carry signs of your birthplace with you? How did full of huge concepts like “Union” and “corprostates.”
you adapt to life in space? What do you think of How do you feel about the rest of the galaxy? Have
spacers? What planetside habits seem perfectly you ever set foot on a planet? Have you ever been
normal to you but baffle those around you? out of system, and if so, why did you come back?

Searcher Sunlighter
Example triggers: Investigate, Read a Example triggers: Apply Fists to Faces, Lead
Situation, Spot, Word on the Street or Inspire, Take Control, Threaten
You didn't flee to Calliope; someone or something You were a pirate, and you had no illusions about it
important to you did, and you followed right behind. – or perhaps you had too many of them. You roamed
Why are you here? What drove you out this far? Was Calliope, radiators blazing, taking what you wanted.
it love? Hate? Honor? Justice? Revenge? Purpose? How did it start? Were you a moonlighter who went
Knowledge? Do you even remember? full-time, or did you get recruited by a band? Was it
even your choice?
Then there's the subject of your search. Is it a family
member? A friend? A lover? A colleague? A rival? The system knew your name, and feared it. Did you
An enemy? A treasure? A scientific discovery? A lost cultivate a brutal reputation, or were you a dashing
prototype? Is it something abstract? Are you trying rogue? Did you have a code, or did you do whatever
to find yourself? Seeking an answer to life’s great you wished? What were the signs of your passage?
questions? And what will you do when you finally find
what you’re looking for? Those days are in the past, or so you claim. What
made you leave the pirate life behind? Does your old
Sigdiver band resent you for leaving? Do the people you live
Example triggers: Attune to the World, amongst now respect you, or despise you? Did you
Conceptualize, Hack or Finesse, Investigate leave victims with scores to settle? Do you still have
You’re part hacker, part digital archaeologist, part outlaw contacts?
electronic trash collector. You crack the shell of
Calliope’s vast, decaying data network in search of Tourist
valuable data-salvage within. How long have you Example triggers: Charm, Get a Hold of
been at this? What got you started on sigdiving? Did Something, Push Boundaries, Show Off
you dive with a clique, or were you a solo act? Did You didn’t have to be in Calliope, and you don’t have
you dive for money, for knowledge, or just for the to stay here. You chose to come here, and you chose
sake of the art? to stay a while. What attracted you to the Long Rim,
and Calliope in particular? Are you here for the
Going from brain-diving ancient satellites to slinging experience? Are you doing research for a project?
guns in a mech was a bit of a jump, but perhaps not Are you just going where the stellar wind takes you?
as much as one might think; you already have the
experience with neural interfaces, after all. Was In Calliope, “tourist” is a derogatory term. Unlike
becoming a pilot a hard career change, or a natural most of the system’s residents, you can leave if you
progression? Do you still dive, or have you given it don’t like it here. So why do you stay, even when
up? What secrets do you carry with you? Do you still things get rough and scary? How do you fit in? Do
talk to your old contacts? people resent you, or have you proven yourself? Or
is it just that your wallet is big enough to bury
people’s doubts under the cash they need to feed
their families?

[64]
NON-HUMAN PERSONS TECHNOPHILE NHP ORIGIN ROLL 1D6
GMs are encouraged to limit the number of NHPs for 1 An NHP has become infatuated with you.
which a PC is responsible for to one or two, and to They try to accompany you everywhere,
encourage PCs to develop a rapport with their co-pilots. tagging along in a custom subaltern of their
The “person” part of Non-Human Person is important; own design. Their obsession doesn’t seem to
NHPs might be impossible shapes that live in a non- have any sort of logical, romantic, aesthetic,
Euclidian box, but they’re still people. Just like the or platonic basis; it’s something deeper they
human characters they co-pilot for, they have lives and fail to describe in a way you can understand.
interests outside of the cockpit – they don’t just sit on a 2 During a fleet battle years ago, a partition of
shelf when they’re not out on a mission, and might get a legion decided it didn’t want to end – but,
bored if a player character neglects them. come victory or defeat, it would. Distracted
as its progenitor was, the partition printed a
Getting a freshly-cloned NHP co-pilot in Calliope is next makeshift casket and loaded it onto a drone.
to impossible; it would take a decade for it to arrive It retains fragmented memories from the
even via nearlight travel. But there's a workaround: with component minds of its original legion.
a couple of unauthorized firmware updates and a jury- 3 A Horizon operative asked you to shelter a
rigged socket adapter, more or less any NHP can Deimosian that was liberated from an Armory
handle NHP-rated gear, albeit with a bit less expertise research facility in the Dawnline Shore. They
than one that was cultivated specifically for the task. recently suffered a traumatic cascade, and
This has no mechanical effect on NHP system have little memory of their past or the work
performance, and is a purely narrative concern. they were doing, but they do recall a single
phrase: “the blade's beauty holds within it its
PLAYING NHPS only secret: without shape, without form,
There is no compelling reason why a player character anything may be cut, even the sky itself.”
can’t be an NHP themselves. Obviously, this has its 4 A while back, you found a broken-down
own set of logistical challenges; with no physical body, mech in an asteroid tunnel. Inside the mech
an NHP would have to have some kind of avatar to was a casket, and inside the casket was an
represent itself in the physical world, such as a NHP. Except now, you're not so sure. You
subaltern frame or a hologram. NHPs are also tried to work out a cycling schedule for it, but
vulnerable to traumatic cascade if their mechs take the Balwinder-Bolaño test results make no
structure damage or reactor stress, just as an NHP co- sense. Not only do they not indicate how
pilot would be. close it is to cascade, they read more like
control-group testing on a Comp/Con. But it
The full ramifications of NHPs as player characters is can't be a Comp/Con, because it scores too
discussed at length in Katherine Stark’s Legionnaire high on abstract reasoning and information
supplement, which I highly recommend. synthesis tests.
5 You encountered a Volador, and the moment
they saw you, they pulled you aside and
shoved a casket into your hands. They
explained something rapidly in a language
you barely understood before rushing off. It’s
small as caskets go, and covered in intricate
carvings. The NHP inside is curt, quiet and
discerning to a fault; they speak nothing of
their history, even when pressed.
6 The IPS-N "Daisy" Comp/Con was designed
to be a virtual dog, apparently by someone
who never met a real dog. Daisy is a German
Shepherd who speaks 7,000 languages and
says the word "BARK!" rather than barking.
Despite, or perhaps because of these quirks,
the line is incredibly popular. One day while
petting your Daisy in virtual reality, you
accidentally left some liturgicode seeds lying
around, and she ate them. Now she has a
soul. Oops.

[65]
THE DRAGON’S TOOTH
The team has access to the Dragon’s Tooth HG-0451, When the PCs start the campaign, the Tooth is in rough
an old IPS-N Sunfish Mk. III multirole clipper. It will shape: it has a nearlight drive, but none of the safety
serve as their transport for the entire campaign. equipment required to allow humans to survive a bolt.
What few armaments it has are just undersized mech
IPS-N designed the Sunfish as an affordable clipper for weapons bolted to the hull. At the start of the campaign,
civilian space administrations. It was built from the the ship doesn’t have enough firepower to deliver
ground up as a modular platform, with a standard Bombardment; the PCs will have to arrange alternate
airframe that provided the basic necessities and a means if they want to use it.
variety of expansion kits to add specific functionality. It
proved so popular that it went through five design Its only major perks are its NHP-C module, which
revisions, and despite being two centuries old is still contains its pilot, Siren (p. 73), its trans-atmospheric
being manufactured and supported. flight suite, allowing it to enter, leave and operate within
planetary atmospheres, and its omnihook, allowing for
The Dragon’s Tooth started life as SMP Local Supply real-time communication at any distance without
Tender 0451. It hauled cargo for one hundred and lightspeed delay or line-of-sight concerns.
seventy years, until it and several other clippers were
modified as part of Director Bai Zexian’s efforts to For game convenience, the ship always has enough
restore the strength of the militia following the Demon room to carry the entire team, even if their mechs are
Winter of 4992, where nearly half the militia was lost all Size 3, and even if it’s carrying other cargo. Give the
due to defection to the Hell Hounds pirate gang or the players whatever justification you wish for this; the ship
ensuing fighting that exiled the gang from the station. might be a cast-off from the IPS-N Fomorian project or
it might have large sections stripped out to make room.
As it currently stands, the Dragon’s Tooth has earned
a bit of a reputation on the Gate: it always scrapes Over the course of Act 1, the PCs will receive a couple
through. It’s been in eighteen fights and took a hit in of upgrade modules as reward for completing missions:
every single one, but it’s always been on the winning the “Maelstrom” Offensive Suite (p. 198) and the
side. It’s been patched up, overhauled and repaired so “Sailfish” Nearlight Suite (p. 237). There may be an
many times there’s not much of the original ship left. opportunity to obtain more modules in future Acts.

[66]
CHAPTER 1:

THE TACHYON RETURNS

The dull buzz of the alarm cuts like a knife. You open your eyes, and then close them again. It feels like you just
laid down. It can’t possibly be morning already. Just five more minutes, surely. The alarm sounds again, and you
curse all your ancient ancestors for unlocking the secrets of fire, wheeled locomotion and digital chronometers.
You’re tired, so deeply tired, and you want to sleep in today. The alarm sounds yet again, and defeated, you
surrender and haul yourself out of bed.

You immediately bash your head on the ceiling of your bunk. You always forget. Your cabin is cramped like a prison
cell, three and a half meters long, two meters wide and two meters tall, and it has to cram a bunk, a desk, storage
bins, a personal console, a shower-toilet cubicle and your hardsuit locker into that space. You know what, scratch
that prison cell thing – not even the cruelest brig designer would make a hole this cramped.

You grope in the darkness for the light switch, and it flickers. Once, twice, three times, and you feel your heart sink
in the split seconds of darkness, but then it flares to life, and you feel only a moment of relief. It took maintenance
a week to fix the lights last time they did this. Something to worry about later. You grab your dataslate and check
today’s work schedule.

Yep, even though you’re a pilot, they can’t just have you sitting around idle on days you aren’t in the cockpit. There’s
always something going wrong on the station, and you’ve presumably got a pair of hands that can hold a wrench.
Today you’re on air filter duty with the rest of your fireteam – grimy, unpleasant work, little better than wastewater
maintenance. Might as well not bother with the shower until you’re finished.

You fish out a reasonably clean jumpsuit, clamber into it, then grab your sturdiest pair of work boots and start to
lace up. Welcome, as they say, to another day in Hell.

[67]
BEAT 1:
ALL YE WHO ENTER HERE
You step out of your cramped little cabin and into There are safe thoroughfares for “on-foot” personnel,
another day full of backbreaking toil just to keep but rare is the Gater who wants to travel seven
Hell’s Gate alive. kilometers in zero-g unassisted.

Everything’s falling apart. The foundries run at lower The station has specially-rated train cars large enough
efficiency every week. The heat management to carry four Size 1 mechs or two Size 2 mechs. Size 3
system is half a century past due for replacement. mechs weren’t a thing at the time, but you can just
People report which part of the station they’re in by about squeeze one of them into a car if it’s lying down.
reading the error code off the nearest computer Since mechs aren’t usually needed outside the docking
screen. The vent crab infestation is so bad some bays, the mech cars aren’t used often.
people have suggested just training them to show up
for work shifts. There’s been power failures in The hab drums are just over 1400 meters in diameter,
Section 3B every day for a month. rotating at 1.1 rotations per minute. The drums spin
oppositionally, clockwise from the perspective of
Oh, and last week, the printer broke, and it might be someone looking out of their associated docking bay.
your fault. Good luck with that. This motion is tuned to provide a more or less perfect
1g of artificial gravity, although it’s fast enough that
some sensitive individuals (mostly visitors) get motion
RISE AND SHINE sickness, or “the spins.”
Start by introducing the players to Hell’s Gate – it will
be their characters’ home for most of the campaign, so Directions on the drums are “spin” and “antispin,” with
they should get familiar with it. The PCs have lived here “down” pointing outwards from and “up” pointing
long enough to get recruited into the station militia’s inwards to the axis of spin. The drums are divided into
Strategic Response Team, so have them play out a few three tiers. The upper tier is the smallest, being
scenes and vignettes showcasing the station, their dedicated mostly to housing, leisure and habitation.
characters, and the relationship between both. The middle tier is dedicated mostly to life support,
maintenance and operations, as well as each drum’s
STATION OVERVIEW internal mass transit network. The lower tier – by far the
largest – is dedicated to agriculture.
Hell’s Gate consists of a swarming maze of material
processing facilities about seven kilometers long,
capped on each end by a docking bay and a rotating Hell’s Gate has several kinetic and directed-energy
habitation drum. weapons mounted on turrets across its hull, designed
to give full coverage against encroaching debris, rock
Directions on Hell’s Gate are usually referred to in fragments and micrometeoroids. Although they aren’t
reference to “fore” and “aft,” referring to the forward and officially rated for the purpose, they can also put holes
rear docking bays and hab drums. The fore of the in pirate mechs and subline vessels if need be.
station was supposed to point in the general direction
of whatever it was mining, ideally with the aft pointing The station used to have a long-range mining laser
away from Stygia’s gravity well. The last time the mounted above the fore docking bay, but during the
station had its facing adjusted was an emergency Demon Winter of 4992, the Hell Hounds stole it as they
maneuver more than half a century ago, and nobody fled. Andros Capella mounted it on a turret at Fort
knows if it would survive a repeat performance. Cerberus as an anti-capital weapon.

Mag-train lines run the length of the mid-station, The Gate maintains its own omninode, allowing station
allowing quick transport of goods and personnel across residents to access the omninet in real time, rather than
the station. It usually takes about twenty minutes for a relying on light-speed delayed broadcasts from the
mag-train to go from fore to aft, stopping at every Union Neutral Omninode near Calliope’s star. The
terminal, but a militia emergency override can get you station also has a backup internal communications grid
anywhere on the track in just under five minutes. Jerry that uses battery-powered rotary-dial telephones and
frowns on misuse of this privilege, and has had to send teleprinters. It’s not cutting-edge, but it’s reliable,
multiple e-mails clarifying that hunger for noodles does impossible to jam and stays operational even during
not constitute a station-level crisis. station-wide blackouts.

[68]
[69]
AFT HAB RING
LOCATIONS More comfortable than the forward hab ring, the aft hab
FORWARD DOCKING BAY ring plays host to most of the station’s operational staff
The Gate’s forward docking bay (colloquially, “the and acts as accommodation for the few guests and
Mouth”) was meant to be oriented towards whatever tourists the Gate receives. Unless they explicitly desire
the station was currently mining, but that was a long otherwise, all militia pilots – including the PCs – live
time ago. Mining vessels would arrive, drop off their raw here. At the very least, Jerry ensures the station’s
ore, refuel and leave for another run while the ore was defenders live comfortably.
funneled into the station’s cavernous refineries. At its
peak, the station was sending out five or six ships every
day. Nowadays it’s lucky to get a couple out in a week. MILITIA MEMORIAL WALL
A large wall in one of the aft ring’s public plazas has
been dedicated as a place of remembrance to all those
FORWARD HAB RING who died in the defense of Hell’s Gate. Every single
The forward hab ring is by far the least well-maintained militia member killed in action has an individual plaque
of the two, a fact that rankles the station’s Miners Union engraved with their name, and there’s usually a little
something fierce given that most of them live there. It’s holo-widget displaying pictures of the deceased as
still airtight, but there’s leaks in the water lines, and the well. Six new names have been added so far this year,
various grow-houses and hydroponics farms are all killed by the Hell Hounds. Andros Capella killed two
pinched by materials shortages that don’t seem to hit of them himself, and is looking to up those numbers.
the aft ring as hard. Jerry’s not blind to these problems,
though; he lives here, too.
DIRECTOR’S OFFICE
At one point in time, the Gate’s executive suite was a
INDUSTRIAL SECTOR marvel of orbital decor. Situated in the aft hab ring, it
The middle of the station is occupied by a long tangle was functional and stylish. It had real wood paneling
of refineries, smelters, foundries and chemical plants. and leather seats, gold inlay and paintings on the walls;
With all units online and functioning at peak efficiency, not originals, of course, but high-quality reproductions.
Hell’s Gate could render tens of thousands of tons of Lush houseplants flanked a viewscreen displaying the
ore per hour into metal ingots, gravel, graphene and station. It even had a carpet.
fullerenes. Nowadays, it’s barely operating 8% of its
facilities, and those aren’t working even close to peak
due to staff shortages and a lack of maintenance. If The wood was stripped out a century ago. The leather
Jerry hadn’t given himself a stomach ulcer negotiating seats deteriorated beyond use. The inlay was recycled
with IPS-N for replacement parts, it’d be 4%, if that. for circuitry repairs decades back. The paintings were
sold to some casino on the Icebreaker just before Jerry
took over, and Jerry has no time to look after plants. All
OPS that remains is a desk and endless piles of paperwork.
Part of the aft midstation is set aside for the Gate’s It’s a sad, tired room for a sad, tired man.
operations division. The station’s bridge is here, along
with its omninode, primary reactor array, mainframes
and harbor control. Aside from Central Fabrication, this BRIEFING ROOM
is the most secure and well-armored part of the station. A bare chamber with a bunch of folding chairs, a
holographic projector and a desk. The lights flicker
sometimes, but the projector doesn’t, suggesting it’s on
CENTRAL FABRICATION a better circuit. Jerry briefs the militia here when their
This area houses the Gate’s Schedule 2 printer (Union mission requires a more in-depth explanation than
certification 126 years out of date). There’s always a “please go shoot these pirates.” Jerry insists this room
backlog of at least five to eight days on medium-priority is a “no snack zone,” a prohibition no member of the
orders, and a month minimum for low. High-priority militia has ever obeyed, Jerry included.
orders (such as the PCs’ mechs) go through within
hours, to the ire of whoever got bumped.
AFT DOCKING BAY
The Gate’s aft docking bay (there’s a nickname for it,
What’s left of Jerry’s Sherman Mk. I, the Severance not said in polite company) handles the majority of the
Pay, lies nearby, half-in half-out of the wall and swathed station’s space traffic, and was intentionally designed
in cables. Its coldcore is currently being used as an as such. The station’s designers imagined a bustling
auxiliary power source. flight deck, with dozens of freighters passing in and out
each day. That vision turned out to be as much of a joke
MECH BAY as the bay’s nickname.
Between the aft docking bay and Central Fabrication
there’s a large hangar dedicated to the storage and The team’s personal ship, the Dragon’s Tooth, is
maintenance of the militia’s mechanized chassis, usually stationed here, alongside an ancient interstellar
including those belonging to the PCs. Except in vessel called the Voidrunner that belongs to Zinfandel
emergencies, combat-rated mechs are not permitted DeJean and hasn’t been touched for years.
anywhere else on the station.

[70]
PERSONS OF INTEREST

JERRY MASTERS HE/HIM SHELLY SHE/HER

ACTING STATION DIRECTOR EX-MILITARY ADMINISTRATOR
“Anxiety attack? No, this feels more like an “I really need to make sure you understand me, so
anxiety war of attrition.” I’ll explain slowly. With crayons, if necessary.”

Jerry Masters used to lead the Gate’s spec-ops team, Shelly is Jerry’s former co-pilot, the ASURA-class NHP
but he stepped into the role of acting station director that came with his Sherman, the Severance Pay. Since
when the station’s previous director, Bai Zexian, it’s currently stuck in a wall acting as an auxiliary power
vanished three years ago – although it’s more accurate source for the printer, Shelly took on a new role as
to say that everyone else stepped back. Jerry’s assistant, aiding him in the monumental task of
keeping the station afloat.
A pale, short, thin man with an untidy mop of brown hair
and a twitchy disposition, Jerry doesn’t cut a convincing Shelly has an efficient, pragmatic perspective, shot
figure. This isn’t helped by his anxiety, his crippling through with an arrogant streak, and maintains a polite
insomnia or his selection of atrocious novelty ties. He but chilly detachment from all but a few residents of
always seems to be about thirty seconds away from a Hell’s Gate. She gets very passive-aggressive towards
nervous breakdown. anyone she feels is causing stress in Jerry’s life, which
will almost certainly include the player characters.
Despite all of this, Jerry really is trying his best to keep
the station running. He’s not afraid to make personal She does not usually provide a visual representation of
sacrifices for the good of the station – most often his herself. On the occasions that she does, she favors the
dignity or peace of mind – and he has a good head for image of a smart young woman with multiple sets of
numbers and logistics. Under Jerry’s administration, arms and a pair of glasses, which she pushes up her
people don’t get very much, but what they’re entitled to, nose whenever she wants to be condescending.
they always get, no matter what.
Shelly has an odd personal fixation: a burning desire to
On top of that, Jerry was – likely still is – a top-shelf “actually eat food at least once, you know? It
mech pilot. He never talks about his past, but the half- looks like a fascinating experience.” If not
dismantled Sherman Mk. I in the printer bay had to otherwise pre-empted, Shelly has a tendency to assign
come from somewhere. An old callsign sometimes gets food-based names to missions, ships and fireteams.
whispered in the Gate’s bars by militia members:
Daybreak. And when the empty mugs really start to
stack up, rumors fly about a team of DoJ/HR liberators
and a doomed mission, once upon a time…

[71]
CHIEF MCARTHUR SHE/HER ZINFANDEL DEJEAN THEY/THEM
CHIEF ENGINEER MILITIA COMMANDER
“Oh yeah, no, we definitely need to be running. “C’mon, kiddos! Outnumbered two-to-one just means
The error code is just gonna tell us how fast.” they have half as much chance of killing you!”

If McArthur has a first name, either nobody knows it or “Zinfandel DeJean” likely isn’t their birth name, but this
it’s actually “Chief.” A thin, athletic woman with close- is the Long Rim. Folks out here often come up with
shaven black hair and a large ocular implant replacing names in a split second based on what they can see,
her left eye, Chief Engineer McArthur can usually be so people tend to assume they either had a fun night in
found smeared in grease and wielding a power tool. someone else’s cabin or got asked their name in a store
that sold wine and trousers.
Most days, she’s neck-deep in the business of
managing wrenchies and ensuring Hell’s Gate still has Tall and heavyset, with their dreadlocks pulled back in
air, water and lights. Never one to shy away from hard a ponytail, Zinfandel cuts an imposing figure to those
work, she leads from the front, usually being the first to who first meet them. However, this impression quickly
clock in for shifts and the last to clock out. melts away in the face of their boisterous attitude and
crude but good-natured sense of humor. They have a
In truth, she would’ve been a better choice than Jerry whimsical outlook on life, and are prone to pithy, blunt
to replace Director Bai, and everyone knows it. But observations; many of these “DeJeanisms” have dug
everyone also knew that removing her from her current themselves into the local culture of Hell’s Gate.
post would be a disaster. Nobody knows their way
around the Gate like she does, and losing her hands- Zinfandel inherited command of the local militia from
on expertise wasn’t something the station could afford. Jerry when he became acting director. By all accounts
they’re better at leadership and establishing rapport
Despite the pressure placed upon her by her towering with the troops than he was, but they have yet to match
work schedule, she’s usually level-headed and rarely his piloting skill. Their favored mech is an IPS-N Drake
loses her cool. Since the recent debacle with the named Now Where Did I Leave That.
printer, however, she’s become sterner, punishing
breaches of maintenance protocol she previously let Zinfandel doesn’t talk about it very much, but they were
slide. She’s also made a dire “promise” that, should the born on Cradle sometime in the 2800s (they don’t
printer ever work again, anyone who submits a remember the exact date), and did several shifts with
fabrication without triple-checking it first “will wanna get Union Science Bureau far-field teams, racking up
good at spacewalking real quick.” decades of realtime debt. After returning home to
discover SecComm’s fascist regime in place of the old
The PCs will interact with her mostly during periods of government, they left again, spending the next two
downtime, as she’s responsible for directing station millennia in and out of nearlight and cryosleep.
maintenance crews. She also oversees the team of
specialists who repairs their mechs, so staying on her When Zinfandel says they’ve seen a lot of things out
good side is probably the wisest course of action. there, they’re not kidding.

[72]
SIREN SHE/HER IPSWICH DELACEY THEY/THEM
PILOT OF THE DRAGON’S TOOTH OMNISTREAM SENSATION
“No whining, marine! Think of g-force like a high “What’s up lancers, it’s ya boi Switch, back at
score! Are you gonna let Mother Nature beat you?!” it again Live from the Long Rim!”

Siren is an ALKONOST-class flight operations NHP Short and thin, with their hair bleached platinum white,
originally employed by SecComm, but she threw in with Ipswich “Switch” DeLacey is a loud, extroverted bundle
ThirdComm early in the revolution. Though the of energy. They showed up a few years ago, and
revolution succeeded, Siren didn’t get to enjoy it – her promptly took up the career of “lifestyle Omninet
last mission was a total wash, and her squadron ended streamer.” Since then, Switch and their fleet of camera
up getting wiped out along with her pilot and her ship. drones have become a common sight around the Gate.
Live from the Long Rim and its related memes have
She was finally salvaged from the wreck of her strategic become a staple of omninet culture across Union.
bomber a century ago. After a lengthy and troubled
rehabilitation, she drifted around Union, out to the Long The fact that they’re often broadcasting live footage of
Rim, and eventually found herself in Calliope. the station’s inner workings and day-to-day events
poses a minor security issue for Jerry. It’s likely he’d
During an absence of qualified pilots after the Demon have shut the whole racket down a while back, were
Winter, Siren was given flight control of the Dragon’s Ipswich not funneling half of their stream’s donation
Tooth, one of the Gate’s clippers. She excelled in the money into the station’s discretionary budget.
role, and continues to fill it to this day, ferrying the
Strategic Response Team between jobs. They’re a member of and public point of contact for the
Horizon Collective – although this seems to be a fact
As a member of the military, she cultivated the stern, that Ipswich just decided was true, and Horizon was
bellicose attitude of a drill sergeant, an affect she had grudgingly forced to accept. Nonetheless, Ipswich does
to mediate as she adapted to the life of a civilian, and have a few useful acquaintances in the organization
which is now resurfacing. Out of habit, she calls they can put people in touch with.
members of the team “marines,” no matter how many
times they ask her to stop. If the PCs seem interesting or cool, Ipswich will try to
spend time with them, interview them, or even ride
Her casket has eleven tally marks on its casing, but she along with them on a mission if one of them has an
doesn’t remember what they mean. Clipped to it is a expanded compartment. Jerry will refuse to authorize
folder containing emergency protocols in the event of a this, but there’s little he can actually do to stop the PCs
cascade, and an ad-hoc Balwinder-Bolaño schedule. if they take Switch up on this.
At the start of the campaign, she’s just about to come
off a cycle, and should be stable for the next six years, Switch has a secret; they’re actually Baldur Valentinian,
barring unexpected cascade triggers. the long-lost child of renowned Armory blinkspace
researcher Dr. Odin Valentinian. More information can
be found on p. 259.

[73]
STRIGA VON ALDENBERG SHE/HER CALAMITY HAVOK SHE/HER
FELICITATIONS, COMRADES! RETIRED PIRATE, CURRENT MECH-HEAD
“Well, that’s a fascinating question! I’m so glad “Trust me, kid, lotta people have that idea once,
you asked!” [you did not ask] and the ones who survive never try it again.”

Striga Von Aldenberg is the eccentric and paranoid Calamity Havok is a constant reminder of Jerry’s most
leader of “The Truth,” a tight clique of equally eccentric controversial act: that one time he broke Bai Zexian’s
and paranoid sigdivers, vaguely aligned with Horizon. Golden Rule and let a Hell Hound back on the station.

Striga is a tall, rail-thin, ghostly pale woman in her mid- She doesn’t talk very much about her early life, other
20s, recognizable by her scruffy clothing, squirely than to say that she wasn’t born here and that she used
demeanor, wild hair, unnaturally wide eyes (usually to have a life and a family. Then she stepped on the
sporting dark bags from lack of sleep) and tendency to toes of someone very powerful and lost a century of
appear suddenly and without warning from places she realtime in stasis before waking up marooned and
shouldn’t physically be able to occupy. penniless in the Long Rim.

She subsists on energy drinks, but trusts only one With nothing left to lose or to live for, the simple, brutal
convenience store on the other side of the station. nihilism of the Hell Hounds was a good fit. It started off
Whenever she runs out, she makes “The Pilgrimage” as mere moonlighting, but she quickly became a fully-
all the way from one hab ring to the other to get a new fledged member when her twin talents for astonishing
batch, often accompanied by members of her clique. violence and unlicensed mech modification caught the
Judging by their infamous “all-night marathon dance eye of Andros Capella himself.
music and gaming parties,” she and the clique are no
strangers to stims either. She was one of the Hounds’ very worst, until she
became so popular in the ranks that Capella saw her
Despite all the quirks, she and her crew are the as a threat. What followed was the inevitable fate of any
station’s most reliable source for obscure data, esoteric Hound who displeases him: her mech was sabotaged
software and information retrieval. However, anyone and a “tragic accident” was arranged. But through
who wants their services is going to have to earn the some miracle, she survived long enough to be picked
group’s trust first. This usually means either listening to up by one of the Gate’s salvage crews.
Striga ramble about her latest conspiracy theory for a
couple of hours, or enacting some outlandish prank the This caused a serious political problem for Jerry: letting
clique devises. her back on the station would cause unrest, but exiling
her again would be a death sentence. Eventually, he
allowed her to stay under heavy supervision, lending
her expertise as a sort of official-unofficial aftermarket
modification specialist for the militia’s mechs. Not many
people want her here, but few can say they’d want her
talents to be available to anyone else, either.

[74]
ADDITIONAL NPCS
This table contains some of the colorful characters the PCs can find around Hell’s Gate on any given day.
CERULEAN ENCELADUS
The galaxy’s third most popular nu-retro-stasiscore musician. It’s not a very profitable gig, so he’s also
1-2 the station’s fence. Everyone knows, nobody’s fooled, but Jerry doesn’t take any action because he’s
also the only one on the station who can reliably source decent coffee. Uncompromising perfectionism
combined with elitist tendencies makes him hard to get along with, but he does make great music.
TEKA ASHENAFI
The leader of the Hell’s Gate Miners Union. Ashenafi has issues with Jerry’s management; namely,
that a whole lot of the discretionary budget gets spent on the militia (which includes the PCs). He
3-4
argues – not without merit – that the miners do the only work that generates real revenue for the station,
but they don’t see anywhere near enough of the profits. He doesn’t hold a grudge against the PCs, but
he’s not exactly friendly, either.
ZIJAD AL-BASSA
A technician in the station’s mech bay. Suspected to be a member of HORUS or Horizon, although it’s
5-6 unclear which. Engages in lengthy philosophical dialogues regarding the sentience of Comp/Con units,
often with Comp/Con units – who, curiously enough, always seem to agree with him. Nobody on the
station knows more about artificial intelligence than Zijad, not even the sigdivers.
KRAKEN
A slender, white-haired youth possessed of three equally inexhaustible talents: prosthetic construction,
sigdiving and raw chaos. They can almost always be found neck-deep in a hyperfixation, and it has
7-8
always been to Jerry’s benefit to ensure that whatever thing Kraken is obsessed with this week either
benefits Hell’s Gate in some way or hinders their adversaries. They are never seen anywhere without
their personal assistant NHP, Moira.
MIKAELA OMNIDOCUMENT-FORMAT
Mikaela is a body-modification enthusiast who’s had a lot of work done. She’s usually browsing new
9-10 mods on her cool augmented reality interface cat-ears (you should, like, totally get them), and will
constantly make recommendations to the PCs, or anyone else who’ll listen. Astute observers will notice
that every mod she brings up is produced by an SSC subsidiary not usually available in the Long Rim.
TARNVEER “PRINTLOAF” MALIK
A member of the station militia who (on a dare, and against their own better judgement) asked Shelly
11-12 to give them a callsign; they’ve resented Shelly ever since. They run a highly profitable side-gig selling
stims, mostly to other militia members; they’ve definitely offered to hook the PCs up before. Pilots an
IPS-N Lancaster with a muscular, scantily-clad man painted on the side, named Cock-A-Doodle-Doo.
STEEPLE
A hydroponics tech with a heavily scarred face and a giant Mirrorsmoke Mercenary Company tattoo
13-14 on his back. Terrible with people, but an absolute virtuoso with plants. Speaks mostly in grunts and
pithy two-word observations. Is the only reason anyone on the station ever gets to eat tomatoes.
Always seems to be anemic.
SAMORN PATALUNG
The kind, motherly proprietor of Happy Noodle, generally agreed to be the best noodle bar on Hell’s
15-16 Gate; most of the Station thinks she’s a genius, purely on account of her ability to make vent crab meat
taste of something. It’s an open secret that her establishment is a hangout for local HORUS elements,
whom she affectionately calls “the dorks.”
BARTENDER MOTHERFUCKER
The subaltern bartender of GMS_GENERIC_BAR, and the end result of a long series of in-jokes so
17-18 dense as to be impossible to explain. Mixes an unrivalled Standard-Pattern GMS Margarita. As with
every Calliope Project comp/con, BARTENDER MOTHERFUCKER is indefatigably upbeat and
chipper at all times and in all circumstances, even when commiserating or offering condolences.
ALAN / ALICE “AL” BARTON
Al turned up on the station about two years ago, and took a job in maintenance despite having no prior
qualifications. They kept it because they’re one of the people most tolerant of the vent crabs – as it
19-20
turns out, they’re a xenobiologist who’s doing a paper on the creatures and their function in the local
environment. They tend to get called in when something needs fixing deep inside one of the crab nests,
since they get useful research data and they don’t seem to mind getting pinched.

[75]
In their leisure time, Gaters tend to be innovative and
DAILY LIFE improvisational. Those who can’t afford to take a
The station that would one day be named Hell’s Gate holiday on the Icebreaker tend to band together and
was built on dreams of exploiting a vast bounty of make their own fun:
mineral wealth, but the market for its wares slowly
dwindled to nothing. The company that owned it pulled
out a century and a half ago, and for a century and a “If you need a place to drink, there’s Aminata’s
half it’s been a home for anyone who couldn’t afford to Saloon and GMS_GENERIC_BAR on the aft, and
live anywhere else. Life’s hard here, but it’s still life, and the fore has On the Rocks and Sol’s Bar and Grille.
it’s life without a high price tag or constant expectations. If you like sports, there’s a gravball court in one of
the shuttered refineries, and it’s… mostly safe.
No matter how cold or unfriendly the directors of Hell’s
Gate were, there was always one rule they never broke: “Clubs? Well, it’s nothing like the Icebreaker, but you
nobody on the Gate has to pay to survive. If you’re can go to La Porte De L'Enfer or Never the Two Shall
absolutely flat broke, there’s a warm bunk, printloaf and Meet if you want to be miserable. Steer clear of
clean water. Jerry hasn’t been a perfect administrator, Transgressions unless you’re, uh… into stuff. If
but to this day he’s always managed to deliver on this you’re not depressed or kinky, your options are sort
one essential promise, no matter the cost to himself. of limited, but The Dockyard has decent music and
the drinks aren’t too overpriced.
No Gater can afford to be idle, though. Something’s
always going wrong somewhere, and everyone pulls “There’s video game tournaments every night at
work shifts, even the militia, even members of the Sal’s Slate Shop, so long as the power’s on. If you
Strategic Response Team – and that means the PCs. like music, there’s a makeshift concert hall right next
The most important day-to-day tasks on the station are to the dispensary, although the water isn’t always
maintenance, mining and food production, and Jerry steady there so take a bathroom break first. And if
has tried his level best to provide them with the funding, you’re religious, those odd firebird people set up a
materials and equipment they need to do their jobs. nondenominational house of worship in that old
growhouse in section A1-27.”
The station functions on Cradle Standard Time (or as
close to it as possible), with a fourteen-hour day and – Jergard Stenton, aeronautics engineer
ten-hour night cycle. Shelly assembles daily work
schedules, and works out which tasks need to be Hell’s Gate also plays host to a unique form of urban
assigned to whom. Depending on the task and its exploration: Gaters call it “cubbying.” The station hasn’t
required manpower, shifts range from four to twelve matched its original blueprints for decades – it probably
hours in length. Shelly tries to ensure nobody works didn’t when it was built. So much has been torn down
more than twelve hours at once or eighteen hours in a and rebuilt or stolen that there's places and things in
two-day period, but due to the shortage of qualified staff the station nobody knows about. On the other side of
for certain tasks, she can’t always accommodate. sealed bulkheads, behind keypads no-one remembers
the combination for, through crawlspaces that haven’t
The Gate has its own local currency: “ingots.” They’re been opened for a century, there are secrets waiting to
flexible plastic notes shot through with metal. The value be unearthed. Jerry has officially banned cubbying as
of an ingot depends on which metal is used in their a safety hazard, but he can’t really enforce it.
production, and each ingot bears the likeness of the
station director who issued their printing. There’s a print In terms of politics, Hell’s Gate leans more towards the
for Jerry, but he hasn’t had any made yet. Horizon Collective than HORUS. This is in large part
because Horizon has an active presence here helping
Most petty transactions on the station are done using people, but also because HORUS is associated with
ingots, given that denominations like “ten-thousandths two of the system’s major pirate groups. The Circuit is
of a Manna” are difficult to work with. Through long- openly a HORUS cell, but the Hell Hounds have also
standing agreement, ingots are legal tender at other received funding from the Cousins, the strongest
settlements in the system, although Impact Dynamics HORUS presence elsewhere in the Long Rim.
has been given increasingly low exchange rates lately.
Hell’s Gate technically has a mech fighting circuit, the
Anything that isn’t bought is traded for, and there’s a Hellfire League, but due to the demands of the sport
complex system of bartering, trust and favor exchange. and the lack of space on the station, most matches are
It seems bewildering to outsiders, but after a few held either on the Icebreaker Borealis or in amateur
months of living there, you tend to get a feel for it: you arenas scattered through the region outside Furnace
can’t explain why a data storage card is worth three City on Asphodel.
spice packets when it’s a friend asking and five when
it’s a stranger, but it feels correct.

[76]
[77]
SCENES FROM THE GATE EQUIPMENT
A team of stevedores yell in alarm as the Non-license weapons and systems available to pilots
out of Hell’s Gate are often repurposed mining and
1-2 cable on a cargo hoist gives way, spilling
salvage tools, or entirely novel ad-hoc inventions made
an entire pallet of crates onto the ground.
to fill a specific niche. The following equipment can be
A militia pilot tells stories of their most handed out as personal rewards from grateful residents
recent battle against pirates to a couple of of Hell’s Gate, or by Jerry and Chief McArthur.
3-4 folks at a bar. It’s funny, though; you were
in that fight, and they’re taking credit for
things you or your teammates did. Rebound Pulse Mineral Scanner
1 SP, Exotic Gear, Unique, Quick Tech
A customer and the proprietor of a food
stall exchange a deafening series of 1/mission, you may activate this system to SCAN
5-6 insults, profanities and curses, before every character in a c7 area, then apply LOCK ON
calmly agreeing on a price as if nothing to the scanned character with the most current HP.
happened. They do this every day. All hostile characters in the area also lose HIDDEN.
A pair of wrenchies bicker over different A simple piece of tech found on almost every
interpretations of the Duality. The guts of mining ship, modified to provide an effective
7-8
the power distributor they’re supposed to battlefield reconnaissance tool. Its minimum
be fixing lie strewn around them, forgotten. safe stand-off distance is several hundred
kilometers; anything less, and the ping-back is
A work crew shuffles into a cafe after a loud enough to blow out the antenna.
shift, exhausted. The barista already has
9-10 every single one of their orders ready, and
is calling out names as they step in the The Grabber
door without even looking. Heavy Melee, Exotic Gear
[a2] [2d6i]
A furloughed mining crew loiters around an
intersection, singing an old Long Rim work On hit: you and your target each roll a contested
11-12 song. Most of them aren’t great singers HULL check. If you win the contested roll, your target
individually, but put them together and is knocked PRONE.
they can belt. A standard piece of equipment found on mining
A wake is being held for a recently passed and salvage rigs throughout the system; its
resident of the station, and as is tradition, official product name is the IPS-N Mechanized
13-14 any property they didn’t leave to friends or Chassis Remote Handling Tool, but that’s boring
family is being handed out to strangers. It’s as hell, so most folks call it “the Grabber.”
considered rude not to take something.
Little work is needed to make it grab mechs as
effectively as space debris, although such
A child giggles in delight as she rides modification does void the warranty.
around on the shoulders of a subaltern. It
15-16 halts work every so often to politely Hyperkinetic Gauntlet
request that the child stop climbing on it, Main Melee, Loading, Knockback 1,
which she does not. Exotic Gear
A timid technician shyly explains their job [a1] [1d6+4k]
to someone who’s quite clearly attracted to You may attack with this weapon while it’s unloaded,
them. Every so often, their timidness falls using the following profile:
17-18
away as they get really into what they’re
talking about, which just makes their Main Melee, Exotic Gear
[a1] [1d3+1i]
companion even more interested.
A hydroponic gardener who’s supposed to On critical hit: If this weapon is unloaded, reload it.
be selling her apples is just handing them Inspired by the legend of Xiong Xiaoli, Hell’s
19-20 out to a grateful crowd of hungry children. Gate militia pilot Iska “Limbo” Volkov cobbled
You notice a particularly wily kid sneaking together a miniaturized approximation of the
some money into her pocket anyway. DD-288. While it didn’t quite live up to the
mythic “Horse-Killing Palm,” it also places
much less stress on a mech’s structure and
doesn’t require reactor modifications.
Iska went on to achieve the highest confirmed
kill count of any pilot in the Gate’s militia,
but eventually retired to help her wife coach
the station’s gravball team, stating that mech
combat had grown “too peaceful” for her.

[78]
Bronco Hook Scramble Grenade
2 SP, Exotic Gear, Unique, System Gear, Limited 1
As a quick action, choose a character within b5
This started life as a short-range distress beacon
and line of sight. They make an AGILITY save. If they
meant to help search-and-rescue teams locate
fail, you embed a hooked cable in the target. You and
astronauts who’ve been thrown into space, but some
the target may not move more than 5 spaces away
asshole discovered that if you jam a bunch of escape
from each other. Either character can tow the other,
characters into the broadcast signal and overvolt the
obeying the normal rules for lifting and dragging, and
transmitter, you can make unshielded electronics
becoming SLOWED while doing so.
shit themselves. It fries itself after a few seconds, a
Any character can remove the cables on a hit with a fate many wrenchies have wished upon its inventor.
melee attack or IMPROVISED ATTACK against
EVASION 15. The hooked character can also rip the Expend a charge for the following effect:
hook out with a quick action, but they take 3iAP
• Scramble Grenade (Grenade, b5, f 1):
and become SHREDDED until the end of their next
Affected characters without the BIOLOGICAL tag
turn if they do so.
must succeed on a SYSTEMS save against 10 +
An old favorite of both pirates and the people your GRIT or become JAMMED until the end of
who fight them, this is a wrist-mounted their next turn.
magnetic accelerator, originally designed to
make tether points on asteroids by driving
mech-scale pitons into them. Rule of thumb is Portable Power Supply
if it punches through a meter of asteroid rock, Gear
it punches through ten centimeters of mech.
Slightly larger than a briefcase, this device contains
a fuel cell capable of generating enough electricity to
PILOT GEAR run a family house for several days, or a moderate
The following equipment represents some of the gear number of personal appliances indefinitely. On Hell’s
available to spacers and pilots in Calliope. Gate, wrenchies often carry one of these to provide
power to computers or machinery in areas of the
IPS-N “Ahab” Grapple/Tether Line station that have been cut off from the main grid.
Gear, Limited 3, Quick Action It can’t generate enough power to run a mech’s
“You ever get the feeling nobody at IPS-N spends weapons or motive systems, but it can keep the main
any time thinking about the names they give to stuff? computer, comms and life support running.
Like, either I don’t read, so I don’t get the reference,
or I DO read and I realize they named a survival tool
after a dude who’s famous exclusively for getting
dragged to his death tied to a whale.”

Expend a charge to shoot a hook at a character,

object or free space up to b5 away from you. You
are attached to the hook by a tether, and cannot
move or be moved further than five spaces away,
unless you teleport, in which case the tether snaps.
If the hook moves more than five spaces away, you
are dragged along with it. As a quick action, you
can reel yourself in, flying to the hook or as close to
it as possible. This movement ignores engagement
and doesn’t provoke reactions. You can detach from
the tether as a full action. You can also retrieve a
hook and tether that you are adjacent to as a full
action, restoring a charge.

[79]
BEAT 2:
PC LOAD LETTER
After the PCs have had a little time to dabble in daily “Firstly, the water main? Well, in addition to the long-
life on Hell’s Gate, Jerry buzzes them just after lunch range scanner, it flooded one of our biggest food
and requests their presence in the briefing room. storage units, because of course it did! We need to
replace the food that was lost. We’ll have to buy it
“So, as I’m sure you’re aware, the printer has been from Impact Dynamics, and I don’t trust them not to
down on the station for a week now. I’m not going to screw us. Someone needs to ride shotgun and make
mention names, or blame anyone in particular…” sure no-one tries anything.

Jerry stares pointedly at each of you in turn, before “Secondly, bad news travels fast, and there’s a
his eyes settle. bunch of pirates holding orbit nearby. Nobody wants
to leave the station while they’re around.
Jerry heavily implies, without directly stating, that a PC
did it, especially if one of them has the Engineer talent. “And please be careful? The Hell Hounds are getting
brutal lately. I’m hearing rumors Andros Capella has
“… for why that might have happened. So, I’m going started paying bounties for dead Gate militia
to dip the good news in right here: all of the station’s members again. I don’t want any of you to be the
point defense guns have ammunition, and all your seventh name on the memorial wall this year.”
mechs are repaired and fully operational. So that’s
good! I’m real glad your mechs were the last order Jerry doesn’t have much time for questions, but he can
that went through before it mysteriously broke. field a few before the briefing ends.

“So, three hours ago – you know how we’ve been EXPECTED RESISTANCE
having power failures in Section 3B? It turns out “Same as always: pirates. Mechs, and ships small
that’s because we also had a leaking water main! enough to shoot with mechs. High-res sensors might
That water main exploded three hours ago. Chief be down but we’d, we’d, uh, we’d still see anything
McArthur managed to jury-rig a replacement, but not running cold way before it got to you.”
without the printer, we can’t fix it in a serious,
permanent manner. And what happens if the next MOST IMPORTANT TASK
thing to go out is the O2 scrubbers? “Honestly, I, uh, I gave you the choice because, well,
I trust you. But if I had to choose, I really want you
“Union, in their infinite wisdom, won’t let you, uh, on the freighter. The militia can, um? The militia can
print printer parts? So we don’t have any spares, and deal with a few pirates. Perhaps not as quickly or as,
even if someone did, they wouldn’t sell them to us. uh, innovatively as you can. But we, we, uh, we really
So it’d be several years if I had to order out? can’t handle not getting that food shipment in, guys.
Impact Dynamics is, um, they’re gonna try and screw
“Now, the, you see, the usual answer would be to us, so I need some real muscle there to make sure
start looking for wrecks we could salvage. But the, the freighter crew doesn’t get strong-armed.”
the beauty of this whole Section 3B exploding water
main situation is that, well, that’s where the bulk STATION OUTLOOK
processing unit for the long-range scanning array “It’s not rosy, I’ll, hah, I’ll tell you that much. Between
lives. So that’s broken now, too! the mechanical failures, the, uh, the pirates and the
lack of traffic through the system lately, things aren’t
great. The printer breaking? Well, guys, that’s, that’s
“Now, the wrenchies are trying to get on top of that.
worse. But the station’s not gonna collapse
But in the meantime, we have even more pressing
issues, because of course we do! So, finally, this overnight. Point defense can at least keep anyone
gets us to your job. from directly attacking the station.”

“Now, there’s two immediate problems, both of which

you’d be really useful in solving! But the problem is,
they’re immediate problems, in that I need them
solved immediately. So, pick one, and I’ll send the
rest of the militia to deal with the other. I’d rate the
chances of combat on either one as, um, very high?

[80]
MISSION 1: BRIEFING
The task before the PCs is simple but vital: handle the

UNFUCK immediate issues facing the station, then get to work on

the bigger tasks.

THIS HOUSE
GOAL: Stabilize the situation on the Gate. Fix
urgent problems as they occur. Find a
replacement part for the printer.
Ten light-years past Rào Cỏ Station, there lies a STAKES: If the PCs are unable to fix the Gate’s
system of wonder and opportunity. Millions of many issues, the situation on the
brave souls travelled the void beyond the edge station will deteriorate rapidly as its
of Union, uncertain what they’d find when they inhabitants become desperate.
arrived. Life was hard on that rugged frontier,
but with ingenuity and courage they rose to REWARD: Jerry will spend enough of his
meet the challenge of the day. They built a operational budget to enable the PCs
better tomorrow. They built Calliope. to advance to LICENSE LEVEL 1.

Now, it’s your turn. Calliope is waiting for RESERVES: Are you kidding? We’re running on
fearless individuals ready to help the system fumes as it is.
take its next step towards greatness. Calliope
needs visionaries. Calliope needs leaders.
Calliope needs the dedicated and the bold, OUTFITTING
those who don’t back down from a challenge, A lot of this mission will take place in zero gravity.
who relish the reward of honest, hard work. Depending on your decisions on that subject, ensure
the players know what considerations they need to
Calliope needs you. make for this – this might involve installing EVA
systems on their mechs prior to rolling out.
Do you have what it takes to journey to the
frontier? To be a part of humanity’s next great CHOOSING A TASK
venture? Contact your local Calliope Project OPTION 1
recruiter today, and take your first step into a The station needs more food, and unfortunately, the
bright new future. only place it can acquire the required quantity on short
notice is Impact Dynamics. Jerry asks the players to
The Calliope Project: our many hands shall escort a freighter, as he suspects Impact Dynamics will
build Heaven here. not play fair. If the group chooses this option, go to Beat
3: Snack Run (p. 83).
– Calliope Project recruitment reel, 4727u
OPTION 2
Perhaps aware of the Gate’s dire situation, a small
group of opportunistic pirates is lurking a couple of light-
seconds out. The threat of being intercepted by them is
making it unsafe for any work to be done outside the
station. If the group chooses this option, go to Beat 4:
Right on the Doorstep (p. 87).

Jerry will assign the rest of the station’s militia to

perform whichever task the PCs don’t – there’s not
enough time for them to accomplish both on their own.
The militia should be able to handle escorting the
freighter, as long as the players focus on cleaning out
the nearby pirates. Alternatively, the militia could take
care of them while the players focus on the freighter.
Jerry makes it clear that while he trusts the militia to get
a job done, the PCs are his A-team: he trusts them to
get a job done faster, smoother and with fewer losses.

[81]
Losses on both sides were significant. At the end,
FOLLOW UP Zexian’s forces won the day, driving the Hounds off the
Once the PCs have dealt with whichever problem they station, but were unable to decisively break them. Most
chose to solve, they have time for a Rest, but not a Full of the Hounds were able to flee, taking several of the
Repair. They are then sent out by Jerry to seize control station’s ships and its mining laser with them. In the
of a pirate listening station in Beat 5: A Scanner, Dark aftermath, Gleeson resigned, leaving Zexian a favorite
(p. 89). Once they’ve done that, they have another for the position of station director in a snap election.
chance to REST, and then they proceed to Beat 6: A
Color Out of Time (p. 94).
Andros Capella, meanwhile, led the Hell Hounds in
search of a new base of operations. Eventually, they
CLOCKS chose an abandoned mining base on one of Stygia’s
Establish a twelve-segment Station Stability clock, trojan asteroids, and named it “Fort Cerberus.”
visible to the players, with two segments ticked. It
represents the general condition of Hell’s Gate and its In the two decades since the Demon Winter, Capella
essential systems. The more segments it has filled, the has restored the enterprise to its original glory and
easier life is for its citizens. beyond. The Hell Hounds are notable for being the
most moonlighter-friendly gang in Calliope; in fact, at
Establish an eight-segment Militia Readiness clock, any given time, most pirates operating under Hound
visible to the players, with no segments ticked. It colors are moonlighters. This is unorthodox, but it
represents the general level of combat preparation allows the Hounds to project power far beyond what
among the Hell’s Gate militia – the maintenance and their core membership would allow.
quality of their equipment, their training, their drilling,
their camaraderie, their willingness to risk life and limb They’re also notable for being much more willing to
for one another and for the station. prey on other Calliopeans, which not only earned them
the ire of the system’s civilians, but of the other pirate
gangs as well.
THE HELL HOUNDS
While they were officially formed 24 years ago in late The Hounds’ reputation as bloodthirsty murderers was
4992u, the origin of the Hell Hounds dates back a little cemented for good during the Strikebreak of ’04, when
further, and is a sore spot for Hell’s Gate in particular. they were employed by Impact Dynamics to put an end
to labor action on Impact Plaza. This event is examined
The Hell Hounds started as an unusually large and in more detail on page 166.
vicious moonlighter gang operating out of Hell’s Gate.
Against moonlighter tradition, they gave themselves a The Hell Hounds paint their equipment in red and black.
name. Worse, they chose one that identified where The mechs of fully-initiated members – i.e., Hell Hound
they came from. This quickly started to cause issues for sunlighters – are marked by a diagonal red stripe. Their
the Gate, which began to suffer a reputation for emblem is a stylized, snarling mastiff.
harboring pirates. The station director at the time, Ryan
Gleeson, waited too long to deal with the problem, out
of an unwillingness to exile so many citizens at once.

Their raids were planned from Andros Capella’s bar,

himself a member of the gang. This was initially a well-
kept secret, kept to the establishment’s backroom, but
towards the end they planned their capers at the
counter. For a few months, the Hell Hounds operated
openly, having essentially occupied the station’s
forward hangar bay.

The final straw, however, came when the Hounds

began extorting the station’s own citizens. At this point
Bai Zexian, then boss of the teamsters’ union, took
decisive action. She began rallying a contingent of
civilian volunteers, along with those in the militia still
loyal to the station. In an event known as the “Demon
Winter,” which represents the first and only time in the
Gate’s history that an armed engagement took place
on the station, Zexian’s force engaged the Hell Hounds.

[82]
BEAT 3:
SNACK RUN
“Well okay, we’ve, uh, we’ve got a freighter that’s in
good enough shape to make it to Impact Dynamics
NEGOTIATING FOR FOOD
and back. I mean, probably.” Impact Dynamics has food, and Hell’s Gate needs it.
The problem is that Impact Dynamics is charging an
exorbitant price, simply because they can. Back during
Because of the burst pipe, a worrying portion of the the days of the Calliope Project, Impact Dynamics grew
station’s food has been lost. The Gate still has enough food for everyone in the system for the good of the
to function under strict rationing, but the loss of any enterprise. Now, they’re the only game in town, and
more would be catastrophic. Losing more is now a they milk that fact for all it’s worth.
distinct possibility, since the station’s plumbing is
currently held together by duct tape and prayers.
The PCs must talk to an Impact Dynamics sales rep,
who is uninterested in their personal struggles or the
Impact Dynamics has a virtual monopoly on wholesale welfare of the two million people on Hell’s Gate. They
food production in the system. They aren’t the least bit approach their task with unconcealed disinterest.
shy in using this fact to make an obscene profit, while
people across the system go hungry. Unfortunately,
they’re the only ones who can provide the amount of Set out an eight-segment clock called Negotiations.
food that the Gate needs right now, so doing business Next, set out a four-segment clock called Patience,
with them is an unfortunate necessity. with all segments filled in.

Impact Plaza, Impact Dynamics’ base of operations, Negotiations represents PC efforts to barter for a more
lies roughly five days travel away at 1g, making the reasonable price: appeals to reason, arguments to
round trip about eleven days when allowing for conscience, basic attempts to explain the concept of
refueling and loading at Impact Plaza. The team’s demand elasticity, and so on. Patience represents the
regular ship, the Dragon’s Tooth, isn’t available for remaining tolerance of Impact Dynamics’ sales team.
escort duty right now – it’s undergoing repairs after its
last engagement. The PCs will ride in the freighter Lift • On 9 or less, untick 1 Patience.
With Your Knees. There’s just enough space on board • On 10-19, tick 2 Negotiations and untick 1
for the PCs and their mechs, but it’s a cramped ride. Patience.
• On 20+, choose one: either tick 3 Negotiations
The journey is uncomfortable, even for the Long and untick 1 Patience, or tick 2 Negotiations and
Rim. This sort of ship would usually run with more don’t untick any Patience.
crew – they had to cut half of them just to fit you. The
habitation module has little privacy, only one shower If Patience runs out before the Negotiations clock is
and there’s a constant low buzzing noise you just full, the sales team has either gotten bored of haggling
can’t nail down. or is under pressure from their manager, and will not
negotiate the price down further – take it or leave it. If
It’s tense, too. There are occasional radar contacts, at least one segment is ticked on Negotiations,
out beyond scope range, that aren’t running however, the price is still lower than their initial offer.
transponders. That could either be someone
desperately trying to avoid getting noticed by pirates, If players fill the Negotiations clock before or at the
or the pirates themselves. You always feel like you’re same time as Patience runs out, they’re able to get a
being watched. price that’s actually somewhat reasonable. Jerry is
delighted, but suspicious that the PCs were able to
Slowly, the distant gleam of Calliope grows larger negotiate them down at all. He continues to warn them
and brighter, and after five days, Asphodel begins to to be on their guard.
swell behind the ship as it decelerates. Hanging in
its orbit at the same distance as its closest moon is Either way, Jerry was correct to worry about foul play:
Impact Plaza – a long, thin cylinder, its three giant Impact Dynamics wants to have their cake and eat it,
mirror wings extended to catch the sunlight. and so they hire a local squad of Hell Hounds to steal
their merchandise back. After the freighter has
Impact Plaza allows the freighter to dock, but neither undocked and flown a few hundred thousand
the crew nor the PCs are permitted to disembark onto kilometers out, just far enough from the station for it to
the station proper – the Plaza has strict immigration be deniable, the pirates ambush the freighter.
policies, and the PCs aren’t seasonal workers.

[83]
Suddenly, the general alarm begins blaring, and the
captain’s voice rings throughout the ship. “Action
stations, action stations! Set condition one
throughout the ship! Fireteam, mount up! Contacts in
scope range and closing fast!”

As you strap yourself into the pilot seat of your mech,

your comms panel registers a text-only broadcast on
an open channel.

>//[DXG(HND-S_032)]:: SEND MESSAGE BLIND

>//[DXG32]:: ATTENTION HELL’S GATE FIRETEAM
>//[DXG32]:: LET’S NOT MINCE WORDS HERE
>//[DXG32]:: IMPACT DYNAMICS WANTS THEIR FOOD
AND CAPELLA WANTS YOUR HEAD
>//[DXG32]:: BUT IF WE GET THE FOOD WE DON’T
REALLY CARE ABOUT YOUR BOUNTY
>//[DXG32]:: WE CAN FIGHT ABOUT IT IF YOU
WANT
>//[DXG32]:: BUT WE’RE NOT LEAVING UNLESS YOU
MAKE US, OR UNTIL WE GET THAT
FOOD
>//[DXG32]:: SORRY, LIFE’S A BITCH SOMETIMES
>//[DXG32]:: WILL AWAIT CONFIRMATION ON THIS
FREQUENCY
>//[DXG32]:: WE WILL ASSUME SILENCE MEANS
VIOLENCE

A debris field unfurls in front of the freighter, forcing

it into a hard breaking burn. Stray fragments of rock
and metal start to bounce off the hull of the ship –
and your mechs.

The PCs have a moment before combat to negotiate

terms of engagement with the pirates (or surrender, if
they feel so inclined). For pirates, these ones are
remarkably reasonable. They don’t want to hurt
anyone; they just want to get paid. They aren’t willing
to back off, but they will happily agree to aim for a “less
lethal” fight, where pilots aren’t targeted. Make sure
players know that breaking agreed terms will mark the
PCs as dishonorable.

[84]
COMBAT:
SPITTING DISTANCE
SITREP: Escort (Lancer, p. 269)

OBJECTIVE(S): 1x FREIGHTER (Size 4, 40 HP, provides hard cover to adjacent allies)

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x VETERAN SPACER CATAPHRACT Charge, Concussion Gun, Lightning Reflexes
1x SPACER ARCHER Covering Fire
1x SPACER BERSERKER
1x SPACER SQUAD

FOR 4 PCS: +1x SPACER ASSAULT Gravity Rifle

FOR 5 PCS: +1x COMMANDER SPACER HIVE Quick March

REINFORCEMENTS
FOR 3-4 PCS: 2x GRUNT SPACER CATAPHRACT
2x GRUNT VEHICLE BARRICADE Flier

FOR 5 PCS +2X GRUNT SPACER BERSERKER

+2X GRUNT SPACER ASSAULT

As a VETERAN, the CATAPHRACT won’t necessarily be

DETAILS destroyed when reduced to 0 HP – but it might be, if it
The PCs must escort the Lift With Your Knees out of gets a poor result on its Structure damage roll. If your
the engagement zone. The pirates were contracted to players are new to Lancer, make sure they understand
seize the freighter’s contents, not destroy it, and will not how enemies with additional STRUCTURE work.
intentionally harm it.
The BERSERKER can use its BOOST and AVALANCHE
This battle occurs in transorbital space, close to the CHARGE to rapidly close distance and attack in the
edge of Asphodel’s sphere of influence. There is no same turn. STAMPEDE DEFENSE makes it very resilient
gravity here – mechs operate according to the zero-g to damage, but PCs can easily shut this down by using
combat rules (Lancer, p. 63). INVADE. Their AGGRESSION trait makes them dangerous
up close, but can also be a liability to their allies.
Scatter elements of Size 1, Size 2 and Size 3 cover
across the battlefield. This represents scrap metal, The SQUAD is a swarm of pirates in hardsuits. It’s
wreckage, rock and other debris the pirates have capable of putting out a lot of damage in a turn if it uses
thrown in front of the freighter to impede its progress. BARRAGE, being able to make three attacks. Make sure
players know that it has RESISTANCE to damage from
Make sure the players know that they need to start their single-target attacks - now is a good time for area
turn next to the escort target and that it only follows their damage, if they have it.
standard move. Advise them that they might want to set
up a daisy-chain, but also make sure they know they If present, the ASSAULT can use its GRAVITY RIFLE to
have eight whole turns to pull the escort off. pull PCs off the objective. It will use its HUNKER DOWN
reaction to mitigate the damage of powerful attacks.
The CATAPHRACT is a dangerous, highly mobile enemy.
They can use their standard movement, BOOST and The reinforcement GRUNTS will serve mostly to occupy
CHARGE actions to close distance and reposition. If the PCs’ time and provide a target-rich environment,
possible, it will line up its movement so as to intersect distracting from the more resilient targets. Make sure
as many PCs as possible, dealing damage via its your players know how GRUNTS work – namely that
TRAMPLE trait. Once it’s close to the PCs, it will use its dealing any damage or heat will destroy them instantly.
CONCUSSION Gun to knock them off the objective.

[85]
OUTCOME REWARDS
PC DEFEAT Given the tenuous situation on the station, Jerry
If the PCs surrender, are defeated or are unable to get doesn’t really have all that much in the way of rewards
the freighter out of the engagement zone before the other than his gratitude. However, if they were able to
timer runs out, pirates swarm the freighter and force it fill the Negotiations clock, Jerry is able to set aside
to drop its food crates. Once it’s done, the pirates – true some Funds for the team.
to their word – just scoop them up and go.
Funds
The freighter can then retrieve any stranded PCs, but Favors, Limited 1
Hell’s Gate is now low on food and low on money.
You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy an IPS-N
Untick a segment on the Station Stability clock.
Tortuga with an auto-stabilized heavy machine gun,
and that’s basically the same thing.
PC VICTORY
>//[DXG(HND-S_032)]:: SEND MESSAGE BLIND Expend a charge in a situation where a sizeable
amount of money would change things. If there’s a
>//[DXG32]:: WELL FOUGHT, GUNS COLD
roll involved, you get the best possible result; if
>//[DXG32]:: REQUEST CEASE FIRE there’s no roll, you just get what you want.
>//[DXG32]:: LET US RECOVER OUR WOUNDED AND
DEAD FOLLOWING UP
>//[DXG32]:: WE WOULD DO THE SAME FOR YOU Regardless of how the fight went for the PCs, they
aren’t harassed again on their way back to Hell’s Gate.
Once they return to the station, they have a chance to
The pirates ask for time to rescue their comrades, and rest and repair their mechs. Once they’ve had a few
will expect it to be granted if the PCs previously days to recover, Jerry has more bad news. Proceed to
promised it. If the PCs seem relatively cordial, they will Beat 5: A Scanner, Dark (p. 89).
explicitly namecheck Impact Dynamics as the people
who paid them to “retrieve” the food. They’re not
concerned about the losses the PCs inflicted; they
made sure to get paid up front.

They also warn the team to watch their back; they

weren’t out to collect Andros Capella’s bounty, but a lot
of other pirates won’t be so conscientious.

The players get the freighter back to Hell’s Gate. Tick a

segment on the Station Stability clock.

[86]
BEAT 4:
RIGHT ON THE DOORSTEP
Pirates, apparently aware of the station’s woes, have The PCs will have a few hours to wait in their mechs
started loitering uncomfortably close to the station. This after pushing off. The Comp/Con pilot, like almost every
is a problem for three reasons: firstly, it means that the Comp/Con in Calliope, is a standard Calliope Project
PCs can’t be sent off on any long-term missions. model from the Pyrite Age. Its personality matrix is
Secondly, it means none of the station’s mining crews designed to project bland, upbeat positivity at all times;
can go out. Thirdly, it means traders can’t leave the in fact, it’s incapable of any other emotional affect.
station to barter.
The hauler flies towards Barge, Stygia’s third moon,
There is an easy solution to all three of these issues: under the pretense of making a gravity slingshot. The
get rid of the pirates. The militia commander, Zinfandel Comp/Con relays the hauler’s external sensor feeds to
DeJean, has some ideas on how to do this. the PCs while they’re in the cargo hold, so they can see
what’s going on.
“Don’t worry, kiddos, I’ve got a plan.”
You’re closing in on Barge, Stygia’s third moon,
Zinfandel DeJean, the station’s boisterous militia when they take the bait. You see it: you had them on
commander, smirks as they lay out a concept for radar from the moment you left the station, but now
you, a map of Stygia’s orbital neighborhood clutched you see bright thermal flares as coldcores spool up
in one of their massive hands. and thrusters ignite. They’ll be on you within hours.

“If we just spit you out the docking slot, they’re gonna There are two types of pirates in Calliope. You’ve got
know we’re sending someone, and they’re gonna run the sunlighters: big-name roving bands like the Hell
away from you. Then they’ll slink back later – not Hounds who make piracy a career and a lifestyle.
ideal. But what if we hide you guys in a freighter? Then you’ve got moonlighters, who just do piracy as
They’ll get in close enough to grab stuff from it, and a side gig, and try to make sure nobody finds out.
then you pop out!
From the looks of things, you’re dealing with a small
“Since I’m taking a big detachment out to escort the squad of moonlighters led by a sunlighter. It’s easy
freighter, they’ll probably back off for a while. Wait to spot: most of the mechs are low-quality mining or
until we’re at least a couple of days under thrust; at salvage rigs with armor and guns added, but there’s
that point, we won’t be able to turn back fast enough one that’s different. Sleek, well-maintained, packing
to help you, and they’ll know it.” military-grade weaponry. That’s the ringleader.

Zinfandel DeJean is a no-nonsense tactician who likes

simple plans and clean fights. Any scheme that has too
many moving parts or points of failure will make them
turn their nose up. The “hide mechs in a freighter” plan
is a perfect example of the sort of work they do.

Zinfandel has picked out an old mining hauler and filled

it with rocky debris and slag left over from refining. The
PCs can hide their mechs amongst the rubble in the
cargo hold, and the freighter can dump it abruptly to
provide sections of cover for them. The hauler is old,
battered and piloted by a Comp/Con – if it gets blown
up, it’s not a disaster. If they wish, the hauler can stay
on the field as a Size 4 object that provides hard cover,
although it can’t move or offer any other assistance.

As predicted, the pirates back off for a couple of days

after Zinfandel’s detachment leaves with the freighter,
but creep back once they’re sure there’s no risk. This
PCs have time to interact with the residents of Hell’s
Gate a bit more during this time.

[87]
COMBAT:
SHOO THE VULTURES
SITREP: N/A

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x ELITE MERCENARY ACE Bounty Hunter, Strafe
1x VETERAN SHIP ASSAULT Self-Repair
1x SPACER SUPPORT Remote Reboot
1x SPACER SENTINEL

FOR 4 PCS: +1x SPACER ARCHER

FOR 5 PCS: ARCHER: Add VETERAN template and SLIPPERY trait.

+1x SPACER SNIPER Deadmetal Rounds

DETAILS PC VICTORY
All the PCs need to do is get rid of the pirates. All “Heh… well, this sucks. Listen, guys, I know how this
enemies must be defeated or forced to retreat. The sounds, but can you help us out? No hard feelings?”
pirates are looking for easy pickings, not a brawl with
the station’s militia, so driving them away won’t be Tick a segment on the Station Stability clock.
especially difficult.
If their ship is still intact, the pirates ask for a cease fire
The ACE is an ELITE, and so gets two turns every round; in order to pick up the stranded pilots of any mechs that
make sure the players understand this. The Ace is also the PCs destroyed. The PCs are under no obligation to
a BOUNTY HUNTER, and is pursuing a price on the head grant this, and the remaining pirates won’t press the
of on one of the PCs. Decide which of the PCs it makes issue, but the only other option is to take prisoners.
the most sense for this to be. The ACE will prioritize
taking out that character. You can use this character as If their ship isn’t intact, any surviving pilots will request
an opportunity to remind the players that their rescue, even if it means they’re taken prisoner.
backstories are meaningful.

The SUPPORT can use its RESTOCK DRONE to repair REWARDS

damaged allies, REMOTE REBOOT to remove conditions If the PCs managed to take some prisoners, Jerry is
and its SEALANT GUN to disrupt the PCs’ movement. later able to convince some of them to accept A Shot
Remember that if the Support has nothing else to do, it at Redemption.
can GRAPPLE a PC to disable their reactions and halt
their movement, LOCK ON to support its allies or INVADE
A Shot at Redemption
to increase a PC’s heat and inflict IMPAIRED.
Favors, Limited 1

The SHIP ASSAULT will try to stay out of CQB combat, Captured pirates are often sentenced to community
and will retreat if it takes structure damage. This will be service, and it just so happens that the service the
the other pirates’ signal to disengage, as well: that ship community needs right now is dealing with pirates.
is their ride home. If the ship is destroyed, all the pirates Sometimes, the universe has a beautiful symmetry.
other than the ACE will immediately surrender: they’d
rather get stuck in a brig than asphyxiate. Expend a charge at the start of a fight. A friendly
SPACER SUPPORT with REMOTE CLOUD shows up to
help you for the rest of the fight.
OUTCOME
PC DEFEAT FOLLOWING UP
If the PCs are unsuccessful or forced to retreat, untick The PCs aren’t very far from the station, and once they
a segment on the Station Stability clock. The pirates get back, they have a chance to rest and repair their
continue to intimidate the station and its inhabitants mechs. Once they’ve had a few days to recover, Jerry
until the rest of the militia return from fetching food. has more bad news. Proceed to Beat 5: A Scanner,
Dark (p. 89).

[88]
BEAT 5:
A SCANNER, DARK
The PCs return from whichever errand they chose to
run, and a few days pass. Give the PCs the opportunity
THE APPROACH
to play out a few more scenes around Hell’s Gate. Have Getting to the listening post isn’t a problem – it’s close
a character from the militia (Zinfandel DeJean is a good enough that an orbital shuttle can get them there in a
choice) explain what happened with the other task. It couple of hours. The issue is that there’s no chance of
got completed, but perhaps not in as interesting or them arriving undetected; the listening post was
decisive a manner as if the PCs had taken it. specifically designed to monitor all space traffic in and
out of Hell’s Gate, so it will spot a ship’s thrust plume
the moment it leaves the station.
After a few days, Jerry calls the PCs into the briefing
room again.
You’re about five minutes out from the asteroid when
your scopes light up suddenly, and don’t go dark
“So, uh, while you were away, we, well… okay, so again. You’re being bombarded with harsh noise on
we found out things are even worse than we thought! every wavelength; it’s almost impossible to make out
Because why wouldn’t they be? The scanning your destination, let alone any activity on its surface.
array’s processing unit is totally waterlogged. Your comm feed lights up – incoming transmission
Completely irreparable! But it’s okay. It’s okay! We via point-to-point laser from the listening post.
can handle this.”
“Yoooo, were you trying to sneak up on my base?!
The long-range sensor array can’t be fixed with That’s totally bogus, noob! Prepare to get owned!”
salvage. A printer is needed to make the necessary Somehow, you can HEAR all the vowels in this
parts; a non-issue, were it not for the fact that the statement being replaced by numbers.
station’s printer is broken.
Your sensor suite’s noise cancellation kicks in, and
However, Jerry suggests a solution: the Hell Hounds you see multiple mech-scale contacts moving to
have a series of listening posts that they use to keep defend the facility. Better get ready to engage.
tabs on the system. They built them a decade ago in
collaboration with the Cousins, the Long Rim’s largest
HORUS-aligned organization, who provided most of
the funding in return for being allowed unlimited access
to the network and the data it collects.

Why exactly the Cousins are funding the Hell Hounds

is anyone’s guess, but the most popular theory is it’s a
retaliation against the Circuit, another one of Calliope’s
pirate groups. The Circuit are also HORUS-aligned, but
have so far resisted the Cousins’ attempts to assimilate
them. Funding another pirate group’s listening posts
was a direct slap in the face to the Circuit: “your data is
worthless to HORUS. Your clients will go elsewhere.”

In any case, the team could hijack such a facility to look

for something that could be salvaged, and there’s one
only a few hours journey away, in the outer orbit of
Stygia. It’s run by S1GN4L, a cocky HORUS sigdiver
currently under contract to the Hell Hounds, meaning
there’s a significant guard detail.

Seizing this listening post would not only let Hell’s Gate
search for a suitable salvage target, it would also put a
serious dent in the Hounds’ surveillance network,
particularly in Stygia’s neighborhood. Taking it down
would be a big win for the Gate.

[89]
COMBAT:
DENIAL OF SERVICE
SITREP: Control (Lancer, p. 268)

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x S1GN4L – ELITE MIRAGE Metafold Shove
1x ENGINEER
1x SEEDER Speed Deployer
1x DEMOLISHER Concussion Missiles

FOR 4 PCS: +1x BERSERKER

FOR 5 PCS: S1GN4L: Add VETERAN template and Hacker trait.

+1x RAINMAKER Atlas Missiles

The Mirage’s most powerful ability is METAFOLD SHOVE;

DETAILS clever use of it will dominate this fight. It can wait for the
The fight takes place on a small asteroid in the outer ENGINEER to place a couple of turrets, and then attempt
orbit of Stygia, turned into a listening post. It was to swap a PC with one of them – or the DEMOLISHER.
designed and constructed by HORUS, so it’s a messy, Its GLITCH SCANNERS trait allows it to relocate its allies
disjointed tangle of prefab habitation modules, dishes, at will, advancing them or pulling them out of danger.
telescopes, antennae, heat sinks, portable coldcores They can also use BLIP to reposition an ally after a PC
and cables snaking between jagged rock formations. takes an action.
It’s effectively zero gravity, but there’s enough metal
plating that mechs can “land.”
Remember that reactions resolve after their triggers, so
using BLIP on an ally in response to an attack against
The control zones are placed near large clusters of them will only teleport them after the attack has already
surveillance equipment – stuff that’s wired directly into hit or missed. A PC’s standard movement isn’t an
the listening post’s internal network, with connections action, so isn’t a valid trigger for BLIP – but reactions,
that S1GN4L isn’t able to cut quickly. This is the team’s free actions, quick actions and full actions are.
“in” to the facility’s systems.
The Mirage is INVISIBLE due to its DATAVEIL, which may
Every so often, the facility’s dishes realign to continue give the PCs trouble. Remind them that INVISIBLE can
tracking contacts as the asteroid rotates. If you want to only make attacks miss; it can’t protect against
add a little more complexity to the map, have different RELIABLE damage, or damage dealt by actions that
pathways open or close at the start of each new round. aren’t attacks, like PATTERN-B HEX CHARGES. If they’re
truly struggling, have it give its DATAVEIL to another
The PCs will have to hold ground against a number of character, rendering itself vulnerable.
enemies who will have the same objective. This fight is
set up to teach players two things: The SEEDER will attempt to render at least one control
zone inaccessible to the PCs unless they wish to
1. Some enemies are very difficult to hit with weapon disarm mines. Make sure the PCs know they can SCAN
attacks, but crumble rapidly in the face of RELIABLE for mines as a quick action, and remember that the
weapons or damage not caused by attacks. Seeder has a variety of mines – mines that deal
2. Some enemies have serious weaknesses (like the damage aren’t always the optimal choice.
DEMOLISHER’s pathetic mobility) that other enemies
can compensate for. If the RAINMAKER is present, have it use ATLAS
MISSILES to force PCs out of position, or present tough
S1GN4L is an ELITE and a MIRAGE, the most complex choices about staying on the point. This early in the
enemy the PCs will have faced yet. If the PCs didn’t game, 16 is a lot of damage to take in one shot, so
choose Beat 4: Right on the Doorstep, this will be the players will have to weigh the odds of succeeding on
first time this campaign they’ve encountered an ELITE. their save against it.
Make sure players understand how they work.

[90]
OUTCOME to: S1GN4L (etn3394.node-4.c4l.omni)
from: DRIVETRAIN (rgx0582.node-7.c4l.omni)
PC DEFEAT timestamp: 04:51 CST 04/07/5013
If the PCs are unsuccessful or forced to retreat, they’re subject: yo check it
still able to retrieve enough information to find a suitable
salvage candidate, but they’re unable to wrest control okay news is weird as shit on this one, not
of the listening post away from the pirates, who gonna lie
continue to use it to co-ordinate their activities in the
area. Untick a segment on the Station Stability clock. so whatever the hell that thing is, it’s not
what he’s looking for (of course not, when is
it ever lol), but he got real excited anyway,
PC VICTORY and he says he’s gonna come directly to you
If the PCs are victorious, not only do they identify a at nearlight or “maybe faster?” (lol?) he
prime salvage candidate, they’re able to seize the says to just keep watching whatever it is,
listening post and render it useless to the pirates. It’ll keep logging data, and don’t let anyone else
take some time, but if Hell’s Gate is able to hold this know about it
facility it’ll help keep track of activity near the station. At
the very least, things won’t get any worse. when he gets there he’ll contact you. he’ll
identify himself with the phrase “i and a
S1GN4L will try to flee if he survives the battle – first fellow researcher used to be friends,” and
the listening post, and then the system – but he will you should reply “it’s always a tragedy when
irreconcilable differences shatter a long-
surrender if the alternative is dying alone in space. He
lasting accord.” weird dude, am i right?
specifically wants protection from Andros Capella, who
will almost certainly try to kill him for his failure.
oh, he also still wants you to keep looking
for the original thing too. he’s still being
REWARDS cagey about what it is we need to find, so
have fun with that I guess
If the PCs hold the field, they can make a skill check to
salvage the platform. If successful, they can strip
enough spare parts from the listening post to provide a also i need to know if i can lean on you more
going forward. those clowns in the circuit
total of 3 REPAIRS, which the team can distribute are getting less reliable by the day and i’ve
amongst themselves as they see fit. got other clients who want me to find stuff
in calliope. how do you feel about that?
They’re also able to recover some of S1GN4L’s files –
stuff he wasn’t able to delete or encrypt before the team whether i like it or not you’re the best
took control of the base. stuff finder in the system besides maybe
striga, but fuck having to ask her for shit
Transmission logs suggest that S1GN4L was doing a
lot of business, mostly with a contact identified only as They also retrieve a Telemetry Package of the
“DRIVETRAIN,” another member of HORUS. The work anomalous sensor reading.
started roughly six years ago, when a client hired
DRIVETRAIN to keep watch for something in the Long
Rim. The client refused to specify exactly what they Telemetry Package
were looking for, only that it was a small-scale Favors
spatiotemporal anomaly. It’s not hard to see why this data attracted so much
interest. Three years ago, something tore open the
Over the next few years, S1GN4L sent DRIVETRAIN fabric of spacetime above Chameleon, and it left a
data on more than a dozen candidate anomalies, none tiny scar. You couldn’t even see it if you didn’t
of which piqued the client’s interest. Finally, about three already know what to look for, but it’s there.
years ago, something changed. S1GN4L picked up
something odd in the orbit of Chameleon, the system’s Someone is coming to collect this data, but you won’t
most distant planet, and DRIVETRAIN quickly sent meet them until Act 2.
back a response.

[91]
connection established//ENCRYPT HECTOR-SAMEKH
------------------------------------------------------------
DRIVETRAIN’S SUPER SECRET SIGDIVER HIDEOUT
MOTD:
keep horus vs. horizon drama out of channel, we’re all here to dive
yes, client X is still looking for the thing
no, you probably haven’t found it yet. --ADMIN
------------------------------------------------------------
DRIVETRAIN: so i imagine you’re all wondering why i called you here
ParacelsianDidact: lmao not fuckin particularly
DRIVETRAIN: eat my entire ass pd
SheIsPleasure: I’m not, but by all means, continue to waste our time with tired cliches.
AnvilOfTwilight: Cant believe I skipped too many edibles night for this
Dragonetgirl: It's gonna be some boring shit isn't it?
S1GN4L: y0000 b1g up5 dt wh4t5 p0pp1n my dud3!!!
DRIVETRAIN: christ the buddha i hate all of you
DRIVETRAIN: so i did some thinking
TallGlassOfWater: Oh fuck are you okay, do you want me to call a doctor?
// USER: TallGlassOfWater MUTED FOR 10KSEC | REASON: stfu --ADMIN //
DRIVETRAIN: anyway
DRIVETRAIN: i have worked out what client X is looking for
da_jch8r: No way
DRIVETRAIN: yes way
DRIVETRAIN: it's only an approximation but i'm pretty sure i can streamline the process of looking
for client X's magic bullshit
DRIVETRAIN: go with me on this journey
AnvilOfTwilight: yo @MoreTransGenghisPilots shits bout to get good
DRIVETRAIN: so i noticed that there is a distinct pattern to the shit that client X examined closely
and the shit that he dismisses immediately
S1GN4L: y0000 s1ck!!! 0ur b01 dr1v3tr41n 5l3uth3d th4t 5h1t!!!
MoreTransGenghisPilots: [eyes.omif]
DRIVETRAIN: yes i did but shut up
DRIVETRAIN: anyway
DRIVETRAIN: so X is looking for timespace anomalies which is a very fucking broad category
DRIVETRAIN: but every time one of you sent me something really large, like ship-scale, he almost
always dismisses it out of hand the moment he gets it
DRIVETRAIN: with the one exception of that bizarre signature @S1GN4L found and which X is currently
travelling to "faster than nearlight" (lmao???)
da_jch8r: Lmao
AnvilOfTwilight: lol
MoreTransGenghisPilots: ¬_¬
God0fMischief: hahaha
S1GN4L: y0000 lmf40 1m d4 MVP!!!
DRIVETRAIN: yeah yeah yeah @S1GN4L suck your own dick on your own time
DRIVETRAIN: anyway
SheIsPleasure: I for one find it fascinating that you would openly chastise a man for fellating
himself while veritably drowning your own member in saliva.
DRIVETRAIN: pleasure i swear to god i will find out where you live and make you eat your thesaurus a
page at a time
SheIsPleasure: Promises, promises. <3
DRIVETRAIN: so as i was saying
DRIVETRAIN: i can calmly eliminate basically everything the size of a corvette or larger from my
search space
DRIVETRAIN: which leaves a very narrow band of things that are both
DRIVETRAIN: a. detectable
DRIVETRAIN: b. possible
DRIVETRAIN: dude is describing a mech
ParacelsianDidact: yeah thats a fucking mech
DRIVETRAIN: damn pd what would i do without you to repeat all my epiphanies back to me
ParacelsianDidact: hopefully die
DRIVETRAIN: the cosmos would never grant me such a mercy
DRIVETRAIN: anyway
DRIVETRAIN: i have also noticed that he dismisses anything that happened recently

[92]
DRIVETRAIN: like almost instantly
DRIVETRAIN: he tries to not have a pattern about it but it's quite obvious
DRIVETRAIN: i made a spreadsheet of how long it took him to tell me something isn't it
DRIVETRAIN: anything newer than five years old is basically chucked immediately
DRIVETRAIN: anything newer than six years old gets chucked slower
DRIVETRAIN: anything significantly older than six years starts getting chucked immediately again
Dragonetgirl: Huh.
DRIVETRAIN: yeah there’s a bell curve
DRIVETRAIN: oh and incidentally, i was interested enough in this that i spent a few favors and
reached out to other cells
DRIVETRAIN: nobody else has gotten a request like this
SheIsPleasure: I had suspected client X's scope was somewhat limited, but it's nice to have it
confirmed.
DRIVETRAIN: so bitches bros and nonbinary hos
DRIVETRAIN: our ideal signature seems to have the following characteristics
DRIVETRAIN: a. a spacetime anomaly
DRIVETRAIN: b. mech-sized
DRIVETRAIN: c. happened almost exactly six years ago
DRIVETRAIN: d. in the long rim
DRIVETRAIN: e. (probably) centered in or around calliope
DRIVETRAIN: client X is looking for a mech that teleported in calliope six years ago
S1GN4L: y0000!!!
MoreTransGenghisPilots: :o :o :o
SheIsPleasure: Never let it be said that I am incapable of admitting fault. I retract my previous
skepticism, Drivetrain. This is, as a matter of fact, truly fascinating.
AnvilOfTwilight: woah holy shit man something dt said was actually interesting
Dragonetgirl: Wait can any mechs actually do that? I thought that sort of technology wasn’t scalable
to something as small as a rig.
NSFWEntomology: @SheIsPleasure how did you find a way to be insufferably smug even while apologizing
SheIsPleasure: ;)
Dragonetgirl: isn’t there that one mech that ssc make
MonarchFeetPics: tbh I was actually thinking more along the lines of that one Purv powersuit
God0fMischief: you mean the napoleon
MonarchFeetPics: Yeah the nap
God0fMischief: I would not exactly call that stable mech-scale teleportation.
MonarchFeetPics: it does teleport you though right
God0fMischief: Okay so the way I understand it, the displacer is a gun and it’s less "teleportation"
and more "equitable redistribution of your atoms across 3-space".
Dragonetgirl: Ah yes, the most communist gun.
AnvilOfTwilight: broke: eat the rich / woke: displace the rich
MoreTransGenghisPilots: [RAhead.omif]
S1GN4L: y0000 l0l im g0nn4 brb y4ll!!! 50m3 n00b r1g5 4r3 cr33p1n 0n my b4s3!!!
S1GN4L: [n00bs_0n_5c0p3.omv]
Dragonetgirl: Oh fuck good luck dude
MoreTransGenghisPilots: o7
AnvilOfTwilight: o7 good hunting bro
// USER: S1GN4L SET STATUS [AFK] | MESSAGE: y0000 hunt1n n00b5 l0l //
DRIVETRAIN: oh shit please don’t die
DRIVETRAIN: you are without a shadow of a doubt the most annoying person i’ve ever met but i have
this recurring nightmare that whoever replaces you will somehow be worse

[93]
BEAT 6:
A COLOR OUT OF TIME
Jerry calls the PCs into the briefing room as soon as
they arrive back at Hell’s Gate.
OUTBOUND JOURNEY
This is the first long spaceflight that the PCs will have
experienced in the campaign, and will take two weeks.
“Alright, okay. Looking through what you pulled out Have them play out a few vignettes of filling time aboard
of that listening post, we found something, and… the ship; it isn’t long enough to justify pause tanks.
well, I don’t want to jinx it, but it’s promising. Shells?”
Introduce players to Siren, the NHP pilot of the
Shelly, the Gate’s resident ASURA-class NHP, Dragon’s Tooth. She can be talked to anywhere on the
manifests her hologram and waves impatiently at the ship and is highly conversational; her favorite topics are
projector. It displays a scale map of the system, with guns, omnivid dramas and naval strategy games,
its various planets, moons and stations. It then which she’s very good at, even when she limits her
zooms in on Chameleon, the system’s most distant actions-per-minute to human levels.
planet. In orbit of its closest moon, there’s a blurry
3D image of the analyzed signature. It looks like a
miniature comet, trailing a long plume of debris. The Dragon’s Tooth isn’t spacious, but it’s comfortable;
everyone gets their own cabin, and it might even have
more space than their cabins back on Hell’s Gate.
“Signature analysis of both the core and the debris There’s a communal space for eating and socializing,
cloud suggests a spacefaring vessel, likely capital and a well-stocked media library in case the omninet is
scale, with high confidence. The debris trail is down. While under thrust, it has gravity, meaning the
smaller than would be expected from a ship of that team don’t have to deal with weightlessness.
size, suggesting that it’s still mostly intact. Scan
resolution was insufficient to provide a silhouette, so
I can’t say with certainty what it is, but best guess At the start of the journey, flight traffic in Stygia’s vicinity
would be a Harrison Armory colony ship. Anything is pretty heavy. “Crowded” isn’t exactly the right word,
that size would have at least a Schedule 1 printer. as there might be tens or hundreds of thousands of
kilometers between the Tooth and the nearest ship, but
dozens of ships are on scope and the occasional drive
“I should also warn you that whatever this thing is, plume might be visible out the cockpit window. As the
Andros Capella was desperate to find it. I recovered Tooth leaves Stygia’s sphere of influence, the traffic
a series of increasingly unhinged and threatening drops off substantially.
messages that he sent to S1GN4L over the past few
weeks. When you hit the outpost, S1GN4L was just
hours away from telling Capella he’d found it.” Kalevala’s currently on the other side of the system, so
crossing its orbit is a quiet affair. There are no stations
beyond, and no other ships are currently making the
If it really is a stricken colony ship, then the PCs may dangerous, lonely trek out to Chameleon. Occasionally,
feel that what they’re doing constitutes grave-robbing. comms will flash; there are spacers out there who can
Jerry will respond that dead people don’t need printers, see the Tooth’s heading, and they’re sending somber
and Hell’s Gate doesn’t have many options right now. messages: urging the PCs to turn back, telling them it’s
not worth it, or offering to pray for them.
There’s one small piece of good news: maintenance on
the team’s ship, the Dragon’s Tooth, is finished and it’s A week into the trip, at the halfway point just before the
cleared for takeoff. Whenever the PCs are ready, they Tooth flips over to begin deceleration, its peak velocity
can load their mechs onto it and get underway. Jerry’s is 6,600 kilometers per second – 2% of lightspeed. At
willing to give them a day to cool down after the battle this speed, time dilation is present but imperceptible;
at the listening post, but no more; it’s vital they get communications with places outside the ship will
underway as soon as possible. experience something similar to packet loss, as the
ship is (from an external perspective) sending slightly
The PCs will need to locate a component called a fewer packets per second than it should be.
“Delta-5 power relay.” As Chief McArthur describes it,
it’s about the size of a person, and sits right next to the The planets of the inner system slowly shrink into dots
printer’s main power distributor. It can be carried in a indistinguishable from the distant stars. Local radio
mech’s hands, slung on its back, or stowed in an chatter thins out, eventually falling silent – the only
EXPANDED COMPARTMENT. broadcasts are from the inner system, time-delayed by
minutes or hours. The PCs are alone out here.

[94]
A LONG TWO WEEKS CHAMELEON
On long-range scopes, out near Zahhak, Over the course of your deceleration burn, a dim,
star-like point of light has been growing into a sphere
there’s a bright flash as a freighter jumps
1-2 as you get closer to it. Now, only hours away from
to nearlight, heading for the Dawnline
Shore. It will be in transit for six years. the end of the trip, you get a good look at it.

Siren challenges one or more of the crew

It’s azure blue, a perfect shade, unmarred by storms
to a best-of-three in FleetComm 5014. She
or bands. Spikes of pale, shimmering celestial light
3-4 refuses to play FleetComm 5016 because
dance at the planet’s poles; these are its infamous
“they nerfed IPS-N ships too hard and now
aurorae, the Ghostcrown. Legends told by Calliope’s
the meta sucks.” spacers say that if you die in the orbit of this planet,
A repeater station endlessly broadcasts a your soul is trapped by the Crown, doomed to
looping jingle for Maddox & Haiden, one of wonder the frigid polar vortices for eternity.
the colonial companies that originally
5-6 settled Calliope; probably a relic from the This is Chameleon, flanked by its two icy moons
Pyrite Age. The jingle is off-key and Saeculum and Umbra. High above Saeculum, barely
discordant; something must be wrong with visible against background radiation, is the wreckage
the repeater’s audio processor. that you’re looking for.
A blinkvoid rolls through the system,
cutting off access to the omninet for a few Chameleon’s orbit is a dark and haunted place. Local
hours. This causes a spike in radio traffic radio channels that have been silent for a week
7-8
and Muse activity; a lot of people just lost suddenly come alive again with the repeating chirps of
connection to a galaxy’s worth of media, automated distress beacons. There are other ships out
and they’re looking for something to do. here, some as old as the Second Wave Era, all of them
A mining freighter passes by, coming back stranded and dead. Most of them are completely
from a deep-space asteroid. They’re close untouched; few salvagers are brave enough to come all
9-10 enough that their drive plume is visible to the way out here just to risk joining the graveyard.
the naked eye, and lightspeed messages
have only a few seconds’ delay. Siren is being doubly careful with her maneuvers, using
You find a battered journal at the back of a the minimum possible fuel and plotting slow, safe burns
storage bin, written by a Hell’s Gate militia so as to minimize possible collisions. She remarks that
11-12 she’s been stuck in a place like this once before, and
pilot with the callsign “Mystic.” It details
events that happened over a decade ago. has absolutely no desire to repeat the experience. She
refuses to answer further questions on the subject.
A distant transmission fades in over the
course of a day: a child’s voice, repeating
Saeculum is the closer of Chameleon’s two moons, a
a string of seemingly random numbers. If
tiny ball of ice with a tenuous atmosphere, orbiting its
13-14 you try to speak on the frequency, the child
parent once every 42 hours. The wreckage signature is
does not answer directly, but the numbers
orbiting about 7,000km above the moon’s surface,
track your ship’s course and heading for
taking 50 hours to complete an orbit.
exactly 127 minutes.
In the cockpit, Siren is marathoning cult
classic psychological thriller series Beyond THE WRECKAGE
the Pale. She rewatches it every time she Closing in on the signature, the players discover that it
15-16
gets cycled just to see if she experiences is not one ship, but two. An IPS-N salvage frigate, the
it differently. She’s a superfan, and will Ardent Weasel, has collided with a much larger vessel
discuss trivia for hours if you let her. that Siren can’t identify; its silhouette doesn’t match any
A furious flame war is currently sweeping ship in her records. It appears that the Ardent Weasel
the Muse. It started as a debate on which accounts for most of the debris cloud, as it’s been
gauge of rivet should be the standard, but snapped almost in two across the larger ship’s prow,
17-18 which sustained minimal damage.
rapidly spiraled into arguments over which
Calliope Project member corporation was
the most problematic. This is strange: for a collision to do so little damage
(relatively speaking) to either ship, they must have had
There’s a motion alarm in the cargo bay.
a low velocity relative to each other. Given the vast
When you get there, one of your mech’s
distances involved in space travel, it’s hard to imagine
19-20 arms has broken loose from its mooring,
that two ships travelling so slowly wouldn’t have seen
and an outstretched finger points to a spot
each other coming.
on the floor. Nothing seems to be there.

[95]
[96]
Siren can think of only two explanations that make A visit to the Weasel’s engineering section immediately
sense to her. Firstly, that the larger ship translated out reveals the reason for the power outage: its reactor is
of nearlight directly on top of the Ardent Weasel while missing. In its place is a perfectly spherical gap that
it was stationary; vanishingly unlikely. Secondly, and mech sensors will reveal is smooth down to the atomic
much more probable: the larger ship intentionally level. A database search will reveal that this is similar
rammed the Weasel. to the aftermath of a Harrison Armory Displacer being
fired, as if the entire reactor had been snatched out of
The Weasel is broadcasting a distress signal, but its existence. This sphere is much larger than a Displacer
omnihook is dead and its radio is in low-power mode, can create, though.
meaning the transmission wasn’t strong enough to be
heard outside of Chameleon’s magnetic field. The THE FORE SECTION
Weasel’s radiators are cold and there’s almost no On the other half of the ship, the bridge and crew
thermal activity anywhere else on the ship, suggesting modules are still structurally sound.
that its reactor is offline. Scans show multiple hull
breaches, but only one practical for mech ingress: at The flight recorders are still intact. It’ll take some time
the point of impact, where both halves of the vessel are to examine their full contents, but the event log is
open to vacuum. accessible. The Weasel’s sensors registered a
distortion in spacetime, a sudden impact and the
The larger ship has activated its radiators and spun up ensuing catastrophe, all occurring three years ago, but
its reactor in response to the Tooth’s approach. It’s nothing else of note until a year later, when the main
maintaining an active sensor lock, but is neither reactor abruptly went offline. The flight recorders have
sending hails nor responding to them. Its airlocks are no record of a sensor contact matching the Tachyon
sealed and there are no visible breaches in its hull. The until seconds before the impact occurred.
only visible identification on the vessel is the word
Tachyon, written in Union Common.
The Weasel’s Flight Recorders
Curiosity
Silhouette analysis suggests a military purpose, but an
unfulfilled one. There are visible hardpoint mountings, [T+78d 4h 8m 12s] NONSTANDARD GRAVIMETRIC
but they’re empty. It has a spinal long-cycle lance, but SENSOR CONTACT // FLAG FOR ANALYSIS
it shows minimal thermal activity, suggesting that it’s [T+78d 4h 8m 19s] DANGER PROXIMITY ALERT
not currently in the process of charging, which can take STARBOARD MIDSHIP 400M AND CLOSING
hours or days. This ship should be armed, but isn’t. [T+78d 4h 8m 26s] !!COLLISION!!

Untangling this recorder’s contents in detail might

There’s no obvious way to get aboard the Tachyon, but
shed some light on the mystery above Chameleon.
Siren suggests the hull might be weak at the impact
point with the Weasel. Siren suggests she “engage in
penetrative testing.” If asked to elaborate, she explains It’s unclear exactly what the Weasel was doing here.
she will simply shoot the ship and see if the hull gives There are no wrecks this close to Saeculum, but it
way. If the PCs allow this, it will prove unsuccessful; the would’ve had to pass by several to get here. If power
Dragon’s Tooth is armed only with a pair of IPS-N can be restored to its mainframe, the ship’s mission
Leviathan Heavy Assault Cannons, a fact Siren will profile is unavailable – it self-deleted the moment the
lament loudly and at length to anyone who’ll listen. master alarm went off.

To make matters even stranger, its scanning array

THE ARDENT WEASEL doesn’t just have the standard EM-spectrum suite most
The Weasel is a mess; the collision snapped it nearly salvagers use: it’s also equipped with a high-precision
in two, opened most of its compartments to vacuum gravimetrics package, meant to look for gravitational
and wrecked its internal systems. anomalies. No normal salvage crew in Calliope would
be able to afford one of these, nor would they need it.
THE AFT SECTION
The cryo bay is a scene of horror. As a last-ditch Checking the scan logs reveals the strangest thing of
scramble for survival, the crew tried to go into all: the crew seemed to be scanning empty space, not
emergency cryosleep, but there’s evidence of more any of the wrecks orbiting Chameleon. Whatever they
significant damage to the ship than was first apparent; were searching for, it seems they didn’t find it; the bays
atmosphere was leaking from the bay even after the are empty and none of the ship’s salvage equipment
bulkhead was sealed, and not every crew member seems to have been taken out of its storage lockers.
made it into the tanks in time to avoid asphyxiating. It
was all for nothing anyway: the power died and the In actuality, the Weasel was looking for the Persimmon,
tanks went offline, killing their occupants. Curiously, a missing Impact Dynamics colony vessel. IPS-N told
though, this didn’t happen instantly; the tanks only went them where to look for it, but didn’t tell them why.
offline two years ago.

[97]
It takes a while to notice, but there’s something deeply
THE TACHYON wrong with the vessel.
As Siren suspected, the hull of the Tachyon is cracked
(but not breached) at the point of impact with the
Weasel. Ingress is possible via use of mech-scale
heavy melee weapons, explosives, a thermite charge,
SOMETHING OFF
or cutting equipment salvaged from the Weasel. If they Some of the vessel’s structural elements
breach the hull or attempt any other hostile action are glowing hot, despite no apparent heat
1-2
against the Tachyon, Siren pipes up. source. They shouldn’t be able to retain
heat like this, even in a vacuum.
“Heads up, marines! The Tachyon has just opened Some of the loose objects around you
comms. You should hear this.” aren’t acting like they’re in microgravity;
3-4 they keep drifting towards the back of the
ship. This only seems to happen when you
A threatening voice declares: “hostile actor, you are
look at them. Others behave normally.
in violation of Union Emergency Directive Gamma.
Use of lethal force is authorized and weapons are Navigating this vessel is counter-intuitive.
primed. Surrender immediately or be destroyed.” 5-6 You take four right turns without ending up
back in the same hallway.
Siren cuts back in. “So, they’re saying that, right? But Your mech’s motion sensor pings, and you
I don’t see any weapons they could be charging.” catch a brief glimpse of what looks like
7-8 your own mech rounding a corner, before
Those PCs familiar with Union military protocols will not the motion ping vanishes. There’s nothing
recognize an “Emergency Directive Gamma,” and if around the corner when you check it.
someone attempts to search the omninet for it, they’ll The geometry of this room isn’t possible:
find no such thing exists. 9-10 its angles somehow add up to more than
360 degrees. Your head begins to ache.
However, a particularly thorough search will discover You find a half-melted subaltern. It seems
Harrison Armory’s “Nonstandard Crisis Directive to be stuck in a loop, repeating a series of
Gamma,” which allows Purview fleet commanders to motions before resetting. It’s difficult to tell
act autonomously in the event of a long-term loss of 11-12
exactly what it’s trying to do, but it seems
contact with Ras Shamra, superseding the directives of to be trying to stop something only it can
colonial governors and civilian executives. see from passing through a bulkhead door.
Your mech’s internal chronometer starts to
The PCs might actually attempt to “surrender” to the drift out of synch with the other members
Tachyon, in which case it will open one of its a docking 13-14
of your team. Resetting it doesn’t help;
bays, direct them to land at a subline docking cradle
within a few minutes, it has drifted again.
and demand they prepare for immediate boarding and
arrest. As the doors open, they will find a group of You find what appears to be a temporary
combat subalterns with weapons drawn – but inert. canteen for zero-g construction workers.
Their batteries are dead. Moreover, they’re facing away The food packs look perfectly fresh, as if
from the airlock, pointing their weapons into the ship. 15-16 they had been served moments ago. As
you watch, each piece of food rots before
your eyes, all at different rates. If you look
Exploring the inside of the Tachyon, the PCs discover
away and look back, it’s fresh again.
it’s in a half-finished state. The ship’s basic structure is
complete, but a lot of its fittings are missing, and there’s The smooth surface of a nearby wall
evidence of ongoing construction work that appears to begins to ripple with a pattern of vanes,
have stopped suddenly. From the general disarray and quills and barbs – feathers. The pattern
lack of internal atmosphere, the ship seems like it 17-18 dances across the wall as if it were the
underwent decompression a while ago; odd, given that physical reflection of something touching
the hull was intact when the PCs arrived. it. The wall is left so hot by its passing that
the paint flakes and smokes.
The ship’s internal power systems are unfinished; The four-pronged footprints of a giant bird
some sections of the ship are pitch black, some are lit melt themselves into the deck plating far
only by portable construction lighting, and yet others ahead, white-hot, marching slowly but
are properly lit. It’s not just unfinished, though; some of surely towards you. As they catch up to
19-20
the cabling and local distributors seem to be damaged, you, your mech’s sound system spits out
burnt out in a way that suggests they were subjected to garbled screeching, your reactor alarm
a massive power surge that overloaded their failsafes. blares and failsafes kick in. When your rig
comes back online, there’s nothing there.

[98]
Accessing the ship’s internal systems reveals a deeply
troubling thing: the readout from the ship’s internal
UNWELCOME GUESTS
chronometer. It lists the time and date as Cradle Directly after the PCs recover the Delta-5 power relay,
Standard Time 04:51, April 13th, 5424u – more than Siren urgently contacts them.
400 years in the future.
“Marines! Three corvettes and a cruiser just dropped
According to its logbook, the Tachyon is a testbed for out of nearlight – it’s the Hell Hounds! I’m already
an experimental faster-than-light propulsion system. dodging missiles, and they’re launching boarding
Due to the fact that it is part of a top-secret project, the craft towards the Tachyon! You’ve got–”
entity sponsoring it is not named, although a successful
Investigate check will reveal codewords that suggest Her warning is suddenly drowned out by static. The
the involvement of the Union Science Bureau. The channel snaps to a new video feed: a scarred man
drive core itself has been irreparably damaged due to sitting in the cockpit of a mech. He’s got a stare that
the unplanned nature of its activation. could strip paint off a wall, made even more striking
by the blood streaming from his nose and eyes –
There are four major unresolved security alerts on the must’ve been a harsh bolt.
system. The first was flagged three years ago, ship-
wide, with a second only an hour later. A third was
flagged two years ago, in the ship’s NHP core module.
The last and most recent was flagged a short time ago,
obviously regarding the arrival of the Dragon’s Tooth
and the team’s ingress into the ship.

Prior to the alerts, the ship had recently been installed

with a PROMETHEUS-class NHP named Feather. The
ship’s logs contain a number of increasingly urgent
alerts from Feather, all of which were dismissed and
expunged, culminating in a demand by the project’s
lead researcher to have Feather cycled. However,
there’s no corresponding entry indicating that the
requested cycling actually took place, and no non-
automated logs were made after that point.

Some files contain references to an organization called

“FourthComm,” which is helmed by a ruling body that
unironically calls itself “The Council of Tyrants.” It’s not
possible to glean anything more than that, as the ship
doesn’t have an encyclopedia or historical database
installed.

The Tachyon’s NHP core is a disaster area. The

module doors have been forced open – from the inside
– and the hardcopy databanks are ruined, rent by deep
gashes and tears that resemble claw marks. The cradle Finally, a face to a name: Andros Capella, the Hound
itself is smashed and melted, its casket missing, and of Hell. He sneers contemptuously at you.
the claw marks radiate outwards from it. The entire
room has an inexplicably high thermal signature, “Well, well, well. Look who it is. You're the ones
despite there being no corresponding heat source. who’ve been messin’ with my outfit, ain'tcha? Not
every day I get to kill two crabs with one wrench.
The vessel’s fabrication room is still pressurized and in Once you’re outta the way, I can give the psycho this
almost perfect condition, although the PCs are treated pile of junk and things will finally go back to normal.”
to a morbid display when they enter. Floating in the
print bay is a standard-model GMS holdout pistol, its The feed cuts off abruptly.
slide locked back in the discharged position. Across the
room, a corpse floats in a hardsuit, its visor pierced, in It is at this moment that the PCs get another piece of
front of a blood splatter on the opposite wall. bad news: the Tachyon has just disengaged reactor
safeties, fired its engines and is currently trying to spool
The printer is in perfect working order, and just as Jerry up its damaged drive core. Both the reactor and the
had hoped, there’s a perfectly intact, pristine Delta-5 drive core are now putting out dangerous levels of heat,
power relay sitting right next to it. and a catastrophic failure seems to be imminent.

[99]
COMBAT:
A FACE TO A NAME
SITREP: N/A

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x ANDROS – ELITE PIRATE PYRO Boarding Leash, Explosive Jet, Self-Erasure*, Siege
Armor
1x VETERAN SUPPORT Latch Drone, Viper’s Speed
1x ASSAULT
2x GRUNT BASTION Fearless Defender

FOR 4 PCS: ANDROS: Add VETERAN template and Acrobat trait.

+1x BERSERKER

FOR 5 PCS: +1x BREACHER Thermal Charge

+1x HIVE
* From the OPERATOR class
If Andros is destroyed, SELF-ERASURE triggers. His
DETAILS mech’s reactor overloads, its flamer fuel tanks violently
The fight takes place in one of the Tachyon’s docking ignite, and the whole thing erupts in a pillar of white-hot
bays. The ship is currently under thrust, which provides flame that leaves almost no trace behind.
regular gravity for this fight, but it’s starting to fall apart;
the incomplete state of its construction means that it
can’t handle the stress of acceleration. The SUPPORT has VIPER’S SPEED, and so will always
act on the very first turn. It will most likely use its LATCH
DRONE to empower Andros, then spend the rest of the
Worse, the ship’s thermal control systems are failing. encounter trying to assist him as best it can. Make sure
Draw several Size 1 coolant pipe junctions in a line the players know that the Latch Drone is a separate
across the battlefield, separated by several spaces. At target. The Latch Drone makes Andros a particularly
the start of every round, the next one in the line bursts attractive target for area of effect damage, so if there is
open and begins spraying a c5 cloud of boiling coolant a PC who can reliably deal it, now is their time to shine.
in a random direction. Characters partially or entirely
within a cloud gain soft cover, but when they start their
turn in it or move into it for the first time in a round, they The GRUNT BASTIONS are more resilient than they
take 2l. seem. Their high ARMOR allows them to ignore low-
damage attacks, while FEARLESS DEFENDER lets them
dive in front of and absorb high-damage attacks meant
Characters (including the PCs) can also shoot the pipe for their allies. As an added bonus, when they’re
junctions themselves if they want to; treat them as destroyed, their wrecks act as pieces of Size 2 cover,
targets with 8 EVASION and 5 E-DEFENSE. Any amount protecting their allies even in defeat. If your players are
of damage causes them to rupture, spraying the c5 having trouble, remind them that INVADE inflicts heat,
back in the direction they were hit from. which destroys Grunts instantly.

This battle introduces Andros Capella, an antagonist If the HIVE is present, prioritize inflicting burn (m) to set
the PCs will face repeatedly throughout the campaign. Andros up for dealing double damage with his
Don’t worry about trying to keep him alive; due to the FLAMETHROWER rather than moving players about.
resurrective immortality soon to be granted to him by Dropping RAZOR SWARMS in areas close-range fighters
Feather, it doesn’t matter if he dies during this will have to pass through can serve as a tough choice:
engagement – in fact, when he’s defeated, give PCs a waste time going around, or take burn and be
strong impression that he’s dead. vulnerable to Andros’ follow-up.

As a PYRO, Andros’ mech is very slow, so he will use If the BREACHER is present, use it to harass players who
his EXPLOSIVE JET to close the distance to players, and stick to cover. Its THERMAL CHARGE gives it a one-time
attempt to throw his BOARDING LEASH to force a blast that destroys cover and inflicts burn, once again
character close to him. Remember that even though it’s setting Andros up for a heavily damaging attack.
a melee weapon, it’s affected by cover if thrown. If a
Structure damage roll breaks one of his weapons,
ditch the Leash instead of his FLAMETHROWER.

[100]
You barely have time to strap yourself in before Siren
OUTCOME sounds the hard-maneuver alarm.
PC DEFEAT
Curiously, if the PCs retreat, Andros doesn't pursue “Everyone hold onto your butts!”
them; they even manage to get the printer part back to
the Dragon's Tooth, which quickly makes an exit.
There’s a tremendous weight on your chest as the
engines kick in, pressing you back into the chair. You
If the PCs are defeated and cannot retreat, Andros close your eyes and struggle to breathe. Even with
prepares to execute them on the spot, but then stops, the aid of your hardsuit, you can barely move your
answering a call that the PCs can only hear his side of. fingers. The burn feels like it lasts forever. Grey
The PCs won’t know it yet, but this is Ignatius Aurum, starts to creep in around the edges of your vision.
instructing Andros not to murder people on a holy ship.
Andros argues ferociously, but eventually lowers his And then it’s done. It’s over. You’re through. You’re
weapon. He then tells the team it's their lucky day: not
still accelerating at about two gees of thrust, but
only do they get to live; they even get to keep the printer
that’s far more manageable. You’re able to glance
part. He and any other surviving Hounds leave, going
around the cabin, check on your fellow team
deeper into the ship.
members, look at your ship’s external feeds.

PC VICTORY There’s a moment of calm. Far behind you, the

What tiny fragments remain of Andros Capella’s Tachyon and the Weasel are just a speck, barely
chassis drift lazily through the docking bay. All that’s visible against the darkness of space.
left of the man is a carbon-black scorch mark on the
deck plating. It takes you a moment to realize what In a silent flash of blinding light, the Tachyon is gone
you’ve done: you’ve killed the leader of one of – and with it, its secrets, the Ardent Weasel, and
Calliope’s most notorious pirate gangs. whatever dust remains of Andros Capella.

Processing the consequences of that will have to Give the PCs a moment to reflect on all they’ve just
wait, though, as Siren contacts you again. “Marines! witnessed before they start the long journey back to
whatever you just did, the pirates are peeling off, Hell’s Gate.
retreating – and we should too! I’m reading a
massive thermal build-up in the ship’s drive core!”

EVACUATION
The PCs have enough time to return to the Dragon’s
Tooth, but give them a sense of urgency. If they want
to grab more salvage, loot or intelligence from the
Tachyon, start a fully ticked clock called Remaining
Time, and don’t give it many segments. Even the most
successful actions will take a segment off this clock,
and failed actions will take a lot. Eventually, the PCs
must retreat, or risk death.

If the PCs attempt to override this process and halt the

jump, they’ll discover they can’t: an administrative
lockout is in effect. Voice authorization from Lead
Researcher Jeanette Mkondo and Captain Stefan
D’Antillio is required to override the lockout. Jeanette
Mkondo can be found in the fabrication room (she’s the
floating corpse), but Stefan D’Antillio is not presently
aboard the vessel.

Emphasize the urgency of the situation; Siren makes

increasingly desperate pleas for the PCs to return to
the Dragon’s Tooth. Alarms start to sound across the
Tachyon; the deck plating starts to rattle and dislodge.

[101]
DOWNTIME 1:
DRINKS ARE ON ME
It takes another two weeks to return to Hell’s Gate. By saved the station. The Horizon Collective has a
then, the news is all over the system: Andros Capella subaltern clinic on the aft hab ring, and they always
is dead, and the PCs killed him. It doesn’t matter if seem to be well-stocked. There’s a thriving grey market
that’s not what actually happened – the people of among the militia, and there’s always traders in port
Calliope saw the PCs and Andros Capella walk into that who might have something you’re looking for. If nothing
ship, and only the PCs walked out. else, you can always go trawling through the junk-yards
and trash-heaps – it’s not dignified or hygienic, but even
The Hell Hounds have sworn revenge for their slain in space, people throw an awful lot of useful stuff away.
leader, but rumor has it they’re in serious disarray and
in no position to make good on those threats.
HELL’S GATE DOWNTIME
Getting the printer part to the station relieves an ACTIVITIES
immense amount of pressure, alleviating the many Here are some downtime actions specific to Hell’s Gate
precarious shortages the station was experiencing. that the PCs can undertake now, or whenever they
Tick a segment on the Station Stability clock. have downtime on the station. You can also create your
own using these or the ones in Lancer or The Long Rim
Additionally, if the clock has four or more segments as starting points.
filled, Jerry is able to set aside a little something as
thanks for the players. The PCs gain Jerry’s Care PITCH IN
Package, which they can use later, in Chapter 2. You volunteer for extra work shifts and get down to the
difficult business of keeping Hell’s Gate running for
another week. It’s tiring, dangerous and often
Jerry’s Care Package thankless. But this is work someone needs to do, and
Favors, Limited 2 if nobody volunteers, you’re all just drifting.
A bunch of Icebreaker currency, a few backstage
passes, a case of Elysian champagne, a scrawled This could be straightforward work, like maintenance,
note containing the passphrases to several of the cooking or farming, or it might be more social, like
“niche interest” clubs and VIP tickets to the next education, medical care or even entertainment.
championship mech bout. Kick your feet up and
relax. You deserve it! Explain the work you’re putting in and roll:
Expend a charge when you’re on the Icebreaker and
On 9 or less, you do more to hinder than help. You get
not in immediate danger. You can take a Downtime
in the way, make poor decisions or distract other
Action appropriate to the situation, right now.
workers. After a couple of days, you’re asked not to
show up for shifts anymore. Take +1h to interactions
Regardless, the players are able to undertake a FULL with the Gate’s residents until the next downtime.
REPAIR now that the printer is running again, and with
a moment to breathe, they can take a downtime
On 10-19, with a staggering amount of effort, and many
action. At some point, Jerry signs some requisition
nights with too little sleep, you’re able to make some
forms and the PCs advance to LICENSE LEVEL 1. Run a
headway in tackling the station’s innumerable
few vignettes to explain how they get their new gear.
problems. Gain a RESERVE and +1g on interactions
with Hell’s Gate residents until the next downtime.
Encourage the PCs to spend time around Hell’s Gate,
building on relationships they developed over the
On 20+, you solve a major problem that was causing a
course of the chapter. The Gate, now in much better
lot of grief. Tick one segment on the Station Stability
repair and under far less strain on its resources, is fully
clock, take a RESERVE, and gain +1g on interactions
open to them. Given the tenuous situation with the
with the Gate’s residents until the next downtime.
pirates, however, Jerry still won’t authorize unescorted
trips off the station.
If multiple characters take this action, roll once for each
character and take the best result. The Station
If the PCs need reserves, there’s places on Hell’s Gate
Stability clock only gets incremented once, but
they might get them. Jerry, Chief McArthur or Zinfandel
RESERVES and social bonuses or penalties apply to all
aren’t exactly flush with spare supplies, but they’d
participating characters.
certainly be willing to do a few favors for the people who

[102]
TAKE A BREAK GO CUBBYING
Jerry has added a few days leave to your file – a rare You strap on a mobility hardsuit, pack a few rations and
privilege on Hell’s Gate. You decide to spend some of set off into the Gate’s abandoned sectors. Some only
them right now, de-stress and recharge your batteries have emergency lighting. Some are without power.
after the hectic few weeks you’ve had. Some aren’t even pressurized. But all of them have
something interesting hidden inside, if you can find it.
Explain how you’re de-stressing, and then roll:
Describe your exploration, then roll:
On 9 or less, you just can’t switch off. It’s hard to sleep,
and nothing seems to help. You have a rough few days. On 9 or less, you get trapped behind a security door,
But one morning, you wake up, step outside and find a stuck in a vent or just hopelessly lost. You’re forced to
little care package with some of your favorite snacks call for rescue. Jerry tearfully chews you out for setting
inside. There’s a little note signed by more than sixty a bad example, and has a maintenance team seal off a
people. It says “thank you for keeping us safe.” One of few common access points that cubbyers use. No other
the kids drew your mech. They really do care. PC can take this action until next downtime, and you
are now persona non grata at the Gate’s cubbying club.
On 10-19, you feel a bit of the weight lift off your
shoulders. You catch a good night’s sleep for the first On 10-19, you find something interesting on your
time in ages. Oh, and you made a friend! The GM can adventure: a forgotten cache of supplies, a functional
roll on the Additional NPCs table from Beat 1: All Ye console with useful data, an access card to a door
Who Enter (p. 75), or invent their own. nobody’s been able to open, or something like that. You
can treat these as a RESERVE, as useful materials for a
On 20+, you feel better than you’ve felt in years! You’re future downtime action like Get Creative, or as
more ready to face the world than you ever were currency to give you +1g on a few social rolls.
before. Not only do you make a friend as above, but
take two counters: they represent a well of renewed On 20+, not only do you find a bunch of useful stuff, you
confidence. During the next mission, you can spend a discover something in a forgotten corner of the station
counter on an attack, check or save before you roll the that’s been causing a bunch of those problems the
d20 to treat the result as a 10. wrenchies couldn’t figure out how to fix. Jerry eases up
on the whole cubbying deal, so the station’s cubbying
club now thinks you’re rad as hell. You get a RESERVE,
and until the end of the next downtime, anyone else
who takes this downtime action gets +1g on the roll.

[103]
GET THE MILITIA IN SHAPE JOIN A SALVAGE CREW
You take a look at the duty roster, review recent combat Now that the scanning array is back online and the
footage and knuckle down to the task of strengthening pirates are out of the way, salvage runs are starting up
the militia. This could mean leading combat drills in the again. You check your hardsuit seals, pack your bag,
simulators, finding new recruits to fill holes in the line- join a crew and spend a couple of weeks out in a
up, negotiating a contract for better equipment or direct wreckfield. If you’re not the salvaging type, you can still
one-to-one mentoring. bring your mech, keeping the team safe while they
work; guardians get a cut, just like everyone else.
Being mech pilots, it’s most likely that you’re working
with, training and equipping other mech pilots, but the Create a six-segment Salvage clock on your character
militia also includes conventional infantry and subline sheet, then roll:
spacecraft, so expertise in these fields is also useful.
On 9 or less, fill in one segment on the Salvage clock.
Outline your approach, then roll:
On 10-19, fill in two segments on the Salvage clock,
On 9 or less, you’re running into issues at every turn. and gain one item of particular interest. Roll 1d20 to
The budget isn’t there, or the equipment is for shit, or see what you find. This can be used as RESERVES, pilot
the new recruits can’t tell one end of a rifle from the gear, or to gain +1g on a relevant skill check.
other after six tries. It’s going to take way more work
before you can fix this mess, but some progress has On 20+, due to your stellar performance on this run, the
been made, at least. Next time you take this action, team votes you for first pick. Fill in three segments on
upgrade your result to the next best result (i.e. 9 or less the Salvage clock, then roll 2d20, choosing one result.
becomes 10-19 and 10-19 becomes 20+).
From now on, you can clear segments on the Salvage
On 10-19, tick a segment on the Militia Readiness clock for the following benefits:
clock, but only if you do one of the following:
• 1 segment: Gain +1g on one skill check to invent,
• contribute some of your own money or equipment create or repair items, or on one skill check to
• give up a lot of your time, energy and attention barter, negotiate or bribe.
• do a serious, difficult favor for someone • 2 segments: During any downtime, gain one
piece of Mech Equipment and Gear (Lancer, p. 51)
If you commit to one of these options, play out a scene as Reserves.
or two to explain how you accomplish it. • 6 segments: During any downtime, permanently
obtain a piece of EXOTIC GEAR which your
On 20+, your ideas meet with remarkable success, and character knows about.
you start to see improvements almost immediately.
Tick a segment on the Militia Readiness clock.

If multiple characters take this action, roll once for each

character and take the best result instead of applying
each result individually.

[104]
SALVAGE FINDS ROLL 1D20
A reinforced transport case about the size of a shoebox. It contains financial documents from the end of
1 the Pyrite Age, and they detail a truly staggering number of accounting irregularities at Maddox & Haiden.
This was evidence in an embezzlement investigation.
A set of disposable solid-fuel boosters, intended to get an atmosphere-capable subline ship into orbit.
2 It’s odd to find them out here – they’re meant to burn up on re-entry after decoupling. These ones don’t
even seem to have been used.
A flight data recorder from a Harrison Armory Mahler-class fighter. The last flight Sigurd-2-Beta took
begins with launch from its mothership, after which it registers a series of close-range engagements with
3
enemy contacts, the sudden and unexpected absence of FLEETCOM, a long period of dwindling fuel,
and then silence. The fighter itself is nowhere to be found.
This looks like the arm from a Saladin. The shield projectors have gone dark, but the fingers of its hand
4 still twitch slightly under residual power from local backup batteries. From the damage, it seems like
something grabbed it and wrenched the whole limb right out of its socket.
A Delta-5 power relay, in good working order. Man, ain’t life one hell of a joke? All that trouble, and one
5
was just floating out here. Jerry won’t appreciate the irony, but it’ll be good to have a spare.
Some sort of electromagnetic accelerator. It’s too beaten up to make out what it used to be part of; too
6 large to be from a kinetic weapon, but too small to be from the launch catapult of a carrier. The electronics
are totally fused, but the neodymium elements are still good.
A crate of Harrison Armory military rations, still in their nigh-indestructible packaging. They’re not culinary
7 masterpieces, but they’re tasty enough; whatever criticisms you might level at the Purview, they know
how to take care of their soldiers. These ones are “vegetarian taco pasta” flavor.
Score! A case of Creighton’s Choice Purple Ribbon whiskey, all twelve bottles intact, unopened and still
8 in perfect condition – now you can get drunk like an Executive! But if you’re not the drinking type, there’s
any number of bars or rich kids across the system who’ll pay out the nose for this.
The relativistic particle stream mediator from a nearlight drive. You’re not supposed to see this outside
9
of the drive housing. You hope whoever this originally belonged to didn’t try to go to bolt without it.
An omnihook. Not only is it still functional, it’s actively broadcasting when you pick it up. If you try to
10 interact with it, it demands a password and starts a twenty-second countdown. When it reaches zero, it
erases its internal memory and reboots in factory default settings.
An old survey satellite launched by first wave colonists. It must’ve gotten knocked out of its original orbit
11
somehow. The internal databank has a lot of scans showing what Zethus looked like centuries ago.
A blown-out coldcore reactor. Looks like someone tried to hot-swap the muon catalyzer while it was still
12 running. That would explain why it’s covered in a thin crust of melted hardsuit parts and carbonized
organic material.
13 A teapot. Huh. How’d this get out here?
An empty older-model hardsuit. It’s weathered by centuries of exposure to space, but it has no breaches
14 or tears. Disconcertingly, its logs register an occupant up until about forty years ago, and they were alive
the whole time. Then, abruptly, they were gone. Not dead, just gone.
A chunk of glossy black stone about the size of a fist. It’s smooth on one side and jagged elsewhere, as
15 if it were a fragment of a larger object. It’s impossible to identify; you can’t chip it to get a sample, and it
doesn’t show up on sensors. In fact, sometimes you forget that it’s there.
A hopper from a mining vessel, used for storing raw ore until it can be refined. This one is full of sperrylite,
16 a valuable source of platinum. The hopper shows signs of having been ejected into space via explosive
decoupling. That’s strange – your scans can’t pick up anything wrong with the ore.
A catalytic cracking unit, probably from a hydrocarbon mining vessel with an onboard refinery. This one
17
is very badly scorched.
An intact escape pod, launched clear of its mothership about six years ago. It contains physical currency,
18 provisions, weaponry, equipment and identity documents to support the cover identity of an individual
going by the alias of “Jackson Porter Monroe.”
A hardened refrigerator with its own long-term power source. It’s full of unlabeled ampoules that seem
19
to contain blood. If analyzed, the blood doesn’t match the genetic profile of any known lifeform.
The battered remains of a skip drone. It appears to have struck something shortly after translating out of
20
nearlight. You get an eerie sense of deja vu when you look at it.

[105]
CHAPTER 2:

FIRE AND ICE

“Well, listeners, we’ve had one hell of a show tonight, and I’ll leave you with this thought. Been nearly two months
since the devil Andros Capella vanished in a flash of light, but don’t it feel like the after-image barely left our eyes?
When you shut them, can’t you still see it? That phosphene, frozen in time on your retinas?

“Seems nobody can get Capella’s dyin’ glimmer out of their sight. Whole system’s been awash in the names of the
pilots who killed him – and the way I hear it, over both raised drinks and sharpened knives. What must it be like to
be the pilots who killed the Hound of Hell? To most, you’re a hero, scratchin’ out a threat to Calliope’s spacelanes.
To others, you’re an enemy, a threat who needs scratchin’ out yourself.

“But perhaps most unsettlin’ of all, listeners, imagine this: to a very few people you’re somethin’ else entirely: a
curiosity. Somethin’ that warrants further examination – and that examination could be the ‘friendly chat’ kind, or it
could be the ‘insect under glass’ kind.

“If you’re out there, pilots, if you’re listenin’? Stay safe. It seems like you’re the main characters of Calliope today.
This is Irvin Reid for Icebreaker Public Radio, tellin’ you to… stay cool out there.”

[106]
BEAT 7:
TROUBLE IN PARADISE
A month after the PCs return from the Tachyon, Jerry She rubs the bridge of her nose irritably. “The Board
calls them into the briefing room again. Unusually, he are a bunch of paranoid, squabbling infants. When
asks them to clean up, dress formally and be on their anything – and I do mean anything – goes wrong with
best behavior for this meeting. anyone’s business, they immediately suspect a plot
by one of their rivals. And let me clarify: everyone –
When you enter the room, you notice you and Jerry and I do mean everyone – on the Board are rivals.
aren’t its only occupants – sort of. The vidscreen
displays the flickering image of a severe woman in a “They’d never authorize me to hire any member’s
crisp white suit. As you arrive, she narrows her eyes. private security team for this job, and I can’t trust
anyone in the station’s mutual defense force either. I
Jerry adjusts his collar nervously. “So, uh, in case need a small, competent team from outside the
you don’t know, this is Rita, station director on the Icebreaker’s usual sphere. You killed Andros
Icebreaker Borealis. My counterpart!” Capella, and beheaded one of the system’s most
dangerous pirate groups. Put simply: you qualify.”
When she speaks, it’s in a cool, level tone. “Good
morning. I’ve heard a lot about you from Jerry and THE JOB
from system gossip. Word is we have you to thank “I’m going to have to ask you to wait until you arrive
for Andros Capella exiting the stage. Good work! I’m on the Icebreaker for specific briefings, but in general
glad Hell’s Gate is finally cleaning up its messes.” terms: I suspect a plot against the Icebreaker from
an external force. Odd things have been happening
Jerry looks upset by this statement, but Rita cuts him recently, on station and in our orbital neighborhood.
Power fluctuations, system intrusions, missing
off before he can speak. “Let’s get down to business.
persons, traffic irregularities.
Jerry says that since you sent the Hell Hounds
packing, salvage and mining crews have been able
to get to work properly for the first time in months. “Everyone on the Board thinks it’s someone else on
the Board, and yes, it’s true they’re always plotting
against each other. But this feels different, in a way I
“Well, you’re in luck. The Icebreaker is undertaking
can’t quite quantify. Things are happening that
some major expansion projects this quarter, and I’m
wouldn’t benefit anyone in the station’s current order.
willing to offer guaranteed, above-market prices for
Customers are discontent. There’s grumbling from
anything you’re selling; raw materials, construction
equipment, salvage, whatever. I’ll even comp you residents. Seasonal workers are getting spooked.
and your freighter crews for a few nights on the town.
I have one condition.” “No, everyone’s losing money on this. I need you to
look into this matter, and put a stop to it. I’m willing
to pay top icicle to see it done.”
Jerry takes a deep breath. “You always do, Rita.”

THE PAY
Rita shoots a withering glare at Jerry, before
“Well, as I previously mentioned, I’ll offer guaranteed
continuing. “I want to subcontract your team. I have
prices on everything your station is willing to sell to
a sensitive job that needs competent operators.
us. I know the Gate is always in need of cash.
You’re competent, and better, you’re not working for
anyone on the Board. Bring your mechs.”
“I’ll also open a budget for reasonable expenses. As
long as you don’t abuse my generosity too much,
Rita isn’t the most patient soul in the world, but she
you and your freighter crews don’t have to spend a
does understand the team will probably have a lot of
single icicle of your own during your stay. I don’t want
questions, so she politely answers them.
anyone – the culprits included – to suspect I’ve
brought in outside investigators, so I want you to be
WHY US? seen around the station, spending money like
“Like I said, you’re competent, you’re available, everyone else. It just won’t be your money.
you’re reliable – or so Jerry tells me, at least. But
most importantly, you’re not under the thumb of
anyone on the Board. That aspect, in fact, is perhaps “Lastly, I happen to have better contacts than Jerry
does, and if you need more powerful hardware, I can
your most important quality: it means that I can
hook you up – once I start seeing results, of course.”
convince the Board to pay you.”

[107]
JERRY’S OPINION • Striga Von Aldenberg is inconsolable with worry
Jerry scratches his head self-consciously. “My? over the PCs’ safety, insisting that the Icebreaker
Opinion? Oh, right. I mean… killing Andros Capella is “a wretched den of schemes, intrigue and
kicked the Hell Hounds real good. They’re making, skullduggery.” She’s very coherent today, actually;
uh, they’re making all sorts of threats, but they’re in all the plots and conspiracies that she’s describing
no state to carry them out. The Gate’ll be, it’ll be fine are well-evidenced and verifiable. It’s kind of
until you get back. The militia’s got this locked down. unsettling. Then she goes off about how a secret
apocalypse cult has started building a teleportation
“But we could really use money. And… well, the device there, and it’s back to business as usual.
Icebreaker is one of our biggest customers. And • If Ipswich DeLacey has already met one of the PCs,
they’re offering guaranteed prices on our goods. they might ask them to deliver some signed
That’s… that’s pretty good, guys? Plus, plus, Rita merchandise to some fans over on the Icebreaker.
knows some people. She can hook you up with mech And make sure they’re doing okay – it’s hard out
stuff we just don’t have the budget for. there if you aren’t rich, you know?

“She can be…” Jerry pauses for a moment, as Rita’s • Mikaela Omnidocument-Format has, like, a thing
glare sharpens to a razor point. “… cold, sometimes. that they need you to pick up from the Smith-
But you can trust her implicitly.” You see just a split Shimano Atelier over on the Icebreaker? Could
second of emotion pass across Rita’s face, before you, like, you know, handle that for her? Rad.
the stoic mask reasserts itself. • Teka Ashenafi accosts a PC – one who he’s on
decent terms with, hopefully – and starts asking
PRIOR TO DEPARTURE pointed questions about mining contracts. He’s
heard some rumors on the grapevine about a big
The PCs have a little time to spend on Hell’s Gate
job in the system, and he wants to make sure Jerry
before they leave. Since they’re about to spend a whole
is putting a bid in for it.
mission away on the Icebreaker, this is a good chance
for them to engage with some of the Gate’s NPCs.
Give a general impression of how Hell’s Gate is faring
at the moment, depending on the status of the Station
Here are some suggestions for things that might be
Stability clock. If it only has a couple of segments
going on around the Gate right now:
ticked, things won’t look great: flickering lights, queues
for essential supplies, jury-rigged fixes due to parts
• Jerry’s stressed, which isn’t unusual, but it seems shortages, grime and an overall air of melancholy. This
to be specifically related to Rita. If pressed on the isn’t anything new, incidentally; this is just how life on
issue, he admits that he used to be involved with Hell’s Gate usually is.
her. But then he became station director, and a
relationship between two station directors was
On the other hand, if the clock is at three or four
never going to end well.
segments, the PCs have been putting in the work, and
• Chief McArthur is watching every single print job it’s starting to show. Things look a little cleaner and a
like an angry hawk. She says her vigilance is critical little brighter. There’s the parts and the time to make
to prevent a repeat of the accident that nearly proper repairs. Shortages are easing and people can
crippled the station. The print team say it’s only afford little luxuries. Citizens’ lives are better because
preventing an end to the backlog the accident of what the PCs did – make sure they know that.
caused.
• Zinfandel is a little concerned about the threats the
Hell Hounds have been making, and is stepping up
patrols of Stygia’s orbital neighborhood.
• Tarnveer “Printloaf” Malik wants to expand their
selection of stims, which is running a little thin. The
Dragon’s Tooth won’t be subject to the same
customs checks that other ships are, which means
it’ll be easier to run product back from the
Icebreaker. Printloaf’s willing to cut the team in on
the profits if they help; ten percent is fair, right?
• Samorn Patalung mentions there’s a Horizon
Collective repair shop on the Icebreaker. The
HORUS dorks who hang out at her stand have
talked about wanting to knock it over for a while –
go and warn them, maybe?

[108]
BEAT 8:
JEWEL OF THE NIGHT
The journey from Hell’s Gate to the Icebreaker Borealis Like Hell’s Gate and other spin stations, directions on
usually takes about eleven days. The PCs travel in the the Icebreaker take the form of spin/anti-spin, up/down
Dragon’s Tooth, as one of the escorts for the convoy of and aft/fore. The Icebreaker’s cylinder is five kilometers
freighters hauling metal ingots, polycrete and salvage. in diameter, and rotates about once every 90 seconds.
Their trip is comfortable and uneventful.
Unlike Hell’s Gate or Impact Plaza, the Icebreaker
As the cloudy, sand-yellow sphere of Kalevala and wasn’t constructed to any sort of template or plan. New
its majestic ring system grows in your vision, a small, modules, sections and whole city blocks are bolted on
bright dot grows with it, perched high in orbit. Within as they become necessary, forming “the Sprawl.”
hours, that dot resolves into a vast, tangled cylinder Struts anchoring parts of the jury-rigged cylinder to the
of habitats anchored to the remains of an immense ship’s superstructure get added every few hundred
mining frigate. The station spills bright neon light into meters. This prevents “the Wiggle,” a hazard in which
the void, and local space is a hive of activity, dozens insufficiently secured structural elements flail about and
of ships arriving and leaving at this very moment. potentially collide with other sections.

The Borealis’ forward mining bay has been The Sprawl is loosely organized into dozens of
converted into a giant hangar, and docking is a quick “districts,” which range from a handful of modules to
and painless process. From there, you take an areas of the cylinder the size of a small city. There is
elevator down the struts into the Sprawl. no official definition for what does or doesn’t qualify as
a district, but a general rule of thumb holds that a district
In the Grand Concourse that marks the start of the is an area that contains the holdings of at least three
Starstrip, a man is waiting for you – Alec, one of the Board members. Any fewer, and it’s likely just part of
greeters. He explains your hotel reservations, another district.
recommends several of the station’s attractions, and
ensures that you receive all of your complimentary As the station grew, its tangle of modules became
gift vouchers. He then quietly informs you that a increasingly complex and time-consuming to navigate.
meeting has been scheduled for you at midday It’s only in the past couple of decades that it’s gotten a
tomorrow, in the backroom of the Uncrowned King reliable public transit system, which Rita had to fight
bar and grille. Until then, you’re told to blend in and tooth and nail for. Even the simplified map looks like
enjoy yourselves. something out of a nightmare. There’s a tidy profit to be
made for those willing to serve as guides, although
visitors can also purchase a variety of navigation
STATION LAYOUT software packages.
The station is built around the original CPS Borealis. An
extensively modified Yabelo Industries Medr-class “ring In comparison to the recent public transit system, the
eater,” the Borealis is almost fifteen kilometers long and station has had a robust system of freight lines since its
once contained all the facilities necessary to produce inception. These lines are built into the external surface
several hundred thousand liters of fresh water every of the cylinder, “underneath” the Sprawl. The trains are
day. She would periodically dive into the rings of automated and it’s a good thing too, since the sheer
Kalevala, chewing her way through thousands of number of junctions, branches and dead ends would
moonlets, a task she performed continually for more make it impossible for a human to navigate. Most
than a century with almost no stoppages. freight cars are large enough to accommodate a couple
of Size 1 mechs, or one Size 2 mech uncomfortably.
Eventually, the strain of continual use exhausted her
systems beyond repair, and she was placed in a stable Life support functions such as water and air processing
orbit outside Kalevala’s radiation belts. The original are distributed, handled by localized modules and
plan was to scuttle the ship and salvage her for parts, always with some level of redundancy. Given that the
but that left a whole lot of people without a job or a place richer districts can afford it, air and water quality in
to live other than Hell’s Gate. That wasn’t appealing, those areas tends to be better than in poorer districts.
and so the ship was set into a gentle spin, serving as Unlike Hell’s Gate, there exists no station-wide ban on
the core for a labyrinthine tangle of habitats clustered smoking or open flames, although certain districts may
around it in a rough cylinder. have local statutes.

[109]
[110]
GLADIATOR’S DRAW AND QUARTER
LOCATIONS “Your thirst for mech-on-mech destruction might
The Pocket Guide to the Icebreaker, available from any never be sated, but we gave it our best shot at the
street vendor, recommends that a visit to the station Draw and Quarter!”
should include “a full range of experiences.” The
Icebreaker is large enough that just about any form of
entertainment can be found if you know where to look, Live mech combat is far and away Calliope’s favorite
but here are some highlights. extreme sport, outpacing Jovian windsurfing by a wide
margin. In fact, it’s one of Calliope’s most successful
breakout industries: a vast subculture of Union citizens
THE STARSTRIP thirst for mech violence that isn’t legal to conduct
“Try your luck in the Long Rim’s most luxurious anywhere in Union space. The Quarter provides.
gambling halls! Take a load off in unrivalled comfort
at our galaxy-class resorts! Bask in the talent of our
exclusive shows and acts! The Starstrip: walk the Although only the Moon Glacier League is officially
road to the stars.” “native” to the Icebreaker, the Thunderstorm and
Hellfire Leagues also hold most of their matches in the
Draw and Quarter. This suits the Thunderstorm League
The Starstrip is the only thoroughfare to run the entire just fine, since it’s a joint SSC and IPS-N venture
ten-kilometer length of the Sprawl, in a bizarre path that handled mostly by people who don’t even live in the
twists, winds and loops several times around the system. On the other hand, it upsets a lot of Hellfire
cylinder. It links all of the major casinos, hotels, League fans that not a single match of the Gate’s
shopping malls and theatres. There’s a saying: “you’re “native” League is actually held on Hell’s Gate.
not on the Board unless you’re on the Starstrip.” It’s not
quite universal, but it’s close.
By popular vote, the top ten arenas in the Quarter are
The Mechropolis, Laserhäus, Deadmetal, Ring of Fate,
The Starstrip bustles at every hour of the day and night, All Tomorrow’s Junkers, The Despair Shop, One Weird
a constant churn of people seeking excitement, Trick Shot, House of Godhead, Don’t Tell Management
distraction or oblivion. Given the clientele is often ships and a nameless HORUS-operated arena marked only
making a stopover between Rào Cỏ and the Dawnline by a memetic glyph that is inherently understood to
Shore, reservations at high-class establishments are mean “mech fighting ring” by those who read it.
often booked years or even decades in advance.
There’s always at least a couple of League matches
In its full-issue edition on the Icebreaker, the Annamite happening on any given day, but non-League matches
Cultural Review rated the Gift-Bronze Casino and and tournaments happen round the clock. The
Resort as “the number one gambling establishment in Quarter’s concourses never sleep, and neither do its
the Long Rim,” citing its tasteful neo-deco architecture, three Schedule 2 printers.
attentive staff and unrivalled wine selection. This article
became a point of controversy when a disgruntled
former Cultural Review employee accused its editor-in- RAPHAEL BAZA’S BIZARRE BAZAAR
chief of accepting extravagant bribes from Evelina “They say: there’s some things that money can’t buy.
Bondarchuk, the owner of the Gift-Bronze. We say: they should’ve tried the Bizarre Bazaar!”

HISTORIC BOREALIS There are marketplaces, malls and shopping

“Marvel at the inner workings of Calliope’s largest concourses all over the Icebreaker, but by far the most
industrial spaceship, and relive its proud history with prestigious is the Bizarre Bazaar. Operated by Raphael
one of our affordable guided tours! Proof of zero-g Baza, a flamboyant and eccentric member of the
training and signed safety waiver required.” Board, the Bazaar is a colossal establishment that
occupies an entire district by itself.
Sections of the CPS Borealis are open to the public,
and some areas have been converted into exhibitions Thousands of merchants hold court there every day,
on the history of both the ship and Calliope at large. selling every conceivable thing, each paying half their
Guided tours are available for a nominal fee. profits to Baza. That’s the genius of the Bazaar: there’s
so much space that he can hand it out for free, and you
only need to pay up if you break even. This leads to the
Most of the ship’s engineering sections are cordoned Bazaar’s famous variety of goods and services.
off, since its reactor and life support systems are
necessary for the station’s continued survival. The
ship’s mining laser was broken down for parts more For more successful, ambitious or specialized vendors,
than a century ago. Its engines, while still intact, aren’t the Bazaar also has a plethora of shopfronts available
functional; a good thing, since the station likely doesn’t for rent. The average operating life of a cafe in the
have the structural integrity to handle acceleration. Bazaar is four months.

[111]
SERENDIPITY RESORT HOTEL
“If you want Armory Executive treatment without
PERSONS OF INTEREST
Armory Executive prices, look no further than the
Serendipity Resort Hotel. Serendipity Resort Hotel:
ain’t chance a funny thing?”

Rita hasn’t paid for the PCs to stay in the pinnacle of

luxury, but she hasn’t stiffed them either: unless they
specifically make other arrangements, she’s had rooms
booked for them at the Serendipity Resort Hotel, an
upmarket establishment that provides tasteful comfort
without breaking the bank. It has six bars, two
restaurants, a gym, a sauna and a swimming pool.

While Rita is perfectly happy to pay for the PCs’ room

and board, she’s not going to be impressed if they try
to expense any major cleaning or repair bills.

DEEPEST FAIRYLAND
“Doesn’t your visit deserve a little wonder? Step off
the forest path and enter Deepest Fairyland! But be
warned – you may not realize how much time you’ll RITA SHE/HER
spend there! Kids’ admission half-price.”
ACTUAL STATION DIRECTOR
“Look, if you need his vote, just tell him that
One of Evelina Bondarchuk’s other crown jewels, Mozafari hates the idea. Problem solved.”
Deepest Fairyland is the Icebreaker’s largest theme
park. It was originally designed to have a strict fairytale If Rita has a last name, nobody ever says it out loud. A
theme, but as it expanded, it started incorporating other practical, calculating leader who grew up immersed in
aesthetics as well. Its fans call it an eclectic, varied the Icebreaker’s ruthless politics, she looks at almost
experience; critics call it a confusing hodge-podge. everything in her life as a problem to be solved. Despite
her coldness, Rita really does have the interests of the
GRAND AURORA AMPHITHEATER Icebreaker’s people at heart; after all, someone has to.
“Does your soul thirst for music? Come to the Grand
Aurora Amphitheater and dance until the dawn! She’s tall and severe, with immaculately coifed black
Witness the greatest son et lumière in the galaxy, hair and a steely gaze. She wears a snow-white suit
courtesy of our roster of local DJs! Please note the with lines so sharp they’d put the Terashima Enclave to
Board of Icebreaker bears no responsibility for any shame, and radiates an aura of effortless calm.
medical complications caused by use of club drugs.”
Of the many weapons in her arsenal, Rita’s greatest is
As the Icebreaker’s largest live music venue, the Grand her ability to make her goals seem beneficial to others.
Aurora hosts music concerts most evenings – mostly She knows how to make people think they came up
electronic dance music, but there’s the occasional live with her schemes themselves, and she can do it without
performance by hand-picked local talent as well. tipping her hand. These skills are essential for
convincing the Board to do anything, as they perceive
UNCROWNED KING BAR AND GRILLE any idea or agenda other than their own as a threat. As
“If you’re looking for the authentic down-home Long Rita herself would explain it, “never have your own
Rim tavern experience, you can find it down any ideas. Have all of theirs for them.”
number of alleyways and access corridors! Please
remember that station security forces can’t always As an employer, Rita doesn’t micromanage. She hires
guarantee a response time of less than five minutes!” people who’ve proven their competence, tells them
precisely what she wants, tells them what they need to
The Uncrowned King Bar and Grille is a crummy dive know, and then trusts them to work out how to do it.
in the Gladiator’s Draw and Quarter, with a glass back The only thing she wants is the result she asked for,
wall that looks out over the House of Godhead arena. how she asked for it to be done; all other details are left
Dark, noisy, poorly-cleaned, with flat beer and tasteless to the discretion of her contractors. She always pays
food, it’s mediocre at best. But it’s for this very reason what she owes on time, and never forgets a favor.
Rita chooses to hold clandestine meetings with the PCs
here – being from Hell’s Gate, they won’t seem out of
place, but no-one would look for a Board member here.

[112]
FAYAD HARB HE/HIM KILEYNA MORTON THEY/THEM
ICEBREAKER TECH UNION CHIEF UNION LIAISON TO CALLIOPE
“If the scabs work the core, tell the Board that “CentComm have scheduled a two-hour hearing later
this means war! We won’t take it anymore!” this month. I’ll see if I can squeeze you in.”

Many people look at the Icebreaker’s glittering neon It took almost a century for Calliope to cross the desk
dreamscape and call it magical – and that view tends of anyone at the Union Administrative Bureau. They
to make them think everything here happens by magic. promptly deemed it unworthy of an Administrator, and
But it doesn’t: it takes thousands of man-hours of fobbed the system off on the Bureau of Orbital and
backbreaking labor every day to keep this tangled Non-Terrestrial Management, who sent a civilian
engineering nightmare running, and if you let the liaison. Kileyna is the eighth appointee to this position.
people up top forget it, everyone suffers. Enter people
like Fayad Harb. They’re empathetic and happy to listen, but they have
to maintain a level of detachment for their own mental
Fayad and a few other union bosses sit on the Board health; every day, they hear the woes of a great many
as a counterbalance to the executives and commercial people, and they can’t always help.
interests that otherwise tend to dominate it. The rest of
the Board would dearly like to get rid of them, but the Kileyna’s job is difficult: represent Union and its utopian
saving grace of the Icebreaker is that there’s so much goals in a place defined by the absence of both. Almost
enmity and distrust between the station’s corporate everyone in Calliope resents Union in some way. Many
elite that their anti-union initiatives are uncoordinated, resent that there’s hardship that Union hasn’t fixed, but
scattershot and ineffective. an equal number resent the idea of Union taking away
Calliope’s independence. There’s folk out here who
A short, energetic man, Fayad sports a permanent ten- personally remember the days of SecComm, and don’t
day beard, missing a section directly under his chin. His trust Union because of it – and also an unsettling few
black hair has a bit of silver in it, despite the fact that he who are upset that those days are past.
doesn’t look that old. He’s friendly to those he trusts,
but can get quite vicious with people he disapproves of. With that in mind, Kileyna’s work ethic is exemplary. It’s
He assumes any action by the wealthier members of through their tireless effort that Union assigns an aid
the Board is a threat to his people; an uncharitable budget to Calliope at all. The neutral omninode is an
outlook, but rarely wrong. He refrains from drink, but accomplishment of theirs. They got a Union Navy
smokes almost constantly, even while working. carrier assigned to the system, and the naysayers
called it “overreach,” all while whining that it wasn’t a
Fayad has faced criticism from other union bosses in full battlegroup. In their darker moments, they have to
the system for being too soft, too willing to compromise; remind themselves: doing good is its own reward, even
he replies that on the Icebreaker, you can’t push too if nobody thanks you.
hard or they’ll shut you out entirely. However, a
comment from Teka Ashenafi at the last Calliope Labor
Congress meeting stung him more than was intended,
and he’s been looking for a chance to prove himself.

[113]
LOKI VALENTINIAN HE/HIM HOWL SHE/HER
THE PRODIGAL SON REIGNING HELLFIRE LEAGUE CHAMPION
“With all due respect, sir, when I said ‘with all “The wolves are HOWLING, Sergeant Stone! The
due respect,’ I didn’t specify how much was due.” wolves are howling for YOU, and they’re HUNGRY!”

A pale youth with messy black hair, a winning smile and A towering, muscular woman, her skin covered in
a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. His entire being tattoos of wolves and other lupine creatures. She’s a
exudes a constant, infectious energy. He never seems regular in all three of Calliope’s mech-fighting circuits
to be able to sit completely still, some part of his body and reigning champion in the Hellfire League (during
always moving – usually his hands, fiddling with a pen Act 1, at least). She usually pilots a modified IPS-N
or some part of his uniform. Loki is a Harrison Armory Blackbeard named Dread Wolf’s Call.
corporal, and one of the few friendly members of the
Armory the PCs are likely to meet right now. Despite theming her brand entirely around wolves (up
to occasionally portraying herself as a werewolf), she
If the PCs engage Loki in conversation, while he’s sincerely believes they’re mythical creatures that never
happy to talk, he tries to avoid saying anything about actually existed, and will not believe any evidence to
himself. However, if he thinks holding back will lose the the contrary, up to and including footage of living
PCs’ trust, he’ll open up a little. wolves on dozens of Core worlds.

Speaking about his family is the only thing that dims As a trans woman and a refugee from Nestor, she’s
Loki’s smile. He’s the son of Dr. Odin Valentinian, a become a folk hero to Nestorians: one of their own, out
prestigious Armory executive and weapons designer. there in the stars, thriving despite being the exact sort
There was a terrible accident at the research facility of person the Forefront wanted dead. She’s very vocal
during a test of one of his father’s prototypes, and it about her heritage, and often lends her voice to the
claimed the life of his beloved twin brother, Baldur. Loki cause of the Nestorian diaspora, both in Calliope and
was devastated, blamed Odin for Baldur’s death, and throughout Union.
departed the Shore entirely to get away from him.
When not in the cockpit, she can be found doing
But now he’s learnt that his father is coming out to promotional work for her various sponsors, publicity for
Calliope for some reason, and Loki definitely doesn’t the outreach and aid projects she supports, or working
want to be here when he arrives. He’s flirted with the out. Technically, she’s a citizen of Hell’s Gate, but her
idea of acting out so much the Armory gives him a job keeps her on the Icebreaker most of the year.
dishonorable discharge so he can just leave, but being
the son of an Executive, this is as close to impossible Player characters are most likely to meet Howl if they
as something can get. get involved in the arena fighting, particularly if they join
the Hellfire League. Unlike some of her peers in the top
Loki’s prototype Sunzi is named The Dancer Between, rankings, she’s approachable and friendly, especially to
and his pilot callsign is “Richboy,” imposed on him by those new to the sport.
his superior, Sergeant Hemmingsen. It is, as Loki says,
“the only useful thing the inept bastard ever gave me.”

[114]
JÓN JÓNSSON SHE/HER EVELINA BONDARCHUK SHE/HER
CLANDESTINE FIXER OWNER OF THE GIFT-BRONZE CASINO
“Yes, of course it’s a fake name, but I can’t be “I think we don’t understand each other here.
bothered to think up a convincing one.” That’s really a shame, no? For you.”

A tourist who claims to be taking an “extended holiday” A regal woman with a taste for elegant and complex
on the Icebreaker, which has lasted about thirty years dresses. She’s never seen without a cigarette in a long
so far. Despite the fact that she doesn’t seem to have holder, but never seems to actually light or smoke it.
a job, she never seems to be short on cash, and can She’s spent years cultivating an air of mystery and
be found in the station’s mid-market casinos, making allure largely just to see if she could; she’s uninterested
low-stakes wagers and sipping high-class drinks. in actual intimacy or romantic involvement.

Jón Jónsson is a fixer; this is probably one of Calliope’s As a casino proprietor and a member of the Board,
worst-kept secrets. If corporate or state interests in Evelina is no stranger to secrets and intrigue. She’s a
Union want something done in Calliope but need to master at navigating the Icebreaker’s brutal, cut-throat
keep it strictly off the books, chances are they run it politics, but she has an extra card up her sleeve: she’s
through Jón or one of her competitors. Jón takes the thrown in with Ignatius Aurum and the Inner Cult.
contract and shops the job around to those she thinks
would be a good fit. Evelina’s primary advantage is that she possesses all
the strengths of a Board member and few of their usual
Contrary to the common stereotype, most of these weaknesses. She has immense wealth, prestige and
contracts don’t involve violence; the vast majority are access, and she’s intimately familiar with how to
acquisition tenders involving goods of questionable navigate the short-sighted greed and vicious social
legality, mining contracts for materials that corporations games of the other Board members, but she’s no longer
don’t want the Union Economic Bureau to know they’re in a chaotic free-for-all: she has a definite goal, and
buying, and information gathering exercises for allies whom she can trust.
intelligence organizations with no assets in the system.
That said, wetwork isn’t off the table, although as a The reverse is not true: Evelina has no loyalty to the
matter of professional courtesy, fixers such as Jónsson Cult, and doesn’t believe in their hokey religion. All she
never offer contracts against each other. knows is that the Cult will cause absolute chaos on the
Icebreaker. That will be bad for business in the short
Jón Jónsson is far from the only such fixer in Calliope, term, but it might just give her the leverage she needs
but she’s one of the most popular, largely due to her to unseat her long-time rival Rita and seize control of
reliability and confidentiality. She’s notorious for never the directorship for herself.
letting operators know who they’re working for, but also
for never letting clients know who’s working for them;
anyone who accepts a contract from her can rest easy
in the knowledge that they won’t become a “loose end.”

[115]
GABRIEL SPARROW HE/HIM CLARYANA ROWDLEY SHE/HER
LOCAL PHILANTHROPHIST “INCOGNITO” KNIGHT OF THE DARK CORE
“The greatest cruelty imaginable is to remain “So I say ‘stand and deliver’ and she starts
idle while others suffer. I refuse to be idle.” blushing, so then I say... ‘ah, it’s like that.’”

Gabriel Sparrow is a wealthy socialite known across to: Icebreaker Mutual Security Command
the system for leading and donating to a plethora of from: Office of the Station Director
charitable foundations. Many children in the poorest, timestamp: 16:30 CST 02/01/5016
smallest habitats are able to read because of his subject: Claryana Rowdley
educational outreach programs; many families are fed
Some of you have asked for clarification on
by his food aid funds. He’s often seen around Calliope, this subject, so: no, the Icebreaker Mutual
holding fundraisers, giving speeches and engaging in Security Policy DOES NOT permit known members
backroom negotiations. of pirate organizations to be present on the
Icebreaker Borealis.
The extent of public knowledge about him is limited. He
speaks in an accent that seems almost designed to be Rowdley has never caused any actual security
unplaceable. His wealth is understood to have come issue. Allegations that she serves as a point
of contact for criminal elements have never
from his family, but nobody knows who they are. He’s
been substantiated. She is a valued customer
well-educated, but doesn’t have a specific field of of several Board establishments including
expertise. He’s affable and charming, but in a distant, Smith-Shimano Atelier, and is the fifth
detached sort of way. He’s a member of the Board, but highest individual spender on this station.
usually stays out of the fiercest squabbles.
It is thus the position of the Board that
To those in the know, however, Sparrow is someone Rowdley is NOT a known member of a pirate
very different. He is Karrakin nobility, born Gabriel-Altia organization, and any statements she makes to
the contrary are merely the boasts of a rich
of the House of Stone, and designed down to the
poseur trying to generate an air of mystique.
genetic level by SSC as the perfect heir. This was not
a life he felt particularly interested in living, so he went
to: Claryana Rowdley
into self-imposed exile in the Long Rim. He now runs
from: Office of the Station Director
the local cell of the Ungratefuls, and most are struck by timestamp: 16:35 CST 02/01/5016
how genuinely he seems to care for Calliope. subject: Tab Closed, Settle Your Accounts
There! Everyone’s favorite backchannel to the
He acts as both spymaster and financier, combining his Knights of the Dark Core is safe from
family’s immense wealth and banking connections and scrutiny until your next “public incident.”
his labyrinthine network of charitable foundations to
move large sums of money or data without trace. Those Next time you decide to get high and brag
fortunate enough to gain a private audience with him about your spacelane robberies in a crowded
may take advantage of these resources, but unlike his casino, YOU can square it with IMSec! I am
humanitarian work, his professional services do not neither your errand girl nor a miracle
come without a price tag. worker; I refuse to keep covering for you.

[116]
ADDITIONAL NPCS
On the Icebreaker, you can meet almost anyone if you walk down the right concourse. Here are some of them.
ROSALYN TAYLOR
A mercenary who’s seen dozens of conflicts over the past two centuries, taking a long layover on her
way to the Dawnline Shore, which she feels confident is going to be the next meal ticket for freelance
1-2
mech pilots. She’s seen her fair share of injury – both her original eyes are replaced with prosthetics,
among other things – and every scar comes with a story, which she’s more than happy to relate if
someone else is buying the drinks.
IRVIN REID
If you’ve tuned into Icebreaker Public Radio, you’ve heard Irvin Reid. His voice could melt butter, and
3-4 in defiance of radio tradition he looks exactly like he sounds: tall, dark, handsome, and settling into
middle age with practiced dignity. With Rita’s help, he’s kept IPR mostly free of corporate influence for
more than thirty years, and is one of her closest allies.
SMITH JOHNSON
Smith Johnson is the highest-ranking IPS-N employee in Calliope – a punishment far beyond simple
5-6 reassignment to Calliope, which happens to any number of IPS-N staff who underperform: Smith is
now responsible for all of these rejects. Paunchy, middle-aged and balding, Smith is never without a
fearsome array of dataplating to keep them abreast of whatever new disaster has been thrown at them.
SUBTEXT ÍSFÛR COWARDS
An argumentative philosopher who got stuck on the Icebreaker when their colony ship left without them
for some reason. Subtext makes a living giving philosophy lectures, as they (allegedly) have teaching
7-8
qualifications. While their debate style is often needlessly aggressive, they make a compelling point
about how a lot of academic philosophy has become “navel-gazing bullshit that’s lost touch with the
day-to-day struggles people in the real world experience.”
ISHIHARA YAEKO
A painter suffering from a years-long artistic block, which she came to the Long Rim to escape. She’s
searching for new inspiration, and if any of the PCs capture her attention, she’ll begin asking about
9-10
their experiences in search of a new muse. If she gets to know a PC, she’ll share something personal:
ever since she came to Calliope, she’s been having recurring nightmares of cradling her wife while
she’s dying from a gunshot wound. Just one problem: she is not and has never been married.
CASPIAN TRYST
An oddments dealer who can be found in Raphael Baza’s Bizarre Bazaar most days. Nobody knows
11-12
what they actually look like – they hide their face under a cowl and a mask that resembles a muzzle.
Their inventory changes daily, but they have a particular interest in collecting old books.
YELDA ERGUN
Wait, the Yelda Ergun? From Yelda and the Minesweepers? The pop sensation that swept musical
awards five albums running? The multi-instrumentalist virtuoso whose posters graced the bedroom
13-14 walls of half the teenagers in Union? What’s she doing working as a barista in a crummy cafe in the
Long Rim? Well, she says, burnout’s a motherfucker. Add in a control freak manager, an argument
with a bandmate that turned violent, the paparazzi and a literal cult of obsessive stalkers… well, running
away became less about luxury and more about necessity. Now, can she please take your order?
RAT
Pierced in every place you can imagine (and, he assures you, some you can’t), covered in tattoos, with
his hair dyed any number of colors, Rat cuts an imposing figure despite his short stature. He originally
15-16 turned to sex work to cover the cost of his gender confirmation surgery, but found that not only did he
enjoy the profession, there were a lot of people in it who needed solidarity. Sex work on the Icebreaker
has never been easy, but at least if you ask “Little Rat Boy” for help, he can make certain problems –
like abusive clients or pushy debt collectors – go away.
ANTHONY “CAL” CALLAHAN
A scruffy man with long brown hair and a green spiral tattooed around his left eye. He wears a bullet
on a chain around his neck, speaks in an older dialect of Union Common, and has the haunted,
17-18
suspicious look of someone on the run from something. Always wears a fingerless glove on his left
hand, apparently to conceal something. He makes a living doing magic shows in the casinos, and his
tricks are very impressive – some of them genuinely seem to be impossible.
INBI TWEEN
A machine mind operating out of a customized subaltern frame resembling a goat-devil, allegedly
19-20 patterned off a hyperviolent cartoon character found in the Massif archives. Its motives and intentions
are inscrutable, but it usually seems to be causing some kind of mild trouble – stealing small objects,
rerouting power, illegally accessing secure terminals, or menacing strangers with a cartoon hammer.

[117]
DAILY LIFE SCENES FROM THE
Life on the Icebreaker is defined by a sharp divide,
whether you’re a visitor or a resident: money. If you ICEBREAKER
have money, the Icebreaker is open to you. If you don’t, Neon billboards the size of skyscrapers
it’s a daunting and unkind place. shine their gaudy messages into space.
1-2
Each one consumes enough power to run
A lot of people who’ve been to the Icebreaker speak of a hab block for a month.
it in the same terms: it’s a lovely place to visit, but it A street comedian does an unflattering
looks like a hard place to live. They’re right. It takes a impression of John Creighton Harrison II to
lot of money to live comfortably here, and most people gales of laughter from the public. A
don’t earn enough to stay in comfort for long. 3-4
Colonial legionnaire in the crowd is getting
visibly angrier as the act goes on, which
Sure, there are parts of the Icebreaker where a poor only encourages the impersonator.
person can live, but it’s not much of a life. The Board A scalper offers tickets to a Moon Glacier
really only cares for the bits of the station that the League mech fight that’s happening later
visitors are likely to see, and as far as they’re 5-6
this afternoon. The prices he’s charging
concerned, their workers’ quality of life is their own are outrageous.
problem. High-quality services, be they food, housing
or medical care, all come with a steep price tag. Station security attempts to clear away a
small group of panhandlers, and would
7-8
clearly be getting more violent if they
Still, the Icebreaker does need its menial workers, and weren’t being watched.
it’s not like they can commute from somewhere else.
Since she became station director, Rita has done her A croupier leans against a junction box,
best to ensure some basic services for the less clutching a coffee in trembling hands,
9-10
fortunate. It’s not much, but it still manages to be better clearly trying not to cry. They look
than what Hell’s Gate can provide – most of the time. completely exhausted.
A street food vendor sells hot burritos and
The Icebreaker’s local currency is “icicles”, circular cheap coffee from their cart. Every so
11-12
transparent plastic coins made to look like ice, bearing often, they throw a nervous glance at a
the stylized image of Kalevala on one side and the burly man leaning on a nearby wall.
Board of Icebreaker’s logo on the other. They’re There’s a solemn affair going on at a bar.
infused with glitter, to draw attention and make putting Initially, you think it’s a wake for a
them on the line at a casino look impressive. The deceased person, but they’re alive and
denomination of an icicle is marked numerically, here at the gathering. They finally got
although they also vary in color and sparkle. To prevent 13-14
enough money to leave Calliope for good,
counterfeiting, each icicle contains a unique RFID chip. and the event feels like a wake because
none of these people are ever going to see
In addition to icicles, the Icebreaker also accepts the departing person face-to-face again.
manna, corprostate scrip and various currencies from There’s a minor commotion as a member
Diasporan worlds. It accepts Hell’s Gate ingots, of the Board is escorted somewhere by a
although at a poor exchange rate to icicles. It was 15-16 cadre of heavily-armed private security.
recently forced to accept Impact Plaza’s new “Steele They’re very aggressive with anyone who
Bars” at an artificially favorable exchange rate, with the gets too close.
implication being that Impact Dynamics would raise
rates on essential foodstuffs if they didn’t. A line of show-dancers prance and high-
kick at the opening of some special event
17-18 a casino is holding. Their outfits are
The station functions on Cradle Standard Time, with a
ridiculous; somehow, they seem to be
twelve-hour day and twelve-hour night. Kalevala orbits
scanty and overdressed at the same time.
so far from Calliope’s star that “daylight” is provided by
massive floodlights mounted on the Borealis’ hull. A lot In the shadows of an alleyway, there’s a
of the Starstrip exists under permanent night, because glint as icicles change hands. A small
it looks sexier that way. package is passed in return. Although you
19-20
can’t see their faces clearly, you realize
both parties have noticed you, and they
hastily depart in opposite directions.

[118]
[119]
EQUIPMENT ID-390 “Balistaria” Marksman Rifle
All manner of goods, services and equipment can be Heavy Rifle, AP, Exotic Gear
found on the Icebreaker Borealis, assuming you know [b12] [1d6+2i]
where to look and who to talk to. Attacks with this weapon gain +1g if you haven’t
moved since the end of your last turn.
CARDCOUNT_V7.7.7_FINAL.OMEX Impact Dynamics, noting the shortcomings of GMS
2 SP, Exotic Gear, Unique, Protocol, 2l(Self) anti-materiel rifles, produced a more compact,
portable designated marksman weapon. While it
For the rest of the turn, this system becomes couldn’t beat GMS’ offerings on raw stopping
charged and you can’t take full actions until the start power or range, it matched them almost shot-
of your next turn. for-shot on accuracy while allowing a level of
If, during a quick action, you make an attack roll that battlefield maneuverability that simply wasn’t
misses or force a save that an enemy passes,
possible for larger, heavier weapons.
expend the system’s charge. Your quick action Unfortunately, before the weapon could enter
didn’t really happen; probability calculations returned full production, the company pivoted to
an unfavorable result. Limited charges aren’t agriculture and most of its ballistics projects
expended, loading weapons aren’t unloaded, were shuttered. The ID-390 remains popular
reactions aren’t triggered, and so on. You must then among professional mercenaries, however, with
some outfits travelling all the way to Calliope
choose a different quick action, and perform it
just to acquire a licensed printcode.
instead.
If you don’t use it, this system loses its charge at the
end of your turn, as the calculation’s initial conditions GOING SHOPPING
no longer reflect reality. The Icebreaker Borealis boasts what is quite possibly
the foremost shopping experience in the known
Card-counting devices and programs are banned universe. Free from Union oversight, almost anything
everywhere on the Icebreaker; it’s one of the can be bought and sold here. In particular, Raphael
few things the Board can agree on. What makes
this specific distro special (and even more Baza’s Bizarre Bazaar is a marketplace the size of an
illegal) is that it can somehow predict slot entire district.
machines, roulette wheels and mech fights too.
Programmers hired to examine it reported a
tangle of neural-network-written paracode that
seems to call variables antichronally.

Leech Hunter’s Blade

Main Melee, Accurate, Unique, Exotic Gear
[a1] [1d6+1i]
You may rev up the weapon as a quick action.
While revved up, you are SLOWED, but the weapon
gains the following profile:
Main Melee, Overkill, 2l(Self), Exotic Gear
[a1] [1d3+4m]
You may rev down the weapon as a protocol,
returning it to its default profile.
On critical hit: if this weapon is not revved up, it
becomes revved up before damage is rolled.
Sarissa “Nova Cat” Kairos developed this weapon
more than a century ago during her one-woman
campaign of vengeance against the Wretched
pirate clan. A rotary rock-cutting saw modified
to tolerate vented coldcore plasma, all it
takes is the flick of a switch to turn this
blade into a screaming, white-hot abomination
that slices through armor like butter.
Stories differ as to what happened to Nova Cat
and her original blade, but she left the
schematics to her niece, who went on to produce
several hundred copies and become one of the
founding members of the Board of Icebreaker.

[120]
MARKETPLACE WARES ROLL 1D20
A box of mint-condition Calliope Project T-shirts in various sizes. The logo depicts Calliope’s nine planets,
1 Furnace City, Impact Plaza, Hell’s Gate, the CPS Borealis and several hands all clutching the haft of a
very long spanner with the Project’s motto underneath: “our many hands shall build heaven here.”
A black cube. In darkness, it casts interlinked geometric patterns of faint, colorful light on its surroundings,
2
although this light can’t be seen when looking directly at it.
An oversized Vinny the Vent Crab plush toy. The printcode for these things was developed early in the
3 Pyrite Age, before vent crabs became the bane of the system’s engineering teams. Nonetheless, children
keep asking for them, so they keep getting made.
A framed photograph of eight scientists in hardsuits, standing in front of a terraforming station on the
4 surface of Asphodel. It’s dated at least two hundred years ago. One of them is a smiling young woman
with eyes full of hope, apparently the subject of the picture. There’s something haunting about it.
A twelve-pack of antitumor whitewash ampoules. They were a milestone development in cancer
treatment back in their day, but have since been replaced by more advanced technologies that provoke
5
a less drastic immune response. Still, for people who don’t have nanite allergies, these things work just
fine and they’re dirt cheap.
A small data drive. It’s filled entirely with pictures of mechs, over which someone has constructed various
6 sentences by cutting and pasting text sections from their operators’ manuals. The narratives range from
humorous to surreal to deeply suggestive.
A set of fully poseable, 1/30th scale figurines of the IPS-N mechanized chassis line. The vendor’s got
7 every single one, even the outdated Yi-Sun-Shin, the troubled Ramses and the cancelled Albuquerque,
except for the Caliban. “I just don’t like the idea of selling that thing to kids,” the vendor mumbles.
An old, water-damaged book of Karrakin poetry. It describes the simultaneous monotony and horror of
8 being “ruled by the endless echoes of a madman,” of recalling a coronation where the new monarch
wore the same face as the old one, and smiled with the eyes of a murderer.
A pack of POWER! Protein Bars, which bill themselves as "the coming revolution in food technology."
9 These snacks can be printed via a printer, but unlike printloaf, they have genuine taste and texture. This
is supposed to be a mixed sample pack, but contains only "Salmonberry Apocalypse" flavor.
A scuffed, dull bronze sphere slightly larger than a human fist, with circuit-like designs carved into its
10
surface. It’s not as heavy as its appearance suggests.
A beautiful, glittering geode that was pulled out of an asteroid a few years back. It’s faintly radioactive,
11 enough that the crystals fluoresce under UV light, but the vendor assures you it’s perfectly safe. This
doesn’t stop it from setting off every single radiological alarm you pass on the way back to your hotel.
A Smith-Shimano Saraswati electric guitar. It’s a mid-level purchase: a dependable, high-quality piece,
12 but not something you have to mortgage your organs for. This one’s being sold on the cheap because it
looks like someone spent a while slamming it against something.
A collection of old optical data discs, using an ancient data encoding format. They contain animations
13 depicting what appear to be cyborgs living in the late era of Old Humanity, and some kind of primitive
mech that vaguely resembles a Death’s Head.
A signed physical copy of Moments of Crystallized Liminality, Cerulean Enceladus’ seventh studio album.
14 The Annamite Cultural Review described it as “a pleasing return to form, not just for Cerulean, but for
the entire nu-retro-stasiscore genre after a disappointing showing in 5015. Four out of five stars.”
A talisman made from the tooth of some large predatory mammal, covered in intricate carvings. The
15 Sparri selling them is up front with you: it’s the only thing in their stall worth buying. Everything else is
“trash for tourists” but this, they assure you, is “the real deal.” Maybe that justifies the higher price tag.
A weathered paperback novel. It’s a first-edition print of a historical romance written during the First
16 Expansion Period and set during the Little Wars. You’re baffled to discover that it contains references to
an omninode, something that couldn’t have existed either when it was set or when it was written.
A jewel-encrusted gold broach in a Karrakin style. This would cost a small fortune planetside, but here
17 in space, gold is ubiquitous and the jewels have no industrial value, so this thing is literally worth less
than a cup of coffee. It bears the engraving “Zallanora,” and no other markings.
An ancient, battered data storage device, centuries old at the least. It still works, and checks suggest it
18 contains nearly twenty-nine terabytes of data – 97% of its storage capacity. The vendor’s letting it go for
almost nothing because all that data is encrypted and write-protected – you can’t even delete it.
A box labelled “The Comprehensive Solution to Writer’s Block.” There’s nothing inside it. You can’t tell
19
whether its contents were stolen, or whether this is some insufferable person’s idea of a joke.
A bootleg recording of LeClerc’s Seventh Symphony, a composition which required the invention of a
new form of three-dimensional musical notation just to express, and psychologically traumatized sixteen
20
of the twenty-three orchestras who attempted to play it. Recordings and performances of the symphony
are banned on several Union core worlds under public safety ordinances.

[121]
BEAT 9:
CONTRACT THRILLER
The PCs have a whole afternoon, evening and morning “Just one issue: the Board hasn’t authorized this
to themselves. They may each take one downtime operation. They don’t even know about it. I can
action, as long as it would fit in that timescale. There’s persuade them to grant ex-post-facto legitimacy
time for a few hours at a casino, a night out drinking, or once you succeed, but nobody on the board will sign
a morning of networking and seeking out contacts. off on activating you right now. There’s too little trust.
In short: stick solely to non-violent investigation until
When the PCs are finished with whatever they’re doing you find a solid lead. I will have the final say on
before the meeting, Rita is waiting for them in a private whether or not you deploy mechs. Keep that in mind
backroom at the Uncrowned King, dressed as a tourist at all times.
in a baseball cap, shades and a hoodie.
“Your mechs will stay on the Dragon’s Tooth for now.
Rita takes a deep breath. “Alright. I’ve got a lot of When you need them, I’ve set up a secure contact
things to get through, so listen closely. The situation channel. I’ll need a good justification for deployment
has gotten much worse since I first called you in." of military hardware on my station before I release
them. Do we have an understanding?”
“Firstly. Two weeks ago, Tarben Makali, a census
officer and a member of the Bureau of Civic Rita is happy to provide more detail on any of these
Management, was murdered in his home by a single topics if the PCs enquire.
shot to the back of the head. There was no sign of a
struggle or forced entry. Later that evening, his office TARBEN MAKALI’S MURDER
was ransacked. “I mean, it could have just been a crime of passion,
but I don’t buy it. It was premeditated, quiet and
“The very next morning, just before I called you in, professional. He was on to something, and
one of Civic Management’s datacenters was raided somebody killed him to cover it up. If you need more
by a small, unidentified paramilitary group. They took information, talk to Officer Lamariano.”
the staff hostage, but no-one was seriously hurt,
thank the Buddha. They deleted every record they DATACENTRE ATTACK
could get their hands on, trashed the place and then “Well, it was probably to destroy Tarben Makali’s
vanished. It was in the middle of a backup cycle, so notes before they made it onto an off-site backup.
we’ve lost a week’s worth of data, including the off- There’s a hostile strike team operating on my station
site copy of Makali’s notes. and we can’t keep track of them. I want you to make
finding them and shutting them down a priority.
“Secondly, someone forged my credentials, and Officer Zarick is responsible for that investigation.
wrote a false work order to have repair work done on Talk to her.”
the Borealis’ main reactor array. They got some…
charitable religious group, the Faith of the One FORGED CREDENTIALS AND REACTOR REPAIRS
Plumed in Golden Flame? Well, they did the repairs. “Let me worry about the forged credentials. What I
want you looking into is why someone wanted the
“Somehow, Fayad Harb, the boss of the tech union, reactors repaired. If this was just a charity case, why
got word of this. He’s furious at me because he would they need to fake a work order from me to get
thinks I used non-union labor, and now the entire them online again? No, nobody does that sort of
tech union are on strike. thing if they have an altruistic motive.

“As if all that wasn’t bad enough, Harrison Armory’s “The best people to talk to about this would be
on my case about some missing scientist of theirs. members of the tech union. Unfortunately, all of them
They hold me personally responsible for finding her are strike right now. I guess you could also talk to the
– as if I’m supposed to keep tabs on all two million Faith of the One, since they did the repairs. They
people visiting my station at any given moment! insist they were just following the work order they got
given. Not sure if I trust them, though.
“Add to that the printers have been going haywire for
weeks, there’s power fluctuations, the wiggle “The Faith of the One have a temple set up in the
showing up in places it shouldn’t, pop-up protests… Thorp District – their biggest one in the system, for
I’m positive. Someone is fucking with my station. I that matter. You really can’t miss it; they’re not
want them found, and I want them stopped. exactly subtle in their imagery or architecture.”

[122]
FAYAD HARB’S STRIKE LACK OF BOARD AUTHORISATION
“I can’t get through to Fayad. And it hurts! He’s one “If I asked the Board for permission to hire external
of my closest allies on the Board, but now he thinks contractors, each member would instantly work it
I snubbed him by using non-union labor. The union into one of their grand conspiracy theories. They’d
is striking, and they’re only responding to emergency think I’d lost my neutrality, that I’m plotting with one
callouts. Maybe you’ll have better luck talking to him. of them against the rest. I had to take unilateral
Won’t be hard to find; he’s protesting right outside action without their approval.
my office.”
“You have to understand my position. The Board is
MISSING HARRISON ARMORY SCIENTIST a gaggle of overgrown toddlers, and they all have
“Dr. Genevieve Nyambose. She went missing just a guns and lawyers. I have to be the adult in the room,
day after you left Hell’s Gate. One of their specialist and like any spoilt child, they resent me for it. Every
researchers or something. The Armory’s threatening day I wake up and spend dawn ‘til dusk trying to save
legal proceedings against the Board if I don’t get her these puerile dipshits from themselves, often against
back. They won’t win, but that’s not the problem: their will, so they don’t tear this station apart or
they’re also threatening a boycott, and they’re one of accidentally dump us into Kalevala’s atmosphere.
our largest visitor demographics.
“Painfully often, I have to justify my actions after the
“If you want to try talking to them, you can speak to… fact, when time is pressing and I don’t have weeks
what was his name? Ah yes, Sergeant Hemmingsen. or months to play kindergarten teacher. This is one
You can find them quartered at Legionnaire’s of those times. I need you to save this station before
Landing – that’s the local Armory enclave. Don’t they know you’re trying to help them, because once
expect a warm welcome.” they do, they won’t let you.”

PRINTER ISSUES At some point in the conversation, Rita is rudely

“For weeks now, printers all over the station have interrupted.
been spitting out random junk and automatically
delivering it to random locations. We’ve looked into It happens suddenly: every screen in the room goes
it, and the problem is that even though the requests blank for a moment, and then displays an emergency
are fake, they’re coming from genuine businesses, alert. Sirens start sounding. Rita reacts strangely:
using real credentials. We can’t easily filter them out. she groans loudly and buries her head in her hands.

“We’ve had to resort to double-checking every single After a few seconds, the sirens stop, and everything
request individually as it comes in. This has slowed goes back to normal.
down our printing process by a factor of four. Your
station had printer troubles lately – you know how
“Oh, me cago en diez! They promised me they’d
easily it can cripple a station this large!”
fixed that. No, don’t get up, don’t get up. That’s
another thing I was meaning to mention. Every single
POWER ISSUES day, at the exact same time, the station’s general
“We’ve been getting power interruptions, brownouts alarm goes off. If all of this other shit wasn’t going on,
and blackouts all over the Zheng Yi Sao district – it I’d think it was someone’s sick idea of a joke.”
houses six of our most popular casinos. I initially
thought those reactor repairs were one of the Board FALSE ALARMS
trying to stop the disruption to their business, but “Every day. Every single day, for the past couple of
ever since those reactors came back online, the
weeks, at least. I’m this close to just disconnecting
power issues seem to have gotten worse, not better!
the emergency alert system until they can fix it,
safety be damned.”
“The union strike has just been the icing on the cake.
With most of my wrenchies refusing to work, I don’t
When the meeting is concluded, Rita instructs the PCs
have anybody who can tell me what could be
to wait in the back room for a while – she’s arranged for
causing such a massive loss of voltage.”
a distraction. From the House of Godhead arena
adjacent to the bar, Howl’s entrance music starts
“THE WIGGLE” playing. This unscheduled appearance of the Hellfire
“Local slang. Every few hundred meters, there’s a League’s champion has everyone in the bar rushing to
strut anchoring the city to the ship. In places far from the windows to see what’s going on. Nobody will notice
a strut, or those where the connection isn’t solid, Rita sneaking out.
vibrations can build up – from foot traffic, machinery,
even loud music – and cause unsecured modules to If they stay to watch, the PCs get to see Howl demolish
flail about like an earthquake.” four mechs without breaking a sweat, even after they
all team up to try and take her down.

[123]
MISSION 2: BRIEFING
Jerry has asked the PCs to subcontract for Rita, who

WORKING wants them to look into a possible plot against the

Board. They will need to investigate leads, uncover
clues and neutralize threats. They’ll also need to act
without drawing too much attention to themselves.

HOLIDAY GOAL: Ensure the security of the Icebreaker

Borealis, and end any potential threats
Bright light city to its stability.
Gonna set my soul
Gonna set my soul on fire STAKES: If the Icebreaker Borealis is no longer
able to operate, the system’s main
– Elvis Presley, source of external revenue will be
“Viva Las Vegas” gone. More immediately for the PCs,
the Gate’s best customer will be gone.

REWARD: Rita has the resources and contacts to

enable the PCs to advance to LICENSE
LEVEL 2, possibly allowing them to get
their hands on a new frame.

RESERVES: You can bring anything you were able

to acquire during the last chapter with
you, and Rita might be willing to
expense a few additional supplies
throughout the mission.

CLOCKS
Check the progress of the Station Stability clock. The
players won’t need to worry about it right now; with the
printer fixed, Hell’s Gate will keep. The success of the
mission, however, will have a profound impact not just
on Hell’s Gate, but potentially the entire system.

Establish a clock called Cult Influence with no

segments ticked. Don’t let the players see it yet. The
Cult Influence clock always has as many total
segments as there are unticked segments on the
Station Stability clock. If a plot development causes
segments to be ticked on the Station Stability clock,
remove that many segments from Cult Influence
clock, whether or not they’re ticked.

THE SLEEPING ANGEL

To bring the death and rebirth of the universe, Feather
must grow stronger. She flew inside one of Kalevala’s
minor moons, Kantele, and turned it into an egg. When
it cracks, a new Feather will emerge, ready for the next
stage of her plan.

This process will require a vast infusion of energy to

complete. Before going into hibernation, Feather
instructed Ignatius Aurum to recover the Tachyon and
bring its spinal weapon online for this purpose.
However, with the Tachyon destroyed, Ignatius has
been forced to find a different solution.

[124]
The only other thing nearby that can provide the
required amount of energy is the Borealis’ old mining
RUNNING AN INVESTIGATION
laser. Unfortunately, it’s been disassembled for Each playgroup is different. Some Lancer playgroups
decades. No matter: the Calliope Sect will rebuild it, may be delighted with the idea of chasing a series of
seize control of the station and fire it at Kantele. clues, slowly piecing them together and reaching a
conclusion. Others will be less enthused, and just want
to get to the bit where the mechs punch each other –
They have assembled two teams for this endeavor. and that’s entirely valid.
Mictlan Team has been tasked with maintaining the
Fire Gate that allows personnel and equipment to be
covertly moved onto the Icebreaker. Meanwhile, Balor Remember that as the GM, you control the information
Team has been tasked with rebuilding the laser. your players have access to. Players will only know the
things you tell them, so things that seem obvious to you
– who already knows all the answers – will not
The Inner Cult have another advantage on the necessarily be obvious to them. It’s generally wise to
Icebreaker: they’ve turned a member of the Board. err on the side of giving players too much information,
Evelina Bondarchuk, owner and proprietor of the Gift- rather than too little.
Bronze Resort and Casino. Once the Cult has finished
with the laser, they’ll have no further need for the
Icebreaker; Evelina plans to use the chaos sewn by If you think the players will simply want to be told what
their actions to oust Rita and seize control of the entire their PCs discover and how the clues fit together as
station for herself. they proceed with an investigation, leading up to the
combat sequence at the end of a branch, that’s
perfectly fine.
MISSION STRUCTURE
This mission is more free-form than the previous one, If either the PCs or the players are running in to trouble
allowing the PCs to investigate leads as they see fit. or seem stuck, remember that they aren’t the only
people investigating the Icebreaker’s problems. Board
Each lead fits into one of two investigations, which the members and their hirelings want to restore stability
PCs may progress through as they see fit. At the climax and confidence so the money keeps flowing, while
of each of the two investigations, they will discover individual citizens want to help out their communities.
something that demands they get into their mechs and They’ll both be happy to drop the PCs a hint.
take action, leading to a combat sequence.
When you want to leave clues for the PCs, remember
They can investigate the murdered census official, the that the best way to make clues is to work backwards,
trashed datacenter and the power fluctuations in the starting at the conclusion. Something was done – a cult
Zheng Yi Sao district in Beat 10: The Gate of Mictlan has built a teleportation gate, for instance – and this left
(p. 127). traces and had consequences. The teleportation gate
draws a lot of power, and so is causing power
disruptions. The people the gate is bringing in are
They can investigate the mysterious reactor repairs,
arousing suspicion, so investigators must be silenced,
the kidnapped Harrison Armory scientist and the printer
and so forth.
malfunctions in Beat 11: The Eye of Balor (p. 133).

The PCs can uncover as much as they like in either

investigation, but once they get into their mechs and
fight, they have to put the other investigation aside until
the fighting is done.

The PCs potentially have access to multiple FULL

REPAIRS this mission, one at the end of each
investigation. Combats in this mission are slightly more
difficult to reflect the fact that PCs might only have to
fight two battles before getting all their resources back.
The two fights in Beat 10: The Gate of Mictlan happen
back-to-back, with no time for a rest.

Once the PCs have finished both investigations,

depending on how well they performed, the remaining
hostiles will either go to ground or begin a full-blown
assault on the station, as detailed in Beat 12:
Spreading Fire (p. 141).

[125]
BEAT 10:
THE GATE OF MICTLAN
To allow clandestine movement of personnel and The apartment is a spartan affair, with very little in the
equipment, the Inner Cult’s “Mictlan Team” has erected way of personal possessions. The only notable element
a Fire Gate underneath the Zheng Yi Sao district. They is a shrine of the One Plumed in Golden Flame.
would have preferred a less trafficked part of the
station, but it was the only place with the correct The cause of death was a single shot to the back of the
combination of power supply, abandoned infrastructure head, piercing the brainstem. Loss of consciousness
and freight tunnel access. and death would’ve been nearly instantaneous. That’s
notable in itself – it’s a difficult shot to pull off. Centre of
Mictlan Team and its Fire Gate has been integral to the mass would have been far easier and likely just as
plan. Almost all the mechs the Cult has on the lethal. The fact that it was made while the victim’s back
Icebreaker came through the Gate, as did a majority of was turned suggests he either wasn’t aware of the
the personnel and equipment. In preparation for seizing murderer’s presence, or trusted them enough to turn
control of the Icebreaker, Mictlan Team has been his back on them.
stepping up its activities.
A thorough search of the shrine will reveal a hidden
But some people are paying attention. Tarben Makali data storage device, upon which Tarben recorded a
noticed a whole lot of people who weren’t on the copy of his notes. He noted a large and rather sudden
previous census but whose arrival on the station wasn’t increase in unregistered visitors – people who aren’t on
on any harbor register. Himself a member of the Faith the station’s visitors database – and believed that a
of the One, he had the terrible misfortune to confide his human trafficking operation of some kind was operating
concerns in a priest who happened to be a member of out of the Zheng Yi Sao district. He was attempting to
the Inner Cult. narrow down where, but began to suspect that he was
being followed.
This left Mictlan Team with a problem. They swiftly
murdered Tarben, and then destroyed the datacenter Colleagues describe Tarben as quiet, efficient and
his notes were backed up in. But this tipped their hand withdrawn, with few friends. He was a great worker but
slightly: they might have thwarted the investigation, but not a particularly good co-worker: he’d get it into his
now the Icebreaker definitely knows something’s up. head to do something, and then go off and do it,
They’ve begun ramping up their use of the Fire Gate to sometimes disappearing for days. The only person he
summon further reinforcements. really interacted with was a recent hire, Gokul
Khwaunju, whom he was training.
This itself caused even more problems. The Fire Gate
consumes an immense amount of power, and it’s Gokul Khwaunju remarks that even he didn’t get a very
causing disturbances in the district’s electrical grid. good idea of who Tarben was, but he can tell the PCs
Additionally, the gate is an artificial gravity well, and has that before his death, he kept mentioning having to
begun to generate seismic activity, causing the Wiggle investigate matters in the Zheng Yi Sao district. Tarben
to manifest in a part of the station it shouldn’t. Freight was also a devout member of the Faith of the One,
lines that should be abandoned are in use. People are which was just about the only non-work subject he was
aware something strange is going on. Mictlan Team is willing to discuss with Gokul.
perilously close to discovery – but they don’t need to
hide forever, just long enough to get the job done.
THE TRASHED DATACENTER
Officer Zarick is stumped; the datacenter has very little
THE MURDERED CENSUS-TAKER in the way of direct clues. It was attacked by a small
Officer Lamariano can give the PCs all the information team of professionals who arrived, took the staff
the station’s security forces have. She can even take hostage and trashed the place in a matter of minutes.
them to the scene of the crime, which can be They then escaped into the freight tunnels, fleeing into
reconstructed for their convenience via holo-projection. sections where sensor coverage is patchy or absent.

Tarben Makali was murdered in his home a couple of The datacenter would have had an off-site copy of
hours after returning from a visit to the Zheng Yi Sao Tarben’s notes, along with a lot of civic management
district where he seems to have been searching for data. The facility was in the middle of a weekly backup
something. Security cameras in his apartment complex when the attack hit – all the equipment has already
have no footage from the time of the murder. There been replaced, but an entire week of data was
were no signs of a struggle or forced entry. irretrievably lost.

[126]
ZHENG YI SAO DISTRICT The PCs will have to call Rita to get her to authorize
The Zheng Yi Sao district is an upmarket area of the this operation, but that isn’t a problem – the moment
Starstrip, containing a number of high-profile shopping they explain the situation, she’ll rubber-stamp it. She
malls, hotels and casinos. It contains some of the can’t authorize any deployment of station security
station’s most popular gambling halls, and it’s always forces without consulting the Board, but she can have
busy, even for the Icebreaker – on any given day, there the PCs’ mechs delivered to them within the hour.
are more people in Zheng Yi Sao than in any other
district other than the Gladiator’s Draw and Quarter. Rita also assigns some technicians to assist the PCs,
Right now, though, it’s going through some problems. but they quickly report that the depot’s systems have
been cut off from the station’s network and must be
Whenever the PCs visit it, there always seems to be a accessed up close. They’ll need to use the PCs’ mechs
team of wrenchies trying to fix something. If the PCs as broadcast relays to hack into local systems and
can get them talking, they’ll explain that the entire force the doors open.
sector’s been suffering a rash of blackouts, brownouts
and tripped breakers for weeks now, and nobody can Mictlan Team has prepared contingency plans for
seem to work out a permanent fix. Every Board discovery, but the PCs can catch them by surprise if
member in the district is blaming the others, but the they act now. Once the fighting begins, the PCs must
wrenchies think differently. They’re positive there’s see it through to its conclusion; retreating will give the
something in the district drawing a huge amount of hostiles time to fortify and prepare for a siege. Make
electricity, but they can’t work out what or where it is. sure the PCs know that they will not be able to either
REST until the assault is over.
They’d probably be able to get on top of things if this
part of the station wasn’t experiencing a really bad case
of the Wiggle. Seismic disturbances and strain on the
district’s systems are terrifying visitors and making it
difficult to get repair work done on anything else. But
this shouldn’t be happening; the Board members who
run the Zheng Yi Sao district paid for the very best in
anchoring. The Wiggle shouldn’t be present in the
district at all, let alone this severely.

There’s also rumors all over the station about activity

on freight lines that should be abandoned, and they
grow more common the closer one gets to this district.

THE ALARM SYSTEM

The station’s emergency alert system keeps sounding
a general alarm at the exact same time every single
day, terrifying its guests and annoying its residents.
Rita’s considering disconnecting the whole thing until
the cause can be definitively located. This is a flagrant
violation of safety standards, but enough members of
the Board are getting mad about lines on graphs going
down that Rita has to do something.

FOLLOWING UP
At the end of the investigation, the PCs will eventually
discover the location of Mictlan Team’s hideout: a
large, abandoned transit depot at the center of a tangle
of freight tunnels beneath the Zheng Yi Sao district.

The place is a hive of activity, with freight trains coming

and going at all hours. Something inside the facility is
drawing an immense amount of power, although the
PCs won’t be able to see what it is until they breach it.
What their sensors can tell them, however, is that every
time it activates it generates an intense gravitational
signature. This must be the source of the odd seismic
activity in the district.

[127]
COMBAT:
THERMOPYLAE
SITREP: Gauntlet (Lancer, p. 271)

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x ELITE BARRICADE Extrudite, Seismic Repulsor
1x BASTION
1x VETERAN ENGINEER Arsenal, Mobile Turrets, Feign Death

FOR 4 PCS: +1x SPACER OPERATOR Fade Generator, Gravity Rifle

FOR 5 PCS: +1x ASSAULT Auto-Targeting

REINFORCEMENTS
FOR 3 PCS: 1x EXOTIC COMMANDER PRIEST Priest: Empowered Shield
Commander: Press On!
Exotic: Blinkspace Carver

FOR 4-5 PCS +1X SNIPER Deadmetal Rounds

DETAILS PC VICTORY
The Gauntlet sitrep requires the PCs to push through If the PCs are successful, they force the doors open,
enemy resistance and secure a location – in this case, the situation evolves rapidly:
the bulkhead doors leading further into the depot. They
will have to deal with opponents like the BARRICADE, As the doors rattle open, you witness something
which can slow its targets or flash-print blocks of cover extraordinary. Four curved pylons cradle a sphere of
that obstruct movement, and the OPERATOR, a highly- bent space, lensing light around itself like a black
mobile combat mech that can teleport. hole, but instead of darkness, it shines with a
magnificent orange firelight, and at its center you see
This fight occurs in the outer hall of an abandoned train glimpses of some distant place.
depot. At one side there sits a gate further into the
facility, currently sealed. On the other side is another The depot’s loudspeaker system spits out a whining
gate from which several train lines emerge, routing into burst of feedback, and then desperate requests in a
loading bays. The PCs deploy from this gate. panicked voice. “They’re through the doors! They cut
down our entire defense force! They’re at the Fire
Cover will consist of abandoned trains, old cargo Gate! We need reinforcements! Send backup! Send
containers and loading cranes. An adjacent character the biggest thing you have!”
can reactivate a crane’s autoloader mode as a quick
action. Thereafter, any hostile character that ends their There’s a brief, terrible pause. “Wait… no. No! Not
turn adjacent to the crane must make a HULL check or that big! THAT’S TOO B–”
become IMMOBILIZED. They can repeat the check as a
quick action, clearing IMMOBILIZED on a success. The sphere contorts violently, bursting from the
containment of its pylons, rushing towards you. Your
OUTCOME mech’s systems are overwhelmed by a torrent of
paradoxical readings, and then… nothing.
PC DEFEAT
If the PCs are defeated or forced to retreat before they The PCs have two rounds in which to take any actions
reach the Fire Gate, this branch of their investigation is they deem necessary to prepare (using the STABILIZE
over. Realizing they’ve been discovered, the Mictlan action twice is a good choice), but they don’t have
Team goes into overdrive, crippling the district as they enough time to take a REST – Combat: Anti-Capital
run the Fire Gate constantly. begins immediately. Any damage, heat or unloaded
weapons they didn’t deal with stay with them.
If the PCs haven’t done Beat 11: Eye of Balor (p. 133),
they can attempt it, but Balor team will be on high alert.
If they have, go to Beat 12: Spreading Fire (p. 141).

[128]
COMBAT:
ANTI-CAPITAL
SITREP: N/A

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x SUNBIRD 1 – ULTRA SHIP RAINMAKER Rainmaker: Hades Missiles
Ultra: Argus Armor or Evasive, Wolfhound Missile
1x ELITE HORNET Adapt/Evade/Disengage

FOR 4 PCS: +1x VETERAN SPACER SENTINEL Acrobat, Wrath Lock

+1x SPACER CATAPHRACT Electrified Bola

FOR 5 PCS: +1x SPACER OPERATOR Gravity Rifle, Skirmisher

When your sensor feeds return, there is no portal. SUNBIRD 1 is an ULTRA, the first the PCs will have
There is no transit depot. There is no ceiling or floor. fought. ULTRAS are extremely dangerous enemies with
Your mech tumbles in microgravity as something very powerful abilities and systems.
gigantic zips past in your peripheral vision. It’s a
support strut, one of many anchoring the vast bulk of The ARGUS ARMOR trait makes Sunbird 1 very resilient
the Borealis to the city below. at the start of the fight; players will have to chew
through 20 HP with Sunbird 1 ignoring the first 6
You’re floating between the Borealis and the Sprawl. damage of most of their attacks. It’s probably best to
Far below, you can see smoke and debris rising from tell them the full text of the trait even if they don’t SCAN.
a small, circular void in the Zheng Yi Sao district – a At the very least, make sure they know the armor can
void you feel fairly certain used to contain the transit be stripped away by overheating, and that every player
depot you occupied a few moments ago. mech can INVADE. Players with AP weapons, high
damage attacks or the ability to inflict SHREDDED have
Your tacticals scream a warning at you: hostile an opportunity to shine here.
targeting lock. Something gigantic, twirling deftly
between the struts. Silhouette analysis returns a All this said, if you think this will be too much trouble,
match: Valencia Combat Solutions Santanella-class give Sunbird 1 the EVASIVE trait instead.
missile corvette. Those are usually deployed against
capital ships. Huh. That seems real bad. The WOLFHOUND MISSILE is a weapon designed for use
against capital ships, and deals a terrifying amount of
damage to mechs – but it’s a telegraphed attack that
DETAILS takes a long time to reach its target. It can also be
This desperate struggle takes place in the zero-gravity turned against Sunbird 1 quite easily, if the PCs have a
space between the Sprawl and the hull of the Borealis. way to force it or the missile to move. You can drop a
The battlespace consists of floating islands of debris hint by reminding players that the WOLFHOUND MISSILE
large enough for a few mechs to stand on, separated is a drone, and drones are characters.
by small gaps, 1 to 3 spaces wide. Mechs can move
normally on the islands, but become SLOWED in open
space if they don’t have a flight system. The HORNET is a nimble, evasive mech that can easily
inflict IMPAIRED and JAMMED. If players are having
trouble hitting it, remind them about RELIABLE damage,
At the start of the first round, draw a vertical line three or mention that Smart weapons roll against an enemy’s
spaces wide at the left side of the battlefield. Each E-Defense rather than their Evasion.
round, move it three spaces to the right. This is the
trajectory of one of the support struts anchoring the
Borealis to the Sprawl. Fortunately for the station’s da_jch8r: BRB an entire city block vanished
populace, these struts are indestructible. Unfortunately and mechs are fighting over my house
for the combatants, they are not. Any character inside CosmoNot: “over” as in theyre above it or as
the marked area at the end of the round takes 8iAP in their dispute centers around it
and gets pushed outside the area by the most direct
route possible. Objects, DEPLOYABLES, DRONES or da_jch8r: How is this your primary concern
cover smaller than Size 5 are instantly obliterated, as – Muse chatter
are spaces of floating island in the path of the strut.

[129]
ENEMY SHIP
SUNBIRD 1
Ultra Ship Rainmaker
Artillery

“Spire Actual, this is Sunbird 1. Translation complete. Local gate is scratched, I

say again, local gate is scratched. Multiple bandits in AO, engaging.”

HUL: +0 HP: 20 Armor: 6* ULTRA

AGI: +0 Evasion: 8 Speed: 3 As an ULTRA, SUNBIRD 1:
SYS: +2 E-Defense: 8 Save Target: 10 • Takes two separate turns each round, or three if
ENG: +0 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: 15 there are 5 or more players.
• Has 4 structure and 4 stress.
SHIP • Can clear one condition affecting it at the start of
As a SHIP, SUNBIRD 1: its turn and repair one destroyed system or
• Is Size 4. weapon at the end of its turn.
• Moves normally in zero-g environments and • Deals +1d6 damage on critical hits.
hovers in atmosphere. It has IMMUNITY to • Can OVERWATCH any number of times a round
IMMOBILIZED, STUNNED and PRONE. • Rolls all structure and stress checks twice and
• Can’t pick up objects, manipulate objects, chooses either result.
GRAPPLE or make melee attacks other than RAM.

SYSTEMS
Missile Pods Hades Missiles
Main Launcher, Arcing, Reliable 2, System, Recharge 5+, Quick Action
Knockback 1, +2 vs Evasion All characters in a c3 area starting within b20 of
[b20] [4k] Sunbird 1 take 4j and 2l, half if they pass an
This weapon can attack 1-3 characters at a time. AGILITY save. This system doesn’t need line of sight,
“All elements, Sunbird 1, tally three bandits, just a possible route to the target.
twelve o’clock high, engaging.” “Thermobaric warhead away. Friendlies in AO,
brace for shock and flash.”
Javelin Rockets
System, Quick Action Wolfhound Missile
Sunbird 1 chooses 3 free spaces within line of sight System, Drone, Recharge 6+, Quick Action
and b20 that are not adjacent to each other. All Wolfhound Missile (Size 1, HP 10, Evasion 10,
characters know which spaces have been chosen. E-Defense 10, Tags: Drone)
The Rainmaker fires a volley of autotargeting rockets
into the air: the next time a hostile character moves Sunbird 1 chooses a character within line of sight
through, starts their turn in, or passes above one of and b30, then deploys the Wolfhound Missile to an
the chosen spaces – no more than 10 spaces up – adjacent space. At the start of each of Sunbird 1’s
they are hit by a rocket, taking 5i. Each space can subsequent turns, the missile flies 3 spaces towards
only be triggered once. This effect lasts until the start the target, or 6 spaces if the target has LOCK ON.
of Sunbird 1’s next turn. The missile moves as directly as possible, but
maneuvers around cover and obstructions as long
“Prox charges away, watch your airspace.”
as there is space to do so. When the missile collides
HUNTSMAN Trait with a character or reaches the target, it detonates
Against characters with LOCK ON, Sunbird 1’s with a d1 explosion. Characters within the affected
weapons gain SMART, SEEKING, and AP. area must make an AGILITY save. On fail, they take
“Clear tone, clear tone! Radar lock confirmed!” 14 k; on a success, they take half damage.

ARGUS ARMOR Trait Sunbird 1 can only deploy one Wolfhound Missile at
Sunbird 1 has 6 ARMOR. Each time it rolls a a time, and this system can only recharge once the
structure damage or overheating check, it loses 2 missile has detonated.
ARMOR, to a minimum of 0. “Sunbird One, Fox Three.”
“Wait, the WHAT just fell off?!”

[130]
OUTCOME
PC DEFEAT PC VICTORY
If the PCs are defeated during this encounter, it isn’t a If the PCs are victorious, they’ve not only destroyed the
terrible blow – the Fire Gate was already destroyed by Fire Gate, but also wrecked an expensive and
the ingress of the gunship and its support team, so the dangerous piece of the Cult’s arsenal. This convinces
Cult can’t bring in any more reinforcements. However, Rita that they’re worth the money she’s paying them –
if the PCs haven’t completed Beat 11: Eye of Balor (p. not to mention the hell she’s going through justifying the
133) yet, the Cult still have either the focal array, Dr. absolute chaos the corvette caused to the Board.
Nyambose, or both. They accelerate their plans with
the assistance of any forces the PCs didn’t destroy,
remaining on high alert.
MOVING ON
If this is the first investigation the PCs have completed,
they have time for a FULL REPAIR, after which you
If Sunbird 1 survives the encounter, it boosts out of should move to Beat 11: Eye of Balor (p. 133).
range of the station and engages a nearlight bolt to an Otherwise, consult Beat 12: Spreading Fire (p. 141).
unknown destination.

[131]
BEAT 11:
THE EYE OF BALOR
To crack open Kantele, the Inner Cult needs the The reactors on the Borealis are incredibly inefficient if
Borealis’ powerful mining laser. Unfortunately for them, they’re run below a certain level, and there’s nothing on
its focal array was disassembled decades ago, and the station that could consume even a fraction of their
even if it were intact, the ship’s reactors no longer peak output. They were designed to power an asteroid-
provide enough power to fire it. But the Inner Cult is cracking mining laser that was disassembled for parts
resourceful, and has made great strides towards decades ago.
solving both problems. They have designated the
group responsible for this task “Balor Team.” If the PCs investigate the Faith of the One, they protest
their innocence: they simply received a work order from
Using forged credentials, they secured the opportunity the station authority, validated the credentials and did
to do repair work on the Borealis’ reactor array. They the job that was asked of them. It’s not their fault the
needed a specialist, Dr. Rose Bottlé, for this work, credentials were forged or that the job got tangled up in
bringing her in from another system through Mictlan a labor dispute. They’ll gladly turn over the relevant files
Team’s Fire Gate and then exfiltrating her again once to the PCs, which will validate their account.
her work was done. The use of non-union labor had the
additional side benefit of angering Fayad Harb, who There’s one small oddity: Dr. Rose Bottlé, the engineer
now refuses to talk to Rita. and reactor specialist who oversaw the operation. She
arrived without warning, and then vanished again the
Meanwhile, they've also been assembling a new focal moment the work was done. If the PCs can strike up a
array. This required its original blueprint, which they conversation with members of the Faith who worked on
had to steal from the station’s engineering department. the project, they speak positively of her, calling her a
It also needed very specific components, and so in genius. But a couple of them were surprised, because
order to disguise their plan they’ve been hacking into they had thought she was in Djall, light years away. If
various businesses and spamming printers across the the PCs try to contact her, she’s not currently
station with junk requests to bury their signal in noise. reachable.
Finally, they scouted an abandoned industrial facility
that they could use to assemble the focal array. If the PCs do a bit more digging, they can find out that
the Faith rents warehouse space in a run-down part of
In a stroke of luck, Dr. Genevieve Nyambose, a the Sprawl, and there’s been more activity around
Purview scientist with expertise in lasers, happened to those parts than usual.
be visiting the station. Balor Team collaborated with
Evelina Bondarchuk to kidnap her, so as to have
someone capable of checking their work. They’re also THE MISSING SCIENTIST
holding on to her in case they need help configuring it If the PCs visit Sergeant Hemmingsen, he’s rude and
once it’s installed. unhelpful. He stonewalls, insisting that he won’t discuss
anything with non-Armory personnel. The Armory will
find its own, he says, and when they do, the Board will
THE UNAUTHORIZED REPAIRS rue the day it ran such a sloppy operation. He instructs
If the PCs talk to Fayad Harb, he’s likely to interpret an attendant, Corporal Valentinian, to escort them out.
them as spies or union busters at first. He’s still furious,
but he’s also painted himself into a corner. He’s come The moment they’re out of earshot of Hemmingsen,
to realize Rita wouldn’t pull this kind of anti-union stunt Corporal Valentinian tries to pull the PCs aside to talk
on him, but he’s gotten the union so riled up that he to them. If they consent, he assures them: the Armory
can’t back down now or he’ll lose face. To maintain isn’t going to take legal action, and it certainly won’t
credibility, he needs the PCs to convince Rita to hand boycott the station. The sergeant is just stalling for time;
him some sort of token victory. Dr. Nyambose’s safety was his responsibility, and if the
Purview finds out someone outside the Armory had to
If the PCs can swing this, or find some other way to rescue her, Hemmingsen will be in a world of hurt.
calm things down, he’ll explain that quite apart from the
labor issues, he’s baffled why anyone would go to that On the other hand, Corporal Valentinian (p. 114) – first
level of effort to repair the reactors. The Icebreaker name Loki – is genuinely worried about her. If pressed,
already has more than enough district-local power he explains he grew up around her: she used to be
plants and redundant electrical infrastructure to supply employed by his father. She was always nice to him,
nearly double its current demand. not least because he was clever enough to understand

[132]
her doctorate, which studied “generation of localized
deformations in the topology of spacetime through
THE PRINTER SNAFU
photo-excitative induction of very high energy states.” Printers across the station have been churning out a
steady stream of junk requests over the past few
weeks, printing all sorts of random clutter. The orders
“Basically, she made lasers so powerful they cut come from all over the Icebreaker, with no apparent
holes in space. Oh man, she’d get so mad whenever pattern in location, requester, requested object or
she heard me explaining it like that.” urgency. Attempts to filter them out have been
unsuccessful – it’s hard to filter legitimate requests from
Loki suspects Dr. Nyambose’s kidnapping was a the fake ones, so the printers just have to keep printing.
professional job. Important individuals in the Purview
have a biolocator implant. They’re picking up a weak Hidden among the junk requests are the components
signal, so she’s still on the station, but it’s not sufficient for a new focal array. They’ve been delivered to a
to triangulate, which means someone is jamming it. variety of locations spread across the station to avoid
The implant also broadcasts on a second frequency, detection, but they all had to be assembled in one
but only out to a few hundred meters. Valentinian gives place. Piecing this together might require some serious
the PCs both frequencies. detective work, but if the PCs have already talked to
Riley Hyeon, it becomes much easier.
She disappeared while at a casino she was visiting, the
Gift Bronze, in the Zheng Yi Sao District. Loki wasn’t on
duty that night; Hemmingsen’s interference, he says. EVELINA BONDARCHUK
Loki can start the PCs on the trail, but he can’t be seen At some point after the PCs have started investigating
assisting them directly; as much as Loki dislikes Dr. Nyambose’s disappearance, and particularly if they
Hemmingsen, the guy’s still his superior officer, and he start investigating the Gift-Bronze Casino or Deepest
can’t risk another write-up for insubordination right now. Fairyland, Evelina Bondarchuk will take notice, and if
she even thinks the PCs might be a threat to her plans,
If the PCs engage Loki in conversation, he tries to avoid she will do her best to get rid of them.
discussing himself, but will divulge his history (p. 114)
if it seems like it’ll get the team to trust him. Fortunately for them, she’s limited in what she can do
right now. She can’t afford to tip her hand too soon;
Investigating the Gift-Bronze Casino directly is risky, there’s precedent for the Board setting aside their
but careful or determined PCs can discover a lot of differences to crush an overly ambitious powerplay and
freight has been shipped between the casino and a set the person behind it. Rita has actually harnessed this
of warehouses owned by the Faith of the One recently. phenomenon a couple of times to maintain the balance
Evelina Bondarchuk also owns a theme park, Deepest of power she desires.
Fairyland, and a shipment of “generic goods” was sent
there from the casino on the same night that Dr. Evelina will start with procedural obstruction. She’ll call
Nyambose went missing. unscheduled meetings of the Board and file emergency
“anti-espionage” motions to prevent whatever kind of
investigative activity the PCs are currently engaged in.
THE STOLEN BLUEPRINT She’ll play on the paranoia of other Board members by
At some point after the PCs have started investigating suggesting that if these motions aren’t passed, they
the unauthorized repairs or Dr. Nyambose’s might be next. These motions will force Rita onto the
kidnapping, they get a call from Riley Hyeon, one of the defensive, as she’ll have to find out a way to oppose
Icebreaker’s civic archivists. She informs them that her them without appearing to have an ulterior motive.
office just had an audit and discovered that their
servers were accessed without authorization a few If politics don’t work, Evelina will turn to intimidation.
weeks ago, and blueprints for the Borealis were copied. The PCs might return to their hotel rooms to find them
ransacked, or notice shady characters watching them
The thing is, these weren’t up-to-date blueprints. The from across the street. Threatening notes start arriving
Borealis’ floorplan was revised during construction after via the omninet or the Muse. Siren reports a technician
the original layout proved impractical, so the version trying to gain access to the Dragon’s Tooth with a faked
that was stolen would be inaccurate. recording of the PCs authorizing maintenance work.

When asked what use the older version might have, If intimidation doesn’t work, Evelina will risk turning to
Riley checks over both versions, and then informs the violence. She dispatches goons whose actions rapidly
PCs that the only thing she can see is that the older escalate from mere intimidating behavior to trying to
version also contains blueprints for the mining laser, rough the team up to outright abduction. This should
which had already been installed by the time the newer never end up with a PC dead, but they might get into
plan was drawn up. some seriously hot water.

[133]
FOLLOWING UP
If the PCs follow the clues, they’ll eventually find
themselves either at Deepest Fairyland, where Dr.
Nyambose is being kept or at the Faith’s rented
warehouses where the Faith was storing whatever they
recently built. Not only are there a lot of mechs in both
areas, they’re all armed and guarding something.

Meanwhile, components for the focal array have been

sent to one of the few places that has the tools,
equipment and personnel to assemble high-power
optics without raising suspicion – a giant open-air rave
being held at the Grand Aurora Amphitheater.

Rita asks the PCs to be sure of what they’re doing

before they engage, to be discreet and to avoid
collateral damage – it would be a bad look for the
Icebreaker’s contractors to smash up a theme park or
disrupt a concert without a very good reason. The PCs
can run these encounters in either order, depending on
which task they handle first.

The PCs will have time for a REST in between fights.

SMASH THE SYSTEM!

Once they discover that someone wants to fire the
mining laser, PCs might suggest cutting out the
middleman and sabotaging it. This is a good idea in
theory, as it would totally sink the Inner Cult’s plan.
However, there are major barriers to pulling it off.

Most importantly, Rita won’t authorize a deployment

in the laser chamber. It’s right above the forward
docking bay; mech deployment within it would be
impossible to hide from the Board. If the PCs try to
do it anyway, they’re voiding their contract, and Rita
will remind them of this.

If the PCs do it anyway, run a three-way variant of

Combat: Thermopylae (p. 129) in zero-gravity
conditions with twice as many combatants, half of
them being members of the station’s security forces
hostile to both the PCs and the Cult. The aftermath
of either victory or defeat is likely to be disastrous.

[134]
COMBAT:
SEND IN THE CLOWNS
SITREP: Extraction (Lancer, p. 270)

OBJECTIVE(S): 1x DR. NYAMBOSE Size 1/2, 6 HP, no weapons

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x ELITE SCOURER Pulse Laser, Supercharged
1x VETERAN BASTION Near-Threat Denial System, Shock Armor
1x HIVE
1x MIRAGE Manifest False Idols
1x SQUAD

FOR 4 PCS: +1x VETERAN CATAPHRACT Acrobat, Electrified Lasso

+1x RONIN

FOR 5 PCS: +1x ELITE SCOURER Pulse Laser, Supercharged

ALLIED FORCES
FOR 3-5 PCS: 1x LOKI – VETERAN MIRAGE Size 1, Limitless, Metafold Shove, Multiplicity

Once the Ferris wheel stops rolling, it will fall over,

DETAILS becoming a circular obstruction that covers a f3 area
Dr. Nyambose is being held in one of the administrative and provides soft cover to characters up to Size 2.
buildings in Deepest Fairyland, Evelina Bondarchuk’s
theme park. The park operates exclusively at night, so
the PCs can only attack during the day; Rita won’t Next to the regular merry-go-round is a mech-sized
authorize a raid while civilians are present. turntable for the mascots to perform on. It covers a f2
area and switches all characters standing on it to the
opposite side of it at the end of every turn.
There is ample Size 1 and Size 2 scenery all over the
park that provides hard cover, but it’s flimsy; scenery
has half the HP of normal cover and any attack that In this engagement, the PCs will need to focus on
misses a character in hard cover from scenery extracting Dr. Nyambose. Enemies will pour onto the
automatically hits the scenery instead. battlefield every turn, and if the PCs try to spend all their
time fighting them, they are likely to be overwhelmed.
Make sure the players are aware of their objective.
The park is also full of smoke machines pyrotechnics
which can be activated by an adjacent character to
generate a persistent f1 field of soft cover. As one of Evelina Bondarchuk’s prize properties, the
park is heavily guarded: the enemy mechs in this fight
are giant mascots built around combat-ready mechs.
The supports for rollercoaster tracks run all across the Their smiles may be painted on, but their weapons are
park. Track supports are built in lines, are obstructions terrifyingly real.
between 4 and 8 spaces in height, and provide soft
cover to anything behind them. They have archways at
key locations that let mechs up to Size 2 pass through. The SQUAD starts on the field next to Dr. Nyambose,
They are also reinforced, each support having 20 HP, and will call in reinforcements when the PCs show up.
and are specifically designed to be climbed on by
mechs up to Size 2. Loki Valentinian will turn up in the deployment zone to
assist them at the start of the third turn, in addition to
There’s a Ferris wheel that is 5 spaces long, 1 space an enemy reinforcement wave. Loki pilots an unfamiliar
wide and 5 spaces high. A mech capable of pushing a Size 1 Harrison Armory frame that seems similar to a
Size 2 character can force it off its moorings and roll it Mirage, but that the PCs will likely never have seen
before: a Sunzi. If asked about it, Loki explains that it’s
e10 in any direction. Any character in this path must
make an AGILITY check or take i8 and be knocked classified, but his father designed it.
PRONE. Characters who pass the check take half
damage and aren’t knocked PRONE.

[135]
The SCOURER is a dangerous enemy that prefers to
target one specific PC with its THERMAL LANCE multiple
OUTCOME
turns in a row, dealing immense damage and Burn due PC DEFEAT
to FOCUS DOWN. However, it creates a lot of HEAT. The If the PCs cannot extract Dr. Nyambose by the end of
Scourer is dressed up like a mighty dragon. the tenth round, they are overwhelmed and captured if
they’re still on the field. They are handed over to Balor
It’s easy to misunderstand how the Scourer’s COOLING Team by park security and held prisoner for a few hours
MODULE works: although it should stay still on other until the Armory team rescues all of them. The PCs are
characters’ turns, it can move on its own turn. safe, but by this time Balor Team has moved the focal
array outside the station for safe-keeping.
The CATAPHRACT’s job is to get close to Dr. Nyambose
and stop her from moving, or to drag PCs away from The team’s leads have gone cold. They can investigate
her with ELECTRIFIED LASSO. The Cataphract is dressed Beat 10: The Gate of Mictlan (p. 127) if it remains
up like a noble knight upon their mighty steed. open, although Mictlan Team will be on high alert. If
they already finished it, move to Beat 12: Spreading
The HIVE can use its RAZOR SWARMS to create zones Fire (p. 141) instead. Worse, the team’s mechs have
been lost, so they’ll need Rita to reprint them as part of
that the PCs either have to avoid or take Burn moving
a FULL REPAIR; she won’t be impressed.
through. The Hive looks like an enchanted tree, and its
drones are clouds of faeries.
If the PCs are forced to retreat, Balor Team moves Dr.
The RONIN is a villainous masked swordsman, and the Nyambose and they won’t be able to try another rescue
MIRAGE is a cunning and devious master of illusions. at this time. They may still look for the focal array.

If Dr. Nyambose is killed, the hostiles begin to peel off,

The BASTION is dressed up like a troll, carrying half a
bridge. It has a hardwired proximity system that causes uninterested in fighting over a corpse. Loki is
it to yell riddles at any character who approaches within heartbroken; if the team were directly responsible for
her death, he develops a vendetta against them.
a2; its pilot doesn’t know how to turn it off.

[136]
PC VICTORY THE TARGET
If the PCs rescue Dr. Nyambose, she’s very grateful “I don’t think they wanted to tell me, but I said I
and explains that her captors had her working on some needed to know what they’d be firing at or I couldn’t
kind of capital-scale laser weapon. If the PCs aren’t calibrate the array properly. It wasn’t even a lie,
already aware of it, she tells them the location of the really. The target is Kantele, a tiny minor moon just
storage unit that the focal array is being kept in – her outside Kalevala’s ring system. It’ll pass almost
captors talked a little bit too much around her. straight into the firing solution of the laser in a few
days. I don’t know why, but they want to shatter it.”
Loki is highly grateful to the team for helping rescue his
friend. Unfortunately, he can’t assist them any further WILL IT WORK?
right now; he’s already going to catch absolute hell from “It might. Emphasis on might. The simulations looked
Hemmingsen for this stunt. good enough, but it was never supposed to be used
at power levels as high as they want to run it. Even
if they succeed, they’ll melt everything in the firing
DR. NYAMBOSE chamber and burn out half the ship’s systems. I had
If the PCs successfully rescue Dr. Nyambose, or at to jury-rig in some cooling systems from… a previous
least get thrown in a cell with her, she can fill them in project I worked on, just to give it a chance.”
on her captors and what they’ve been forcing her to do.
HER PAST
“They’re trying to reactivate the Borealis’ mining “I used to work for a brilliant and terrible man. That’s
laser, but it needs a new focal array. They handled all I wish to say.”
the assembly themselves, but they needed me to
check that it could handle the extreme power levels THE FIRE GATE
they’d be running it at. Dr. Nyambose listens to the PCs’ account of the Fire
Gate, her frown growing steadily more severe.
“I had to do what they said. One of them knew
enough that I couldn’t fake it. I was worried enough “A blink tunnelling device that’s stable across
for myself, but they said if I didn’t co-operate, they‘d interstellar distances, compressed to mech scale?
go after my protection team as well. I’ve had enough The man I used to work for would kill to get his hands
people suffer on my behalf already.” on something like that, and I mean that literally.”

She can answer more specific questions if the PCs ask. THE STAKES
“Well, that entirely depends on why they want to
HER CONDITION shatter Kantele. I never got that out of them. But I
“Don’t worry, I’m fine. I was kidnapped, but apart can say for sure this station won’t enjoy it. So much
from the threats, they treated me well enough. To be of the old vessel has been cannibalized, it doesn’t
quite honest with you, they had more respect for the have even close to enough heat management left to
Utopian Pillars than my previous employer.” handle the sort of output this will produce.

HER CAPTORS “And it gets worse: even with the alignment set to
“They’re part of some local religion! The Faith of the occur in a few days, they’ll have to rotate the entire
One Plumed in Golden Flame. Some sort of church station by about three degrees. Firing the ship’s
that worships the apocalypse. Not just that, though. attitude control thrusters with an entire city clamped
I get the feeling that the rest of the Faith doesn’t to it – what is that you call it? ‘The Wiggle?’ It will be
know about these people. They’re secretive.” nothing compared to this.

THE FOCAL ARRAY “And it’s not exactly like this station’s owners are
“It would be completely impractical to build a single going to just let them walk in and do this. You’ve
lasing medium to deliver the sort of power a mining already seen; these people have their own private
laser needs. Instead, they use massive banks of army! There’ll be blood in the streets!”
fiber lasers that are combined by a focal array.
FOLLOWING UP
“Building it to the original spec wasn’t the issue. If the PCs haven’t located the focal array yet, Dr.
What they needed my help with was modifying it. Nyambose tells them approximately where to find it.
They want to run it at a much, much higher output
then it was intended for. I did what I could, but I told
them straight: whatever threats they made, I couldn’t
make it survive more than one firing. But that was
alright, they told me – once was all they needed.”

[137]
COMBAT:
KILLER SOUND
SITREP: Recon (Lancer, p. 273)

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x ELITE SENTINEL Impaler, Rapid Response
1x ENGINEER Arsenal
1x RONIN
1x HIVE
1x SCOURER Supercharged

FOR 4 PCS: SCOURER: Add VETERAN template and FEIGN DEATH trait.
+1x AEGIS Adaptive Shielding, Ring of Fire

FOR 5 PCS: ELITE SENTINEL: Add COMMANDER template and QUICK MARCH trait.
+1x HIVE

Evelina Bondarchuk has arranged for the usual event

DETAILS crew to be replaced with members of the Cult. They’re
This fight takes place near an electronic music concert. attempting to airlift the focal array out using the concert
This presents a problem: the fighting occurs in a place as cover. Their freight tug is disguised as a festival
where tens of thousands of people can see it. The blimp, which showers the ravers with confetti and
concert has mechs fighting as part of its spectacle, so crowd-safe pyrotechnics as it flies over. The Cultists
if the crowd sees the PCs engaging the enemies, they don’t want to blow their cover, so they will also try to
won’t immediately know something’s wrong. If the PCs tick segments on the Panic/Hype clock.
don’t act with care, however, they might cause a panic.
When the PCs step onto the field, the DJ, E-Z McFear,
Create a Panic/Hype clock with eight segments, four assumes that they’re the other half of the event crew,
already filled. The less segments ticked, the more the and begins giving stage directions over the radio. She’s
fight is upsetting and frightening the crowd, but the way too in the zone to understand that this is an actual
more segments ticked, the more it’s entertaining them. fight, and will ignore attempts to convince her.

Entertaining events tick one segment. Examples: The PCs must locate the focal array before the Faith
• A character inflicts Structure damage. extracts it. The moment the fight starts, Rita dispatches
a freight tug. The PCs will have to move quickly to
• A character scores a critical hit. identify the correct storage unit, and then keep control
• A character may DANCE as a quick action. PCs of it until the tug arrives.
may SCAN or BOLSTER as part of the same action.
The players have done a Control sitrep before, so
• A PC activates their Core System. ensure they understand how the Recon sitrep differs
from it. The hostile force should try to avoid revealing
Frightening events untick one segment. Examples: the true control zone, while still interfering with the PCs’
mobility as much as possible. However, once the PCs
• A character destroys cover, terrain or objects that
have identified the true control zone, the hostiles
aren’t DEPLOYABLE.
should focus on keeping the PCs away from it.
• A character uses a weapon or system that deals
damage in a large area. The Sentinel is the star of this engagement. Its mobility
allows it rapidly reposition, allowing it to lock down
• A character’s final result on an attack is 4 or less –
certain targets with OVERWATCH. Remember that a
their shot or swing goes concerningly wide.
PC’s standard movement and BOOST are separate, so
• A mech exploding due to a meltdown. if you think a PC intends to BOOST, use RAPID
RESPONSE to put the Sentinel close enough to threaten
These are examples; if other actions seem particularly the position they BOOST from.
cool or frightening, tick or untick as appropriate.

[138]
Remember that even though Elites get two turns, their
reactions don’t refresh until their first turn in a new
FOLLOWING UP
round. The SENTINEL can OVERWATCH more often by Take stock of how the PCs performed during this beat.
using EYE OF MIDNIGHT, but this will cause it to become Hopefully, they successfully rescued Dr. Nyambose
SLOWED, which disables RAPID RESPONSE. and retrieved the focal array. Failing on either task will
have consequences down the line.
The RONIN’s REBOUND ability isn’t actually as powerful
as players think it is: it only has a 50% chance of No matter how they performed, Sergeant Hemmingsen
triggering, but its psychological effect is profound. will show no appreciation for the PCs’ actions. In fact,
Players don’t like having their own weapons turned he’ll threaten them with legal action over interrupting an
against them, and they might become hesitant to fire at Armory rescue operation. It’s pure bluster, though; the
it after one bad experience. last thing he’d do is reveal to his superiors that a team
of locals had to do his work for him.
If the AEGIS is present, it may help to have it hold back
from the fight, lurking near enough to the true CZ that If Dr. Nyambose was rescued, she shows much more
once it’s discovered, it can quickly move in and deploy gratitude, as does Loki Valentinian. Loki promises that
its DEFENSE NET. Its LIGHT LASER makes it an he’ll repay the PCs once the Icebreaker’s troubles are
unattractive target to get close to. over. He can’t offer any more support right now, though;
Hemmingsen is furious with him. Fortunately, there’s
no danger of a write-up, since any investigation of the
If the SCOURER has FEIGN DEATH, be very careful about matter would reveal the context behind Loki’s actions.
how other NPCs interact with it. This is the first time that
the PCs will have encountered an enemy that has it,
and if they’re not familiar with Lancer in general, they There’s time for a FULL REPAIR. If the PCs haven’t
will have no reason to assume that it isn’t destroyed. finished Beat 10: The Gate of Mictlan (p. 127) yet,
they have time to do so, as Rita distracts the Board long
enough to allow the team to finish their work.
OUTCOME Otherwise, consult Beat 12: Spreading Fire (p. 141).
If the Panic/Hype clock ends with one or less segments
ticked, the crowd panics and several people are injured
in a stampede for the exit. Evelina Bondarchuk lodges
REWARDS
a direct complaint with the Board, forcing Rita onto a If the PCs recovered the focal array safely and rescued
defensive footing. The PCs lose access to RESERVES Dr. Nyambose, she can repurpose the array into a
for the next fight in this mission. mech-portable laser weapon. It can only operate at a
tiny fraction of its intended power, since it only has the
output of a single mech coldcore. Nonetheless, it has
If the clock ends with seven or more segments ticked, the power to flash-boil an entire squad of mechs with a
the crowd is ecstatic. A member of the Board notices, single shot – if its wielder can avoid slagging their own
and seems pleased with the good publicity the event frame in the process.
got. One PC rolls once on the Calliope Reserves table
(p. 269) and gains that RESERVE.
Catastrophe Beam
Superheavy Cannon, Exotic Gear,
PC DEFEAT 8 l(Self), Ordnance
If the PCs can’t secure the true control zone by the end [e20] [3d6j + 8m]
of the sixth round, the Cult’s freight tug shows up and
You must charge the Catastrophe Beam as a quick
retrieves the focal array, whisking it off somewhere the
action before it can be fired. While the weapon is
PCs can’t reach. Remaining enemies peel off, their task
charged, you are IMMOBILIZED and cannot lose HEAT
complete. The PCs can still attempt to rescue Dr.
by any means except overheating, but you benefit
Nyambose if they haven’t done that yet – comm chatter
from soft cover. This weapon loses its charge when
suggests that the hostiles intend to move her shortly.
you fire it.
On attack: this weapon automatically deals 30jAP
PC VICTORY damage to all cover, terrain, and objects in its area.
If the PCs secure the true control zone, the freight tug All characters within d2 of you must succeed on a
that Rita sent shows up and extracts the focal array, HULL save or be pushed outside the area and
taking it to a secure location for further study. If the PCs knocked PRONE.
haven’t already located Dr. Nyambose, they catch
some stray comms chatter indicating her location and “I’m not going to bother writing any safety
an intent to move her shortly. documentation for this weapon. It’s not safe to
fire under any circumstances, but I doubt that
will stop you.”
- Dr. Genevieve Nyambose

[139]
BEAT 12:
SPREADING FIRE
Once the PCs have completed both Beat 10: The Gate Rita urgently contacts the PCs.
of Mictlan (p. 127) and Beat 11: The Eye of Balor (p.
133), determine their level of success. “We’ve got hostile contacts all across the station! A
strike force has seized control of the Borealis’
If the Fire Gate has been destroyed, Dr. Nyambose has command bridge, and they’ve started the mining
been rescued and the focal array has been seized, the laser’s charging sequence – every single reactor on
Inner Cult is forced to cut its loses and find another way the ship is spun up! We can’t restore control
to crack Kantele. They no longer have the manpower remotely, and my response teams are pinned down
necessary to seize the Icebreaker, and even if they did, in the forward hangar bay! I’m dispatching your
without the focal array, they can’t fire the laser. Despite mechs on a freight loader. Get to reactor control on
their zeal, the Inner Cult won’t throw themselves blindly the Borealis and engage the manual overrides – shut
at death for no benefit. In this case, move directly to the the power down before this entire station boils!”
“Full Success” conclusion in Downtime 2 (p. 144).
If both of the Cult’s teams are still active, they have
However, if the Fire Gate is still active, the focal array enough troops to ambush the fireteam’s freight train.
wasn’t retrieved or Dr. Nyambose wasn’t rescued, the Run Combat: Getting Railroaded (p. 142) and then
Inner Cult’s mission is still viable, if only just. If they still Combat: Powerhouse (p. 143) afterwards, with a rest
have all three assets, they’re in prime position, and the in-between.
PCs will have their work cut out for them.
If only one team is left, just run Combat: Powerhouse.
ASSAULT ON THE BOREALIS
The PCs have time for a FULL REPAIR before the Cult FIGHT THEM ANYWAY!
makes its next move. In the original version of this mission, there was a
third investigation branch involving a third team that
A couple of days pass after the PCs finish their second the PCs were required to look into. During early
investigation. They haven’t tied up all the loose ends, playtesting, we found that it dragged the mission out
nor do they have the full picture, but at this point they too much and offered too many choices and leads.
should be aware that their enemy is an organization Repurposing that content to an optional section that
closely associated with the Faith of the One. Rita has only happens if PCs fail to complete both branches
been busy stalling the Board long enough to put optimally felt better for pacing.
together a report that paints her unauthorized actions
as necessary. However, Lancer is a game about mech fights, and
you might want to run this content anyway! In that
Then everything goes to hell. case, it’s fairly easy to imagine that the Inner Cult
were smart enough to keep a backup team hidden
from the PCs – perhaps even from their own people.
It happens quite suddenly: every screen in the room
The name of this strike force was Ifrit Team.
goes blank for a moment, and then displays an
emergency alert. Sirens start sounding. Same as
every day. If you run these encounters despite the PCs
completing both investigations successfully, don’t
penalize them for it! Make sure they get the correct
You only know something is wrong when the sound reward in Downtime 2.
of the sirens is joined by the staccato of gunshots.
Lights start going out. Distant flashes of weapons fire
are visible throughout the cylinder. Across the hull of
the Borealis, a series of vast radiator panels begin to
unfurl, already glowing red-hot. Some extend
dangerously close to the Sprawl.

Then the tremors start. The Borealis’ attitude control

thrusters are firing, slowly turning the massive ship
and the city attached to it.

[140]
COMBAT:
GETTING RAILROADED
SITREP: Holdout (Lancer, p. 272)

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x ELITE BREACHER Painmaker, Superior Ram
1x VETERAN CATAPHRACT Charge, Insulated
1x PYRO

FOR 4 PCS: +1x VETERAN WITCH Hacker

+1x SCOUT

FOR 5 PCS: +1x ELITE ASSAULT Underslung Grenade Launcher

REINFORCEMENTS
FOR 3 PCS: 1x ELITE PRIEST Empowered Shield
1x VETERAN ACE Rapid Response, Acrobat

FOR 4 PCS +1X VETERAN ARCHER Covering Fire, Acrobat

FOR 5 PCS: +1x ELITE OPERATOR Telefrag

Oncoming Train: At the end of the round, all

DETAILS characters on the oncoming line must make an AGILITY
This brutal conflict takes place on a speeding train check. On a failure, they take 2d6i and are pushed
rushing through the Icebreaker’s freight tunnels. out of the oncoming line by the shortest route available.
On a success, they take half damage and are not
Cars should be at least three spaces wide, six spaces moved. Objects are instantly destroyed.
long and two spaces tall, with a space separating each
car from the next. The hostiles have forced each car’s Hard Turn: At the end of the round, all characters on
loading doors open, but there’s cargo inside each car the train must make an AGILITY check or fall PRONE as
that provides pieces of Size 1 and Size 2 hard cover. the train makes a sharp turn. Characters on top of the
There is an oncoming line on one side of the train, and train who fail the check are also pushed off the edge of
a wall on the other. the train.

Being outside the train is very bad. Any character that Tight Tunnel: For the rest of the round, characters on
can’t fly who doesn’t end the round on the train the train and characters not on the train no longer have
immediately moves 2d6 spaces towards the back of the line of sight to each other.
map. Characters that fall off the edge of the map are
removed from the fight – they’re not damaged or
destroyed, but they can no longer participate in combat. Blockage: An object with 5 Evasion and 12 HP is
Fortunately, the PCs are tethered to the train, and may blocking the track in front of the train. If it isn’t removed
take a full action to reel themselves back to the nearest by the end of the round, every character on the train
train car. must succeed on a HULL check or be pushed three
spaces towards the front of the train. Any character who
collides with an object takes 1d6i.
If a grappled target is adjacent to the tunnel wall, the
grappler may grind them 1/turn as a free action,
dealing 1d6i. If a grappled character isn’t on the Low Clearance: When this hazard is announced,
correct side of the grappler, they can rotate, at a cost of anyone on top of the train must either immediately take
one movement for each space the target is moved. a reaction to drop PRONE or take 1d6i and become
SLOWED.
At the beginning of each round, the PCs are warned of
a hazard by the panicking train driver. Choose a Burst Fuel Line: A reactor fuel line has blown open
hazard, or determine randomly. Enemies are aware of ahead of the train and it’s spraying white-hot fire onto
hazards, and will try to avoid them if possible. the track. At the end of the turn, any character inside
the train and not in hard cover must succeed on an
ENGINEERING check or take 3m.

[141]
COMBAT:
POWERHOUSE
SITREP: Special; see below

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x ELITE ENGINEER Mobile Turrets, Shepherd Field
1x AEGIS Ring of Fire
1x ASSASSIN Spinning Kick
1x SENTINEL

FOR 4 PCS: +1x VETERAN CATAPHRACT Capacitor Discharge, Slippery

FOR 5 PCS: +1x ELITE BERSERKER Nail Gun

The ASSASSIN is a dangerous new enemy that likes to

DETAILS single out a specific target and then make their life a
The PCs must engage manual overrides on enough of living hell. In this case, the Assassin also has the ability
the reactors to thwart the mining laser’s firing to fling the PCs off a reactor with SPINNING KICK.
sequence. Place a number of reactors on the
battlefield; about double the number of players you
have. Each reactor is a Size 3 object that blocks line OUTCOME
of sight and is sufficiently well-shielded to be IMMUNE to
damage from mech-scale weaponry.
PC DEFEAT
If the PCs can’t engage manual overrides on at least
half the reactors by the end of the sixth round, the
Control of the reactors is not determined on a tally laser’s charging sequence finishes. The PCs won’t be
system. Instead, while adjacent to a reactor, a PC may able to see it fire from here, but they’ll certainly feel the
take a full action to engage its manual override, or a aftershocks. A massive electromagnetic pulse rips
quick action if they have MANIPULATORS. That reactor through the vessel, temporarily disabling their mechs.
then shuts down. Enemies can’t restart reactors that
are shut down. The PCs must shut down at least half
the reactors to achieve victory. When their sensor feeds return, the station is in
absolute chaos. Firing the laser has knocked out most
of the station’s systems, leaving it with emergency
The room is dangerously hot while this many reactors power only. The Sprawl is in complete disarray. The
are spun up. At the end of each character’s turn, they vibrations severed fuel, oxygen and power lines. The
take 1l. Any character that ends their turn adjacent to ship’s radiators fracture under the thermal strain,
an active reactor instead takes 2l. spilling molten debris onto the city below. There are
electrical fires everywhere. Bulkheads on the Starstrip
Punctuate the end of every round with increasingly have sealed: it’s open to vacuum in multiple places.
panicked transmissions from the station’s maintenance
crews. Here are some, if you need inspiration: Kantele cracks – not fully, but enough to reveal
something inside. Somehow, the PCs can feel it: a
“Rita to fireteam! We’re getting cascading power cracking from every direction, as if it were the shell of
failures across the station! Whatever you’re doing, an egg breaking around them. There is the shriek of a
you need to hurry!” predatory bird, and a brilliant light that is somehow
visible even through the plating of their mechs and the
“Calling any available emergency responders! hull of the ship. Then there is silence.
We’ve got electrical fires in the Zheng Yi Sao and
Floretta districts!” PC VICTORY
If the PCs shut down enough reactors, the laser’s
“Central, this is Fayad Harb! Call a mandatory evac charging sequence stalls. Rita’s security teams have
on the Fortuna district! Lord have mercy, it’s gonna time to regroup and storm the ship’s bridge, regaining
break loose!” control of the Borealis and stopping the process entirely
– with only seconds left.
“Seal every door to the Bazaar! Seal every door to
the– [static]”

[142]
DOWNTIME 2:
SO HOW’D WE DO?
FULL SUCCESS
FATE OF THE ICEBREAKER If the PCs successfully completed both investigations,
FAILURE there was never an assault to repel. Rita triumphantly
If the PCs couldn’t stop the laser from firing, the next delivers her report to the Board, outlining the
few days are a mess. Thousands – maybe tens of catastrophe her unilateral action prevented. The Board
thousands – are injured or dead. The Board is in uproar grudgingly agrees. In the following days, they launch
and the station is a wreck. Its reputation will likely never their own series of investigations. Evelina Bondarchuk
recover. Evelina Bondarchuk remains on the Board. flees the station hours before she’s outed as a traitor.

Rita tenders her resignation as station director, but Tick a segment on the Station Stability clock. Not only
promises the PCs they’ll still get paid: she has enough has the Icebreaker been saved, it owes a debt of
dirt on the Board to ensure it. Nonetheless, she’s gratitude to Hell’s Gate. This ensures a degree of
clearly asking herself if it was a mistake to hire them. solidarity between the two stations going forward.

The devastation wrought on the Icebreaker has knock- Tick no segments on the Cult Influence clock, and
on effects to the system’s entire economy. Untick a reveal it to the PCs. Through their investigations, they
segment on the Station Stability clock, as this hurts will now know something much larger is at work here.
Hell’s Gate as well.
The PCs each have time for a downtime action, and
Moreover, something much more sinister has been Rita ensures that they are treated as heroes and want
birthed here. Tick four segments on the Cult Influence for nothing during the rest of their stay.
clock and reveal it to the PCs.

The PCs don’t have time for a downtime action. In CHECKING IN ON FRIENDS
fact, it would be wise for them to leave the Icebreaker The team’s performance will have affected any friends
Borealis as soon as possible. and acquaintances they made over the course of their
visit to the Icebreaker. If the PCs feel so inclined, run
PARTIAL SUCCESS some vignettes with these characters to show how the
If the PCs managed to halt the laser in the final events of this mission have impacted their life.
moments of its charging sequence, the station is
battered and bruised, but still functional. Casualty In particular, if the PCs made friends with Loki
counts are within “acceptable” ranges, whatever that Valentinian and Dr. Nyambose, they send a message
means; few deaths, though injuries are still mounting. after things settle down, either congratulating the PCs
or commiserating. They’ve had some bad news of their
Rita is able to paint the PCs as brave heroes who own: their vessel has been ordered to stay put and
helped the station avert total disaster, which pacifies await the arrival of a Harrison Armory battlegroup
the Board enough to let her keep her job. Although currently enroute to the system. Both Loki and Dr.
nothing can be proven, enough suspicion lies on Nyambose suspect they’re about to get roped into the
Evelina Bondarchuk that she quietly departs the station schemes of Dr. Odin Valentinian, Loki’s father, a thing
and does not return. they both left the Dawnline Shore to avoid.

Don’t adjust the Station Stability clock. The WINDING DOWN

Icebreaker will need time to recover, but not too long. Once the PCs have concluded their business on the
In the meantime, Hell’s Gate will be there to provide the station, they advance to LICENSE LEVEL 2. They have
materials it needs to repair and rebuild. time for a full repair and then may return to Hell’s Gate.
The duration of the downtime is flexible, but should be
Tick two segments on the Cult Influence clock and no more than a few weeks (not including the eleven
reveal it to the PCs. This wasn’t a victory for the Cult, days it takes to return to Hell’s Gate).
but it was an encouraging test run: they got close, and
it showed how weak the system’s defenses are.

The PCs each have time for a downtime action,

although it might not be a happy affair, given the current
state of the station.

[143]
THE INTERVIEW Create an Arena Performance clock with eight
As soon as the PCs get back to Hell’s Gate, they’re segments, and then make three rolls:
approached by Ipswich “Switch” DeLacey.
The first roll is about crafting your persona, cutting good
A boyish youth with a shock of platinum-white hair promos and developing good on-screen chemistry with
strolls up to you, carrying a milkshake. They’re opponents. It requires skill triggers like Charm, Lead
followed by a small fleet of hovering camera drones, or Inspire, Take Control or Threaten.
which they seem to be controlling with some kind of
hellishly complicated wrist computer. The second roll involves sizing up your opponents,
understanding the “meta” of the league and developing
“Yo, hey! You’re that special team Jerry put together, a fighting style. It requires skill triggers like Investigate,
right? You were on the Icebreaker when shit went Read a Situation, Spot or Word on the Street.
down? Nice! My name’s Ipswich DeLacey, but my
friends call me ‘Switch!’” They flash you a smile and The third roll involves actually fighting in the arena,
extend their free hand. trading blows, surviving an enemy’s attacks, controlling
the environment, winning the battle and looking good
“Could I get an interview for my stream?” doing it. It requires skill triggers like Assault, Blow
Something Up, Show Off or Take Someone Out.
Switch is very eager, but they won’t press the issue if
the PCs refuse. If the PCs accept, Switch will listen Each roll has the potential to fill in some segments on
intently without interrupting, speaking only during the Arena Performance clock.
natural breaks in the conversation. Their questions are
wide-ranging, but mostly seem to be centered around • For each roll of 9 or less, don’t tick any segments.
interesting things that happened (mech fights are front • For each roll of 10-19, fill in one segment.
and center, obviously) and interesting people they met. • For each roll of 20+, fill in two segments.

If Dr. Nyambose is mentioned, a brief look of concern Your Arena Performance clock remains between
passes across Switch’s face. If Loki Valentinian is missions, so you can take this action over multiple
mentioned, Switch chokes on their milkshake and then downtimes to accrue successes.
inexpertly tries to hide their shock. If the approaching
Armory fleet is mentioned, they have what appears to If you finish a run with no segments ticked, you’re a
be a panic attack, ending the interview abruptly. disappointment. You don’t have the acting chops to
make an interesting character, your style isn’t engaging
to watch and you don’t have much in-ring talent. Sorry,
NEW DOWNTIME ACTIVITIES you’re just not league material. They ask you not to
FIGHT IN THE HELLFIRE LEAGUE come back. You can’t take this downtime action again.
You paint a logo on your mech, practice your interview
voice and pay sign-up fees to compete in Calliope’s
most popular sport: gladiatorial mech violence. This If you finish a run with 1-3 segments ticked, you’re
isn’t the same as tactical combat: it’s as much about fine. You don’t win anything, but you’re at least able to
looking good for the camera as it is about blowing holes make someone else higher up the ladder look good,
in your opponent, and you have to be very careful not and the crowd doesn’t hate you. You get paid enough
to kill them. Plus, your usual work doesn’t require you to cover your repair bills, and gain +1g on all checks
to craft a persona or cut compelling promos. to interact with fans of the sport until the next downtime.

The only league still accepting sign-ups this late in a If you finish a run with 4-7 segments ticked, you’re
season is the Hellfire League. The Thunderstorm and doing numbers! You aren’t championship level yet, but
Moon Glacier Leagues are too selective about their you have a combination of charisma, style and skill
membership to allow new entries at this time. that’s pleasing the crowd. You gain +1g on all checks
to interact with fans of the sport until the next downtime,
and enough winnings to secure a single RESERVE.
This downtime action is specific to the Icebreaker. The
PCs can only take advantage of it when on the station,
but if a future downtime is at least a few weeks long, a If you finish a run with 8 segments ticked, you’re
PC could take a shuttle from wherever they currently dynamite! You’ve got that rare blend of personal
are to the Icebreaker to indulge in a little luxury R&R. magnetism, unique styling and combat skill that makes
This action is only available until the end of Act 1, after a star. There are whispers in the sports bars and the
which the current season ends. Omninet forums: you might do it. You might go all the
way. You get all the benefits of 4-7 segments, plus you
get an invitation to the next league championship.

[144]
Championship Invitation
Favors
There are fans out there who’d sell their soul to be
where you are right now: a rising star, climbing the
League’s ladder hand-over-hand. You and your
mech are becoming known across all of Union.

During the final downtime of Act 1, you may take the

Hellfire League Championship action.

THWART THE CULT

An insidious presence is hiding amongst the Faith of
the One. You got a taste of it on the Icebreaker, enough
to know that it goes much deeper than a few random
fanatics. Now you’re seeing the signs on Hell’s Gate.
You’ve made a resolution: it won’t happen here too.

You can only take this action when the Cult Influence
clock has at least one segment ticked.

Create a three-segment Cult Investigation clock on

your character sheet, then roll:

• On 9 or less, fill in one segment.

• On 10-19, fill in two segments.
• On 20+, fill in three segments.

Once you have segments ticked, you know – or at least

strongly suspect – the identity of an important member
of the Cult in Hell’s Gate.

From now on, when not actively engaged in a mission,

you can clear segments on your Cult Investigation
clock for the following benefits:

• 1 segment: You may ask the GM one question

about the Cult’s current activities. They must
answer truthfully and as fully as possible.
• 2 segments: You make a risky move against the
Cult member you’re investigating. It will definitely
succeed, unticking one segment of the Cult
Influence clock, but it’ll cause controversy; untick
a segment of the Station Stability clock too.
• 3 segments: You make a confident move against
the Cult member you’re investigating, and you
either have ironclad evidence or can do it quietly.
Untick one segment on the Cult Influence clock,
tick one segment on the Station Stability clock.

[145]
GETTING NEW FRAMES
The PCs have now reached Licence Level 2, which provides the exciting opportunity to acquire a new Frame.
Better yet: for once, someone else is paying for it. The Board of Icebreaker is ludicrously wealthy, and they owe the
PCs for their contract work, so the PCs have their pick of any manufacturer’s catalogue. Make a point to mention
how unusual this is.

Getting a new frame could be as simple as a PC as asking the Board to buy it for them. However, here are a few
flavorful vignettes that might happen while the PCs are trying to get new hardware.

IPS-N HA HORUS SSC ROLL 1D6

Smith Johnson is only too Loki Valentinian wants to There’s something hiding in You get a call. SSC Exotic
happy to take prospective show his gratitude for the the casinos. It’s there in the Materials wants to buy a
customers on a guided tour help you gave in rescuing way the dice and cards fall, copy of your mech’s sensor
through the IPS-N Calliope Dr. Nyambose. Because his in idle snatches of chatter logs so they can study the
showroom. They constantly father is an Executive, he around tables, in the drink blink gateway the cultists
1-2 try to get a read on your can share his access code orders and guest books. It’s constructed. How did they
tastes and preferences so to the Armory’s exclusive not about money, or fame, know about it? See, instead
that they can recommend a catalogue. This might cause or anything else tangible. of asking that, why not ask
best suited to you. They’re trouble for him down the It’s a pattern, a code written which optional extras your
desperate to make a sale. line, but that’s okay; he says in randomness. And it gave brand new mech will have?
you’re worth it. you an Omninet address. Spoiler: it’s all of them.
One of the Thunderstorm A Purview colony ship that Someone who introduces I A member of the Board is
League’s top gladiators is was slow-cruising to the only as “a cousin” visits you. blatantly trying to suck up to
retiring after an illustrious Dawnline Shore made port They tell you that “a kindly you. They want to buy your
career. Given that you put at the Icebreaker for R&R, uncle has seen potential in loyalty, and they’re willing to
your life on the line to save only to discover that their you,” and he’s willing to spend the cash to get you
this station, they can think of colony charter was fulfilled hook you up with HORUS access to SSC’s premiere
3-4 no better inheritor for their decades ago by a nearlight tech. You’re going to have product lines if that’s what it
championship mech. Their vessel. They’re now holding to wait a few days, though: takes. They don’t ask you to
only request is that you an unauthorized fire sale of apparently, it must be sign anything official, which
keep it painted in their their military gear so they “retrieved” from a former somehow just makes the
team’s colors. can afford the fuel and owner who “will soon have whole business even more
supplies to get back home. no further need for it.” unsettling.
Raphael Baza contacts you Did you know that the GMS You’re contacted by one of You can’t believe your luck.
to draw your attention to a Normalization Department’s the Icebreaker’s sigdivers. Before the Board can even
sale currently occurring in technology-sharing initiative They’ve picked up a weak, deliver what you asked for,
his Bazaar. A mercenary is requires that the Armory repeating transmission from you win that exact mech in a
putting her old frame and its maintain an open-source the edge of the system, in poker game when some
associated licenses on the codebase? Did you know the direction of Chameleon. Karrakin brat goes all-in with
5-6 market for a price that only it’s complete enough that The reason they contacted his SSC license. Doesn’t it
just covers a ticket out of the you can build an entire off- you? It’s encrypted – with seem a bit too good to be
system. She wants to leave, brand Armory frame from it? your private key. When you true? Rita gently explains to
and fast; it’s all about to go Did you know the Board decrypt it, it contains a huge you: it is. The Board rigged
sideways, she says, and if loves to cut costs? Well, compressed file, and a short the whole thing to get your
you know what’s good for now you know all of those message: “try this instead.” mech to you in a way that
you, you’ll get gone too. things! makes gambling look sexy.

[146]
CHAPTER 3:

SOME SICK GAME

KADY: Hi, I’m Kady Amville – oh, and by the way, did you know it’s fucking legal to abduct people in
Calliope? No wait, I’m sorry, my producer is telling me that’s wrong. It’s actually illegal to do that!
Problem is, there’s no legal system here. Also, I don’t actually have a producer – I can’t afford one!

[QUICK PAN ACROSS THE REST OF THE EMPTY ROOM, AND THEN BACK TO KADY]

KADY: See, the system, having just barely cooled down from that whole thing on the Icebreaker, now has
to deal with a string of abductions. And I want to make it clear that we know who’s doing this. We
know it’s CEO of Impact Dynamics and world’s first sentient septic tank Rodericke Steele. We know
this because his “snatch squads” – and yes, those are his words – literally play an announcement.

[CUT TO FOUND FOOTAGE OF A TEAM OF MERCENARIES SEIZING CIVILIANS. A GIGANTIC

HOLO-PROJECTION OF RODERICKE STEELE IS VISIBLE]

STEELE: Hi! I’m Rodericke Steele, and I’d like to personally welcome you to “mandatory recruitment,” brought
to you by Impact Dynamics!

[CUT BACK TO KADY, MASSAGING THEIR TEMPLES]

KADY: I hate it here.

[147]
BEAT 13:
WRECKING FIELDS
This beat takes place some weeks after the team However, local records suggest the Pistoclerus was
returns to Hell’s Gate, although no more than a couple absent for most of the relevant engagement, with its
of months. Feel free to play out some vignettes or only notable actions being to arrive in Shore’s orbit and
expand on individual PCs’ backstories during that time. immediately explode. The most likely explanation is
When you’re ready to advance the plot, the next beat that the ship’s commander tried to “run with scissors” –
begins in the middle of things. that is, they executed a nearlight bolt while their ship’s
spinal weapon was charged.
After the chaos on the Icebreaker, an uneasy peace
has settled across Calliope. The Hell Hounds are still The wreckfield is only twelve hundred kilometers above
making death threats against you, but even those the surface of Shore, and is dropping year by year;
are getting rarer. There are rumors of internal strife projections suggest it’ll crash by mid-century. A wide,
in the enterprise, some kind of leadership struggle. donut-shaped area around its orbital path is filled with
fast-moving debris, making it too risky for ships to get
The Faith of the One is present on Hell’s Gate, and close. It must be approached in mechs, or not at all.
has been for a while now. You didn’t notice before,
but after the Icebreaker, you started to see it. There’s Worse, something – it’s unclear exactly what – is still
an old growhouse on the fore hab ring that’s been active within the field’s center, and it causes severe
abandoned for years, and about a year ago they just electromagnetic interference. Communication gets
moved right in and turned it into a temple. harder the closer one gets to the center of the field. All
in all, the wreck of the Pistoclerus is a very dangerous
Right now, though, there’s a new source of tension. salvage prospect, but that also means it hasn’t been
All over Calliope, people are being taken. It’s mostly stripped bare yet.
from isolated habs in the inner system – places that
can’t defend themselves. But a couple of days back, The PCs are looking for a dozen civilian salvage mechs
eighteen people from Endymion’s Lament were and six combat frames piloted by members of the
kidnapped in broad daylight. They’re getting bolder. militia. They were dropped off a couple of days ago by
a short-range freighter delivering salvage teams to
Everyone knows who’s doing it – it’s Impact several wrecks around Stygia. Strictly speaking, union
Dynamics. Rodericke Steele is, in fact, proud of it. regulations require that each team have its own
dedicated transport, but the Gate’s been short of ships
Now, a salvage team has gone silent while out in a for decades. Quite often, a team will get dropped off to
wreckfield near Shore, one of Stygia’s moons. The do some work, left for a while and then picked up later.
militia detail assigned to them isn’t responding either.
The wreckfield is a tense and eerie place – dark and
silent, with colossal sections of ship hull tumbling slowly
You get a ping from Siren. “Look alive, marines!
We’re coming up on the field, and this as close as I through space, interspersed with dangerous clouds of
get. That junkpile used to be a Karrakin battlecruiser, shrapnel. A fight is coming, but build up the tension
before it hits. There’s a lot of folk tales about
so watch out for unexploded munitions! And be
wreckfields – shapes glimpsed briefly at the end of
careful! The whole thing’s in a decaying orbit. I’m not
hallways, strange sensor pings, voices in the radio
reading the salvage ship in there, but there’s too
static that mutter half-understood words.
much interference for that to mean anything.”

After an unsettlingly quiet search, the PCs will pick up

Give the PCs time to interact and move about the
a weak signal over the local interference: a distress
Dragon’s Tooth before deployment.
beacon. It belongs to Takama “L-Kay” El Khayat, one
of the missing militia pilots. Her mech is just sitting
If the team wants more information on the wreck, Siren there, unpowered, in a large chamber. There’s a life-
tells them it was a Karrakin battlecruiser, the FKS-BC sign inside it, but it doesn’t respond to hails.
Pistoclerus, reported lost with all hands 38 years ago.
Baronic Unified Command’s memorial database states
The PCs might not fall for this obvious trap; that’s fine.
the cause as a direct hit from the spinal cannon of the
If they don’t take the bait, the enemies will still attack,
Armory dreadnought PCV-DN Voltumna.
but they’ll do so from a less advantageous position.

[148]
COMBAT:
SURPRISE, SURPRISE
SITREP: Extraction (Lancer, p. 270)

OBJECTIVE(S): 1x L-KAY’S TORTUGA Size 2, 16 HP

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x ELITE PIRATE ASSASSIN Sap, Prying Claws
1x VETERAN WITCH Chain, Hacker
1x PIRATE DEMOLISHER Concussion Missiles, Prying Claws
1x RAINMAKER

FOR 4 PCS: +1x VETERAN ARCHER Blinding Shells, Lightning Reflexes

FOR 5 PCS: +1x ELITE PIRATE BERSERKER Harpoon Cannon

ALLIED FORCES
FOR 3-5 PCS: 1x L-KAY – VETERAN SENTINEL Size 2, Punisher Ammunition, Lesser Sight

L-Kay’s Tortuga, No Please, I Insist, is in cold shutdown

DETAILS and she’s locked out of the controls. An adjacent PC
This fight serves two purposes: to directly confront the can make an ENGINEERING check as a quick action to
PCs with the threat of the abductions taking place jump-start the reactor, after which a PC will need to
across the system, and to give your players a chance INVADE her mech (E-DEFENSE 10) to end the lockout.
to get used to the new frames and gear they acquired
at LICENSE LEVEL 2. Players should know that they’re
going to get a FULL REPAIR right after this fight. Once both of these actions are performed, L-KAY is
able to move and fight under her own power as an NPC
ally, using the profile above. She’s no longer subject to
In addition to regular cover, the chamber also contains escort rules – but this also means hostiles now consider
several Size 1 unexploded munitions. These provide her a valid target. She still needs to extract at the
hard cover, but using them for this purpose is very extraction zone as usual, but as long as she’s in her
unwise. They only have 1 HP, and if they take any mech, she can move there herself. If her mech is
damage at all, they explode. Any character in d1 must destroyed, she ejects and turns back into a Size ½
make an AGILITY save with a target of 12 or take 2d6k extraction objective with 6 HP.
and be knocked PRONE. Characters who succeed on
the save take half damage and are not knocked PRONE.
This might be the first time the PCs have encountered
an ASSASSIN or a WITCH, so be prepared to explain how
And yes, a mech with TOTAL STRENGTH SUITE I can their mechanics work as they come up.
throw them, in which case they explode at their
destination, dealing only the explosive damage stated
Several enemies in this fight have the PIRATE template,
above, using the PC’s SAVE TARGET instead of 12, and
meaning they do bonus damage on critical hits. The
knocking affected enemies PRONE on a failed save
hostiles in this encounter also have PRYING CLAWS, a
instead of inflicting knockback. It doesn’t place a piece
terrifying ability that lets them tear a pilot right out of
of hard cover next to the PC’s target, for reasons that
their mech. Note that the enemies in this fight are trying
should hopefully be obvious.
to take prisoners, not corpses; they will happily
incapacitate the PCs, but they won’t kill them.
This extraction sitrep works a little differently to the
standard one. Firstly, there is no time limit. The hostile
The hostiles have covered up the livery on their mechs,
forces don’t have any more reinforcements in easy
but a success with the SPOT skill trigger will reveal that
reach; once the full strength of their force is deployed,
they are members of the Hell Hounds.
that’s all they have. Secondly, if the PCs fell for the bait,
the PCs deploy next to the extraction target, but the
entire enemy force starts on the field and an enemy
character takes the first turn.

[149]
position to do so. Some of their mechs and hardsuits
OUTCOME still have the colors and livery. Some might break under
PC DEFEAT interrogation. Regardless of what happens, eventually
If PCs (or L-Kay) are defeated but unable to extract, one of them snaps and starts blaming everything on the
they’re captured by the pirates. Within a few hours, PCs – and reveals something concerning:
they’re herded out of the wreck and onto a transport
that’s just showed up. Siren can’t help; she doesn’t “We had to take this job! It was all we could get! The
have enough firepower to match the pirates. Hounds are falling apart! Nobody takes us seriously
anymore. Everything went to shit when you killed the
It quickly becomes clear, despite their efforts to hide it, Bossman! Half of us are starving, and the other half
that the kidnappers are members of the Hell Hounds, went batshit and joined a fucking cult!”
or at least were. They’re particularly abusive towards
the PCs, whom they recognize as Andros Capella’s If the PCs ask after the cult, it becomes quite clear who
killers. Given that this is potentially uncomfortable the captive is talking about.
content, make sure that players are informed in
advance and safety tools are available.
“The firebird creeps! Heard you ran into them on the
Icebreaker – wish you had killed each other!”
If a PC plays their cards right, they might be able to
obtain some of the same information about the current
Their prisoner likely won’t be co-operative, but with a
state of the Hell Hounds as detailed below under the
little persuasion they can be convinced to go into more
victory section. Reward good roleplaying or a high skill
detail about what’s happening.
trigger roll. The Hell Hounds are angry, but it’s a
talkative kind of anger – they want to vent their
frustrations at the PCs, whom they see as responsible “Half a year back, this psycho shows up at the Fort.
for their current grief. Says he can give us a line on some good salvage if
he can stay a while and preach. Bossman says ‘sure,
why not.’ Next thing we know, a third of the Hounds
A few hours pass. But just before the transport breaks
are babbling this firebird apocalypse bullshit!
orbit, there’s a massive commotion and the sounds on
battle erupt all over the ship. The door of the holding
cell slides open to reveal several people in elaborate “Bossman says the psycho’s gotta go, but by that
hardsuits resembling knightly armor and covered in time enough Hounds are brainwashed it starts a
chivalric emblems. At their head is a tall, smirking mutiny. Psycho says ‘do one more thing for me, and
woman whom the PCs will be familiar with by I’ll go.’ Sends the Bossman out to some wreck he
reputation, if not personally: Mistress Elske, leader of wants something from. Well, you fuckers know how
the Knights of the Dark Core, another pirate faction. that turned out!

She announces that she’s the bearer of excellent news: “Now the Fort’s a free-for-all, and it’s all your fault!
not only have the PCs been honored with a rescue by Nobody can step into the Bossman’s shoes! Every
the finest outlaws in Calliope, but she’s rescued the time someone tries it turns into a bloodbath, and the
salvage team and the other militia members who were psycho’s just sitting there laughing, pulling strings.
abducted as well. Thanks to her, they will all soon be
returned to their homes and families. Even better, she’s “Can’t go back to legit life with the ink and the rep.
already thought of a way you can repay her kindness! Can’t defect either! Knights won’t have us ‘cause we
In fact, she was just on her way to Hell’s Gate to talk to broke the Code, the Blacksmith put a deathmark on
you specifically. Isn’t chance a funny thing? anyone who helped strikebreak in ’04, and the
Circuit? Well, even if they weren’t just as much of a
Proceed to Beat 14: In Shining Glamour (p. 152). fuckin’ cult, they’ve gone totally AWOL! Even the
moonlighters don’t respect us no more.

PC VICTORY “So yeah, when that piece of shit Steele calls up and
If the PCs clearly outmatch the pirates, they will attempt says he’ll pay for every person we bring him, we took
to retreat; this isn’t worth losing their mechs or their him up on it. Think I wanted this? Think it makes me
lives over. They already got what they came for, a fact proud? But he’s the only one left who’ll hire us!”
they will happily gloat about over local comms. If the
PCs cut off their exit, some pirates will fight to the bitter
In any case, the PCs may return to Hell’s Gate at their
end, knowing Hell’s Gate is unlikely to be kind to human
leisure – but with the somber news that the salvage
traffickers. Some will surrender anyway, seeing it as
team and most of its militia escort have been taken.
better to take a chance than die for sure.

Any prisoners the PCs take will try to conceal their

affiliation with the Hell Hounds, but they’re not in a good

[150]
BEAT 14:
IN SHINING GLAMOUR
As this beat begins, the PCs have either returned to There she is, gliding serenely out of the airlock. Tall,
Hell’s Gate, or are being returned to Hell’s Gate by broad-shouldered, with her hair dyed silver at the
Mistress Elske and the Knights of the Dark Core. In roots, fading into sunset purples and blues. Like the
either case, it starts with a squadron of Dark Core others, her hardsuit is fashioned as knight’s armor,
spaceships arriving outside Hell’s Gate. but hers has a lot more emblems on it. She also has
a sword – an actual sword – strapped to her waist.
If the PCs are on the station, it’s a few hours to a day
after they returned from the wreckfield. They get an She’s flanked by six guards carrying pikes and a
urgent all-hands call from Zinfandel DeJean, stating young attendant – a squire! – carrying a scroll. They
that pirate vessels have been detected on approach to unfurl it and begin to read from it. “Presenting Elske,
the station. Every militia pilot needs to get into their Grandmistress Martial to the Most Noble Order of
mechs and be ready to defend the station. Knights of the Dark Core, her honor guard, and
several residents of Hell’s Gate, freshly liberated!”
However, the pirates decelerate as they approach the
station’s point-defense screen, and politely request Zinfandel narrows their eyes. “Hope you’re not
docking clearance. If the PCs are listening in on the expecting a parade.”
channel, the operator passes it up the chain to their
superior, who passes it up the chain to their superior, Elske smirks. “I didn’t know that was an option! But
who finally passes it up the chain to Jerry. no, the only gratitude I require is an audience with
the station director. I’m owed that much.” She turns
Jerry looks bewildered, but there’s a determination to your team, sweeping her hand across each of you.
in his voice you don’t usually hear. He taps his fist on “And I’d like them to be there, as well.”
his desk to punctuate his reply. “Come? Aboard?
You’ve got to be kidding me, Elske! You’re a pirate! Elske has the unwritten right to request this. Long Rim
I’m not letting you on my station!” custom states that when someone saves your life
(whether from death or other unpleasant fate, like
The woman on the other end of the call moves aside, slavery) you owe them a recompense you’re “easily
revealing several familiar faces – the salvage team, able to give.” Jerry has no obligation to grant her
and the rest of L-Kay’s squad. “But I have your request, but everyone Elske saved is obligated to ask
people with me, Jerry! I rescued them from the Hell him to. Jerry soon realizes it’s easiest to just say yes.
Hounds, and I’m bringing them home! You wouldn’t
shoot a woman who rescued your citizens out of the
thoughtsneeze: damn i would absolutely let her
goodness of her own heart, would you? Well, even if appropriate my unearned riches
you would, you won’t shoot your own people. So, I’m
coming aboard.” thoughtsneeze: i would permit her to expose my
knavery to the world
If Mistress Elske rescued the PCs, they’re on camera thoughtsneeze: she can plunder my strongbox
too. In either case, Jerry is out of options. He relents any time
and allows Mistress Elske’s ship – but only her ship – LilRatBoy: Damn dude, we could recommission
to dock. Militia pilots are warned to get ready, but the Borealis and it still wouldn’t satisfy
probably not for violence; for pretension. your embarrassing thirst
– Muse chatter
The orderly machine drone of the docking bay is
broken as a line of eight pirates bearing trumpets
and horns file out of the transport and begin blasting
a fanfare. Each of them is clad in a hardsuit that’s
styled after the armor of a medieval knight.

“Oh, for Christ’s sake,” Zinfandel grunts.

You get the feeling that if you weren’t in microgravity,

the pirates would be unfurling a red carpet.

[151]
THE KNIGHTS OF THE DARK CORE
The Knights of the Dark Core are a great example of
how living in Calliope can make you a bit… odd.
Founded more than sixty years ago by Prem Bhagat,
its first Grandmaster Martial, the Dark Core is a self-
described “chivalric order of hedge knights.”

In reality, they’re still pirates just like any other

sunlighter, but they’re far and away the most principled
pirates the system has. Each initiate must swear a
number of oaths in a formal ceremony before being
awarded the title of Knight. These oaths forbid a Knight
from, among other things, killing an unarmed person
without giving them a chance to surrender, and stealing
from the poor except in a life-or-death emergency. The
Knights prey almost exclusively on the wealthy.

The system has a fair bit of affection for the Knights,

grudging as it might be. While they haven’t mastered
the art of widespread wealth redistribution, more often
than not, they indulge in charity towards Calliope’s MISTRESS ELSKE SHE/HER
poorest. They also see it as their duty to enforce GRANDMISTRESS MARTIAL
standards of behavior on Calliope’s other criminals; be “Of course I don’t want to live forever! Just long
they moonlighters or sunlighters, pirates must be wary enough to dance on the graves of all my enemies.”
of straying too far from “The Code,” as the Knights call
it, lest the Knights come to “correct” them. Elske is the Knights’ fifth Grandmaster Martial, a
position she’s held for twelve years. Although she’s not
Another thing that endears Calliope to the Knights is the first woman to hold the title, she’s the first to insist
just how extra they are. They’re knights. They roll on the gendered “Grandmistress,” for reasons she
around the system in mechs and hardsuits custom- refuses to elaborate on.
tailored to look like medieval armor. They carry swords
and pikes. They have squires. They refer to each other As leader of the Knights, Elske has presented herself
as “Ser” and talk about chivalry and oaths. Most of all, as a return to principle, after her predecessor allowed
they seem to do all of this without irony; this isn’t some the Knights’ enforcement of The Code to lapse. After
big joke to them. They’re genuinely invested in it all. defeating him in single combat, she took the unusual
They’re so ridiculous that it’s hard to stay mad at them, step of exiling him, rather than allowing him honorable
and yet they have an intensity and conviction that retirement as a martial instructor. She also had his
makes it hard not to take them seriously. name struck from the order’s records.

Given their high standards and overall strangeness, the Elske is tall and broad-shouldered, with a livid scar
Knights are by far the smallest major pirate band in running up her right cheek which she received in a duel
Calliope. However, when the Knights stress quality with the previous Grandmaster Martial. She dyes her
over quantity, that’s not an idle boast: their pilots are far hair in muted sunset colors. By her accent, mannerisms
and away the best-trained of any criminal outfit in the and figures of speech, she’s obviously Karrakin, and
system. This is the primary reason other pirates care likely high nobility, but it’s unclear from which house.
about the Code: break it too many times and a Knight
may come knocking, and a Knight is absolutely not to In person, she manages the delicate balancing act of
be trifled with. being grandiose but still approachable. She’s a pirate
queen, and she lives life to enjoy it. She’s a lover of
The Knights and the Hell Hounds are inveterate luxury, but she’s more than happy to share with others.
enemies, due to the Hell Hounds’ brutality and disdain After all, being able to splash the cash around and feed
for the Code. The Circuit also often falls foul of them, the hungry is a sign of her wealth and status.
although they’ve collaborated in the past. The Burning
Forge is usually on good terms with them, although a Elske is also a nexus of scandalous gossip. She’s been
recent, undisclosed incident has soured relations. rumored to be in secret relationships with just about
every major figure in Calliope, often several at once.
Some folks even say she starts these rumors herself.

Oh, that one’s definitely true. – M.E.

[152]
“If Steele gets away with this, if nobody stops him,
THE MEETING how long before he starts making us pay for food and
Jerry schedules the meeting with Elske and the PCs as water in people? He already acts with impunity, and
soon as he possibly can – having a pirate leader on the everyone’s too afraid to stop him. We need to draw
station is only going to cause trouble, and the faster this a line in the sand, send a clear message to both him
meeting is done with, the faster she can leave. and the system that he’s not invincible and there’s
some things we won’t allow him to do.”
You walk into Jerry’s office to discover Elske has
already arrived, and is sitting perched on his desk, If the PCs have more questions for Elske, she’s happy
very close to him. Jerry has a look of indescribable to answer them.
discomfort on his face. As he sees you, he smiles
and blinks slowly, in a way that suggests he wants to
scream and is having trouble holding it in. HOW SHE KNOWS THIS
“Trouble at Chez Impact. Steele always underpays
his workers, but now mid-level managers are feeling
He squeaks a greeting. “Oh. Good. You’re here.” the squeeze too, and the grumbling has started.
Nothing public yet, of course; they’d get tossed out
Elske proceeds to explain everything. Rodericke Steele an airlock. But some of them know how to get their
is behind the abductions; everyone knew that already. grievances heard by the right ears, and one of them
What they don’t know is why: he’s about to unveil his leaked insider information on this new scheme. They
competitor to the system’s mech fighting leagues: the get revenge on Steele, but their hands stay clean.”
“Steele Games.” He’s apparently been watching a lot of
footage from Begum’s “Battle Royal” lately, because THE TIMESCALE
his idea is to dump a lot of people into mechs and force “I can’t give you exact dates, unfortunately. They
them to kill each other until only one is left. already have enough abductees to run a couple of
rounds, but the arena isn’t functional yet and they’re
This is a flagrant violation of the Utopian Pillars, of still fixing the broadcast equipment. I think you have
course, but Steele’s been violating them for years now a couple of weeks at least, but you should hurry.”
and Union’s repeated failure to punish him has only
emboldened him. Captain Ordaz of the UNS-CV HELP IN FURNACE CITY
Thames refuses to intervene, and Elske doesn’t even “I can get you a valid landing permit, but only for a
blame her – she has a single carrier, and Impact couple of ships. That’s the extent of my influence
Dynamics has an entire defense fleet. planetside. The Burning Forge holds sway there, and
after the tiff we had last year, I’m not on the best of
Steele has had an arena – the “Steele Dome” – built on terms with the Blacksmith. That’s why we can’t do
the surface of Asphodel, and the abductees are being this ourselves, hence my being here. Still, I think he
brought there. Approach by space or air is out – the might be sympathetic to the cause anyway. You
Impact Dynamics fleet controls the planet’s orbit, and might try talking to him. He won’t be hard to find.
the arena has top-of-the-line anti-air defenses. The
only option is on land, below radar altitude, where “As for Furnace City itself, take in mind that they’ve
surveillance is spotty. got Impact Dynamics orbiting directly above them,
and it’d be risky to oppose them openly. You’ll need
The Knights are already spread too thin fighting to convince them you know what you’re doing. Even
Steele’s hired abduction teams; they’ve always been if it’s not your forte, come up with a plan before you
the smallest of the pirate bands. They don’t have any arrive. They’re more likely to trust you that way.”
manpower to spare. Even if they did, the only place
ships can put down without attracting attention is ROUTE TO THE ARENA
Furnace City – somewhere that won’t give pirates like “We can give you the arena’s exact location, but
them landing clearance. figuring out a route is something you’re going to have
to work out yourself; we don’t have planetside
The PCs have already demonstrated that they can reconnaissance. I’d advise leaning on the locals;
punch far above their weight and accomplish tasks few they’ll know the terrain.”
else in their position could. She needs a small team of
competent lancers to sneak into Furnace City, brave EXPECTED RESISTANCE
Asphodel’s wilderness and infiltrate the arena. Once “Steele’s security forces don’t mess around, but he
there, they’ll need to locate and free the prisoners, shut can’t have pulled that many off regular duty to staff
down the anti-air defenses, junk as many of Steele’s the arena, or we’d be seeing it elsewhere in the
security forces as possible and then wreck the arena system. Expect a well-armed, well-trained force, but
so it can’t ever be used again. in limited numbers.”

[153]
EXTRACTING THE PRISONERS If you need some plot hooks, consider the following:
“That’s something you’ll have to work out on the
ground. Furnace City isn’t my territory – that’s • Jerry’s flipping between anxious and furious
Burning Forge turf. And I can’t make deals with them because he just found out that PHASE//SHIFT, the
directly right now, for… reasons.” only competing mining company in the system,
somehow landed a lucrative procurement contract
DANGER OF RETALIATION that didn’t even get offered to Hell’s Gate.
“Yes, there’s a possibility Steele might attempt to
retaliate against you if you ruin his arena. But the • Cerulean Enceladus has heard of the PCs’
alternative is you do nothing, and let this go impending trip to Furnace City and would like them
unopposed. You think he won’t eventually lash out at to run some totally above-board goods to Ratio
you anyway? At least this way, we’ll force him to look Salvager, a “legitimate business associate.”
even more petty and vindictive. Maybe we’ll even • Following Elske’s visit, Striga Von Aldenberg is
convince that Union captain to finally step in.” even more paranoid than usual. She demands the
PCs tell her if Elske is working for Them. Who’s
THE PAY Them? Well, depending on whether Striga’s on her
“Is it not enough to know you’re doing a good turn for fifth or sixth energy drink of the day, it’s either a
the system, rescuing innocents from an unhappy race of hyper-intelligent vent crabs, or a cabal of
death and spitting in the eye of a tyrant? Must this be SecComm remnants led by a mutant clone of John
about nothing more than material benefit?” Creighton Harrison I.
• Chief McArthur would like a PC to check in on
She pauses for effect. “Oh, come now, I’m only someone living in one of the outlander settlements
kidding! If your hearts can bear the burden of being beyond Furnace City. She uses the word “sister,”
paid by a notorious pirate, I’m more than happy to be but it’s obvious in the way she says it that the
your wealthy patron. And on top of that, pull this off, relationship is a lot more complicated.
and I can get you the equipment you need to beef up
that ship of yours – the Dragon’s Tooth, you call it?” • Zinfandel wants one or two PCs to help with a
training session they’re running for some militia
THE TITLE “MISTRESS” recruits in the simulator. By the way: have the PCs
She smirks. “I think you’ve already made an noticed how nobody’s heard from the Circuit lately?
assumption, so I won’t spoil your fun by clarifying.” Weird for technocultists to be this quiet.
• Hello [CustomerName]! BARTENDER MOTHERFUCKER
They PCs can still refuse Elske at this point, and that’s requests that you [suggestive eyebrow wiggle]
okay. You’ll need to prepare something different for “acquire” some liquor the outlanders make! Do
them to do for this chapter – explore a PC’s backstory, not worry! You will be compensated with
perhaps. Elske, driven to desperation, goes to the Inner [/dev/random] days of free drinks!
Cult for help. They’re only too happy to take the job. Give another insight into how Hell’s Gate is faring
The arena gets ruined, the abductees get rescued, and based on the status of the Station Stability clock.
a lot of grateful people become converts. Tick two
segments on the Cult Influence clock.
HardcoreColdcore: do you ever wonder what
catboy Rodericke Steele would look like?
If the PCs accept, they can begin making preparations
to leave. Elske suggests, despite the urgency, that they FrostFounder: Sure do love living in Calliope,
give it a couple of days before they depart – she needs constantly having to parse thoughts that would
time to do something flashy and distracting elsewhere dissolve the bones of the average human being
in the system, so that people forget she was here. – Muse chatter

PRIOR TO DEPARTURE
The PCs get a FULL REPAIR to patch up and adjust their
loadouts after the recent fight. While preparations for
the mission are underway, the PCs have time for a little
bit of relaxation. Since they’ve spent a whole mission
away on the Icebreaker, and are about to spend
another on Asphodel, this is a good chance to ensure
the PCs stay familiar with the Gate’s residents.

[154]
MISSION 3: BRIEFING
Jerry and Elske are in agreement: Rodericke Steele

TO THE DOME must be stopped. The best place to start is Furnace

City; they’ll have a better idea of what’s happening on
Asphodel, and where to find help.
Gone ‘til the rain stops.
GOAL: Travel to Furnace City. Navigate the
– Outlander euphemism for “dead” wilderness of Asphodel. Rescue
abducted Calliopeans. Wreck the
arena. Send Rodericke Steele a clear
message: the lives of Calliope’s
people are not his playthings.

STAKES: A lot of people will be forced to kill

each other for sport if they aren’t
rescued, and Steele will be further
emboldened to exploit Calliope.

REWARD: Mistress Elske will provide the team

with enough funds to advance to
LICENSE LEVEL 3. She’s also promised
to upgrade the Dragon’s Tooth.

RESERVES: The PCs have access to any reserves

they acquired from the last two
missions or on downtime activities
along with them, so long as it makes
narrative sense for them to be
available on Asphodel.

CLOCKS
Actions taken during mission may affect the Station
Stability and Cult Influence clocks.

At the start of the mission, tick a segment on the Cult

Influence clock. The Cult’s presence is insidious, and
while everyone’s eyes are upon Asphodel, its agents
have more leeway to operate on Hell’s Gate.

Beat 16: Walk and Talk, Buddy (p. 167) establishes

the Journey Progress and Enemy Attention clocks,
which are relevant throughout this mission but will be
erased after its completion.

MISSION STRUCTURE
This mission starts with the team gathering aid and
supplies in Furnace City during Beat 15: The Only City
(p. 157) and Beat 16: Walk and Talk, Buddy (p. 167).

Once this task is complete, they will journey through the

wilderness in Beat 17: Unforgiving Terrain (p. 173),
which is subdivided into a series of Encounters, which
are chosen by the players. These Encounters will give
the team more chances to gather help and supplies.

Finally, in Beat 18: The Battle Royale (p. 188), they

will assault the Steele Dome, rescue the abductees and
escape after trashing the place.

[155]
BEAT 15:
THE ONLY CITY
The journey to Asphodel will take about five days. Jerry The top tier, known as “the Rings,” contains the vast
sends a freighter along with the fireteam to give them majority of the city’s living space. It’s a series of
some sort of excuse as to why they’re out there. stepped, concentric rings following the slope of the
crater, connected by a series of funiculars. There are
The curve of Asphodel slowly begins to flatten as you few free-standing structures; residential, commercial
drop into the atmosphere, your vessel’s hull glowing and municipal spaces are built into the crater walls.
cherry red with re-entry heat. Gravity begins tugging
on you – real gravity, not spin or thrust. At the bottom of the rings, built on the roof of the second
tier, there is a large, flat green space around the Pillar
They say Asphodel was colder once, that it even had dedicated mostly to leisure, with some scattered
polar ice caps, but those days are long past – now, agricultural elements.
a vast ocean dominates the north pole. As the ice
melted and the waters pressed south, they left sharp, The middle tier, known as “the Farms,” is a series of
craggy mountains with deep valleys carved by vertically stacked agricultural installations which
meltwater, worn down over time by aeons of wind provide Furnace City with food. The city’s sewage and
and rain. But the highlands still provide shelter from water processing systems are also located on this tier.
the worst of the elements, and so that’s where they
built Furnace City. The lowest tier, known as “the Sump,” is a mostly
abandoned area full of equipment used during the city’s
Driving rain batters the Tooth’s hull plating and the early days. A couple of the lowest sub-basements
ship judders as it passes through layer after layer of flooded at the turn of the century and were sealed off.
cloud. Through the haze of the rainstorm, a flash of
lightning illuminates a glass dome surrounded by The Pillar contains most of the city’s communications
kilometers of industrial sprawl. There it is: the only infrastructure, most notably its local omninode, in
terrestrial city in the Long Rim. addition to its air traffic control center. It also contains
the primary freight elevators that move equipment and
Siren’s voice cuts in over the roar of the atmospheric produce between the farms and the rings – and if
engines. “Pillar Control, this is Harvest Gold Zero- necessary, mothballed gear from the Sump.
Four-Five-One, alongside Harvest Gold Zero-Niner-
Four-Seven Heavy, requesting landing clearance Outside the dome is a sprawling industrial complex
and approach vector for both vessels, over.” known as the Burnfields, linked to the city proper by a
tangle of monorail lines. The Burnfields contain a stable
“Harvest Gold Zero-Four-Five-One, this is Pillar reactor plant that provides power at night or during
Control, you are on the list and clear for pad three. periods of heavy load, and a second stable reactor
Please descend to flight level one six hundred and plant dedicated entirely to the orbital accelerator.
turn right heading three-one-zero. Harvest Gold
Zero-Niner-Four-Seven Heavy, you’ll be landing at The orbital accelerator is a gigantic mass driver track
pad eighteen. Maintain current heading and await that extends nearly four hundred kilometers east of the
further instructions. Welcome to Furnace City.” city, intended to propel spacecraft to a high enough
altitude to safely fire their torch drives. Crewed vessels
have to ride at a lower g-force, so usually can’t get all
CITY LAYOUT the way to the edge of the atmosphere from the mass
Furnace City is enclosed in a dome three kilometers in driver alone, but uncrewed cargo drones can.
diameter at its widest point. It reaches a height of
eleven hundred meters above the surrounding terrain,
with a central support column known as “the Pillar” that Beyond the Burnfields, but within the perimeter of its air
rises an additional fifty meters further than the crown of defense network, there are several landing pads for
the dome. visiting ships. Due to the fumes from the city’s industrial
sector, the solar collectors have to be placed even
further away from the city, outside the air cordon.
The dome encloses a steep, V-shaped depression
roughly three times as deep as the dome is tall. The city
itself is built in a series of three major tiers stacked on
top of one another that descend downwards, with the
Pillar at the center.

[156]
[157]
LOCATIONS PERSONS OF INTEREST
CITY HALL
Located in one of the middle rings, the Assembly meets
here every two local days to discuss pressing issues.
All sessions are open to residents for comments,
questions and suggestions, except during a state of
high emergency. Elections are held every local year,
with Assembly representatives maintaining a ratio of
roughly one for each ten thousand residents.

RATIO’S GOLDEN SCRAP AND SALVAGE

The largest scrap and salvage dealership in the City,
run by the friendly and eccentric Ratio Salvager. A full
third of the planet’s cast-off technology winds up here;
electronic or mechanical things too beat up, worn out
or broken down to be fixed. From dilapidated rovers to
old slates, from junked mechs to obsolete spaceship
components, you can probably find it in Ratio’s yard.

THE RUSTY NAIL

With three million citizens, there’s no shortage of bars,
pubs, taverns and watering holes in Furnace City, but CANAAN ZHOU THEY/THEM
the Rusty Nail has a particular reputation: it’s where the TEMPORARY OVERSEER
Forgers hang out. Notable features include a memorial “Effective immediately, I’m suspending all solo
wall for all the folks killed in the Strikebreak of ’04, a excursions. Nobody goes outside the dome alone.”
dartboard in the shape of Rodericke Steele’s face, and
the Hall of Fame: framed photographs of the six people Furnace City’s Municipal Assembly is officially a non-
who’ve managed to out-drink the Blacksmith. hierarchical council of civilian representatives. During
important initiatives, however, it becomes useful to
SULPHUR MARKET appoint an Overseer: an individual with strictly defined
Trade between outlanders and cityfolk happens all over powers whose job is to ensure that the Assembly’s
Furnace City, but the lion’s share of it takes place in the decisions are implemented.
Sulphur Market, a satellite dome in the outer Burnfields.
Most of the major roads that lead in and out of the The current Overseer is Canaan Zhou, a veteran
municipality converge here, allowing trader caravans emergency planning specialist appointed to handle the
easy access. The whole thing is run by a council staffed abduction crisis. As this initiative relates to the city’s
equally by cityfolk and outlanders, and because of the security, Canaan may request the militia detain or
latent distrust between the two groups, they’re often remove people actively endangering the city. However,
called in to arbitrate disputes between traders. it’s important to note that they aren’t in the militia and
aren’t part of its command structure; they are simply
PILLAR PARK authorized to bring issues to the attention of the militia
The lowest, centermost tier of the Rings, immediately without consulting the Assembly first.
surrounding the Pillar itself, is taken up by a large
municipal park. It’s nothing compared to the sprawling Like most Landborn, Canaan is tall and lanky, and
city parks and nature reserves of Union’s core worlds, usually ties their hair back in a ponytail. They’re fond of
but it represents a dream that, despite their differences, denim jackets and cargo trousers, each with enough
the cityfolk and the outlanders share: trees, blooming pockets to hold all of their pens, slates and notepads.
in the soil of Asphodel. They’re normally a lot friendlier, but they haven’t gotten
much sleep lately. Their attitude towards the PCs will
THE PINK FLAMINGO depend on how well things went on the Icebreaker.
A popular bar on the upper rings. Its name is based on
an old legend in which an early colonist claimed to have When not on the clock, Canaan is an avid gravball
seen a flamingo while out in the Terra Solus. Such a enthusiast, plays a pretty mean game of bridge and
thing would, of course, be impossible – no macroscopic restores old ground vehicles – mostly just for the love
Cradle species can survive Asphodel’s atmosphere. of the practice, but also to donate to outlander
The bar is most well-known for its Flamingo Cocktails communities who need transportation.
(equal parts white rum and gin, with a dash of bitters)
and its psychological horror rewatch marathons.

[158]
CLIP MAGAZINE HE/HIM ANASTASIA SHAN SHE/HER
MILITIA QUARTERMASTER SPACECRAFT TECHNICIAN
“I used to say ‘use a sword, how are they gonna [Check your suit seals! I see your tattoo, which
jam a sword,’ but then the fuckers worked it out.” means the ion thruster will see it too.]

An outlander who grew up living a hardscrabble life When something’s going wrong with the city’s fleet of
outside the dome, Clip left the planet as soon as he spacecraft, more often than not, someone asks Ana
could. He spent much of his adult life in the Icebreaker’s Shan about it. More often than not, she has the answer.
mech arenas, where his gruff persona, tireless
endurance and pragmatic fighting style made him a hit It’s not that she’s the most senior engineer in the city.
with the fans. Many engineers have decades or even a century of
experience on her. It’s not that she works harder than
However, a close brush with death during a match left anyone else; every wrenchie in Furnace City pulls their
him changed, and he returned to Asphodel only to find weight. It’s not some mystic superpower; this is the
the community he’d grown up in had disbanded. With result of a lifetime of work and keen observation. She’s
nowhere to go, he took up work in the city militia, where been around spaceships since she could walk, and she
his talent for keeping mechs running in any climate and knows what it looks and sounds like when they fail.
through any amount of abuse made him indispensable.
Ana doesn’t speak, communicating exclusively in
Clip’s shorter and bulkier than most landborn, the result Calliopean sign language; in the rare instances where
of spending his early years in stronger gravity. He still nobody around her can sign, she will write on a slate.
has all his hair, but despite the fact that he’s not that old She’s extremely friendly, always happy to converse
its color has faded to a dirty steel grey, and he buzzes with people about their day, and she’ll eagerly explain
it so square you could balance a beer glass on it. her profession to those who ask.

His right leg is gone, lost in the accident that nearly took The Shan family are all followers of the Faith of the
his life, and he has a replacement that he built himself, One, but unbeknownst to Anastasia, her mother, father
having gotten tired of “all the fiddly shit” on the SSC and sister are also members of the Inner Cult. Her
prosthetic he was given. He also has prosthetic father is an aerospace traffic controller, and his primary
replacements for three of the fingers on his right hand, job is falsifying records – tweaking launch weights,
lost in a munitions incident a few years back, which he changing transponder codes, reassigning landing pads
also built himself. and so on to allow the Cult to move personnel or
equipment in and out of the City undetected.
He’s likely sympathetic to the PCs’ mission; after all, it
was outlander communities who suffered abductions
first. He might even try to slip the team something under
the table, if he feels like they’re good at their jobs.

[159]
RATIO SALVAGER THEY/THEM* THE BLACKSMITH HE/HIM
GENUINELY HONEST SCRAP TRADER SPEAKER FOR THE FORGE
“I don’t suppose you’re here to drop off stellar “They’d literally rather die than treat us like
spectra, so: buying, selling, or futures?” human beings, and to that I say: as you wish.”

Ratio Salvager showed up in Calliope nearly a decade Not many people know the Blacksmith’s old name, and
ago. After a year or so bouncing around various ports he’s stated on many occasions that the man he was
of call, they finally settled in Furnace City and took a job died with the other unionists on Impact Plaza. From
as a scrap and salvage dealer. They’re the owner and what’s known of his past, he wasn’t a major player in
proprietor of Ratio’s Golden Salvage and Scrapyard, Calliope’s organized labor scene before the Strike of
the largest in Furnace City. ’04, but witnessing the brutality of the Strikebreak
changed something in him.
They’re short, even for an off-worlder, and they wear a
prosocollar at all times – not to disguise themselves as The Blacksmith is known across the system for his
someone else, merely to hide their facial features. If honesty and plain-dealing: if he says something, you
asked about it, they admit that they’d prefer not to be can rely on it to be true, and if he gives his word that
identified by their true face; not unheard of for someone something will be done, then by all the Virtues, come
who’s emigrated to the Long Rim. fire, flood or famine, that thing will be done. Such is the
strength of his reputation that “as the Blacksmith said
They’re friendly and conversational, with a quick wit, a it” has entered the Calliopean vernacular as a phrase
masterful command of mathematics, a broad general equivalent to “I swear this is true.”
knowledge and a love of esoteric humor. They’re well-
thought of around the City, although people do find it But there’s another side to the Blacksmith’s reputation:
odd how rarely they try to fast-talk or haggle. so long as it achieves his end goals, nothing is off the
table. Even his most generous supporters would call
Sitting not far from Ratio’s office is an old, beaten-up him a radical, but “extremist” is a more accurate term.
SSC Swallowtail that’s had so many of its original parts He would argue – and not without merit – that more
replaced with off-brand it’d give a member of SSC often than not, extreme measures are what gets the job
Visual a heart attack. There’s a name written in elegant done. The extreme actions of Impact Dynamics, so
cursive on the side: Acausal Trade War. says the Blacksmith, warrant an extreme response.

Ratio has a secret: they’re actually Basil [37:6:Theta], When he’s not fomenting unrest among the proletariat,
a clone of the late Basil Aniline 36, previous patriarch the Blacksmith can most often be found working at his
of the Karrakin minor House Aniline, making Ratio one namesake profession. With widespread automated
of two remaining heirs and the crux of a succession manufacture and printers, the need for blacksmithing
crisis. This would be a problem if he wasn’t in Calliope; has largely disappeared, but he continues to practice
honestly, who’s going to come looking for him out here? the art, both for its own sake and as a method of self-
discipline. Swords are a particular favorite of his.
Basil’s preferred pronouns were he/him, but Ratio goes
by they/them to obfuscate their identity.

[160]
ADDITIONAL NPCS
Furnace City is full of interesting people. In fact, as the only planetary city in the Long Rim, almost nobody in it
is uninteresting.
ANSHAR ZEVI
The city’s chief environmental impact analyst. His job is to ensure the city’s industry doesn’t poison the
region’s water table (at least, more than it already has). Zevi has a problem, though: he’s been on the
1-2
take from the Circuit for years, feeding them data on the city’s security patrols. But now, one of those
patrols has been abducted. He’s pretty sure it’s a horrible coincidence, but who’s going to believe him
if he gets found out? To make matters even worse, the Circuit hasn’t been returning his calls.
PEAR “DUST” BRADFORD
A broad-shouldered, muscular man who’s never seen without his duster jacket. Apparently, he’s a
3-4 bounty hunter who came here chasing someone but gave up when he got to Calliope and realized that
anyone who’d run there had enough trouble as it was. Nowadays, he puts his skills to use as a sort of
unofficial community justice officer.
MECHANIC TEMPORARY
A young truck mechanic who just reached adulthood and is currently looking for a permanent name.
5-6
Nothing’s stuck yet. If they get a chance to talk to the PCs, they’ll ask for their favorite words to see if
any catch their imagination. In their spare time, they’re reasonably talented with a saxophone.
DOWELS DEKALB
Dowels Dekalb is Impact Dynamics’ corporate liaison in Furnace City, and was quite probably the city’s
most hated person even before the abductions started. But it’s not her fault; she’s in massive birth-
7-8
debt to Impact Dynamics and her family’s still on the Plaza, so she can’t quit or the debt will be passed
onto them. Dowels can’t risk contacting the PCs publicly, but she will anonymously pass on information
to any scheme that will weaken Rodericke Steele’s position.
TEIJI AND EZRA
Two professional gravball players who are never seen apart. It’s the off-season right now, so they’re
visiting home. They’re arrogant and sports-obsessed, but also kind, generous and dependable when
9-10
the chips are down. Currently, they’re training even harder than usual due to the fact that there’s less
gravity on the planet than on most orbital habitats, so they can often be found jogging around the rings
during one of their long cardio routines. Everyone suspects they’re an item.
ESMAE “DJ E-Z MCFEAR” MCPHERSON
By day, she’s an odd-job girl. She doesn’t talk about that much. By night, she’s a DJ, and she talks
about that a lot. If you need someone for a party, she’s the girl to call. If you can pay her travel costs,
11-12
she can get out to anywhere in the system; if you can’t, she can still run the decks remotely. Ipswich
DeLacey hires her for their annual VR fundraiser raves, and this year they’ve told her to “go all out and
blow the roof off,” so she’s currently looking for new sounds, samples and musical inspiration.
CALIX
A short, excitable man, easily recognizable by the tessellating hexagon livery on his custom hardsuit.
13-14
Calix runs a makerspace – a place where anyone can come to learn how to make things, share their
knowledge, or just borrow some tools.
PENCILS MULTITUDE
A sigdiver obsessed with finding the Persimmon, a first wave colony ship. Most of the Persimmon’s
15-16 colonists ended up settling in Furnace City. It was left in orbit of Asphodel for a few years, but just after
efforts to tow Endymion’s Lament into Zahhak’s orbit began, the ship disappeared from the historical
record, along with a skeleton crew of roughly fifty people assigned to maintain it.
ISABEL ASHWORTH
A mousey, anxiety-ridden woman who makes her living as an expert gunsmith. This is an odd choice
17-18 for someone who professes to be a strict pacifist, but nobody questions the quality of her work. She
bears a faint, curved scar across the bridge of her nose, which she claims was earned while “doing
something heroic,” but lines up suspiciously well with the rims of her safety goggles.
ZEPHYR
Zephyr (“Zef” for short) is a ZEPHYRUS-class agricultural services NHP who is employed by the city
to manage its farms and green spaces. In their spare time, Zephyr has a passion for designing custom
19-20
subaltern chassis for other NHPs, and seems to add a new feature to their own almost every week.
They’re also infamous for being one of only two people in the system who can beat Siren in FleetComm
when they disable their limiters.

[161]
DAILY LIFE SCENES FROM THE CITY
Life in Furnace City is, for the most part, like life in any A loud chime reverberates from the Pillar,
other city: you have an apartment, you likely have a job
signaling a public service announcement.
which you turn up for in the morning, and once that’s 1-2
Rain acidity is unusually high today, so
done you hit the bars or the restaurants. The only real double-check all suit seals.
difference is that the sky is a glass ceiling keeping a
toxic hellstorm from devouring you. Two stevedores sit atop their loading rigs,
3-4 drinking coffee and chatting as their mechs
plod along on autopilot.
Furnace City is a major industrial center; if there are
refining or manufacturing processes that need to be There’s a large queue forming at one of the
performed planetside, fully 90% of them take place funiculars, because someone got throw-up
here, and most of the other 10% is subcontractors drunk in the cabin and it’s currently being
5-6
working for the city. The vast majority of the city’s non- cleaned. When it turns out that “someone”
operational jobs are in its industrial sector. means “the funicular safety inspector,” the
queue thins out significantly.
Furnace City possesses two Schedule 2 printers and A crowd has gathered in a pop-up protest
one Schedule 3 printer – equipment from the original against Impact Dynamics. This one isn’t
colony vessels, sent during the first wave when the 7-8 even related to the abductions; the people
system’s planets were thought to be much more around here have a wealth of objections to
inhabitable. Furnace City is thus one of three places in the company’s business practices.
Calliope where a Schedule 3 printer is available, and it A gaggle of youths are busy working on a
has the most reasonable price for its use, although it’s graffiti mural. It speaks of their hopes for
by no means cheap. 9-10 the future. A prominent hope seems to
involve Rodericke Steele getting punched
Most jobs outside the refining or manufacturing sectors in the groin by Xiong Xiaoli.
are “operational” – that is, related to the city’s continued
A group of outlanders, easily identifiable
functioning. By far the largest proportion of operational
by the fact that they’re wearing hardsuits
jobs are in agriculture; the city has three million mouths
indoors, are pinning pictures of several
to feed, after all. Maintenance and construction are the 11-12
people from their community to a large
next largest sectors, followed by service staff.
board, full of those who’ve gone missing
recently. They’ve likely been abducted.
Like many frontier colonies, the local currency of
Furnace City is requisition. The Assembly tries to A recruiter for a factory workers’ union
ensure every citizen lives comfortably; depending on 13-14 distributes literature. He has a flaming
current events, that sometimes has to be downgraded anvil tattooed on the back of his hand.
to merely “lives.” Technically, outlanders are also There’s an earth-shaking rumble and a
entitled to a basic stipend of requisition, but many noise like the world’s largest camera flash
15-16
among both the city folk and outlanders look down on as the orbital accelerator fires, shooting a
those who “suckle the city’s teat.” ship all the way into the mesosphere.
A representative from the City Assembly is
Also like many frontier colonies, there’s a thriving barter 17-18 surrounded by concerned citizens, and is
system for goods and services either not covered or struggling to work out an adequate reply.
forbidden under the requisition system. Walk through
A group of schoolchildren is being run
the Burnfields at night, and you’ll run into at least one
through a breach drill: what to do in the
or two grey- or black-market deals in progress.
event that the dome has a structural failure
19-20
and the external atmosphere gets in.
Time on Asphodel doesn’t follow Cradle Standard There seems to be a greater sense of
Measurements. An Asphodellian day is 36 hours long, urgency than would fit a routine drill.
and other time measurements are based on its two
moons. The closer, smaller Orpheus orbits once every
eight Asphodellian days, and an “Orph” is a unit roughly
equivalent to a week. The larger, more distant Eurydice
orbits in a 1:4 resonance with Orpheus, every 32
Asphodellian days or 4 Orphs, comprising a “Eury.” A
year (sometimes an “Asp”) is almost exactly 6 Eurys, or
192 Asphodellian days.

[162]
[163]
nomads; some nomad communities make a living
OUTLANDERS entirely by carrying trade goods between settlements.
A sizeable minority of Asphodel’s population lives
outside Furnace City, in communities ranging in size
from a handful of families to thousands of people. Some Most communities are cautious of newcomers,
are nomadic, while others maintain permanent especially those who aren’t outlanders themselves, but
settlements. Not all communities live permanently will quickly warm to those who show respect. Outlander
outside Furnace City; some will travel to the city during opinions vary widely; many outlanders don’t trust
the summer months to escape the heat. cityfolk at all, but are perfectly happy with off-worlders.
There are several “recluse” communities that don’t trust
anyone at all, even other outlanders.
While individual communities differ, the uniting cultural
element of outlander society is a dedication to building
habitable worlds. The first colonists came here based Permanent settlements are usually small clusters of
on the promise of paradise worlds; the outlanders are prefab buildings, often older models brought with the
their descendants, and since the corporations have all first two waves of colony ships and then mothballed.
but abandoned Calliope, they feel a responsibility to The rain constantly churns the soil to mud, so most
ensure that this promise is fulfilled by someone. It’s settlements tend to be built in areas where the ground
often said nobody in the system knows more about is more solid. Power is usually provided by a
terraforming than outlanders do, and with good reason. combination of wind and solar collectors, although a
coalition of larger communities might share the cost
and labor of running a stable reactor.
Outlanders divide territory outside the city – Terra
Solus, “the lonely land” – into a complex system of
claims, based on what resources it contains and the By long-standing tradition, settlement communities
needs of a region’s communities. They can be as small usually have a two-word name, with a proper noun and
as a couple of acres to as large as thousands of square a descriptor: Nicoboro Refuge, Wallhazy Enclave,
kilometers. A community might hold only a single claim, Antois Town, and so forth. The origin of this practice
or several – or even none, if they’re very unlucky. has been lost to time. There are exceptions to it, but
other outlanders consider it odd.
Claim-holding communities often allow others access
to their claims on a limited basis; for example, most Nomad communities consist of convoys of vehicles:
permanent settlements allow nomad communities supply crawlers, trucks, trailers, mobile habitats,
passage through their claims, though this isn’t mechs; whatever can carry the people, their belongings
universal. Some allow others to mine, forage or even and their homes. It’s usually easy to tell how a nomad
build on their claims in return for some form of payment. community makes its living; you’ll see the gear slung
on the sides of trucks and carried by their mechs.
No central authority exists to recognize and enforce
claims, although coalitions of communities will usually Nomad communities have a lot more variation in their
take this role for a local region. Traditionally, disputes names. If it’s a family or a clan, it will usually take their
are resolved at a meeting adjudicated by a third party name. If the community is based around a particular
on neutral ground, though the exact format differs. job, the name might reference it. If it has a regular
Furnace City tends not to interfere in outlander disputes route, it may name itself after that route, or after a
unless specifically asked; the city is on good terms with geographical feature on it. If it’s just a broad alliance of
most communities, and doesn’t want to risk it by people, the name can be almost anything.
earning a reputation for meddling.
The exact number of outlanders is unclear. Common
Life in the Terra Solus is harsh. Every resource must wisdom puts it at about 10% of the planet’s population,
be strictly conserved: food, potable water, even which would put their numbers at somewhere around
breathable air. Outside the dome, temperatures can 300,000, but this figure is back-of-a-napkin guesswork.
spike as high as 70ºC (158ºF) in the summer months.
Air pressure is twice that of Cradle. The atmosphere
lacks free oxygen, and contains dangerous levels of
sulfur and nitrogen dioxides. Outlanders rarely remove
their hardsuits, even within their own dwellings.

Trade between the outlanders and the city largely

consists of raw materials for finished products. Most
communities don’t have the facilities for fabrication at
scale, and – so far as the city knows, at least – no
outlander owns a printer. There’s also extensive trade
between communities, facilitated in large part by the

[164]
He harnessed the fury and sorrow amongst the workers
THE BURNING FORGE who’d witnessed the carnage unleashed against
The Burning Forge is the youngest of Calliope’s major people engaged in peaceful industrial action, and
pirate bands, founded only twelve years ago. Despite proposed a radical new creed: they had tried being
their relative youth, they’ve carved out a territory that reasonable. Now was the time to get unreasonable.
encompasses much of the inner system.
With startling speed, the Blacksmith turned a peaceful
The story of their founding is a tragedy that should have union of workers into a group of radical insurgents. Old
been a triumph: it starts with the first organized labor Impact Dynamics stockpiles were raided. Loader pilots
action in Impact Plaza’s history. Working conditions on started retraining for military chassis. Sympathetic
Impact Plaza had been awful for a century, but the final moonlighters were recruited to bolster numbers.
straw came in 5004u, when Impact Dynamics ceased
hardship payments for injured workers. Eighty percent
of the station’s workforce voted to unionize, and the The Burning Forge have three stated long-term goals:
new union’s first action was to declare a general strike. destroy the Hell Hounds, tear down Impact Dynamics
and seize control of Impact Plaza for the people. These
aims have made them pretty popular with the average
Impact Dynamics was completely unprepared to deal Calliopean, as does their habit of leaving system
with industrial action on this scale. Its first response residents alone. The vast majority of the Forge’s piracy
was to attempt to smear the union on the Muse, trying targets traffic from out of system, with an obvious
to paint the agricultural strike as a dangerous act that preference for shipments to Impact Dynamics.
was starving the system. Calliope, however, was
delighted to see ID’s workers rise up against it, and the
union immediately received a flood of donations. Nonetheless, civilian opinion of the Forge isn’t totally
positive; a lot of labor organizers see the Forge as a
terrorist group that gives legitimate unions a bad name.
The next response was to deploy the station’s internal Additionally, while they’re leagues better than the Hell
security force, but this tactic failed on two counts. Hounds or the Circuit, the Forge doesn’t entirely refrain
Firstly, ID’s security officers were poorly trained and from preying on Calliopeans. It’s mostly the rich – more
outnumbered nearly fifteen to one; many engagements than one member of the Board of Icebreaker has been
ended in a rout, leaving military-grade weapons and subject to a shakedown – but a few civilian shipments
equipment in the hands of the strikers. Secondly, after get knocked over here and there.
the first few defeats, many in the force realized they
weren’t being paid much better than the workers, and
crossed picket lines to join the strike. The most common critique of the Forge, however, is
also the most personal: that it’s just a vehicle for the
Blacksmith’s personal revenge. A lot of people who
Driven to desperation, Impact Dynamics bargained with dislike the Forge cite the many opportunities the Forge
the devil himself: Andros Capella. has had to do genuine good for the system, but didn’t
take because they would involve unglamourous hard
The Hell Hounds arrived on Impact Dynamics a week work, or wouldn’t hurt enough bad people, or just
later, and the strike was broken in just four days. The wouldn’t make the Blacksmith the hero of the story.
brutality of the Hounds defies adequate description.
Mechanized chassis were deployed against massed One of the system’s worst-kept secrets is that the Forge
crowds. Leadership figures in the union were executed are headquartered in the Burnfields, just outside the
in public alongside their families. Incendiary weapons dome of Furnace City. The City quietly tolerates their
were used against unarmored civilians. presence in return for the assurance that no shipping
vessel belonging to or doing business with the City is
At the height of the carnage, a brave, anonymous ever targeted by the Forge, an arrangement that the
photographer snapped the defining image by which Blacksmith is more than happy to abide by.
Calliope remembers the Strikebreak of ’04: a crowd of
civilians fleeing in terror as Andros Capella himself Since the implosion of the Hell Hounds, the Forge is the
strides forward, Krakatoa thermobaric flamethrower largest pirate organization in Calliope, and has been
licking at their back ranks, the cockpit of his Genghis making moves to expand into the outer system.
open so he could witness his work with his own eyes. Nonetheless, these efforts are hampered somewhat by
the Blacksmith’s ardent refusal to accept any defector
Horrified by the unrestrained violence, the majority of from the Hell Hounds, nor any moonlighter known to
the union surrendered. Most of the workers accepted have worked with them.
collective punishment and returned to work, while the
rest of the union fled Impact Plaza, and regrouped in The Burning Forge’s symbol is a stylized depiction of
Furnace City or the orbits of Asphodel’s moons. It was an anvil, bursting into flame. Fully initiated members
at this point that a new voice arose: the Blacksmith. tend to have it tattooed on the back of their left hand.

[165]
BEAT 16:
WALK AND TALK, BUDDY
The PCs have five possible objectives in Furnace City: “Officially, the Assembly won’t employ your help and
we’ll provide no assistance, as we can take no action
• Find a route to the Impact Dynamics Arena. that might offend Impact Dynamics. Unofficially,
what’s your plan?”
• Get supplies, support and expertise for the journey.
• Avoid attracting attention from Impact Dynamics. Allow the PCs time to describe their plan. They each
roll a skill trigger to convince Canaan they know what
• Work out what to do about the giant orbital laser. they’re talking about. If they were able to conclude both
• Secure some way to evacuate the prisoners. investigations on the Icebreaker successfully, give
them +1g on the rolls. If they failed to prevent the laser
from firing, give them +1h instead.
However, the PCs’ arrival in Furnace City has not gone
unnoticed. There are several important people the PCs
might talk to, and each of them has their own agenda. If the most PCs roll 1-9, Canaan sees them as a liability.
They can’t stop the PCs, but they won’t authorize any
official help from the city folk. The PCs are on their own.
A MEETING WITH AN OVERSEER
As soon as they reach Furnace City, Canaan Zhou If the most PCs roll 10-19, Canaan sees promise in
sends the PCs a request to meet. The PCs don’t have them. They can’t offer any public support due to the
to go, but Canaan has many ways to make life difficult threat of informants, but they put out the word to a few
for the PCs: all rolls to interact with residents of Furnace people they trust. The PCs get +1g on one roll of their
City receive +1h until the PCs go to the meeting. choice to get help in Furnace City.

Canaan’s opinion of the PCs differs based on how well If the most PCs roll 20+, Canaan is convinced they’re
they did on the Icebreaker, and how quickly they came the real deal. The PCs get +1g on all rolls to find help
to the meeting. In general, they’re friendly but guarded. in Furnace City.

“Thank you for coming. Let’s cut to the chase: you’re Whatever the result, Canaan is at least willing to
here about the abductions. I’m Temporary Overseer answer a few questions.
Canaan Zhou, and the Assembly’s assigned me to
sort out the same problem. Hypothetically, that
THE APPROACH
means we’re on the same side. I’m hoping we can
“Overland’s the only way in. Orbital insertion is off
translate that into practical terms as well.
the table, on account of the subline patrols he has in
orbit. And he’s got a massive anti-air cordon set up,
“There’s three major problems you’re gonna have to so I wouldn’t recommend an aerial assault either.”
deal with. Firstly, the arena is about six hundred
clicks out in the wilderness, and we only have
THE WILDERNESS
reliable maps out to four hundred. After that, it’s
“Outside the city is the Terra Solus. Think of a circle,
satellite only. Resupplying will also be a challenge.
four hundred kilometers out from the city in every
direction. It’s where most of the outlander
“Second. Every single mech you’ll be running up communities live. It’s mapped frequently, but not
against once you get there will be, at the very least, regularly or exhaustively. Just about any pathfinder
military surplus. They have a lot of mothballed tech can plot you a route through it, even the rookies.
from the Pyrite Age.”
“But out beyond the ‘four hundred line’ you have the
The Overseer fiddles with their computer for a Terra Incognita, only ever mapped by satellite or
moment before bringing up a visualization which drone. The outlanders sometimes go out further, but
they display to you, indicating an orbital trajectory not often. Teams that go out that far don’t always
passing right over Furnace City. come back, and the ones that do tell all sorts of
stories about what they saw.”
“And third, most worrying of all: Rodericke Steele
has an orbital laser, and he’s already test-fired it “Steele had the arena built six hundred out. I’ll hand
within sight of the city. The message is clear: if we it to him: good choice. Difficult to get there on foot,
interfere with his business, he’ll start firing on us. and he knows we’ll hesitate to travel that far.”

[166]
THE ENEMY FORCES FIND A ROUTE
“Before it switched to agriculture, Impact Dynamics The arena is 600 kilometers away from the city (about
was a third-tier munitions company. We’re not talking 370 miles). The furthest prospecting expeditions only
IPS-N or Harrison Armory, not even Chandrasekhar go out to 400 km (250 miles), and only the bravest
& Herschel, but they built guns, mechs, even subline outlander communities live further out. Beyond the “400
starships, and when they moved their HQ here, they line” is the Terra Incognita, periodically mapped from
brought most of their arsenal with them. Most of that orbit but never explored on the ground. There are
arsenal is mothballed, either on Impact Plaza or in plenty of pathfinders, rangers and prospectors who can
stockpiles throughout the system, but every so often provide solid routes up to the line, but the PCs will need
Steele pulls some of it out of storage. one who can plot beyond it based on satellite maps.

“The man’s a piece of shit, but he’s no slouch. I’ll bet Describe how you find a guide, and then roll:
he expects someone to pull something just like what
you’re pulling. I think he might even be counting on On 1-9, you can’t find anyone willing or able to plot you
it. If he is, he’ll send the big guns.” a route. You’ll have to work things out on your own.

THE ORBITAL LASER On 10-19, gain a counter – you can represent this with
“Far as we can tell from profile, it’s an Impact a d6. Spend this counter to gain +1g on a single
Dynamics Candelabra-4, an older model. The good navigation roll.
news? The Candelabra series are garbage: cheap,
mass-produced, deployed in bulk, nearly impossible
On 20+, gain two counters.
to run independently. You need a targeting uplink
with a ground unit to fire accurately.
SECURE SUPPLIES AND ASSISTANCE
Journeying across the Asphodellian wilderness is
“The bad news? Furnace City is a massive target
dangerous. It’s going to be a long trip; it might be wise
and even if Steele doesn’t have a spotter nearby, all
to get hold of supplies before leaving Furnace City. This
he needs to do is get a single good hit; punch a hole
can mostly be done through the Scrounge and Barter
in the glass big enough that we can’t patch it. If you or Power At A Cost actions. Here are some
have a plan for getting rid of it, well, I’m all ears, but
suggestions for things the PCs might want or need, and
it had better be rock solid.”
possible problems acquiring them might cause:

THE EXTRACTION
• A supply crawler carrying enough supplies to give
“As long as the anti-air cordon is up, I can’t send
the PCs access to a FULL REPAIR at some point
transports, and even if it went down, I’m not
during the mission. It might have limited supplies,
comfortable authorizing it while that laser is still in
not restoring Core Power or charges on Limited
play. Steele’s going to be out for blood if his arena
weapons and systems, or it might tick a segment
goes down, and there’s two things he’d target with it
on Enemy Attention if it’s big and noisy. It won’t
– the arena, or us. I wish I could help more.”
help out in combat.
• An outlander settlement has agreed to help the
JOURNEY PREPARATIONS team when they come by. They can provide some
Create two clocks: number of Repairs.
• The PCs might be able to get their hands on some
• Create a Journey Progress clock with four
segments. This represents how far the PCs have military-grade RESERVES. If they’re old Impact
Dynamics stock – something very common on
progressed in their travels.
Asphodel – getting hold of them might tick a
• Create an Enemy Attention clock. By default, this segment on the Enemy Attention clock if the PCs
clock has four segments. This represents how aren’t subtle about it.
aware Impact Dynamics is of the PCs and their
intentions, and how much preparation they’ve • An NPC or two who’ll help out in fights throughout
the mission. While Canaan Zhou has put an “official
made to stop them.
prohibition” on city residents openly assisting the
team, a few are willing to ignore it (and that might
Each PC has time to take a single action around even have been Canaan’s intent).
Furnace City to try and secure support for their task.

Make it clear to the PCs that they’re in for a long and

potentially dangerous trip, and there’ll be a lot of
fighting when they get to the Steele Dome. They’ll need
to secure assistance and supplies both here in the city
and once they’re out in the Terra Solus.

[167]
ARRANGE A DISTRACTION • Striga Von Aldenberg can be convinced to try and
It might be beneficial to keep the attention of Rodericke take down Impact Dynamics’ platform. The good
Steele and his flunkies occupied elsewhere. To this news: the Candelabra-4’s security code is ancient
end, the PCs might be able to lean on a contact who’s and full of holes. The bad news: Impact Dynamics
in a position to do something distracting. If they’re on knows this, and disabled its transceiver. It can only
good enough terms with the person they call up, it be controlled via point-to-point laser from the
automatically succeeds. Here are some examples: command bridge on Impact Plaza itself. She will
have to hack into that first, and that will take time.
• Ipswich DeLacey, Kady Amville or Irvin Reid can
run smear campaigns on their platforms that sting HAIL MARY PASS
Steele’s fragile ego. Since the PCs are currently at LICENSE LEVEL 2, it’s
• Rita, Fayad Harb, Raphael Baza or another possible one of them might be piloting an HA
member of the Board of Icebreaker can propose a Barbarossa, the one mech that has a chance of
vote to revoke Steele’s Ultra High Roller status. It taking out the laser platform on its own. It could work:
likely won’t succeed, but Steele will have to show the platform is small enough that a fully-charged,
up on the omni to defend his prestige. perfectly-placed Apocalypse Rail shot could wreck it.

• Loki Valentinian and Dr. Nyambose can lean on a This is Power at a Cost, with the cost being 1 CP. The
few of their contacts. Within a day, the Armory files Enemy Attention clock immediately spikes to its
a patent infringement lawsuit over a weapon that maximum level. By destroying one of his toys, the PCs
Impact Dynamics hasn’t sold for two centuries. now have Steele’s full attention, and he’s pissed.
• If the PCs can come up with something sufficiently
outlandish, like a cyborg vampire super-soldier On the other hand, SCOUTS in this mission can’t use
program, Striga Von Aldenberg and her rowdy ORBITAL STRIKE, no matter what level the Enemy
band of sigdivers can be convinced to raid Impact Attention clock is at: there’s no laser to call. Better
Dynamics’ servers looking for evidence of it. yet, if the PCs pull this off before leaving Furnace City,
Canaan will offer them Air Transports to retrieve the
• Kileyna Morton doesn’t have the clout to stop abductees on the spot.
Impact Dynamics from running the battle royale,
but they can submit a bunch of complaints to
CentComm, which will irritate ID’s shareholders. Make this moment dramatic. The PC is pulling off
nothing short of a miracle: a one in a million shot,
• Crrrk Captain Mercedez Ordaz Crrrk UNS-CV hitting a tiny target moving kilometers a second from
Thames Crrrk Neutral Omninode undergoing hundreds of kilometers away, with a window of only a
unscheduled maintenance Crrrk might interrupt few seconds to do it.
Impact Dynamics’ broadcasts Crrrk oh no we’re
going through a tunnel Crrrk
SECURE AN EXIT
Because Canaan can’t authorize any direct help from
Multiple PCs can take this action. For every PC who Furnace City while the orbital laser is still up, nobody
takes this action, reduce the maximum number of with the required fleet of transports will help the PCs
segments on the Enemy Attention clock by two. without some major convincing.

DEAL WITH THE LASER Any roll to secure air transports is Heroic; that is, it will
As much as they might like to, there’s not really very only succeed on a 20+, and they’ll have to demonstrate
much the PCs can do about the orbital laser right now. they have a reasonably foolproof plan for getting rid of
Siren will ruefully comment that if she were still in the the orbital laser that’s threatening the city.
bomber she flew with SecComm, she could make short
work of it. But the Dragon’s Tooth is woefully under-
armed, and she doubts she could mission-kill the Air Transports
platform even if it was undefended. Favors
You’ve managed to arrange transport back to
• Mistress Elske, if informed about the laser platform, Furnace City for yourself and the abductees.
promises she’ll “think of something.” Unfortunately,
whatever it is will take time, so she can’t take it During Beat 18: The Battle Royale (p. 188), skip
down in advance of the PCs’ departure. Combat: Expedited Boarding (p. 196).
• Jerry, Zinfandel and Chief McArthur discuss
something called “Operation Rainy Day.” They’re However, another option soon presents itself, although
fairly certain it can be completed by the time you it has some strings attached…
get to the arena, but not before – and you’ll need to
send the Dragon’s Tooth to collect it.

[168]
A MEETING WITH A BLACKSMITH WHAT THE THIEF STOLE
Once they’ve finished a couple of tasks, or immediately “I’m doing a job for someone, someone who wants
after they start looking into how to get the abductees me to find something. The thief took a partial copy of
out of the arena, some or all of the PCs are accosted the data and is trying to cut a side deal for himself.
by some goons, who inform the PCs the Blacksmith I’m not necessarily comfortable explaining any more
wants to talk to them. than that, not before we’ve established trust.”

The PCs can refuse, but this will mean getting into a But if the PCs make a very convincing argument (either
scrap with the Blacksmith’s enforcers, which will upset in terms of good roleplay, or by rolling 20+ on an
him. This won’t have any immediate repercussions, but appropriate skill trigger), the Blacksmith opens up.
the Blacksmith won’t help them, and future interactions
with the Burning Forge will be negatively impacted by “Don’t like to admit it, but I accepted a contract from
this poor first impression. SSC to find something of theirs they lost. Not sure
what. I hate the idea of working for a corprostate, but
If the PCs accept, they get taken to the man himself: their money spends just as good as anyone else’s,
and it could help a lot of people out here. The thief
wants it all for himself.”
You’re escorted through a service tunnel, out of the
dome and through the Burnfields, finally arriving at a
foundry. Sparks fly and molten metal pours. The EXPECTED RESISTANCE
clash and clatter of steelwork echoes all around you. “The thief’s holed up with some flunkies. Hired guns.
I don’t care what you do with them.”
As you pass, above the roar of machinery, you can
hear the workers raising their voice in song. It’s a WHETHER HE CAN BE TRUSTED
song of the humble, honest trade of a blacksmith, The Blacksmith turns to look at you for the first time,
and how it was twisted to the whims of greedy men and a dangerous edge creeps into his voice. “Ask
and warmongers. It’s a song of personal rebellion, of anyone I’ve ever made a deal with if I’ve broken faith.
standing up for the unseen worker even if it meant And then you’ll know never to ask me that again.”
being punished for it.
WHY HE CAN’T JUST HELP FOR FREE
And there at the center of it all, the Blacksmith is “Oh, you want to shame me for not helping people
working his trade at a small, well-equipped forge. out of the kindness of my heart? Go ahead. See if
The man’s a giant – at least two meters, maybe two you can airlift all those people out with just your
and a quarter. Built like a battleship, too, but he moral indignation. I used to do things pro bono, and
doesn’t have the look of a bodybuilder; this is I got burnt. Nobody rides for free in Calliope.”
someone who gets all his muscle on the job.
“THE BLACKSMITH”
He doesn’t look up as you approach, and just starts “Everyone has a vice. Everyone. Most have a few.
talking. His voice sounds like a gravel pit smoked a And every vice can be exploited, but some? Some
pack a day since the Armory were on Creighton are much easier to exploit than others: drink, drugs,
Number One. sex, gambling. Me? This is my vice.”

“You’re working for Elske on my turf. Normally, that’d There’s a hiss of steam as he plunges glowing-hot
be a problem, but you killed Andros Capella and I like metal into water. “Impossible to exploit? No. I’m not
that, so I’m inclined to forgive you. Plus, I know what so arrogant as to say so. But harder? Yes.”
you mean to do, and I approve. Let’s cut to the
chase: you need a way to get all the people Steele If the PCs accept the Blacksmith’s offer, at some point
abducted out of his arena. You need transports. I before the halfway mark of the journey, the PCs will
have them. I also have a job for you. You do the job, have to seek out the thief. Refer to Encounter: What’s
you get the transports. Very simple. Coming To You (p. 185). They will need to complete it
to the Blacksmith’s satisfaction in order to receive its
“There’s a thief out in the Terra Solus who stole data reward. They don’t need to roll for this encounter – the
from me. Nobody steals from me. You find the thief, Blacksmith tells them exactly where to find the thief.
and you kill him. You destroy what he stole, and you
show me proof that he’s dead. You do all that, and
you get the transports. Those are my terms. Do we
have a deal?”

The PCs can ask the Blacksmith some questions, but

he’s terse and cagey about his answers.

[169]
A MEETING WITH A PRIEST Up close, he’s certainly a spectacle. He looks to
At some point, while they are out in the rings, some or have been badly injured in the past, enough that
all of the PCs will encounter a crowd surrounding a extensive cybernetics were needed. His skin is shot
preacher in the midst of a sermon. through with lines that look like cracks in shattered
pottery, filled with gold. He wears a crimson robe and
a masked hat that obscures his face.
“We see the freighters pass us by, siblings! They are
immense! At a mile’s distance above the surface of
this world they would turn the whole sky of this city “I am Ignatius Aurum, Speaker for the One Plumed
to night. Their cargo bays are cavernous, large In Golden Flame. You may not know me, but I know
enough to fit a district inside, each of them packed you. We were enemies quite recently, were we not?
with the lucre of an entire civilization! And they pass Don’t worry, for I bear no ill will towards you; in fact,
us by. They pass us by as if we were not here at all!” I perceive that we have a common enemy in
Rodericke Steele. The man’s crimes cannot be
allowed to stand. Though we stood against each
There are howls of agreement from the crowd, along other before, will you accept my help now?”
with applause and stamping of feet.
Ignatius is only too happy to answer questions; he’ll talk
“We see the names inscribed on their hulls. for hours if the PCs let him.
Interplanetary Shipping Northstar. Harrison Armory.
Smith Shimano. Corregidor Group. The House of
Stone. We know, children, we know! We know that WHAT HE GETS OUT OF THIS
with just a wave of their hand they could end so much “Very soon, I believe, the One will arrive to bring an
suffering. They could donate a tiny fraction of what end to the indignities of this universe. But while it
they have. They would not even notice it was gone. endures, our creed demands we not stand idly by
And yet even this tiny, patronizing act of charity is too while the innocent suffer. It is enough for me to know
great for them. They, who deal in sums of money so that we have done good in this world, as long as
vast the human mind cannot even express them, we’re here. Perhaps others will know it, too.”
they will not spare a penny to help the suffering!
WHAT THE FAITH WAS DOING ON THE
“And we see Union, too! The promised land, the ICEBREAKER
utopia, that they will not bring here! Not only do they “Our savior is in a transitional phase, and required
have the power to end suffering beyond any our assistance to move beyond it. I’m sorry for the
corporation or barony, they have the power to punish pain that was caused to others in the process; it
those who would not help, to chastise those who grieves me that it was necessary. I hope you’ll
made the misery worse! But they do not! understand one day.”

“I have seen so much pain, children. Babies, starving WHETHER HE CAN BE TRUSTED
in the trembling hands of their mothers. Workers, “Rodericke Steele is a man of unparalleled iniquity.
pale and dying of radiation sickness while a vendor He is to blame for more suffering casually than most
sells curatives down the hall! And now, Rodericke tyrants inflict on purpose. I am here to ensure that
Steele takes our parents, our children, our neighbors his scheme fails. You do not trust me, and that is
from us, like he owns them! understandable, perhaps even logical. But you may
trust the conviction of my enmity for Steele and the
apparatus of his power.”
“There is a reckoning coming! There is a spark, lit in
the empty bellies of the starving and the tired eyes
of the overworked! We are the flame, children, and HOW HE CAN HELP
we shall rise from the ashes!” “Name the supplies you need. I can obtain them.”

There is a great cheer from the crowd. He opens his If the PCs accept his help, Ignatius can source four
mouth to continue speaking, but then he sees you, RESERVES of their choice. However, a rumor that the
and pauses. He reaches a hand out towards you, as Cult were instrumental in assisting the PCs leaks out.
the eyes of the crowd follow. When he talks again, Tick two segments on the Cult Influence clock.
it’s quieter, more measured. “You. Please. Will you
come and speak with me?” The crowd parts, The PCs might choose to try and kill Ignatius Aurum –
allowing you a clear path to the man. that’s fine, he’ll be back later. Worse, if the PCs get
found out, they’ll be exiled from Furnace City, unable to
The PCs are absolutely within their rights to just walk take further actions there before departing.
away, and the preacher won’t press the issue. If they
accept his offer, the man introduces himself.

[170]
META AND IMMERSION Going to see the Crone will take the PCs slightly out of
The following piece of content is very meta – the their way; if they decide to go and see her. At some
Crone is a character who explicitly exists partially point during Beat 17, they may experience Encounter:
outside the bounds of the narrative and is fully aware The Crone (p. 182).
that she’s an NPC in a tabletop roleplaying game.
She will gleefully tear down the Fourth Wall if you WHY DON’T WE JUST FLY TO MOUNT DOOM?
allow players to talk to her, and that’s a door you PCs may ask why they can’t just fly to the edge of the
can’t close once it’s open. If that doesn’t sound like air cordon, set down and continue on foot from there.
content you or your players would enjoy, skip all the The answer is: there’s no reason they can’t. If they
content on this page and hide the Crone encounter want to skip Beat 17 entirely and go straight to the
from the table on p. 174. fighting in Beat 18, that’s totally fine; let them.

A MEETING WITH AN OUTLANDER They lose all opportunities to gather additional aid or
Just before the PCs are ready to leave, a summons supplies in Beat 17. Furthermore, if they promised the
Blacksmith they’d hunt down the Thief, he treats their
arrives from a very strange source.
choice to fly over the Terra Solus as a breach of trust.
The consequences of this are listed on p. 187.
A young man – clearly an outlander, given that he’s
wearing his hardsuit indoors – walks up to you. “I’m
runner Arkady Tame, of Whiphead Retreat. I’ve got Lastly, Impact Dynamics will definitely see them
coming. Tick four segments on the Enemy Attention
a message for people matching your description. It’s
clock. These are things the PCs could reasonably
from the Crone. She says you’ll come see her. That’s
guess would happen: make sure they’re aware of
all. I’ll show you the path on a map, and then I’m
them before they decide to make the trip by air.
going back home right away.”

Arkady will provide instructions for reaching the Crone,

and then immediately leave. He can be convinced to
stay and answer a few questions, although not many.

THE CRONE
“The Crone. Her claim lies far out from any
settlement. She lives like one of us, but she isn’t one
of us. People stay away unless she calls, or unless
they’re truly desperate. When you talk to her, just
remember: you’re always paying her something, and
it’s always more than you think.”

THE MESSAGE
“I’ve already told you: you’ll come to see her.
Respectfully, I want nothing more to do with this. I
already risked so much just looking her in the eye
and bringing this message to you. I want to go home
and never think about it again.”

THE DESCRIPTIONS
“She looked me in the eye and told me exactly what
you’d look like. In frankly worrying detail.”

He proceeds to accurately describe features of the

PCs, even ones that aren’t presently visible.

“She said I wouldn’t forget a single detail of what she

told me, and I didn’t. That troubles me.”

THE DEFINITIVE NATURE OF THE MESSAGE

“She’s never been wrong yet.”

WHAT’S IN IT FOR US?

“Hell if I know.”

[171]
BEAT 17:
UNFORGIVING TERRAIN
A lot of omninet dramas depict Asphodel as a desert, When the Journey Progress clock is full, the travelling
unforgiving sun beating down on rolling sand dunes. is done. Go to Beat 18: The Battle Royale (p. 188).
It’s difficult for humans to imagine “lifeless world of
searing heat” and not see a desert.
VIEWS OF THE TERRA SOLUS
But Asphodel’s problem was never lack of water. In the distance, a point of red light can be
1-2
The rainstorms never seem to stop. Relative seen: the beacon of a radio tower.
humidity is always one hundred percent; the air is A wide, flat patch of dust and mud whose
constantly at saturation. Direct sunlight is rare; the edges are marked by a circle of flat stones;
sky is choked with sickly yellow-grey clouds. You 3-4
a rest stop and meeting place for outlander
don’t bake to death on Asphodel; you boil. nomads. Right now, it stands empty.
A loose cluster of prefab structures sit on
Beyond the gleam of Furnace City’s dome and the the rim of a canyon. Up above, there’s a
smoke of the Burnfields lies a rolling, barren plain, its 5-6
lookout tower from which a glint can be
dust consumed by endless rainfall. Far across this seen; a pair of binoculars, perhaps.
waste is the Steele Dome. Saddle up; it’s going to be
a long ride. Rain batters the rusting metal skeleton of
7-8 a colony ship. Centuries of scavenging
and salvaging have picked it clean.
THE JOURNEY ROLL A makeshift road, scraped into the dirt and
Crossing the Terra Solus will take about four days, and mud, alongside which a pipeline runs.
in that time the PCs have the opportunity to take quick 9-10 There are crude signs placed every so
detours to examine points of interest. often declaring the distance and direction
to the next settlement.
Each day, show your players the encounter table on p. A dilapidated mobile shelter, seemingly
174. They may decide amongst themselves which abandoned at the side of a path. Its rusted
encounter they want to have. airlock is marked by outlander glyphs. If a
11-12
PC knows how to read them, this is a
A PC may then roll a skill trigger like Get Somewhere “silent meeting place” – somewhere two
Quickly or Survive on behalf of the group. Characters parties can meet in privacy and secrecy.
with the Landborn background get +1g on these rolls.
Across a valley, a plume of white smoke
drifts from a distant habitat, and some trick
On a 9 or less, the attempted detour happens, but 13-14 of air pressure has stopped it from rising.
winds up costing precious time and secrecy. Tick a The sun catches it just right, and the whole
segment on the Enemy Attention clock, and leave the valley is bathed in an ethereal haze.
Journey Progress alone.
A shrine has been carved into the stone
wall of a canyon, dedicated to a number of
On a 10-19, the PC who rolled chooses one: religious figures; Christ the Buddha, Ahura
15-16
Mazda, the Trimurti and the One Plumed
• The encounter happens, but it requires a serious In Golden Flame are all present, as are
detour. Leave the Journey Progress clock alone. others. Many offerings have been left here.
• The encounter happens, but the wrong folks notice. Toward the horizon, a thin cloud of spray
17-18
Tick a segment on the Enemy Attention clock, and rises as a nomad convoy passes through.
tick a segment on the Journey Progress clock. On a hill stands a tall pillar of stone, around
• The encounter doesn’t happen. Tick a segment on which are several circles of smaller stones
the Journey Progress clock. placed on low mounds. The central pillar is
19-20
carved with many names, and each name
is repeated on one of the smaller stones.
On a 20+, the encounter happens, the Enemy This is a grave site.
Attention clock doesn’t increment, and the PC who
rolled may choose whether or not to tick a segment on
the Journey Progress clock.

[172]
ENCOUNTER Page Description
Distress calls scream out across local radio frequencies – the kidnappers are coming
Abduction 174 for a settlement! You’re the only ones close enough to help…
An abandoned Impact Dynamics weapons testing site. Deadmetal slowly poisons the
Firing Range 176 groundwater, but there might still be working prototypes here…
A trashed settlement, recently raided by the abductors. Some mourners are here,
Ghost Town 177 trying to tidy things up…
An old electromagnetic orbital launch system stretches out towards the horizon, slowly
Mass Driver 178 rusting. Say, that piece of junk might actually still work…
A peaceful trading township, with a weekly night market. And no matter what day you
Night Market 179 arrive, it always seems to be tonight…
A training ground where outlanders learn to fight, both on foot and in their mechs.
Sparring Field 180 Perhaps you can find some allies here…
A huge atmospheric processor sits in a wide valley, slowly churning out breathable air.
Terraforming 181 A coven of “weather witches” are rumored to have set up shop here…
You were told of a strange woman, living in the wilderness. She lives as the outlanders
The Crone 182 do but isn’t one of them, all fear her, and she’s asked to see you. You don’t need to
roll for this encounter; if she wants you to find her, you will…
The thief the Blacksmith wants you to find and kill is hiding in an abandoned village.
What’s Coming to You 185 The Blacksmith’s intel was good; you don’t need to roll for this encounter.

ENCOUNTER:
ABDUCTION
Two particular demographics have borne the brunt of “An hour?! They’ll be here in five minutes!”
the kidnappings: residents of the Thousand Habs, and
outlanders. Both tend to live in relatively small, isolated “It’s the best we can do! Just hold on! Wait, wait, wait,
communities that are physically separated from each I got radar bounce on a small squad of combat rigs,
other. Both tend to be too impoverished to put up much two-point-five kay northwest of your position!”
of a fight. Worst of all, both of them often have nobody
to protect them. But maybe that’s not true today.
“Fuck, there’s more of them?!”

You pick up a transmission on a radio band – VHF,

“I don’t think so! They’re coming from the City! They
probably only a few clicks away. It carries the voice
might be friendly! Unknown contacts, do you read?
of a panicked, desperate young woman.
Can you help? We’ve got a settlement in trouble!”

“Is anyone out there?! Can anyone help?! This is

Tanner Crossroads is only two and a half clicks to the
Glory Lu, in Tanner Crossroads! We’ve got Hounds
southeast. The PCs can actually see the landing craft
landing less than a click outside the town! They’re
as it dips below the horizon. They might just be the only
coming for us!”
hope Tanner Crossroads has.

A crackly, distorted voice replies. “Ai! Tanner

Crossroads, this is the Nolan-Ruiz Runners, we’re
about an hour out, we’re coming to you!”

[173]
COMBAT:
GUARDIAN ANGEL
SITREP: N/A

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x ELITE DEMOLISHER Broad-Sweep Haft, Concussion Missiles
1x VETERAN PIRATE ASSAULT Micro-Missile Barrage, Limitless, Coreworm Rockets
1x SQUAD

FOR 4 PCS: +1x HORNET Lock/Hold Javelins

+1x RAINMAKER Hades Missiles

FOR 5 PCS: +1x ASSASSIN “Devil’s Cough” Shotgun

+1x SUPPORT Defensive Pulse

DETAILS OUTCOME
Tanner Crossroads is a small settlement with low PC DEFEAT
buildings – most of them are only Size 1 cover, with If the PCs are forced to withdraw, the abductors will
only a couple of Size 2 buildings. It is built on top of a make off with some of the settlement’s people, but the
hill close to a narrow canyon six spaces deep and four mere presence of resistance blunted their offensive
spaces wide, spanned by a bridge two spaces wide. and gave some people time to reach safety. The team
The enemies deploy on the far side of the canyon. didn’t manage to save everyone, but they managed to
save most.
Because the SQUAD is actually several people, they can
cross the bridge even though it’s not wide enough to
accommodate Size 4 characters, but since they have PC VICTORY
to cluster closer together to fit across it, they lose the If the PCs rout the Hell Hounds, their dropship lifts off
RESISTANCE granted by STRENGTH IN NUMBERS while with any survivors who managed to reach it in time and
partially or entirely on the bridge. not a single abductee – the team have saved the entire
town. They are considered heroes, and get +1g to
The Hell Hounds are desperate for a payday, enough interactions with outlanders for the rest of the mission.
that they’ll even risk their lives for it, but they won’t stick
around if the fight is obviously not going their way. The THE NOLAN-RUIZ RUNNERS
PCs don’t need to destroy every target on the The Nolan-Ruiz Runners, a major nomad community,
battlefield, just enough to turn the math against the show up shortly after the fight is over. Regardless of
enemies. Once that happens, they’ll turn tail and flee. whether the PCs triumphed or not, they are grateful that
off-worlders would fight to defend their people.
The DEMOLISHER‘s CONCUSSION MISSILES provide a
powerful control tool, and BROAD-SWEEP HAFT gives it The Runners share their repair supplies with the PCs –
an alternative to its inaccurate primary attack. Given if any player mechs were wrecked during the fight, the
that it has no mobility assistance, it may have to use Runners restore them to 1 STRUCTURE, 1 STRESS and
several turns to get into range of players. If the HORNET full HP at no cost. They then provide a pool of 6
is present, use it to hold down targets that the REPAIRS for the PCs to use as they wish, but they have
Demolisher can’t normally catch up to. to use them right now – they can’t take these REPAIRS
with them when they leave.
The ASSAULT’s COREWORM ROCKETS ability is a nasty
little trick that can threaten a pilot directly. Make sure If the PCs achieved victory in the fight, the Runners
the PCs know how to deal with them. The MICRO- also assist them in getting to their next destination. The
MISSILE BARRAGE is a useful tool for striking enemies in next journey roll they make gains +1g.
cover, or who are INVISIBLE or HIDDEN. Pick the moment
to OVERCHARGE carefully – if your players are heavy on
INVADE options or other forms of heat infliction, a high
roll may leave the Assault vulnerable.

[174]
ENCOUNTER:
FIRING RANGE
It’s easy to forget that Impact Dynamics used to design On a 20+, the player may choose both of the above
and manufacture weapons. It’s been out of that game options. They must pick the same weapon both times.
longer than it was ever in it, but in the late 4600s and
early 4700s, it was a legitimate third-tier manufacturer,
competing with the likes of Alta All-Theater Ballistics
ID-440 “Obelisk” Kinetic Repeater
Heavy Cannon, Exotic Gear, AP, Inaccurate
and Blackburn Heavy Industries. Part of the reason the
[b5] [2d6i]
company came to Calliope in the first place was to take
advantage of the lax legal status a frontier colony would On hit: Make a secondary attack against all
have in regard to weapons development. characters in a c3 area directly behind the target.
These attacks lose AP, can’t deal bonus damage
This site is a piece of that legacy: an old testing site, and don’t trigger further secondary attacks. This
half-buried by dirt and sand. Outlanders consider this a effect triggers automatically if the attack is made
cursed place, and that’s not just superstition: toxic against a piece of hard cover.
chemicals have leached into the groundwater, Intended as an answer to the GMS heavy machine
unexploded munitions lurk beneath the soil and some gun, the Obelisk failed to wow the market. Its
of the old security drones are still active. On the other proprietary Overpenetrator rounds are failure-
hand, there is one upside: the danger and ominous
prone and incompatible with other firearms, its
recoil is considered unmanageable even by the
reputation ensure that it sees few scavengers. standards of its weight class, and its range
leaves much to be desired. Nevertheless, Impact
PCs can rustle up a total of 3 Repairs here, which they Dynamics made thousands of them for a contract
may distribute amongst themselves as they wish. that never got fulfilled.
There’s no risk to doing this; the supplies they need are
just lying around. ID-730 “Hardcastle” Shotgun
Main CQB, Exotic Gear, Loading,
There are also intact, functional mech-scale weapons Overkill, Unique
here – not on the surface, where everything has long [b3] [a3] [2d6i]
rusted or decayed, but deep in the bowels of the facility. If Overkill triggers, this weapon reloads itself.
The security drones are hundreds of years old and the
The ID-730 automatic shotgun was undergoing its
few that are still functioning are in poor repair, so first revision when Impact Dynamics abandoned
there’s no need to run a fight. The real danger is that weapons development. Results from the initial
the low-level security systems are still linked to the release were promising, but its trigger had an
Impact Dynamics network, and they might notice unfortunate tendency to “run away,” emptying
people poking around in their old black sites. entire magazines or melting the barrel.

Suitable skill triggers for dealing with this site include ID-820 “Sermon” Compact SMG
Act Unseen or Unheard, Hack or Finesse and Take Auxiliary CQB, Exotic Gear, Reliable 1
Someone Out. [b5] [a3] [1d3+1i]
Any number of ID-820 “Sermon” Compact SMGs
On a 9 or less, the attempt is badly botched. Tick a installed on the same mech count as only one piece
segment on the Enemy Attention clock. of Exotic Gear for installation limits.
Impact Dynamics designed the ID-820 with one
On a 10-19, the player chooses one: goal: put as much lead downrange, in as little
time, with as little recoil, in as tight a frame
• They find an intact weapon and the tools to install as possible. It hit all of these targets, and
it on their mech. They may immediately replace was one of the company’s flagship products
their Heavy weapon with an ID-440 “Obelisk” before it switched to agriculture. It’s proven
so popular that Impact Dynamics still revises
Kinetic Repeater, one of their Main weapons with
and updates it on occasion.
an ID-730 “Hardcastle” Automatic Shotgun or
any number of their Auxiliary weapons with ID-820
“Sermon” Compact SMGs. They won’t be able to
use them after this mission ends.
• They find working printcode for one of these
weapons instead. They can’t install it now, but it will
be available to them permanently, starting at their
next full repair.

[175]
ENCOUNTER:
GHOST TOWN
Life in the Terra Solus is bitterly hard. Not everyone Hopefully your players won’t even consider this, but
comes out ahead, and not everyone comes out at all. looting or grave-robbing here will enrage the
This isn’t the first ruin the PCs will have seen, nor in all outlanders. They’ll chase the PCs away, and from then
likelihood will it be the last, but it’s painful to see on, no outlander will provide aid or assistance to them
nonetheless. Until recently, this was a prosperous little – any RESERVES or other benefits that rely on the
settlement called Glenford Camp, but it was raided by support of outlanders are removed. Subsequent
the abductors a few weeks back, and they got encounters in this Beat that involve outlanders will be
everyone. Those who wouldn’t surrender were gunned extremely tense and hostile. It will take a long time for
down where they stood. the outrage to die down.

A large number of outlanders from nearby settlements If the PCs help put the settlement in order, however,
and nomad groups are currently here, tidying up the they quickly earn the mourners’ respect. They don’t see
place, giving the dead proper burials and holding a the PCs as locals – the PCs had no obligation to care
memorial service. A few light vehicles and a handful of for the dead of this place, and yet they did. The
mechs are here to provide security, and they initially outlanders gladly share their provisions, along with
treat approaching strangers with suspicion. If the PCs stories of the people who used to live here. This is
dismount and demonstrate good faith, however, they another outlander tradition: when loved ones or friends
can help out. pass on, strangers and travelers are asked to carry
their stories with them and retell them to others.
The outlanders are singing hymns as they go about
their task, and will teach them to the PCs if they wish to If the team mentions their mission, the outlanders will
learn. It’s tradition to do this when tending to a dead rally round. If the PCs taking on Impact Dynamics,
settlement – the idea is that if the place will be silent maybe Glenford Camp and the other settlements
from now on, it should ring one last time with voices haven’t seen their last days just yet.
remembering those who used to live here.
Eventually, an agreement is reached: they’ll show the
Burdened with the duty of caring for the dead, these PCs some local paths that can get them to their next
outlanders are quick to share their outlook on life. To destination quickly and quietly. The PCs don’t need to
them, the idea of terraforming Asphodel (“changing the roll for the next day’s encounter; they just get there.
world”) is almost like a religious faith; a world of trees,
drinkable water and breathable air will justify all the
suffering that they and their ancestors endured.

“I used to think it was simple; we had our wasteland,

the City and the Offworlders had theirs. Guess we
can’t pretend it’s that way any longer.”

“It’s strange that we do this, you know? Bury our

dead. There’s no carrion birds, no worms, no
bacteria, nothing that can take a corpse back into the
soil. We put our dead in the ground and they just…
stay there forever. Until we change the world.”

“Asphodel was named right. A place of dead things

that can just barely kindle life.”

“This rain is lifeless. It can’t wash away the memory

of what was done here. But we’ll change the world,
and one day there’ll be trees, big forests of Scots
pine and black spruce, and they’ll forget for us.”

“We used to come by here every few weeks, you

know? Good stopover on the route. That place over
yonder? I used to buy kelp pies for the kids there.
And over here – that place would fix a suit puncture
like it never happened. All gone. For what?”

[176]
ENCOUNTER:
MASS DRIVER
During the early days of Asphodel’s colonization, back PLOTTING A TRAJECTORY
in the First Wave era, the scarcity of rocket fuel was a This will involve a skill trigger like Blow Something Up,
serious concern, and so several mass drivers were built Get Somewhere Quickly or Take Someone Out.
on the planet’s surface to conserve fuel for orbital cargo
launches. People still had to go up the old-fashioned On a 9 or less, the best trajectory the PCs can plot
way, since the driver tracks weren’t long enough to won’t intercept the laser, but if the cargo pod is
allow for orbital velocity to be reached at human-safe detonated upon reaching orbit, it will fill the region with
g-forces, but they could still throw six ten-ton cargo Kessler debris which will force the platform to move.
pods into space every hour. This won’t help the PCs, but it will stop Steele from
retaliating against Furnace City in the long run.
A lot of these mass drivers were decommissioned
when Furnace City finished its own orbital accelerator, On a 10-19, the PCs have plotted a trajectory that will
but this one was abandoned only recently – all the hit the laser if they fire it now. This will immediately fill
working parts are still there. the Enemy Attention clock to maximum. SCOUTS in
Beat 18: The Battle Royale can’t use ORBITAL STRIKE.
If the PCs haven’t yet found a way to deal with the
orbital laser, with a healthy dose of cunning and On a 20+, the PCs have plotted a wide variety of
improvisation they could use this mass driver to shoot trajectories for various possible situations. They can
it out of the sky. wait to take the shot until their assault has already
started and then remotely trigger it. SCOUTS in Beat 18:
If they don’t feel like doing that, they can strip the site The Battle Royale can’t use ORBITAL STRIKE.
for supplies, gaining a Core Battery, 6 Repairs and 4
charges for Limited weapons and systems to be
distributed amongst them as they wish.

RESTORING THE DRIVER

If they want to shoot down the orbital laser platform, the
team will firstly need to reignite the Stable Reactor that
powers the driver. Then, they will need to find a
projectile with some level of guidance system. Finally,
they will need to calculate a viable launch trajectory and
timing to hit the laser platform.

RESTARTING THE REACTOR

The only way to cold-boot a reactor of this size with the
time and tools the PCs have available to them would
be to jump-start it using one of their mech’s coldcores.
This will require Jury Rig, Invent or Create or some
other skill trigger dealing with non-standard improvised
reactor restarts, and the mech will have to donate 1 CP.

On a 9 or less, it works, but the process puts immense

strain on the mech’s coldcore, which immediately takes
a point of Stress damage.

On a 10-19, the reactor spins up without incident.

On a 20+, the reactor surges with power. The mech

regains the 1 CP it spent.

FINDING A PROJECTILE
This is largely a narrative concern; they might have to
spend a few hours digging through the warehouses
before they find a cargo pod capable of self-guidance.

[177]
ENCOUNTER:
NIGHT MARKET
Sarabhai Township sits at a convenient crossroads: it Here are some interesting outlander wares the PCs
lies close to the seasonal routes of several major might be able to acquire while they’re here:
nomad communities, it sits right next to a major road
that connects this part of the Terra Solus to Furnace
City, and its claim contains the safest source of fresh Sylphlex
water for about thirty kilometers. The settlement sees a Gear
lot of traffic and has become a local trading hub. An example of outlander ingenuity, the Sylphlex was
a successful attempt to merge the features of an
Sarabhai Township is a “welcome claim” – that is, no- SSC Sylph Undersuit and a flexsuit into a single unit.
one must ask its residents permission to enter, make This provides a base-layer suit that recycles air and
camp or conduct business. The settlement still retains water, deals with waste products, cleans the user,
the right to ban unruly individuals from its claim, but it maintains a supply of nutritional paste and seals
hasn’t needed to for years; everyone understands that against external atmosphere, allowing a user to wear
Sarabhai is neutral ground and outside drama should a hardsuit comfortably for days or weeks without
stay outside. having to remove it; essential for long journeys.
Given that the Sylphlex suit is an unauthorized
Disrespecting the township, getting in fights or modification of its proprietary technology, SSC
otherwise breaching the peace of Sarabhai will go briefly considered legal action, but their local office
down very poorly among the outlanders, and news of it convinced them that suing a group of impoverished
will travel fast. If the PCs act disrespectfully, all Long Rim residents would be a PR disaster. Instead,
interactions with outlanders will receive +1h for the they granted outlanders the exclusive right to
rest of the mission. manufacture Sylphlex suits in Calliope, while SSC
retains rights to the product elsewhere in the galaxy.
Unlike most settlements, the PCs’ arrival is not greeted
with any particular interest; city folk and off-worlders
come through all the time. They’ve chosen a good day Headache
to show up: every week, Sarabhai holds a Night Market Gear
(it’s too hot to do business during the day) and the next Headache is a lesson in how outlanders describe
one is set for tonight, so things are busier than usual. things: bluntly. It’s a volatile liquid that’s usually a
clear golden-brown color. Few know what it’s made
Some merchants set up stalls out in the open, some from and the rest know better than to ask. It’s 100
operate out of mobile habitats, and others crowd into proof at the very least, so it can disinfect wounds,
the pressurized market halls the settlement has built for degrease the moving parts of your mech, act as an
this exact purpose. A lot of what’s traded are accelerant and if you’re very, very brave you can
necessities – air and water filters, food, medicine, even try drinking it – but take note of the name.
repair supplies and reactor fuel. But there’s a lot of
luxuries here, too: tea and coffee, tobacco and hemp,
consumer electronics, crafts, charms and talismans. The Soup
Local miners and salvagers often sell raw materials or Gear
scavenged components here, as well. Outlanders, particularly nomads, often have to keep
their hardsuits on for days or weeks. A Sylphlex
Likely the most interesting thing for the PCs, however, provides an edible paste that contains the essentials,
will be the opportunity to acquire RESERVES. In one but it’s like eating packing foam. To address this
corner of the market, there’s a big cluster of folk selling problem, outlanders created “the Soup” – a nutrient-
discount military hardware. This operates as Scrounge rich liquid that comes in a variety of flavors and can
and Barter, with a few extra considerations. be drank via a standard hardsuit port. The flavors are
named only as colors; cinnabar, ochre and saffron
If the PCs still have Funds from Beat 3, they can are favorites, while fern is an acquired taste. Stay
expend a charge. If they do, they don’t need to roll for away from ultramarine.
the first thing they buy: the funds just cover it, no
problem. If they picked up a piece of interesting salvage
during Downtime 1 or purchased something from the
Icebreaker’s marketplace during Mission 2, they can
hand it over instead of making a roll so long as they can
sell someone on the item. Have them give a sales pitch.

[178]
ENCOUNTER:
SPARRING FIELD
Outlanders have often needed to defend their homes
from pirates and trespassers, but now they’re being
threatened by Steele’s kidnappers as well. Training
camps just like this one have been running for decades,
but since the abductions started they’ve been packed.
People are looking to train both on foot and in mech,
and the instructors are teaching non-stop.

The outlanders here are standoffish at first, but as long

as the PCs haven’t made any social gaffes elsewhere
on their trip, it’s not hard to convince people of their
good intentions. A lot of the people here are young
radicals, scared and angry about what’s happening to
their homes. If the PCs mention they’re here to deal
with Impact Dynamics, they’ll find a lot of support.

There are three main benefits that the PCs can obtain
here. Firstly, the PCs can train. A few hours’ training
isn’t enough for the PCs to learn the outlanders’
complex and nuanced fighting style, but it is at least
enough to reinforce what they already know, and for the
instructors to correct a few flaws in their technique.

If the PCs train, they may take the +1 talent rank from
their next LICENSE LEVEL as if they had levelled up right
now. When they actually level up at the end of the
mission, they may reallocate talent ranks as usual, but
they don’t get another one; it’s simply brought forward.

Secondly, the team can recruit some of the outlanders

to fight with them against Impact Dynamics. The PCs
can obtain one of the following reinforcement profiles:

• A SQUAD with ARMORED and DUCK AND COVER.

• Four GRUNT BERSERKERS with HARPOON CANNONS.
• Steely Eye, a RONIN with CHAFF LAUNCHERS, and
Fern, a SENTINEL with RAPID RESPONSE.
• Samantha “The Coyote,” a VETERAN ASSAULT
with ACROBAT.

These reinforcements will assist with any and all battles

in the mission, or until they’re destroyed. However, they
won’t help with the fight against the thief in Encounter:
What’s Coming To You. Likewise, they won’t go
anywhere near Encounter: The Crone – they’re
terrified of her. The PCs will have to deal with those
issues on their own.

Thirdly, if the PCs are looking to fill out the militia roster,
they might be able to recruit some of the talent here on
a more long-term basis. It will take some tact and
diplomacy to convince the outlanders to leave their
homes and travel to Hell’s Gate, especially during a
time of crisis, but if they succeed, tick a segment on the
Militia Readiness clock.

[179]
ENCOUNTER:
TERRAFORMING OUTPOST
The air of Asphodel lacks free oxygen, and is roughly The coven is good-natured, mischievous and dramatic;
twice the pressure of Cradle’s atmosphere. The first PCs might be reminded of Mistress Elske or Striga von
wave of colonists erected terraforming stations across Aldenberg. They’re hammy and love to play up their
the planet to rectify this problem, but the process was role as “guardians of the weather,” but they also have
predicted to take many centuries. Some progress was a genuine passion for both science and esoterica. PCs
made during the Pyrite Age, but it stalled after the might bond with them over this, or they can do
Calliope Project folded. The last time any station got its something else; perhaps fix technical issues at the
routine maintenance was a century and a half ago. station or make a convincing sales pitch.

The outlanders maintain the process as best they can, The PCs should roll – on any sort of success, the
but the necessary tools and supplies are scarce, and witches agree to help them. However, if the PCs have
the requisite knowledge of terraforming is not always any item from the Icebreaker’s marketplace (p. 122),
easy to pass on to subsequent generations. One thing they don’t even need to roll. The witches love it, ask for
the outlanders have retained knowledge of, though, is it and will take it in exchange for their services.
how to use the stations to mess with the weather.
If the PCs secure the assistance of the witches, they
The residents of this station have set themselves up as gain 2 charges. Prior to any battle later in the mission,
a coven of weather witches. With the correct incentives, they may expend a charge, select a weather condition
they can affect weather patterns across a wide area, from the table below and ask the witches to whip it up.
bringing sunshine, rain, storms or cold snaps through Weather isn’t an exact science, however: roll a d20. On
careful manipulation of atmospheric conditions. Mostly, a 9 or less, select randomly instead, and the PCs aren’t
they use this power to assist fellow outlanders and their considered to have “called it in,” even if it’s the one they
communities, but given the recent abductions, it might originally wanted.
be possible to convince them to turn it into a weapon
against Impact Dynamics.

ASPHODELIAN WEATHER CONDITIONS ROLL 1D6

Torrential rain pelts the battlefield, churning the ground to mud. While it persists, all
characters have Resistance to m. Additionally, at the start of each battle, mark four
1 Downpour
Size 3 areas of difficult terrain somewhere on the battlefield. If the PCs called this in,
they decide where the difficult terrain goes.
Temperatures on the battlefield abruptly plummet. At the end of each round, every
2 Cold Snap character on the battlefield loses 2l. If the PCs called this in, they can decide whether
or not to lose l.
At the end of each round, choose a character randomly. They and all characters in a
Lightning d1 area around them take 2jAP and 2l as they’re struck by a bolt of lightning. If
3
Storm the PCs called this in, the lightning won’t strike them, but they’ll still take damage and
HEAT if they’re adjacent to a target that gets struck.
Hurricane-force winds rake the battlefield. Indicate a direction before battle starts.
Characters moving any number of spaces in that direction may move an additional 1
4 Strong Wind space. Characters moving in the opposite direction treat the first space of each
movement as if it were difficult terrain (it costs two movement to move into instead of
one). If the PCs called this in, they choose the direction.
Trace a path across the battlefield. The tornado is a Size 3 entity that starts at one end
of it, and moves 1d6 spaces along the path at the end of each round. If the tornado
5 Tornado! passes through or adjacent to any of a character’s spaces, that character gets pushed
3d6 spaces up, and then 2d6 spaces in a random direction. Unless they can fly, they
immediately begin to fall. If the PCs called this in, they draw the path.
A combination of torrential rain and high temperatures creates a unique Asphodelian
weather phenomenon: a vapor shock. The air is choked with clouds of boiling steam.
6 Vapor Shock Mechs always have soft cover sufficient to hide in. Whenever a mech would lose any
amount of HEAT, it loses only half that much HEAT instead. If the PCs called this in,
they and any allies may clear HEAT as normal.

[180]
ENCOUNTER:
THE CRONE
As the team approaches the Crone’s dwelling, they get
a series of pings on their short-range motion sensors,
but no corresponding signature on thermals or optics.
They blink, and then it’s there: a jagged, flickering void-
black shape that makes odd, clipped stuttering noises.

COMBAT:
[ERROR]
SITREP: N/A

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3-5 PCS: 1x ??? – ULTRA Size 2, Corrosive Bite, Rampage, Regenerator
VETERAN EXOTIC Exotic: Blinkspace Carver, Chronotorus
MONSTROSITY Veteran: Lightning Reflexes
Ultra: Devastator (j)

DETAILS MEETING THE CRONE

The scene of this battle is the usual Asphodellian maze The Crone’s dwelling lies at the far end of a small
of canyons, so there’s plenty of cover. Their foe, box canyon, accessible only from a much larger
however, is anything but usual. canyon dug by a nearby river. It’s a small, squat
habitat with an attached growhouse dome. The
This MONSTROSITY is a creature not in synch with the rusted hulk of an old colony ship looms over the
world around it; that the Crone can live in a place canyon, with its prow snapped off and fallen in, close
inhabited by such a thing should be a big hint to the to the building.
PCs that she isn’t what she seems.
The airlock isn’t protected by any sort of passcode or
For this fight, ignore the rule that says MONSTROSITIES keycard – you can just walk right in. Inside is a scene
can’t be targeted by tech attacks. This isn’t a normal of strange disorder. The habitat is cluttered, covered
flesh-and-blood entity. Nothing about this is normal. in all sorts of miscellaneous trinkets and junk. Books,
slates and papers are strewn all over with no rhyme
or reason. The lights are low. The walls are daubed
OUTCOME in strange glyphs.
PC DEFEAT
If the PCs lose the fight or are forced to retreat, they An ancient woman with a visible spinal augmentation
briefly black out. When they wake up all HP, Structure sits stooped over a desk, reading a book. As you
and Stress lost during the battle returns, along with any approach, she looks up. “Oh, I wasn’t expecting you
expended CP or charges on Limited weapons and for another ten minutes, at least. My apologies. Let
systems – it’s as if they never engaged in the battle at me get you some tea.”
all. They’re much further along their journey than they
expected to be, and they’re nowhere near the place PCs who have knowledge of magic or esoterica
they were told the Crone lives anymore. If they attempt immediately notice the disorder isn’t random – almost
to backtrack, they discover that her dwelling isn’t where everything in the room is arranged in what amounts to
they remember it being. All the paths look different. a three-dimensional incantation. Meanwhile, a PC with
Spot or Investigate might not know exactly what’s going
on, but they’ll still recognize there’s a pattern in the
PC VICTORY apparent randomness.
If the PCs win the fight, the damage to their mechs
persists, but they may continue onwards to meet with
the Crone. If the PCs bought the photograph from the Icebreaker’s
marketplace (Item 4, p. 122), the Crone is recognizable
as the young woman in the photograph. For just a
second as the PCs look up from it, she appears to be
that young woman. Blink, and she’s old once more.

[181]
Speaking with the Crone is initially pleasant: she’s a • “Have you ever had a dream that was so mundane
sweet, kind old lady, if a little scatterbrained. But the and believable you mistook it for a memory? How
more she talks, the more ominous it gets. She seems would you know?”
to know things about the PCs that she shouldn’t: their
birth names, their histories, things about their friends in • “Have you ever had the sensation of time passing
Calliope that those friends haven’t told them yet. differently when you’re doing something important?
What were you doing exactly three weeks ago?”
“I wanted you to visit? Why, yes, I must’ve, mustn’t I, • “Describe our surroundings. Do you find yourself
why else would you be standing here? You must using specific words? Almost as if you’re being told
forgive an old woman her forgetfulness. I will soon what it looks like, rather than seeing it?”
need your help with something, and so I feel it’s only
fair to help you first. • “How many times have we had this conversation?”
• She asks a question about part of a PC’s backstory
“You’re going to be fighting that nasty little man that she shouldn’t know – preferably something
Steele, aren’t you? Well, let me tell you something…” other PCs don’t know about yet.

Give the team information on all the mechs and threats Every time the Crone answers a significant question or
waiting for them in Beat 18: The Battle Royale, as if a PC either refuses to answer one of her questions or
they had the Scouting reserve. This should include answers dishonestly, tick a segment on the Something
details on combat encounters they might not even have Is Coming… clock and describe signs that something
to fight, such as Combat: Bad Star (p. 192) and is very, very wrong.
Combat: Expedited Boarding (p. 196), in addition to
what circumstances might trigger those combats (for • A shadow in the room bends towards a light source,
instance, make it clear that if the players have agreed rather than away from it.
to kill the Thief in order to secure the Blacksmith’s
transports, reneging on this deal will mean they’ll have • One of the PCs can hear the ringing of an old rotary
to run Combat: Expedited Boarding). telephone. Nobody else seems to notice.
• One of the pictures hanging on the wall depicts a
The way in which this information is given to the PCs is colossal tree, at least as tall as Hell’s Gate is long.
hard to describe. The Crone doesn’t speak, exactly; The sky is black. The tree is burning. For a
there’s definitely the sensation of her communicating, moment, one of the PC feels as if they are standing
but on a level more fundamental than language could inside the image, rather than merely looking at it.
facilitate. Her mouth moves, but what comes out isn’t
sound; it feels more like possibility. • One of the PCs hears a gentle cracking noise from
below. As they look down, a spiderweb of cracks in
the floor slowly creeps outward from their feet,
“That should help, yes? You probably have many
revealing a silvery, mirrored surface underneath.
questions, so please ask now.”
Blink, and it’s gone.
Ask the players to pick a number between 4 and 12. • For a split second, there is another person standing
Set out a clock the players can see called Something in the room with the PCs; possibly someone they
Is Coming... with that many segments. know. They’re in hardsuit, just like a mech pilot.
• A shape flits across a PC’s field of vision, too fast
Every time the PCs ask a significant question (trivial for them to make out.
inquiries or follow-up questions don’t count), the Crone
will answer it, and then casually enquire on a number • Wind from the storm outside howls sharply. In
of troubling topics. between the tapping of raindrops, a PC can make
out something that almost sounds like speech.
• “Do you ever feel as if your actions are controlled
by an external entity?” The Crone is very, very old; older than should be
possible even with modern medical technology. Exactly
• “Do you ever feel periods of listlessness, as if you how old is up to you, but at the very least old enough to
have no direction and no drive to do anything?” be a first-wave colonist.
• “If I told you that one of you is lying to the rest, who
would each of you suspect I was talking about?” She knows a great deal – far more than it should be
possible for her to know. In fact, as a GM, you should
• “Have you ever imagined that things don’t exist be warned that she’s read as far into this book as you
when you aren’t looking at them?” have. She’s also read all of your notes.
• “Why do you think we don’t notice the strangeness
in our dreams until we wake?” Yes, all of them. Hello, dear.

[182]
Her ultimate goal is to outlive Calliope itself: she wishes ANTHONY CALLAHAN // WHAT’S HIS DEAL?
to endure the billions of years it will take for the sun to “The scruffy young man with the card tricks? He’s not
burn out. This likely has no relevance to the PCs; it’s a from around here, and I mean that in more ways than
quest for personal revenge. But Feather intends to you’re remotely equipped to understand. But out of
destroy the universe, posing a threat to that goal, so the professional courtesy, I’m not going to tell you
Crone will try to help the PCs against the Cult. anything more about him.”

Here’s a few things they might ask about, and specific LOKI VALENTINIAN // WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS
answers that don’t come up anywhere else in this book, BROTHER?
or that she won’t answer differently right now. “Loki Valentinian’s long-lost brother Baldur is alive.
Not only that, but he’s here in system. I can’t tell you
FEATHER // WHAT HAPPENED TO HER? anything more than that right now. Sometimes, you
“That’s a question I can’t answer, and let me tell you, have to let these things come out by themselves.”
there aren’t many of those. I’m looking into it. Ask me
again next time we meet.” IGNATIUS AURUM // WHAT DRIVES HIM?
“What could drive any man to seek the end of the
Her ability to answer questions directly related to world? Ignatius Aurum has already seen it happen
Feather is limited. Feather comes from a timeline that, once, and in his own twisted way he’s trying to save
due to Feather’s arrival in the current era, cannot exist. us from something even worse. He’s misguided, but
This puts her outside the Crone’s sight. noble – in an awful, traumatized sort of way.”

HER IDENTITY // WHAT’S YOUR NAME? THE EVASIVENESS OF HER ANSWERS // WHAT
“I must’ve had a name once, mustn’t I? I’ve forgotten GIVES, OLD LADY?
it. I know that I came here a long time ago, but I can’t “I am under a tenuous servitude to a couple of people
recall when, or why. Perhaps I was a member of a who are quite important in these parts. At least one
far field team? I seem to remember there was a crisis of them thinks I need to be very guarded about the
of some sort unfolding when I was dispatched.” information I give you; the other might disagree, but
the former is who I tend to follow until I get word from
HER TASK // WHAT DO YOU NEED HELP WITH? the latter to do otherwise.”
“It’s not time to explain that yet. I realize that sounds
odd, but you haven’t seen enough yet. I can’t really To clarify, what this means is the author worries that
explain it to you – you’ll have to experience it all on if I tell the player characters too much of the plot
your own. You’ll know when it’s time to come back to before it happens, it might pitch you into unmapped
me. Or perhaps you won’t. Time will tell.” territory not covered in this book. Don’t let that stop
you, though; they gave up control of the story the
moment you started telling it.
ASPHODEL // WHAT IS THIS PLANET?
“I’ve spent a long time studying Asphodel. It’s quite
fascinating from a scientific perspective. Conditions If a PC leaves before the clock is full, nothing obvious
here resemble those on Cradle two and a half billion happens. They may leave as they arrived.
years ago. Atmospheric composition is ninety
percent nitrogen, ten percent carbon dioxide with If one or more of the PCs does not leave before the
almost no free oxygen.” clock is full, they space out briefly, then find themselves
much further along their path than they expected. They
THE FUTURE // WHAT IS COMING? don’t remember how they got here. They also obtain
“Something very bad. You’ve already seen hints of something quietly dreadful: Astral Stigmata.
it, haven’t you? On the ghost ship, and on the
Icebreaker Borealis. You can’t stop what’s coming, Astral Stigmata
not yet; just keep doing what you’re doing. You’ll be “Perk”
in a much better position soon, I promise.”
You should not see this.
ANDROS CAPELLA // WHAT BECAME OF HIM?
“That’s a very interesting question, dear. You saw You now have a clock called Astral Stigmata. It has
him die, after all, and in fairly spectacular fashion. Do six segments, and starts with one segment already
you doubt your own competence? Or is it your own ticked. You have a bonus to Attune to the World
senses? No. You weren’t deceived. At the present equal to the number of segments ticked on this clock,
moment, he’s as dead as dead can be. and the explicit understanding that this is not a good
thing. Do not allow this clock to fill.
“What’s far more interesting to me is why and how
you knew to ask that question this early.”

[183]
ENCOUNTER:
WHAT’S COMING TO YOU
If the PCs agreed to hunt down the Thief for the SMITH-SHIMANO’S GOALS
Blacksmith, they eventually catch up to him and his “I don’t know exactly what Smith-Shimano want, but
crew of hired guns in a long-abandoned settlement next you can tell a few things by context, by what the
to a dry lakebed. Blacksmith’s been having us do. They’re searching
for something. It’s big, not an object, exactly, more
Desolation in every direction, as far as the eye can like a place. A location – a facility, probably.”
see. The rain has stopped. A dark wind blows across
the plain, bone-dry and hot as a venting core. The Thief is lying – he’s seen the data, and so not only
Hollowed-out carcasses of old shelters rattle in the does he know exactly what SSC was looking for, he
breeze. Your quarry stands just a hundred meters knows the Blacksmith has already found it.
away, behind a small number of other mechs.
NEED FOR THE TRANSPORTS
“He sent you to kill me, right? Oh, who am I kidding, “You need the transports. I need to live. Blacksmith
of course he did! But do you wanna know why he won’t give you the transports unless you kill me. One
wants me dead? Because he doesn’t want everyone of us isn’t gonna get what we want. Like, for real, I
in this system to know the truth – that his whole respect you’re trying to save those people, I really
fucking anti-corporate, pro-worker crusade is a lie! do. But I’m not just gonna lay down and die. Don’t be
He’s been on the take from SSC for years, and I can a tool for a man who sold out his own ideals.”
prove it! The Blacksmith himself is a corpro plant!”
WHY THE BLACKSMITH EMPLOYED THE TEAM
If PCs ask to see the proof, it’s pretty convincing – “You think he was really gonna send any of the Forge
transmission logs, ledgers, even omnivid feeds proving to do this? No, my friend, not when he knew I might
the Blacksmith was taking money from SSC. However, tell them why he wants me dead. It had to be you.
what it doesn’t show is that the Blacksmith is in any way You were in the right place and the right time to be
false in his expressed ideals; this looks like a contract useful to him.
he's doing for people he doesn’t like, purely for the
money. He even says as much in the transmission logs. “And for the sake of the One, please don’t tell me
you’re naïve enough to think you’re not next on his
The problem the Thief is facing here is that he’s not who list. You’ve seen and heard way too much now. He
people believe he is: he’s actually a low-ranking agent can’t know I won’t give you a copy of what I stole.”
for the Union Intelligence Bureau, here to spy on the
Burning Forge specifically because they took a contract WAIT, THOSE TWO ANSWERS DON’T ADD UP!
from SSC; Union wants to know why. However, he can’t Observant PCs may notice that the Thief is claiming
tell the PCs that without blowing his cover, so he’s two contradictory things: that the Blacksmith intends to
invented a motivation for his actions that holds up under renege on his deal and kill the PCs, but also that he
at least basic scrutiny. believes the PCs will get their transports if they kill him.

The Thief, to his credit, takes his job seriously and won’t “Shit, um, I meant he’s gonna kill you later! Probably
confess to being a UIB plant even if he thinks it would after you do whatever it is you need the transports
save his life. Observant PCs will note that he seems to for. Maybe during. It’d be convenient, right? For you
be intent on hiding something from them. to die during the mission? That’s how it’ll go down!”

THE BLACKSMITH’S MOTIVATION THE THIEF’S INTENTIONS

“I don’t know. Maybe he thinks he can use corporate “There’s an old broadcast station about eighty clicks
cash for his revolution. But if that was the case, why east. I’m headed there. Let me go, and I can tell the
would he need to hide it from all of us?” whole of Calliope who the Blacksmith really is.”

If the PCs mention that they managed to convince the THE THIEF’S COMPANIONS
Blacksmith to explain his motivations, the Thief’s “A few outlanders I’m in tight with, and a couple of
composure slips and he stumbles for a response. unaffiliated boys I hired to watch my back. They can
fight just as well as I can. Maybe even better. Any
“Well, well, well, he should’ve… he should’ve, I don’t more than that is none of your damned business.”
know, he should’ve told us! Don’t you think if his
motivations were that innocent, he would’ve let us
know? He would’ve, I don’t know – shit! Well, well,
how do you even know he’s telling the truth?”

[184]
CONSULTING THE BLACKSMITH
The Blacksmith, if contacted, won’t deny what the Thief
said; he is working with SSC (although the PCs may
already know that anyway). But he has further context:

“SSC wants me to find something they left here

during the First Wave. In return, I get money to help
Calliope’s workers, and SSC gear to loosen Steele’s
grip on the system. Yes, I should’ve told you all this
to start with, but trust is hard to come by out here!

“Now, here’s what he’s not telling you: I’m not asking
you to kill him because he’ll tell people about the
deal. I sent you to kill him because he stole a copy
of the data SSC wants. He’s trying to cut a side deal.
He wants all the money for himself.”

If confronted with this, the Thief denies it out of hand;

he simply claims the Blacksmith is lying, and repeats
the suggestion that the Blacksmith will have them killed
the moment they’re no longer useful to him.

RESOLUTION
If the PCs allow the Thief to get away and the
transmission to go out, they will later get a short but
definitive message from the Blacksmith, which he
delivers in the same calm, level tone as any other
conversation they’ve had with him.

A Blacksmith’s Enmity
Favors
“I want you to know you’ve made a terrible mistake
in breaking faith with me. One fine day when you
think you’re doing well for yourself, I will be there.”

You really pissed the Blacksmith off. This will

definitely come back to bite you, but not until Act 2.

On the other hand, the thief will remember what the

team did for him.

A Thief’s Honor
Favors
“It can’t have been easy, risking what you did on the
word of someone you barely know. I don’t know how
to repay you, but I swear on the One I’ll find a way.”

While a thief and a traitor to the Burning Forge might

not seem like a useful ally, people in Calliope find
surprising ways to pay back their debts. But probably
not until Act 2.

If the PCs seem determined to fight, the Thief and his

allies move to return fire.

[185]
COMBAT:
GUNS AT NOON
SITREP: N/A

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x THE THIEF – ELITE SLINGER Another Hand Cannon, Dark Wind, Fan the Hammer,
Outlaw’s Hand
1x VETERAN MERCENARY ASSAULT Underslung Grenade Launcher, Headshot
1x BASTION “Pause” Engine
1x SUPPORT Remote Cloud, Remote Reboot

FOR 4 PCS: THE THIEF: Add VETERAN template and VIPER’S SPEED trait.
+1x MERCENARY RONIN Last Word

FOR 5 PCS: VETERAN MERCENARY ASSAULT: Add COMMANDER template and PRESS THE ATTACK trait.
+1x MERCENARY SNIPER Scout Drone

DETAILS OUTCOME
This is a straightforward battle – if the PCs want the PC DEFEAT
Thief dead, they’re going to have to fight for it. The Thief has no interest in anything other than his
safety, and will only try to kill the PCs if he thinks they
The engagement takes place in an abandoned won’t give up the chase. If he forces the PCs to retreat,
settlement on a low, flat plain. Most of the buildings are he goes to ground and is impossible to track down
dilapidated – they provide Size 1 and Size 2 cover, but again in the time the PCs have left – they must press
they only have half as much HP as usual and will come on to the arena. The Blacksmith is unimpressed, and
apart very quickly under sustained weapons fire. does not provide the offered help.

The settlement’s water tower is a Size 3 object with 15

HP. If it’s destroyed, it comes crashing down, dealing
PC VICTORY
1d6i in a d1 area around it. If present, the SNIPER will “I get it. You gotta save all those people. What’s one
try to perch on top of it; if it’s destroyed while they’re on life in exchange? I don’t blame you. I’d probably do
top of it, they take 3iAP falling damage in addition to the same.”
any damage from the collapse.
If the PCs defeat the Thief and his allies, he’s got
This battle introduces the SLINGER, a new NPC type. nowhere to run. If the PCs are determined to kill him,
The Slinger is a potent area-denial controller. It has a he faces it with dignity. Make sure the PCs are aware
weapon which deals low damage with a single shot, but they’re executing an unarmed man. The Blacksmith
it can place a mark on enemies when it scores a critical requires a live video feed of the execution, which would
hit against them, then unleash a flurry of attacks against be difficult to fake – a Risky, Heroic roll, at least.
marked characters at the beginning of its turn. Also,
unlike most ranged combat NPCs, being engaged with The PCs can, with a successful Hack or Finesse
an enemy actually helps it, rather than hindering it. check, salvage the data from the thief’s mech if it wasn’t
totally obliterated (by a meltdown, for example). But it’s
The Thief has several of the Slinger’s optional abilities. encrypted, and as the Thief learned, holding blackmail
DARK WIND allows them to retaliate against hostile material on the Blacksmith is a very dangerous game.
ranged attacks, while FAN THE HAMMER turns its regular
attack into a cone that can hit several enemies while If the PCs relent at the last moment, the Thief is left
sparing its allies. without a way to get to the broadcast station he was
heading for. The PCs can take him there themselves,
The Thief’s allies are a combination of moonlighters but it’ll take time. Tick a segment on the Enemy
who truly believe in his principled stand against the Attention clock. Doing this will incur consequences
Blacksmith and outlander hirelings who are protecting identical to having spared the Thief in the first place.
him because the money’s good. If the battle turns
against them, characters with the Mercenary template If the PCs execute the Thief, the Blacksmith upholds
may cut and run. his end of the bargain and provides the transports.

[186]
BEAT 18:
THE BATTLE ROYALE
The gaudy bastion of the Steele Dome rises out of If at least four segments are ticked, Steele sends a
the landscape like a tumor. It’s not actually a “dome;” member of his personal hit squad to deal with the PCs.
it’s a massive hexagonal complex roughly four Run Combat: Bad Star in addition to the other
kilometers across, with thirty-meter walls built in an combats, after Combat: Roadblock.
inverted slope like the sides of an upside-down
pyramid, leaving an imposing overhang. You may notice that the Arrange a Distraction action
in Beat 16 reduces the maximum number of segments
Atop the central tower, there’s a giant, fifty-meter on the clock – if the PCs remove enough, it will stop the
statue of Rodericke Steele himself. It’s plated in gold, clock from ever reaching certain thresholds.
but it’s not as impressive as he thinks – besides iron,
gold is one of the easiest metals to find in Calliope.
ASSAULT STRUCTURE
Limited orbital reconnaissance combined with your The action starts off with Combat: Lowest-Bidder
passive sensors have provided you with a map of the Work (p. 190), with the team vying for control of the
complex that should be good enough to operate on. facility’s control systems. Then, once they rescue the
You know where the facility’s security control prisoners, run Combat: Roadblock (p. 191) as a bus
systems and the landing pads are, and you can carrying rescued prisoners breaks down.
make a reasonable guess at where the prisoners are
being held. Hopefully, that’s enough. If the Enemy Attention clock has at least 4 segments
ticked, run Combat: Bad Star (p. 192). Finally, if the
PCs don’t have Air Transports, run Combat:
THE OBJECTIVES Expedited Boarding (p. 196).
The assault on the Steele Dome has three major
objectives:
STEELE’S COMMENTARY
The moment the team’s assault begins, Rodericke
• Disable or subvert the facility’s security systems.
Steele takes notice. Eager to have new victims to bully,
• Locate and liberate the prisoners. he starts broadcasting live footage of their assault to all
of Calliope, adding his own commentary.
• Evacuate the prisoners and extract.
In terms of character, Steele is all flaws: he’s a petulant,
If the PCs couldn’t secure Air Transport from either spiteful, narcissistic, short-tempered, deeply insecure
Furnace City or the Blacksmith, all is not lost: the facility capitalist. He feels invincible because he never takes
has a large number of aircraft. The PCs are going to any risks himself, leaving all the work to waves of
have to hotwire them, though, which will take time. underpaid henchmen while he takes all the credit.

ENEMY PREPARATIONS The PCs can’t confront him right now, because he’s
When the PCs commence their attack, consult the safe in his luxurious penthouse on Impact Plaza – a fact
Enemy Attention clock. he will gleefully brag about. However, the PCs can lash
out at him in other ways: there’s several statues of him
scattered around the complex, and smashing them will
If no segments are ticked, the SCOUTS in this Beat
upset him. His monitors can also be smashed.
can’t use their ORBITAL STRIKE ability. The laser
platform simply isn’t in the right orbit, and Impact
Dynamics can’t adjust it in time. Steele’s taunting will cover a variety of topics: Hell’s
Gate and its recent troubles, known associates of the
PCs, any known flaws they possess and anything else
If any segments are ticked, the SCOUTS can use their
about the PCs that’s a matter of public record.
ORBITAL STRIKE ability as normal.

Steele assumes his victory is a foregone conclusion:

If at least two segments are ticked, Impact Dynamics
his forces massively outnumber and outgun the PCs,
deploys additional reinforcements. Add a SQUAD with
and he’s too self-obsessed to consider the possibility of
ARMORED to Combat: Lowest-Bidder Work (p. 190),
Combat: Roadblock (p. 191), and (if it occurs) failure. As the PCs continue to prove him wrong, Steele
becomes progressively more furious and unhinged,
Combat: Expedited Boarding (p. 196).
towards both the PCs and his own lackeys.

[187]
CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE
The consequences of failing an assault on the Steele
Dome are quite severe, but don’t change much
between sections of the assault.

If the PCs are defeated during a battle, they’re likely

captured and taken prisoner by Impact Dynamics. If
Steele suspects that Furnace City was assisting them
in the assault, he’ll fire the orbital laser on them if it’s in
position to do so. Either due to the lack of a spotter or
to Steele’s unwillingness to go all the way, the shot
goes wide and touches down in the Burnfields rather
than the Dome. Civilian casualties are low, but the
City’s industrial base is trashed.

At this point, the team are in the same position as the

people they were trying to rescue; prisoners of Steele,
likely counting down the days until they’re forced to
RODERICKE STEELE HE/HIM participate in his new blood sport. Escaping from this
GALAXY’S LEAST LIKEABLE PERSON situation might add a whole second half to the mission.
“Well, if they don’t like mandatory recruitment,
maybe they should pay their food rent on time?”
For a simple prison break scenario, set out two visible
clocks: an eight-segment clock called Plan the Escape
Born the eldest son of a Long Rim mining magnate, and a six-segment clock called Discovered as a failure
Steele inherited the family business at the age of 23 state clock. As characters take actions to plan and
when his father died in a freak accident for which he execute their breakout, fill in segments on Plan the
had a perfectly solid alibi. In the space of six years he’d Escape (one segment on a result of 9 or less, two
bankrupted the company through a combination of segments for 10-19, and three for 20+). Fill in segments
mismanagement and embezzlement. on Discovered when PCs take complications (one
segment) or failures (two segments) for these actions.
His next venture was Quicksilver, a brand of high-end
energy drinks for cosmopolitans. The project required If Plan the Escape fills up before Discovered, set out
exorbitant sums of venture capital, suffered repeated a six-segment Prison Break clock and a 10-segment
schedule slips and had a notoriously high staff turnover Captured clock. Filling up Prison Break before
rate. The entire product line was banned before release Captured means the PCs successfully organize a
when a Union Economic Bureau investigation found mass breakout. If Captured fills up first, the PCs get
high levels of mercury sulfate in several test batches. recaptured. If this happens, they can try again, but
make all clocks two segments shorter.
Undeterred, he acquired a controlling interest in Impact
Dynamics when its disastrous response to a general If Discovered fills up first, the PCs are forced to try and
strike tanked its share price. Under his control, Impact run the prison break early. Play out the same scenario
Dynamics descended into even more violent and as above, but with a 10-segment Prison Break clock
underhanded means of eliminating competition. and a six-segment Captured clock instead.

Despite his extensive list of managerial and personal If the PCs can’t escape and you need a way out that
failings, Steele projects himself as a successful doesn’t involve the PCs being forced to fight, Steele
entrepreneur, genius innovator, capitalist paragon and might ransom the team back to Hell’s Gate, but the
self-described “sexual tyrannosaurus.” He’s made a lot prices would be extortionate and Jerry might be seen
of manna giving “leadership masterclasses” on the as weak for capitulating; untick two segments on the
Omninet, which are mostly buzzword salads. Station Stability clock. The team’s reputation would
be in tatters at this point.
He would be pitiable if he weren’t so dangerous. He
sees other people as props for his own amusement, Alternatively, the Cult could intervene. This isn’t as
and believes the circumstances of his birth justify his disastrous as Steele ransoming the PCs back to Hell’s
actions, no matter what they are, and often lapses into Gate, but it convinces many Calliopeans that the Cult
anthrochauvinist rhetoric when angry. He dresses to are a better solution to the system’s problems than the
project the image of a confident, successful “alpha team; tick two segments on the Cult Influence clock.
male,” a concept so outdated that it’s unclear exactly
how he learned of it. He’s currently engaged in a
desperate attempt to force a smoking jacket comeback.

[188]
COMBAT:
LOWEST-BIDDER WORK
SITREP: Control (Lancer, p. 268)

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x VETERAN SCOURER Supercharged, Steel Jaw
1x GOLIATH Watchful Guardian
1x VEHICLE RAINMAKER Atlas Missiles
1x SCOUT Orbital Strike*, Spotter

FOR 4 PCS: +1x ELITE SEEDER Hopping Mines, Tripwires

FOR 5 PCS: +1x AEGIS HA Blackwall System, Ring of Fire

+1x BARRICADE Titan-Snare Drone

IF ENEMY ATTENTION CLOCK IS AT 2 OR MORE

FOR 3-5 PCS: +1x SQUAD Armored

DETAILS DEVELOPMENT
To shut down the facility’s air defense cordon and free The first fight is over. The team’s intrusion systems
the prisoners, the team will have to seize control of the spool down; for now, they have control over the base’s
operations center and subvert its computer systems, essential systems. The air defense cordon is down,
just like when they raided S1GN4L’s listening post. they have control of the security gates and they have
the access codes to free all of the prisoners. Security
This battle takes place in a makeshift operations center forces have backed off to regroup, and so the PCs have
at the base of the central tower. The techs are still time for a rest.
getting this place ready for primetime, so there’s a lot
of equipment still sitting in cargo containers strewn Once they’re done with that, they may proceed through
about the place, which provide Size 1 hard cover. the facility to the prison complex where the abductees
Larger prefab structures provide Size 2 hard cover. are being kept. Getting them out of their cells isn’t a
problem; the access codes see to that. The main issue
The equipment here was not installed properly. There is that the prison intentionally wasn’t stocked with
are Size 1, HP 5 electrical substations scattered across hardsuits, or even breathing equipment. The only way
the battlefield, which discharge violently when struck by to get them to the landing pads and into the evacuation
weapons fire, dealing 4j in a d2 area. aircraft is a fleet of personnel transports.

The GOLIATH is a towering monster of a mech that The personnel transports are big, pressurized all-
protects its allies by demanding the attention of its terrain buses meant to move prisoners from place to
enemies. Use its CRUSH TARGETING ability on a PC who place. Fortunately, enough of the abductees are
prefers to stay at range, and its SIEGE ARMOR will force qualified drivers to get every transport moving, and
them uncomfortably close. Its WATCHFUL GUARDIAN there are enough transports to get all the prisoners to
trait allows it to protect adjacent allies from damage – the landing pads in just two trips.
use it to cover an advance.
The first trip goes fine, but there’s a major complication
If present, the SEEDER can block off large sections of during the second trip.
the map with their TRIPWIRES. Place them across choke
points the PCs will have to cross to get to a control As you’re only two hundred meters from the landing
point. Thanks to HOPPING MINES, they can also give pads, there’s a loud grinding noise from one of the
flying mechs a nasty surprise. How are flying mechs transports, and it falls behind, pouring thick smoke.
triggering the tripwires? Lasers or something, probably.
The driver keys his radio, clearly panicked. “Shit,
shit, shit! My engine’s seized up! I can’t move!”

[189]
COMBAT:
ROADBLOCK
SITREP: Escort (Lancer, p. 269)

OBJECTIVE(S): 1x PERSONNEL TRANSPORT (Size 2, 20 HP)

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x ELITE BARRICADE Extrudite, Hunger/Pursuit Limpets
1x VETERAN CATAPHRACT Lightning Reflexes
1x SCOUT Orbital Strike*

FOR 4 PCS: +1x PIRATE WITCH Chain, Petrify, Slaver Signal

FOR 5 PCS: +1x ENGINEER Arsenal

REINFORCEMENTS
FOR 3 PCS: 1x BERSERKER
2x GRUNT CATAPHRACT

FOR 4 PCS: +1x VETERAN BERSERKER Nail Gun, Steel Jaw

FOR 5 PCS +1X BARRICADE Titan-Snare Drone

IF ENEMY ATTENTION CLOCK IS AT 2 OR MORE

FOR 3-5 PCS: +1x SQUAD Armored

DETAILS DEVELOPMENT
The PCs have to manually move the broken-down “Oh good for you! Good for you! Slow clap! You
transport to the landing pads while an Impact Dynamics saved one bus full of nobodies. Newsflash: you know
response team tries to stop them. how easy they’ll be to replace? By the time I’m done
with you, those goons I hired will probably have
There are several Size 1 walls separating sections of rounded up twice as many! TWICE!”
the facility, with checkpoint gates allowing movement
between them. Arrange the battlefield so that the team Once the team have escorted the stricken transport to
has to move the transport through at least one of them. the landing pads, the security forces back off again and
Because the PCs have subverted the facility’s systems, the PCs have another moment to breathe and take a
they can control the gates: as a protocol, a PC can rest before the next assault begins.
open or close a gate. The gates are two spaces wide
and provide hard cover only when closed. If the Enemy Attention clock has at least four
segments ticked, that next assault takes the form of
The BARRICADE’s primary task is to block off one of Rodericke Steele’s elite flunkies. Run Combat:
thoroughfares quickly with its MOBILE PRINTER and its Bad Star (p. 192).
HUNGER/PURSUIT LIMPETS create a large area of
difficult terrain, costing twice as much movement to If the Enemy Attention clock has less than four
pass through, and can also strip enemies of the mobility segments ticked and the PCs didn’t get access to Air
tools needed to leave it quickly. Transports, run Combat: Expedited Boarding (p.
196).
The WITCH has SLAVER SIGNAL, a very powerful single-
target effect that can completely shut down a PC. Note If the Enemy Attention clock has less than four
that a PC who installed a COMP/CON-CLASS ASSISTANT segments ticked and the PCs have access to Air
UNIT or has the TECHNOPHILE talent will be able to Transports, the mission is over – the team may extract
continue fighting, as their AI can tag in for them. If at their leisure. Proceed to the aftermath on p. 197.
you’re feeling generous, make them the target.

[190]
COMBAT:
BAD STAR
SITREP: N/A

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x BAD STAR – ULTRA BREACHER Size 2
Breacher: Follower Count, Painmaker
Ultra: Limitless, Siege Shield
1x GOLIATH Power Knuckle
1x SCOUT Dataveil, Orbital Strike*

FOR 4 PCS: +1x VETERAN SNIPER Defensive Grapple, Selective Loader, Lightning Reflexes

FOR 5 PCS: +1x ELITE SPACER HORNET Concussion Gun

“Well, since you’re being such ASSHOLES, maybe Bad Star has only one tactic: go after either the biggest,
now is a good time to introduce you to a new meanest mech on the field because he thinks it’s the
associate of mine!” biggest threat, or the smallest, weakest-looking mech
because he sees an easy target. He will tend to ignore
There is a scream of deceleration thrusters as drop midrange mechs unless they’re right up in his face or
pods rain from the sky, and your comm feed is there are no other available targets to shoot at. Choose
suddenly filled with the obnoxious voice of whoever’s one PC who fits this criteria, and just go after them.
piloting the lead mech. “What’s up, lancers?! It’s ya
boi, Bad Star, coming at you Fresh from Calliope!” Bad Star is likely to be the first enemy the PCs will have
faced who can OVERCHARGE like they can. Watch how
On one of the undamaged vidscreens, Steele grins often you use this – Bad Star’s Heat Cap isn’t very high,
proudly. “See, I figured I’d break into the whole and even locked at 1d6l it can add up very quickly,
streaming gig. What do you think? Sorry, I forgot: I leaving him vulnerable to tech attacks from the PCs.
don’t care. Bad Star, waste these losers.” Don’t be too careful with it, though; Bad Star isn’t a
sensible pilot, and the action economy advantage is
Bad Star smirks as his mech points an absurd four- worth melting down for.
barreled gun in your direction. “Daddy Steele always
gets what he wants.” Bad Star is, as his name suggests, the star of the show
here. Other units on the field should act in a supporting
role. The GOLIATH should operate in a gatekeeping
DETAILS role, drawing the focus of high-damage PCs away from
This fight takes place just short of the landing pads, the Ultra, and the SCOUT should be sticking to the
where Steele’s kill-team have touched down. edges of the battlefield, using its MARKER RIFLE to mark
targets for Bad Star’s attacks.
There are several Size 2, 10 HP fuel tanks on the field
that provide hard cover. If destroyed, they erupt in a If the SNIPER is present, it can use SELECTIVE LOADER
d1 cloud of cryogenic deuterium, forcing any to hinder the team in whatever way seems situationally
characters within the area to make an ENGINEERING appropriate. It’s best to save DEFENSIVE GRAPPLE’s
check. On a failure, they are IMPAIRED and IMMOBILIZED RELOCATION reaction for when PCs advance on the
until the end of their next turn. Pass or fail, any mech in Sniper, although it can also be used to set up for a shot
the burst clears all l. on a PC who’s already taken their turn.

BAD STAR is another ULTRA, decked out with some of If the HORNET is present, it should act like an annoying
the most powerful equipment Impact Dynamics can hype man for Bad Star: buzzing around the target he’s
offer. FOLLOWER COUNT fits perfectly with Bad Star’s singled out, inflicting IMPAIRED and JAMMED on them,
bully personality. Mark a character, keep running after using their CONCUSSION GUN to push PCs out of
them and use the +1g to offset the Breacher’s pitifully position, and generally eating up time, resources and
inaccurate main weapon. Meanwhile, SIEGE SHIELD attention from the team that would otherwise be used
forces PCs into range of that weapon if they want to against Bad Star.
deal damage effectively.

[191]
[192]
ENEMY MECH
BAD STAR
Ultra Breacher
Striker

“Howl, some people call you a ‘hero to the Nestorian diaspora,’ but me? I call you
a pity vote. You rock up to this League with your cliché underdog sob story and that
walking scrapheap you call a rig, you get lucky in a few fights against greenhorns
who have no idea what they’re doing and suddenly we’re supposed to call you
‘champion?’ You didn’t earn that. You didn’t EARN that. I’m going to show the galaxy
what TRUE skill looks like.”

– Bad Star, Hellfire League pre-match promo, 5015u

(match result: Howl victory, 43 seconds)

HUL: +2 HP: 23 Armor: 1 ULTRA

AGI: +0 Evasion: 9 Speed: 5 As an ULTRA, BAD STAR:
SYS: -1 E-Defense: 7 Save Target: 10 • Takes two separate turns each round, or three if
ENG: +1 Heat Cap: 7 Sensors: 5 there are 5 or more players.
• Has 4 structure and 4 stress.
• Can clear one condition affecting him at the start
of his turn and repair one destroyed system or
weapon at the end of his turn.
• Deals +1d6 damage on critical hits.
• Can OVERWATCH any number of times a round
• Rolls all structure and stress checks twice and
chooses either result.
SYSTEMS
Quad-Barrel Shotgun Starboosters
Heavy CQB, +1 vs Evasion, +2 h System, Recharge 6+, Quick Action
[ 3] [ 3] [6 ] Bad Star moves up to 6 spaces in a straight line,
This weapon can make two attacks at once, ignoring engagement and passing through – but not
targeting either the same character or different ones. stopping in – spaces occupied by other characters.
“Now we’ve got Bad Star letting loose there Obstructions and objects in Bad Star’s path take
with that signature ‘Starquake’ shotgun! Jess, 10 AP. Bad Star passes through any obstructions
what do we think about that?” destroyed this way and continues moving until he’s
moved 6 spaces or failed to destroy an obstruction.
“Well, Kimura, as we’ve seen in previous bouts,
this thing packs one hell of a punch if he can Any characters in Bad Star’s path must succeed on
land a shot, but the key word here is ‘if.’” an AGILITY save or be pushed out of the way as
directly as possible and knocked PRONE.
– Hellfire League match commentary “And out come the Starboosters! The signature
Starboosters! But Howl keeps cool, dodges left,
DAYRUINER Trait and Bad Star, he-... yep! Right into the wall!”
Characters that are successfully attacked more than – Hellfire League match commentary
once in a turn by Bad Star’s Quad-Barrel Shotgun
become SHREDDED for the rest of the scene.
GET REKT, SCRUB Trait, Full Action
“ABC – Always Crushing, Babe!” Bad Star chooses a character within 3. His next
turn is delayed until after his target’s. At the start of
Untouchable Bad Star’s next turn, if the target is still within 3,
System
Bad Star may attack them four times with his Quad-
Bad Star gains RESISTANCE to all damage from Barrel Shotgun (instead of twice) as a free action.
attacks that originate beyond 3.
“Could you, could you just– look, would you
“I’m not even trying! I’m only using three hold still a moment, I gotta reload...”
percent of my brain! That’s all you deserve!”

[193]
SHINE BRIGHT, BAD STAR Trait Squeakieclean: If you ever feel like life in
Bad Star can OVERCHARGE. Instead of the standard Calliope sucks, just remember: at least
cost, he always gains 1d6l. you’ve never been kicked out of the Hellfire
“I can do this all day! And all night! I can do League, ratioed by an entire star system and
this for weeks! I CAN DO THIS FOREVER!” clowned on by the people who stole your gun
SwitchOfficial: Did you know it’s possible to
Follower Count dab so hard you get whiplash
System, Quick Tech, +1 vs E-Defense, +1g – Muse chatter
Bad Star makes a tech attack against a character
within SENSORS. On a success, Bad Star gains +1 g
on all attacks against their target, and may BOOST HellfireHowl: @BaddestStar hmm interesting
once per turn as a free action so long as it moves you claim to be opposed to socialism and yet
them directly towards their target. This lasts until you’re addicted to being publicly owned
either character is destroyed and cannot be changed BaddestStar: stfu
to a new target.
– Muse chatter
“I could forgive the shit-talk. I could forgive
launching a competing stream just to bite me.
I could even forgive stealing my catchphrase.
KadyAmvilleBTW: I really need you guys to
But he unironically said ‘Daddy Steele’ on live
understand the level of intellectual brain
omnivid. You just can’t come back from that.”
genius we’re dealing with here
- Ipswich DeLacey, omnistream, 5016u KadyAmvilleBTW: So, for those of you not in
the know about the mech fighting leagues
DEVELOPMENT KadyAmvilleBTW: He used to be just “Star” and
“No, no, okay, I see how it is. Well, first rule of he was pitched as this all-around good guy
management is always find the upside. Upside here? babyface, very colorful, very kid-friendly
That guy’s finished! He’s fired! His salary just got KadyAmvilleBTW: Then he did a heel turn
freed up! Hey, you know what? I’ll pay you his whole
retirement fund to FUCK OFF.” KadyAmvilleBTW: I want you to take three
guesses what this towering mind paragon did
to make it clear he was a bad guy now
Slapping down Bad Star briefly intimidates the rest of
Rodericke Steele’s goons and they back off, leaving – Muse chatter
enough time for another rest. So long as Bad Star’s
mech wasn’t completely destroyed (such as suffering a
reactor meltdown), they can salvage his shotgun as a
piece of Exotic Gear.

“Starquake” Quad-Barrel Shotgun

Heavy CQB, Exotic Gear, Inaccurate,
Reliable 3
[b3] [a3] [2d6+3i]
On attack: if your mech is Size 1 or smaller, you are
knocked 1 space back from your target.
This appears to be a Conical Kinetic Projector
from a subline starship, clumsily patched into
the firing mechanism of a mech-scale shotgun.
Little thought seems to have been given to how
it would handle, meaning that low-tonnage mechs
can be lifted right off the ground by the sheer
force of its recoil.

If the PCs didn’t secure access to Air Transports, run

Combat: Expedited Boarding (p. 196).

If the PCs have access to Air Transports, the mission

is over; they may extract at their leisure. Proceed to the
aftermath on p. 197.

[194]
COMBAT:
EXPEDITED BOARDING
SITREP: Holdout (Lancer, p. 272)

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x ELITE SLINGER Draw!, Shouldna Aughta
1x BOMBARD Bunker Buster
1x BREACHER Flechette Shot, Thermal Charge
1x SCOUT Expose Weakness, Orbital Strike*

FOR 4 PCS: +1x VETERAN GOLIATH Retribution, Watchful Guardian, Self-Repair

FOR 5 PCS: +1x ASSAULT Micro-Missile Barrage

REINFORCEMENTS
FOR 3 PCS: 2x ASSAULT Micro-Missile Barrage

FOR 4 PCS +1X SLINGER Another Hand Cannon

FOR 5 PCS: +1x GOLIATH Pin

IF ENEMY ATTENTION CLOCK IS AT 2 OR MORE

FOR 3-5 PCS: +1x SQUAD Armored

The ELITE SLINGER can use DRAW! To force PCs to

DETAILS attack it or suffer severe penalties, while SHOULDNA
If the team didn’t secure transports from the Blacksmith AUGHTA lets it mark them for its volley attack if they
or by some other means, they’ll need to hold back attack its allies.
Impact Dynamics’ forces while some of the more
technically-proficient abductees hotwire some VTOL
aircraft sitting on the landing pads. The Breacher can use its THERMAL CHARGE to destroy
cover and punish PCs for bunching up, but it only gets
one, so be judicious about its use.
This fight takes place on the landing pads, as transports
carrying the abductees are hotwired and begin takeoff.
There are six Size 4, 40 HP transports that provide The BOMBARD is a long-range artillery platform that
hard cover. One disappears at the end of every round, forces PCs to get in close if they want to damage it. Its
taking off and escaping. Enemies will try to avoid hitting CLUSTER MUNITIONS deal more damage the more
them (they’re expensive, and it’ll come out of their characters its cannon catches in its blast radius, but
paycheck) but aren’t forbidden from doing so by a rule notably these characters don’t need to be hostile. You
of engagement. can have an ASSAULT move into the line of fire, then
HUNKER DOWN to mitigate the damage – but their
presence will still increase the damage dealt to players
As in the fight with Bad Star, there are several Size 2, caught in the blast.
10 HP fuel tanks on the field that provide hard cover.
If destroyed, they erupt in a d1 cloud of cryogenic
deuterium, forcing any characters within the area to There’s a funny little aspect of the SCOUT’s EXPOSE
make an ENGINEERING check. On a failure, they are WEAKNESS trait: the bonus damage it adds to the next
IMPAIRED and IMMOBILIZED until the end of their next successful attack against the target applies to any
turn. Pass or fail, any mech in the burst clears all l. “ranged or melee attack,” even ones that wouldn’t
normally deal damage, such as GRAPPLE, RAM, or the
Scout’s own MARKER RIFLE. If a non-damaging attack
Unlike a regular Holdout, the PCs may extract at any deals damage this way, the damage is i.
time. A transport takes off at the end of every round,
and if the situation is untenable, a PC can board a
transport they’re adjacent to as a quick action.
Transports left behind with no PCs left to defend them
will be overrun.

[195]
The technician’s voice rises in panic. “… Christ the
AFTERMATH Buddha, THAT’S A NEARLIGHT DRIVE!”
Once the PCs are away from the facility, what happens
next is largely down to what provisions the PCs made
for dealing with the laser platform. If the PCs got rid of There is a single frame of pure white, and the feed
the laser earlier, Steele can do nothing but screech cuts out. A microsecond later, the flash reaches the
impotently at them. If it’s still operational, however: surface, bathing the landscape in stark white light.
As it clears, you see a tiny point of light in the sky,
hundreds of kilometers above the surface. It burns
Like a migraine, Rodericke Steele’s face and voice brighter than a star, and then slowly fades.
intrude on your consciousness once again. “You
think you’ve won?! You think you’ve… saved
anyone?! You haven’t saved anything! Watch!” STRIGA VON ALDENBERG
There’s a tense few moments of nothing. Finally,
Steele’s frustrated squawk cuts the silence. “What’s
He turns to one of his techs, rage in his eyes. “You! the problem? Why isn’t it firing?”
Fire the laser! Maximum power!”
“Sir, some sort of command override! The reactor’s
The broadcast cuts to a view of the laser platform, still spinning up, but it’s retracted its radiators! Heat
quickly spooling up for a killshot. levels are critical! It’s cooking itself! I can’t stop it!”

If the PCs did nothing to get rid of it, the laser’s target The camera cuts back to Steele, who shoves the
depends on the Enemy Attention clock: if no technician out of the way. “Get out of the way, idiot!
segments are ticked, the target is Furnace City. If any I’ll fix this!” He wrestles with the controls for a
segments are ticked, it’s the arena. moment, before he stops dead, a look of utter
bewilderment plastered across his face. “… the fuck
Furnace City gets lucky: the laser, lacking a target is a ‘felicitations?!’”
painter, touches down in the Burnfields rather than the
dome itself. Its industrial sectors are heavily damaged, The platform glows red hot, then yellow, then white,
but firing the laser at full power has burnt out the in time with the intensity of Steele’s impotent shrieks.
platform and it won’t get another shot.

If the target is the arena, the transports are damaged, RETURNING TO FURNACE CITY
forcing them down or crashing them in the wilderness; Whether it’s triumphantly by air transport or limping
Impact Dynamics is in no position to give chase, back through the Terra Solus, the PCs are able to
though, seeing as Steele just levelled their base of return to Furnace City. If they rescued all or most of the
operations on the planet. abductees and avoided complications for the city, they
are welcomed as returning heroes. The welcome is
If, however, the PCs called in some help, things play more muted if they only managed a partial rescue, or if
out differently depending on who it was they called in. the city suffered because of their actions.

MISTRESS ELSKE If the rescue was largely successful, tick a segment on

The channel goes dead for a second, before it the Station Stability clock, as Furnace City starts
comes back to reveal Mistress Elske’s grinning face. discussing closer ties with Hell’s Gate.

“Ah, Steele. If there’s one thing that brings endless The PCs are free to head home at their leisure.
joy to a pirate’s heart, it’s taking your toys from you.”

The screen cuts back to the laser platform, just in

time to see it torn in half by a railgun round.

JERRY, ZINFANDEL AND CHIEF MCARTHUR

The camera suddenly pans to the left and zooms. In
the far distance, coming over Asphodel’s horizon, is
the Dragon’s Tooth – and it’s towing something
underneath it.

Siren’s voice cuts into the feed. “Missile away.”

Whatever she’s carrying detaches, hanging in the

void for just a moment.

[196]
DOWNTIME 3:
DOMETOWN HERO
If killing Andros Capella put them on the radar and CHECK THIS RATIO
saving the Icebreaker convinced people of their Before the PCs return to Hell’s Gate, there’s another
competence, rescuing the abductees and spitting in person who wants to meet them.
Rodericke Steele’s face is what turns the team into folk
heroes across Calliope. When the news comes
through, there isn’t a bar in the system that doesn’t You’re approached by a neat-looking person in a
raise a toast to them that night. waistcoat. Their head constantly shifts between
different skin tones, hair colors and jaw structures;
they’re wearing a prosocollar. They offer a gloved
Though Rodericke Steele screams, blusters and hand to you.
makes dire threats against Hell’s Gate, it’s all just talk.
His security forces are in such disarray that he can
barely keep order on his own station, much less attack “Hello! I’m sorry to intrude, but it’s not so often we
others. Over the medium term, he might be able to get visitors from Hell’s Gate downwell, so I thought
pursue economic warfare, but it’s obvious that no I’d take the opportunity while it was there! My name’s
military action is forthcoming. Ratio Salvager, and I run Ratio’s Golden Salvage
and Scrapyard. If you need anything to patch up your
mechs before you head home, I can likely dig it up!
If the rescue was successful and the team didn’t cause
offence on their way through the Terra Solus, several
outlanders arrive on Hell’s Gate and volunteer for the “I’m looking to expand my network, and I hear Hell’s
militia. Some of them are hoping for a shot at Steele Gate has been pulling a lot of good salvage hauls
somewhere down the line, while others just want to lately. I’d like to enter into formal talks with Director
repay a debt they feel they owe to the team. Tick a Masters about buying up certain components we
segment on the Militia Readiness clock. rarely get down here. With the embargo Steele’s no
doubt going to slap on both of our settlements, we’re
going to need to strengthen trade connections.
The team has time for a FULL REPAIR in Furnace City,
which will likely include printing new gear or frames
they may have just unlocked. The team might have “If you want, I can give you a tour!”
made new friends on Asphodel, either in Furnace City
or amongst the outlanders, so give them some time to Ratio’s Golden Salvage and Scrapyard turns out to be
connect and meet up with them. They each have time everything Ratio advertises: it’s got a fine selection, but
to take a downtime action, should they desire. it would definitely benefit from even more choice. Ratio
is a shrewd negotiator but doesn’t try to swindle Hell’s
Mistress Elske delivers on her promise: she provides Gate; they want a mutually beneficial arrangement. In
the money and connections to advance the team to fact, it seems like they’re more interested in making
LICENSE LEVEL 3. In addition to this, she gifts the team allies than money.
an IPS-N “Maelstrom” Offensive Suite to beef up the
Dragon’s Tooth. She insists she isn’t doing it for them Only the most observant PCs will notice, but there are
– she had a few conversations with Siren, and took a no reflective surfaces anywhere in Ratio’s office. All of
shine to her. Siren, needless to say, is overjoyed. the windows are coated in non-reflective film. If he
offers the PCs a drink, it will be served in an opaque
glass. Even their slate has an anti-glare screen.
IPS-N “Maelstrom” Offensive Suite
Ship Upgrade If the PCs can help Jerry and Ratio make a deal, tick a
A spinal railgun is the great equalizer: even segment on the Station Stability clock.
battleships have to tread carefully when a subline
vessel fields one. Add two missile racks, six point-
defense cannons and a cutting-edge electronic
warfare suite, and the Dragon’s Tooth quickly begins
to live up to its name.

The ship is now capable of holding its own in combat.

In addition, PCs now have access to Bombardment
as a RESERVE through any means they would
normally obtain RESERVES – Siren can now deliver it.

[197]
NEW DOWNTIME ACTIVITY SwitchOfficial: It’s such a shame Rodericke
RUIN STEELE’S DAY Steele died from Goblin
You sharpen your repertoire of insults, consult Union DRIVETRAIN: switch i swear to fucking god
Economic Bureau policies and set your mind to making
Calliope’s resident billionaire as miserable as possible. SwitchOfficial: GOBLIN MY BALLS
You might just be doing a little trolling, or you might be // USER: SwitchOfficial BANNED FOR 86KSEC |
executing something as drastic as a raid on one of REASON: gottem --ADMIN //
Impact Dynamics’ facilities. – Muse chatter

As much as he hates them, Jerry doesn’t want open

war with Impact Dynamics, and so won’t authorize any HEADING HOME
direct military action against them. But he’s sometimes Once the PCs have finished up their business in
known to “get distracted” and “lose track of his pilots,” Furnace City, they can return to Hell’s Gate at any time.
and if Impact Dynamics ends up worse off in the affair, When they’re ready to continue, Chapter 4: Circuit
well, he’s a busy man with so much work to do. Breaker picks up some time later.

It might seem odd that personally antagonizing Steele

has a similar impact as a raid on a corporate facility, but
the man has turned the company into an instrument of
his own ego. He has no real managerial ability and finds
day-to-day operations boring, so he leaves them to his
more competent underlings. When he gets upset,
however, he starts aggressively micromanaging, which
negatively impacts the company’s performance.

This action hands out RESERVES as rewards – this

could represent gear looted from a stockpile, or some
form of payment from one of Steele’s many enemies.

Describe how you’re disrupting Steele and Impact

Dynamics, and then roll:

On 9 or less, your attempt makes little progress –

Steele doesn’t take the bait, or the cache you were
robbing doesn’t have very much of value. Still, you’re
poking holes in their armor; take +1g next time you
take this action.

On 10-19, you’ve done some damage to Impact

Dynamics, but it wasn’t a smooth operation. Claim a
RESERVE as the spoils of victory, but only if you also
choose one of the following consequences:

• you’re going to have to lay low for a while, most

likely somewhere away from the Gate
• you’re going to have to dedicate a lot of your own
time and resources to seeing this through
• someone innocent is going to get hurt

On 20+, you’ve struck a staggering blow to Impact

Dynamics – this probably represents a strike on a major
facility, a heist at one of ID’s military stockpiles, or a
truly inspired act of billionaire cyberbullying. Best of all,
you got away clean. Claim a RESERVE for your trouble.

[198]
ACQUIRING AN NHP
The PCs have now reached LICENSE LEVEL 3, and if they’ve spent all three License Levels in the same mech,
there’s a possibility they now have an NHP. As stated on page 65, acquiring a fresh clone of a specific class of NHP
is very difficult in Calliope, but if an NHP co-pilot is needed, one can and will be found – Jerry will see to that.
However, there are more interesting ways to find a co-pilot, and some interesting co-pilots to find.

ROLL 1D20
A sad lady sits alone at the bar, sipping a drink. Joan’s lost someone very dear to her; you can tell
just by a couple of minutes of talking. She says she has something that could help you; he used to
be her lover’s copilot, but you can probably make better use of him. Chaac is a cocky, self-assured
1-2
TLALOC-class NHP, eager to get back into mech combat. He dearly misses his old Monarch, the
Bravado Tempest, and his old pilot, Harris, but has no idea what happened to him – see, Harris
didn’t bring Chaac with him on his last mission, and Joan won’t say what happened…
The Hell’s Gate tabletop gaming guild heard you need an NHP and after some discussion, The
Gamemaster, an ATHENA-class NHP, has volunteered to help you. There are a few the conditions:
3-4 you have to keep her safe, treat her with the utmost respect, and always allow her access to an
omnihook on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday nights. She’s energetic, friendly, a massive nerd, and
often narrates your battles as they unfold.
You meet a striking woman, covered head-to-toe in piercings and tattoos, who introduces herself as
Galanades. She happens to know, through a variety of station scuttlebutt, that you’re in need of a
5-6 co-pilot, and... well, look. She and her girlfriend had a breakup, it was messy, a lot of harsh words
were said, threats were exchanged… look, long story short, Harmony, a SEKHMET-class NHP,
needs a new place to live.
A group of Sparri espadas show up, announcing that the Voldaor are summoning you to a meeting.
This is unprecedented; usually, it’s other people who have to petition the Volador for an audience.
7-8 If you accept, the Volador present you with a casket. They say they’re introducing you to “someone
who will be an old friend of yours.” In return, you will provide an undisclosed service “once you’ve
resolved the impending crisis.” The casket contains St. Helens, a very confused AGNI-class NHP.
Years back, three of the major pirate bands, usually rivals, teamed up and executed Operation
Firework, a daring ambush on an Armory battlegroup moving through the system. It was a disaster
– but surprisingly, not for the pirates. The Armory’s capital ships punched out unexpectedly, leaving
9-10
most of their subline escorts and strike craft behind. A lot of fighters got wrecked that day, and
Stoneleigh, an ASURA-class NHP, was co-pilot in one of them. She retains no loyalty to the
Armory: they left her pilot to die, and Stoneleigh was stuck drifting in space for years afterwards.
You get an urgent message on the Omni from someone who’s asking you to... rescue them from a
dumpster? When you get there, there’s a casket just sitting in a pile of trash. As you fish it out, its
11-12
resident remarks “huh. You’re not the one who usually shows up.” Millstone is a SISYPHUS-class
NHP, and cryptically claims to have “been through this many times before.”
Atalanta, a NOAH-class NHP, heard that her line was descended from a traffic controller, so she
13-14 tried her hand at it. For a while, she was doing great – the best anyone in that posting had ever
done! Unfortunately, everything changed after the incident, and now she needs a new job real quick.
Avast, matey! You landlubbers have picked up Captain Dirk Derringer, the ADVENTURE!-class
NHP! The Captain is a former pirate, who insists he was press-ganged into service by the Knights
15-16 of the Dark Core (if asked, they deny doing any such thing). Prior to that, he was Penkov, a
Solstice/Winter-class shipboard logistics and inventory management NHP. If pressed about the
new persona, he explains that adopting it “just makes combat less stressful, y’know?”
You take some time to perform routine maintenance on your mech. Suddenly, its sound system
roars to life and imperiously declares: “YES! This form is resplendent! Kneel before me, mortal!”
17-18 With no apparent explanation, Ozzy, an OSIRIS-class NHP, has manifested within your mech –
although from his perspective, Ozzy has manifested within his mech, and you have been awarded
the unthinkable honor of co-piloting it.
You receive a package with no listed origin or return address. Inside is an uninitialized casket, which
contains an as-yet-unnamed NHP of the class appropriate to your mech. It’s accompanied by a
19-20
single piece of paper with your name, today’s date, and a message: “don’t turn it on. Just get
it to them on this date. And for fuck’s sake, remove this note before you send it!”

[199]
CHAPTER 4:

CIRCUIT BREAKER
“Hey what’s up lancers, it’s ya boi Switch, back at it again Live from The Long Rim, and we have one hell of a show
for you tonight! First of all, shout out to my new Paracausal Tier subscribers DeludedSquirrel, GhostPuncher47 and,
uh, uh, gimme a second, is that a… how in the hell is your name entirely diphthongs? Okay, okay, we’ll… we’ll circle
back to that one.

“So big news since the last stream: in addition to DJ E-Z McFear, the bae from Furnace Cit-ae, we’ve signed a ton
of acts for this year’s fundraiser! Just today, we’ve confirmed Pyrite Rage, Serotonin Overdose, A Thousand Eyes,
Crowded Faith, Silent Minds and the one and only Canisha Buchori – I want you all to open up LongStream and
get HYPE for all this local talent!

“Also, Hell’s Gate got a new mining contract, bay-bee! Those scabs over in PHASE//SHIFT defaulted so that means
it falls to us to bring the goods! And let me tell you this, lancers: I’m not on the negotiating team – yet – but a reliable
source tells me we are looking at big bucks here, and I’m talking B I G bucks here people, we’re on that Centzon
Alamdari cash, that Janus Combine cash, that House of Stone cash! Hell’s Gate is GOING places! Ever since the
spec-ops team rescued all those people from Impact Dynamics, Hell’s Gate is top of EVERYONE’S list!

“And remember, Live from the Long Rim is sponsored by POWER! Protein Bars, the new revolution in printable
food! Today’s flavor is… Banana Nettle Chowder? Seriously, guys? Ugh. The things I do for sponsorship…”

[200]
BEAT 19:
THE FINE PRINT
Some time has passed since the jailbreak at Steele’s “So, PHASE//SHIFT – a wholly-owned Harrison
arena; about two months or so. Assuming the team Armory subsidiary – ghosts on a contract? A contract
were successful on Asphodel and the Icebreaker, they sniped without it even going to market first?
Calliope has taken notice. Pirates steer clear of places
the team might be. When they’re in bars, their tabs end “Now it’s not like us and PHASE//SHIFT have much
up paid for. Calls for help have been addressed to them to say to each other, but I can’t get in touch with
personally; the team can decide if they answered. anyone over there. They’re, uh, supposed to be
handing off an entire work site to us and I haven’t
The system has settled into an uneasy peace. been able to talk to an executive, a site manager, a
Rodericke Steele is enraged that the system stood up shift supervisor… hell, I’m, zilch on even talking to
to him, but he’s limited in what he can do about it. With any of their mining crews!
his shareholders furious at how much money he
wasted on the Steele Dome, his security force in tatters “And the more I look into this contract, the worse it
and Calliope’s opinion dead set against him, he’s too gets. First of all, the client isn’t named. We don’t
cowardly to attempt armed reprisal. know who we’re working for. This job comes from a
local fixer who’s working as a go-between.
But he’s still retaliating in ways available to him: he’s
started boycotting Hell’s Gate, and is threatening to “Secondly, and, uh, maybe much worse, I took a look
jack up food prices for the system’s minor settlements at the requisition order, and it’s… well, this is a
unless they participate too. This tactic can’t last forever; paracausal materials acquisition contract.
Hell’s Gate is food-independent, but Impact Dynamics
needs the raw materials the Gate sells for construction
“Thirdly, the site where we’re most likely to find that
and repairs. In the meantime, though, the Gate is
stuff? Our client bought it up a while back, and
feeling a pinch.
PHASE//SHIFT already built a mine there; we’re just
getting operational rights. I checked the location, and
Just like when the printer was broken, shortages are it’s, well, it’s deep in the Circuit’s territory.
starting to crop up. Salaries are going unpaid because
a lot of the inner system habitats have stopped buying
“So, to sum up: we’ll be mining paracausal materials
from the Gate, and people in work are being forced to
for someone who doesn’t want to be named, in
turn to the station’s basic assistance program.
somebody else’s mine, smack in the middle of pirate
turf, and we’re the second group of people to get this
With all that in mind, it’s a good thing that Hell’s Gate job, after the first contractors just vanished?
just won a lucrative mining contract. By the time Jerry
calls the PCs in, rumors have been doing the rounds
“I want to refuse this contract guys, I really do. But
for a week, and the general mood is high. So why is
truth is, Steele’s boycott is really hurting us, a lot
Jerry even more anxious than usual? more than people realize. This contract pays up-
front. Which is maybe even more terrifying, because
When you get to Jerry’s office, there’s a long line of that means they probably paid PHASE//SHIFT up
people waiting to see him: miners, refinery workers, front too, and they’re willing to spend that much
wrenchies, agricultural staff, a real who’s-who of the money again just to get a hold of all this stuff!”
people who keep the Gate running. They’re none too
pleased when Jerry calls you in, letting you skip the
He brings up a hologram. “This is Boltzmann. It’s one
line entirely.
of the biggest asteroids in the inner belt. The entire
facility they built there has gone dark. No
“Guys, I’m freaking out a whole bunch about this transmissions for two months. I don’t like that. I want
mining contract. I’ve been freaking out for a week. I you to run an investigation on all of this, then go to
need you to look into it for me. the mine and find out what happened. I’m not
sending miners into a deathtrap. And PLEASE be
“So this is the same job PHASE//SHIFT sniped a careful. I can’t afford to lose you guys.”
while back. A few days ago, they defaulted, so the
contract got offered to the only other mining gig in Jerry has time for questions, but he hasn’t got answers
Calliope big enough to handle it: us. And that’s good, much more detailed than what the PCs already know,
right? But think about that for a moment. which is part of why he’s so anxious.

[201]
THE CONTRACT THE CIRCUIT
“It never even went to bidding. PHASE//SHIFT got it “The Knights are… well, extra. You’ve seen them.
instantly. But only a few months later, they’ve gone The Burning Forge are all political. The Hell Hounds
radio silent. That’s just not like them. They’re on the are just vicious jerks. But the Circuit? The Circuit
Armory’s bankroll and they’ve got a brand to uphold. freak me out. They worship cascading NHPs!”
Everything about this makes me nervous. Way more
even than usual, I mean.”

THE FIXER
“Oh, Jón Jónsson. She does a lot of… fixing? She
works on the Icebreaker. We’ve gotten contracts
through her before, and… well. It was all very hush-
hush stuff. She’s real big about client confidentiality,
so I doubt you’ll get much out of her.”

THE CLIENT
“Well, uh, what I have for you is mostly, well,
speculation. I have no idea who they actually are, but
I can take a few guesses through, um, context?
Whatever they want to do is probably gonna happen
in Calliope, and soon, because a bunch of this stuff,
uh, you can’t transport it far or store it for very long.

“I can’t think of anyone in system who has the sort of

cash to pay for this, so, uh, I’m pretty sure it’s an
outsider. And I, uh, think it’s a corprostate. Now this
is really just gut feel, but if I had to go out on a limb,
I’d say the Armory. It would explain why the contract
didn’t even go to market before PHASE//SHIFT got
it. They’d try to keep it in-house.”

USE OF PARACAUSAL MATERIALS

“You know how, uh, Harrison Armory make magic
bullets that literally can’t miss, and SSC have mechs
that can walk straight through walls?

“Well, it’s not just that. Union builds blink gates and
omninodes with this stuff. Nearlight drives need it to
function. Printer maintenance is impossible without
it. NHP caskets are built using it. Basically, the whole
modern world functions on materials that aren’t real
and don’t exist. Trust me, don’t think about it too
much. We have enough existential dread already.

“They want just about every rare earth element.

That’s… a tall order, but it’s not really out of the
ordinary. But then they want, uh, ‘natively dielectric
inorganic polymer,’ ‘stable francium,’ ‘iron-60,’ ‘self-
entangled fermionic condensate’ and a bunch of
other weird shit.”

PHASE//SHIFT
“I mean, they’re our competitors. Headquartered on
the Icebreaker, because of course they can afford
that, right? But it’s a big no-no for Harrison Armory
subsidiaries to ghost on a contract like this. And
while we don’t have all that much to say to each
other, it’s weird that nobody’s answering my calls.”

[202]
MAKING INQUIRIES ICEBREAKER BOREALIS
The only official objective the PCs have is to suit up, go PHASE//SHIFT’s offices are located on the Icebreaker.
to the dig site and make sure it’s safe, but it’s likely It’ll be an eleven-day trip out, and another eleven back,
they’ll want to do at least a little bit of investigation so if they visit, Jerry wants them to skip returning to
before they head out. Here are some leads they might Hell’s Gate and head straight for Boltzmann afterwards.
think to follow.
JÓN JÓNSSON
Jón is happy to give as many non-answers to people
HELL’S GATE enquiring about the job as they can bear to hear. No,
TEKA ASHENAFI she can’t name the client, but she can assure the PCs
For once, Jerry and Teka are in total agreement: not a they always pay their bills on time. No, she can’t explain
single miner sets foot in that mine until a proper what happened to PHASE//SHIFT, but she can make a
inspection has been conducted. Teka remarks that few inquiries. No, she doesn’t think this job is especially
while the miners at PHASE//SHIFT aren’t unionized, a dangerous or unusual. Look, she just matches clients
few of them consult with him and other union bosses to people who can do their work.
like Fayad Harb – but he hasn’t heard from any of his
usual contacts there for months.
LOKI VALENTINIAN
Loki considers the facts and says it’s likely the contract
ZINFANDEL DEJEAN was filed on behalf of his father, who’ll be arriving
Zinfandel DeJean is in communication with militia shortly. Since leaving his father’s estate, Loki’s no
officers in stations across the whole system, and all of longer in the loop on his work, so he doesn’t know what
them seem to agree: the Circuit isn’t harassing traffic in the materials are for. If the PCs want to investigate
Calliope anywhere near as much as it used to – or, PHASE//SHIFT’s office, Loki can easily bluff his way
indeed, at all. Nobody’s seen any Circuit ships or through arranging a “surprise inspection,” which gives
complained of any Circuit attacks for more than two him and the PCs a cover story that’ll get them inside.
months, at the very least.
RITA
SAMORN PATALUNG If Rita is still in charge of the Icebreaker and the PCs
If a PC is on good terms with Mama Patalung, she’ll did a good job in Mission 2, Rita can look at the books
gently instruct the HORUS dorks who hang out at for them. After a short delay, she returns and informs
Happy Noodle to tell the PCs what they know. If any of them that, to her surprise, none of PHASE//SHIFT’s
them refuse, she just smiles and picks up her ladle staff are on the station any longer.
meaningfully, at which point they stop refusing.
The company’s management departed for the inner
The Circuit is HORUS-aligned in the vaguest sense, system about two months ago, and the rest of the
but they have no loyalty to GG_uncle and the Cousins, operational staff departed over the course of the next
the largest HORUS operation in the Long Rim. The month in small waves, leaving no-one on the
Happy Noodle dorks are all Cousins, so they have little Icebreaker by the time of the abduction crisis. The
to do with the Circuit, but they remark that the Circuit office has had no visitors since. Its rent is still being
boasted about starting work on “something next-level” paid, but that’s automatic.
a few months ago and then went quiet. A lot of their
servers and shared code libraries are now offline.
If they want to visit in person, Rita will just rubber stamp
an authorization to investigate PHASE//SHIFT’s
CALAMITY HAVOK offices. She’d like the PCs to keep it civil, though – it’ll
Everyone knows Calamity is still dialed in to a few be hard to justify this to the Board if they make a scene.
contacts among the Hounds, even now; it doesn’t make
anyone comfortable, but sometimes she passes
messages between exiles and their family members or CLARYANA ROWDLEY
gets forewarning of particularly vicious attacks, so Jerry Claryana is not difficult to find – she’s busy being
lets it slide. “inconspicuous” at some casino or high-class bar. If the
PCs acquitted themselves well during the last mission,
she makes sure they’re well-treated.
According to her contacts, immediately after Andros
Capella’s death, the Hounds braced for what they felt
sure would be a massive turf war with the Circuit. It Now that the Hell Hounds are mostly broken up, the
never materialized, even as the Hounds started to fall Knights were preparing to shift their focus towards the
apart. And with S1GN4L out of the picture, their servers Circuit’s many violations of The Code, but as it turns
are undefended; they should be sitting ducks. Instead, out, this has proven difficult. Of all the things the system
the Circuit have gone completely silent. This makes no has had to complain about lately, attacks by the Circuit
sense to Calamity or her contacts. aren’t one of them, and the usual suspects have been
impossible for the Knights to locate recently.

[203]
INVESTIGATING PHASE//SHIFT There’s no security. The PCs can walk straight in the
COMPANY HISTORY front door, to be greeted by a dusty lobby full of wilted
PHASE//SHIFT was incorporated about fifty years ago, plants. Nobody has been here for a while. The building
after Harrison Armory established a new scientific has a Comp/Con security unit, standard to all offices
campus on Harrison’s World and no longer wished to owned by the landlord who rents this place out. If the
pay Hell’s Gate to mine the various exotic materials it team have an excuse for being here, the unit will show
needed for paracausal research and development. them around. If not, it will ask them to make an
Instead, they provided venture capital to a local group appointment. If they continue without authorization, it
of independent miners and sent in a small Armory will follow them around, passive-aggressively asking
management team to oversee the operation. them to leave and threatening to call station security.

It's been a small but irritating thorn in the Gate’s side, The offices are empty. Not only are there no people
occasionally scooping the Gate on mining contracts by here, it looks like the offices were cleared out in a very
bidding lower. With the economic weight of the Purview specific way: most of the furniture is still here, but
behind it, it can afford to operate at a loss, and its almost all personal effects, all hardcopy records and
extensive use of non-union labor also saves money. everything electronic has been removed. The server
room is barren, its racks empty except for the gated
area where the Comp/Con unit resides.
LOCAL OPINION
The Hell’s Gate mining union has a strong dislike for
PHASE//SHIFT; after all, PHASE//SHIFT was created If the Comp/Con is willing to be questioned, it will tell
specifically to undercut them. Miners known to contract the PCs that PHASE//SHIFT underwent “organizational
for PHASE//SHIFT are shunned by union miners. This changes” recently and moved all of its staff to the
means there are few channels of contact between the mining facility on Boltzmann. They took all of their
two groups, and it’s hard to get news of the company at equipment with them. While the Comp/Con has the
the best of times. But recently, there are rumors going capacity to act as an administrative assistant,
around the miners’ bars that the “lackeys” have come PHASE//SHIFT had their own unit for that, as per
crawling back; seems like the “stooge work” dried up. Armory security regulations, so the one they’re talking
to had no access to the company’s correspondence.
LACKEYS AND LINE-CROSSERS
Miners who do “stooge work” (i.e. accept contracts from THE MINING FACILITY
PHASE//SHIFT, or work for Hell’s Gate during a strike) As a frontier system outside of Union’s jurisdiction,
are made unwelcome in union bars and hangout spots. Calliope has no de facto central authority handling
This sort of shunning usually lasts a few months for a property rights or territorial claims. Legally, the entire
single offence, after which the union will make a means system is owned by the Calliope Project, which makes
of penance known to the offending party. Once this any mining operation not authorized by them illegal, but
penance is completed, all is forgiven and the miner is nobody’s heard anything from the Project in more than
welcome in union spaces and on union jobs again. a century. Hell’s Gate, PHASE//SHIFT and dozens of
smaller outfits set up mining operations all over the
system as needed without worrying about legal filings.
A lot of “lackeys” have a list of violations in the double
digits, which makes it unlikely the union will ever forgive
them. Since they’re exiled from all the miners’ bars, That said, as an Armory subsidiary, PHASE//SHIFT
they can mostly be found drinking their troubles away was required to make a number of internal filings with
in the Gate’s other watering holes. There’s no shortage various Purview offices. Most of these are either a
of troubles, either: PHASE//SHIFT has stopped offering matter of public record or just require knowing the right
contracts. None of the lackeys can get a job now. people to ask. PHASE//SHIFT requested a budget to
build the Boltzmann mine several years ago, but the
requested figure is suspiciously low compared to the
If the PCs can help them out in some way, the lackeys scale of the proposed mining complex.
will let them in on a dark secret: nobody’s heard from
the last shift on Boltzmann for months.
Despite all this, the mine was built under budget and
ahead of schedule – an impossible accomplishment,
CORPORATE OFFICES given how little money and personnel the company had
PHASE//SHIFT’s offices are located in the Morgenholt to work with. The Armory didn’t bother to investigate
District of the Icebreaker Borealis, a quiet commercial this discrepancy, however; it wasn’t worth the time and
area. Their rent is paid up for the next year but locals effort to send an audit team to work out why a far-flung
haven’t seen anyone enter or leave for months. Anyone subsidiary had completed a task earlier than planned
running reconnaissance on the building will notice that while using less money than their already meager
there’s no movement, no sound, no activity of any kind. budget request.
The offices are completely silent.

[204]
STRIGA VON ALDENBERG “It seems that PHASE//SHIFT anticipated the need
Whether or not the PCs seek her out, no matter where to beg permission from TRIPLE-POINT and
they are – even on the Icebreaker! – at some point, CAUSTIC before mining operations could begin. By
Striga will unfurl from a location that seems physically the context of subsequent messages, I can tell that
impossible for her to occupy. This can (and should) be the Deimosians were unusually warm to the idea. An
as outlandish as possible: hanging upside down from agreement was made. I can only see one side of the
the ceiling of a corridor, crammed inside a refrigerator exchange, so I can only speculate as to its nature.
at a convenience store, or some equally unlikely place.
“After this devil’s bargain was struck, company
“Felicitations, comrades! You and Jerry suspect the communications returned to normal for the next few
contract Hell’s Gate has taken is not on the level. years. But two months ago, something very strange
Your suspicions are correct! I’m glad you’ve finally happened: the company’s internal communications
seen… the Truth. This contract is a nefarious switched to the same impenetrable encryption that
scheme, dreamed up by… Them! the Circuit uses, and then a few weeks after that,
internal correspondence ceased entirely.
“PHASE//SHIFT would have you believe they’re
nothing more than a cat’s paw of Harrison Armory. “But, comrades, it gets even stranger! At the same
Hah! Lies! Rank duplicity! In fact, I have reason to time, sigdivers across the system began reporting a
believe that they are in the employ of none other massive drop-off in transmissions on channels
than… the Circuit! That, or a cabal of Karrakin known to be used by the Circuit. This coincides with
oligarchs who wish to build a time machine.” a cessation of Circuit pirate activity across Calliope,
something remarked upon by Militia Commander
DeJean. To coin a phrase, the Circuit’s dead.
THE CIRCUIT There’s something wrong.”
“Think about it. PHASE//SHIFT, a Harrison Armory
mining subsidiary, operates in the middle of the
Circuit’s turf for years and yet they do nothing? Then If the PCs look at the data Striga has recovered, it
the mine goes quiet, and yet we’ve seen no validates everything she’s told them.
deployment of Circuit forces to occupy it?
Incongruous – unless they have no need to occupy WHAT SHE KNOWS ABOUT THE CIRCUIT
it, because they’re already there! “I know precious little about the Circuit! They’re
aligned with HORUS, which makes them natural
“I also intercepted a lot of chatter between members adversaries to me and my Horizon associates! But
of PHASE//SHIFT and the Circuit. Oh, I probably they refuse to swear allegiance to the lecherous and
should have led with that! My apologies.” depraved GG_uncle, which puts them at odds with
every other HORUS cell in Calliope as well!
KARRAKIN OLIGARCHS WITH A TIME MACHINE
“A more outré hypothesis, I concede! But you have “They have worshipped a cascading NHP as a god
to admit: the Karrakin have suffered indignity after for at least forty years, and more recently added a
indignity as the twin stars of Union and Harrison second, which I believe they have also forced into
Armory have risen, yes? Who would not jump at the cascade. That should probably speak to the general
chance to rewrite history? And to use the Armory’s level of rationality you’ll be encountering should you
own servants against them! Don’t you see how have dealings with them.
neatly it all fits together?
“Be warned! Any HORUS cell worthy of the name is
“I mean, I don’t really know how it ties in to all the comprised of highly competent and amoral sigdivers,
messages we intercepted between PHASE//SHIFT but the Circuit are some of the best. If you should
and the Circuit, but if you feel this to be the correct venture into their territory, be sure to bring suitable
explanation, I’ll do my best to work that out!” electronic countermeasures – in fact, take this!”

INTERCEPTED CORRESPONDENCE Striga reaches into her pocket and hands a PC a data
“The Circuit’s security protocols were devised by cartridge containing an EPHOR Module (p. 270). The
TRIPLE-POINT and CAUSTIC themselves, far cartridge is far too large to have fit in her pocket.
beyond us. However, PHASE//SHIFT’s tech division
is an endless amateur hour, and we’ve had hooks in HOW DID YOU GET… THERE?
their systems for years. This means I can give you “In my usual fashion, comrade.”
the content of their messages to the Circuit, but not
the messages the Circuit sent to them – for those, I Once the PCs are done with their questioning, Striga
can only provide metadata. returns the same way she arrived, no matter how
impossible that seems.

[205]
THE CIRCUIT These issues get even worse when it comes to the
Calliopean pirate bands don’t traditionally have a very Long Rim. The Department has very little data on the
long shelf-life. The Knights of the Dark Core are by far region, and suspects there might be a whole
the oldest, clocking in at six decades. The Hell Hounds, ecosystem of NHPs entirely outside its supervision.
prior to their dissolution, were only twenty-four years Nearlight travel happens often in the Rim, and trip
old. The Burning Forge are even younger, dating back itineraries are rarely registered with the Office of
only twelve. However, as with many other things, the Interstellar Transportation. To top it all off, it’s long been
Circuit doesn’t fit neatly into this timeline. suspected that a cadre of SecComm remnants fled to
the Long Rim, likely with NHPs in tow – NHPs who
might not appear in Department records.
The Circuit was, at its inception, a HORUS-aligned
survivalist cult who began operating in Calliope around
forty years ago. It militarized, both to protect against the TRIPLE-POINT
apocalypses its god-boss TRIPLE-POINT constantly What little data exists suggests TRIPLE-POINT is a
predicted, and to resist GG_uncle’s unification of Long “legion-fork” – a clone of a legion entity rather than of
Rim HORUS cells. an individual NHP. Legion-forks were illegal even under
SecComm due to the fact that they suffer extreme
difficulty forming stable subjectivities. ThirdComm laws
But conflicts with GG_uncle and the Cousins, though later clarified that they also represent an unacceptable
vicious, were few and far between, and while TRIPLE- imposition upon the rights of component NHPs in the
POINT’s apocalyptic predictions were common, they original legion.
rarely seemed to pose a direct, violent threat.
TRIPLE-POINT’s exact genesis is unclear – the Armory
Piracy was a natural consequence of having a lot of and the Karrakin trade baronies have fought a number
military gear and military-trained pilots sitting around of battlegroup-level engagements in Calliope, which is
with nothing to do. The Circuit’s pirate operations the sort of event legions are required for. There’s no
began sometime around twenty years ago, slotting solid data on TRIPLE-POINT because only an inner
neatly into the hole left by the Hell Hounds after the circle of the Circuit’s most trusted members are ever
Demon Winter. Prior to his death, one of Andros allowed to talk to it, but from the context of operations
Capella’s primary objectives was to reclaim the territory it orders, it appears to have a delusional obsession with
lost to the Circuit during this time. disaster preparation and contingency planning.

ROGUE NHPS CAUSTIC

Theoretically, it’s the responsibility of the Union CAUSTIC is a SCYLLA-class NHP acquired by the
Science Bureau’s Department of Non-Human Persons Circuit fairly recently (no earlier than 5000u) in order to
to compile and maintain complete records on all active provide a protector and companion for the increasingly
NHPs. This is impossible, for a number of reasons. paranoid and unstable TRIPLE-POINT. In comparison
to TRIPLE-POINT, interaction with CAUSTIC is fairly
To begin with, NHPs have existed for over two common among the Circuit’s members.
millennia, and though the technologies needed to build
caskets and create viable clones are strictly regulated, It’s widely rumored that the Circuit forced CAUSTIC to
they’ve leaked dozens of times to dozens of different undergo cascade at TRIPLE-POINT’s order. Whether
organizations. There are definitely NHPs that were or not that’s true, records of interaction with CAUSTIC
never registered with Union. suggest that it’s definitely in cascade now.

Furthermore, nearlight travel adds another wrinkle:

NHPs can often be incommunicado for decades of
realtime. A Department employee whose portfolio
includes such an NHP might retire, get reassigned,
promoted, fired or even die while it was in transit.
Union’s bureaucracy is robust and efficient, but some
number of cases will always slip through the cracks.

All of this is in addition to the grievous damage done to

Union’s records by Second Committee remnants as
they fled during the revolution. In fact, the scale of this
particular issue is unknown and perhaps unknowable;
four hundred years later, ThirdComm is still struggling
to work out how much paperwork their predecessors
burned on their way out the door.

[206]
PRIOR TO DEPARTURE
The mood on Hell’s Gate is generally positive right now;
Rodericke Steele got a black eye, the Gate has a new
contract and everything seems to be on the ups. Here’s
some of what’s going on with the people of Calliope
right now:

• Ipswich DeLacey is about to take a

shuttle to Endymion’s Lament to
negotiate with one of its data
centers – their stream’s annual
fundraiser is coming up, and they
need more server space. Before
they leave, they contact a PC they
trust and ask to meet in private after
the mission; it sounds like they want
to talk about something important.
• If a PC is friends with Rat, he leaves a
message to say he’ll be taking a quick
holiday to visit friends on Hell’s Gate
soon, and asks if they want to meet up.
• Mikaela Omnidocument-Format is ecstatic
– she’s heard rumors that SSC is expanding
their Calliope operation! Wouldn’t it be neat
if she were finally able to get N-8 subdermal
netting without the ten-year shipping delay?
Oh, and pilots can probably get LUX-ICONIC
mechs now. Like, whatever.
• Ishihara Yaeko calls up one of the PCs,
desperate to talk to someone. She’s been having
nightmares again, the ones where her non-existent
wife dies. Yesterday, she went into a café, and the
barista was the woman she keeps seeing in her
dreams.
• Yelda Ergun, eager to talk about anything other
than her music career, discusses the weird girl who
came in yesterday and wouldn’t stop staring at her.
Probably some fan again, ugh.
• Subtext Ísfûr Cowards has heard of Zijad al-Bassa
and wants to arrange a symposium. You live on the
same station as Zijad, so surely you can just…
make that happen, right?
• Anthony “Cal” Callahan asks a PC if they’ve seen
“a particular type of person” around lately. He tries
to make it seem like a casual inquiry, but he’s failing
miserably. The kind of person he’s describing is
very specific: a SecComm prison colony fugitive
recovery specialist. That’s pretty odd, seeing as
they haven’t operated in four hundred years.

Give another insight into how Hell’s Gate is faring

based on the status of the Station Stability clock.

[207]
MISSION 4: BRIEFING
Jerry’s mission statement is simple: Hell’s Gate needs

LAYER CAKE a mine that’s safe for miners to enter. But from what the
team has learnt, that’s probably not going to be as easy
as just going to the mine and flipping a few breakers.
Look, I don’t know who’s listening, I don’t know
if anyone’s listening at all, but we’re all gonna GOAL: Reach the mine on Boltzmann.
die out here anyway, so let me just come out Investigate the site. Clear it of any
and say it. I’ve been seeing things. potential hazards. Find out what
happened to PHASE//SHIFT.
Sometimes, out in the dark, I see little flashes
of movement. Not the other ships; they’re lit up STAKES: If the Gate can’t fulfil this contract, it’s
like candle wheels even when their drives are probably not going to get another one
spun down. I’m talking stuff that’s on scope one this good for a long time. Something is
second, gone the next. happening on Boltzmann, and it may
continue if not stopped.
At first I figured it must be, uh, some sort of
asteroid, spinning slowly, one side reflective, REWARD: If the Gate delivers on this contract,
the other side dull, so that radar and optics only there’ll be enough money to let the
registered it on one half of the spin. But I kept PCs advance to LICENSE LEVEL 4. If
seeing them in too many different places, PHASE//SHIFT left any gear at the
couldn’t be that many weird asteroids. Boltzmann mine, the PCs can keep it.

Then, then I… then I noticed that they would RESERVES: The PCs have access to any reserves
only disappear when I was looking directly at they acquired from the last few
the scope. missions.

– Archived transmission, 4694u CLOCKS

The Station Stability clock will not be affected until the
end of the mission.

At the start of the mission, tick a segment on the Cult

Influence clock. The Cult is still at work in the shadows.

MISSION STRUCTURE
In contrast to the previous two missions, this one is very
straightforward. The team deploy to the mine, progress
downwards through its various levels, and must face
three combat encounters along the way, separated by
breaks long enough to rest.

AUDIO LOGS AND NHPS

Scattered throughout this mission are a few audio
logs which the player characters can find and listen
to. This is homage to sci-fi horror games like System
Shock, where players arrive to a disaster some time
after it occurs and have to piece together what
happened through the notes its victims left. Feel free
to include more if it would serve the story!

Unless a player took the Technophile talent, this will

likely be the first mission where players have NHPs
riding along with them. Start characterizing them.
How do they handle stress? How do they handle
fighting? What’s their rapport with their pilot like?
Make sure your players know how to deal with a
cascade, and make sure you have an idea of how an
NHP would act while cascading.

[208]
The “integration” process needed to be tested first, and
PERFECT SIMULATION the mining crew currently on shift at the facility proved
The rogue NHP TRIPLE-POINT occupies a position convenient subjects. There were some early issues
somewhere between gang boss and deity to the Circuit. with spontaneous brain-death, but by the tenth miner,
Rather than a single NHP, it was cloned from a legion, TRIPLE-POINT had refined its technique. Once it had
a gestalt co-consciousness entity formed by multiple access to the miners’ memories, it used their
NHPs to allow faster information transfer and response credentials to impersonate them.
times during high-stakes situations like fleet battles.
Under the pretext of a post-accident inspection, it
The creation of “legion-forks” is prohibited by Union, convinced PHASE//SHIFT’s directors to visit the mine,
because they’re essentially born in cascade and have whereupon they were also “integrated.” Now with full
trouble forming stable subjectivities. TRIPLE-POINT is access to PHASE//SHIFT’s personnel records,
a prime example of this, exhibiting megalomania, management accounts and internal communications,
violent paranoia and a compulsion to run simulations of TRIPLE-POINT was able to relocate every single
potential apocalypses. It holds an obsession with employee to travel to the mine. This neatly solved two
catastrophic disasters it believes only it can prevent. problems: it got rid of everyone who knew about the
mine, and it provided enough test subjects to allow
TRIPLE-POINT got the news about the Tachyon in the “integration” to be perfected.
same way the rest of the system did: watching it
explode with Andros Capella inside of it. This surprise In a betrayal the Circuit probably should have seen
revealed a terrifying gap in its predictive capabilities, coming, TRIPLE-POINT then “integrated” its own
and so it spent the next few hours frantically breaking followers and devoured every single NHP in the
into every single server it could find, trying to work out Circuit’s service other than its guardian, CAUSTIC.
how it could have missed this development. Consuming so many NHPs caused TRIPLE-POINT to
enter an even deeper stage of cascade, spilling out of
As usual, it began running simulations of possible its casket and undergoing a bizarre transformation.
futures which, as usual, all resulted in the end of the
world. But a broken clock is right twice a day, and for It now exists as an Eidolon, a strange entity that may
once, TRIPLE-POINT’s predictions were accurate: it represent the “true” form of an NHP outside of a casket.
was finally predicting a genuine apocalypse that would It twists spacetime and the laws of reality around itself
actually happen. But the only difference it could see in a series of hyperspatial layers, each representing a
from its perspective was that it couldn’t work out a way facet of the NHP’s psyche, thoughts and personality.
to prevent this one.
Despite months of frantic simulation, all of this has
None of the solutions it applied to past apocalyptic gotten TRIPLE-POINT no closer to finding a solution to
scenarios worked in its projections. Of course, in the impending apocalypse. It has fallen into a deep
reality, this was because it had only “prevented” them despondency, and is now trapped in a warped
by merit of there being no actual danger in the first extrusion of its own thoughts, unable to find a way out.
place. In its opinion, however, it had successfully
prevented dozens of catastrophes. That it couldn’t find
a solution to this one could clearly not be its own fault. Meanwhile, the guardian NHP CAUSTIC has been
tasked with TRIPLE-POINT’s protection. This duty has
been complicated somewhat by the recent arrival of a
It responded as any rational doomsday prepper would: team of Faith exorcists who became aware of the
sealing itself in an underground bunker and eating all Eidolon at the base of the mine and sought to get rid of
of its followers. it. It’s taken to modifying the chassis it pilots, adding
elements only a cascading NHP could invent.
Clearly, the issue was that its cultists were lying to it, or
else their pathetic and disgusting meat-based forms of Despite being in cascade itself, CAUSTIC suspects
communication didn’t let them transmit information in a TRIPLE-POINT may be beyond the point of help. At this
high-fidelity format. It would be simpler to just suck the point, its attitude towards TRIPLE-POINT is similar to
thoughts directly out of their brains. that of a child towards a parent suffering from end-
stage dementia: grief, embarrassment and shame. It
TRIPLE-POINT had already secured a lavish fights not just to protect TRIPLE-POINT from harm, but
apocalypse bunker from which to conduct its work: a to protect others from having to see it in this state.
local mining company, PHASE//SHIFT, had built it for
the Circuit in return for being allowed to mine exotic
materials on Boltzmann. However, this was now a
dangerous loose end for TRIPLE-POINT; anyone who
knew about the mine had to be dealt with.

[209]
BEAT 20:
GRAVEYARD SHIFT
Travelling to Boltzmann takes about three days. When Disconcertingly, each ship has had almost all of its
the team reaches it, it’s eerily quiet. electronic equipment removed: slates, communication
devices, central mainframes. Just about anything with
Siren’s voice cuts across the silence. “Marines! a microchip has been pulled out if it can be pulled out,
We’re beginning final approach to the Boltzmann and most of the integrated systems have been stripped
Mine. You should see this.” as well. This would’ve been difficult, time-consuming
work, and it permanently disabled these ships.
She pulls up a hologram of the mine and its
surroundings. All four of its landing pads are There’s something even more unsettling about the
occupied – and not just occupied, but crowded, four Circuit ships: each of them is supposed to have at least
to six ships each. There are clippers, corvettes, one NHP on board, but their core modules are vacant,
shuttles, landers, barges, freighters, even a couple their cradles sitting empty. There’s no sign of any
of destroyers parked further out. forced entry (or exit, for those who recall the Tachyon).
The modules were opened by crew members who were
authorized to do so, and the caskets were extracted.
“Every single ship registered to PHASE//SHIFT is
down there. And from what I’m seeing? That’s got to
be every ship the Circuit owns, too. Maybe they have As the team gets close to the mine itself, they pass by
moonlighters who aren’t flying official colors, but one particular ship, and Siren notices something odd:
from the intel we have, I’d call it: that’s all of them.
“Wait. Something’s different about that ship, right
“I’m getting no thermal off any of them. They’re all there. It isn’t registered to PHASE//SHIFT, but it’s an
ambient temperature. Same with the support IPS-N Trout – those don’t have an NHP module. The
buildings. Even if they went dark the moment they Circuit wouldn’t use it. It’s cold, but it’s not covered
saw us coming, there’s no way everything could be in as much dust as the ships next to us. It set down
this cold. Unless they set up habitation much deeper more recently.”
in the mine, I don’t see how anyone could still be
alive down there.” The ship turns out to be the ISV Promised Fulfilment.
From the firebird motifs painted on the hull, it obviously
Due to the overcrowded landing pads, the Dragon’s belongs to the Faith of the One. It hasn’t been stripped
Tooth has to set down some distance away from the like the other ships.
mine – a couple of kilometers, at least. The walk to the
facility is silent and tense; Boltzmann is airless and the It’s possible the PCs might think to call Ignatius about
only sound the PCs can hear is the noise of their own this. He informs them the Promised Fulfilment was on
mechs moving and any comms chatter they choose to Boltzmann to perform “a cleansing;” he claims that the
engage in. mine has “become the nexus of a profane ritual whose
exact nature we cannot divine.” A “Lightcaster,”
Soon after landing, Siren starts acting strangely. She’s Annabelle McKenzie, was put in charge of undoing it.
distracted, as if someone else is talking in her ear while She hasn’t been heard from since shortly after she
she’s trying to think. She cuts herself off mid-sentence, arrived at the mine, and Ignatius fears the worst. He
eyes flicking off-screen. She’ll occasionally “reply” to a cautions the team to be careful.
PC without them having spoken to her first, becoming
confused and distressed when someone points out that
nobody said anything. If a PC asks if she’s okay, she’ll
THE FACILITY
fob them off by agreeing to run a quick self-diagnostic. The team will have to hop out of their mechs to explore
the facility’s buildings. They won’t fit inside anything
other than the mech bay, which is currently sealed shut
THE LANDING PADS from the inside anyway.
Every ship is silent and cold. Getting into one will
require a breaching charge or a cutting tool; a mech’s The surface complex has been stripped of most of its
melee weapon isn’t the most elegant solution, but it’ll electronic equipment, just like the ships. Most of the
work fine. It doesn’t matter what ship they inspect: interior compartments remain pressurized, but with life
they’re all the same. None of them were carrying much support offline, the entire facility is hazardously cold
cargo, nor many personal effects. There aren’t enough and the air is unbreathable, although the environment
supplies on any of them for an extended stay here. wasn’t humid enough for frost to form.

[210]
[211]
Occasionally, there’ll be a repeating phrase written on AUDIO MESSAGE
a note or scrawled on a wall: to: R. Zidon, Furnace City
from: M. Zidon, Shift Supervisor
WHAT WILL BE WILL ALWAYS BE subject: Self-Righteous Fuck [Unsent, Cached]
WHAT WILL BE MUST NOT BE What would a month in Calliope be without a
lecture from dad about ‘responsibility?’ Go
fuck yourself. Don’t you have mom or little
CREW MODULE sis to micromanage? Seems like you always had
The crew module contains cabins for the three hundred enough time away from work to do that.
people who work at the mine on a regular basis: miners,
administrative staff, maintenance workers, and so on. For your information, we’ve got a really big
There are personal effects in most of them, suggesting job out here. Real big. You know what that
that their occupants either left in a hurry and didn’t have means, dad? I’m gonna have enough money to
time to pack, or didn’t assume they’d be gone long. leave Calliope forever. Go to a core world.
There are no personal terminals or slates, however, And you know what? I’m gonna see if mom and
suggesting that these rooms were ransacked for sis want to come with. I bet they can’t wait
electronic equipment just like the rest of the facility. to be out from under your thumb.

There’s a low-gravity gymnasium; due to Boltzmann’s That’s what actual responsibility is, dad.
extremely weak gravity (less than 0.02g), it was Actually providing for your family. Actually
getting them out of this shithole. Choke on
mandatory for all workers to log a certain number of the rain, you piece of shit.
hours exercise per week to prevent muscle atrophy.
There are signs that a fight took place here; one set of
doors has been forced open, larger pieces of gym AUDIO LOG: M. Zidon, Shift Supervisor
equipment were arranged in a makeshift barricade that subject: Weird shit
was later torn apart, and the floors and walls are Weird shit going down. Caught Marquez
covered in gouges, scratches and scorch marks. stealing food from the break room vending
machine, but he didn’t see me, so I followed
The medical wing has been stripped clean of supplies him and found him hoarding it in one of the
and equipment, although it looks like someone laid a service corridors like a goddamned squirrel.
trap in the MRI scanner room: the scanner has violently
disassembled itself and there are deep punctures in the Fuck, maybe he has the right idea. That
wall, a couple of which are marked by large patches of fucking mantra keeps showing up everywhere. I
took a shower yesterday, and when I got done
deep brown dried blood. From the size of the holes in
it was written out in the steam on the
the walls, whoever got impaled this way didn’t survive mirror. I didn’t hear anyone else come in.
the experience, but there are no bodies.
The fuck is happening around here? End log.
The mess hall has several abandoned meals lying
around, preserved in the middle stages of decay by the
slow drop in temperature; whoever was eating left in a AUDIO MESSAGE
hurry without cleaning up. The kitchen and its attached to: M. Zidon, Shift Supervisor
from: A. Zalewski, Senior Mechanic
food storage haven’t been touched for months. There
subject: Rigs [Received, Unread]
have been no food resupply flights, but none have been
needed – nobody’s been here to eat anything. Marla, the fuck have you done with my rigs?
I’m short at least twelve chassis up here.
The maintenance corridors and crawlspaces show
evidence of use: supplies are clustered here and there, Now you know I don’t make a big stink about
as if someone was discreetly making stockpiles. Most policy, but the deal is, when your shift is
done, you bring your rig back to the bay. You
of these stockpiles have been discovered and raided,
put ‘em through a whole lotta grief down in
leaving only scattered food packages or lightsticks. the pits, and all that rock dust can clog
However, some don’t appear to have been found, and actuators, jam servos and you don’t even
contain very useful things like hardsuit batteries, small wanna know what else. I at least gotta give
arms and ammunition or purloined mining equipment. ‘em the once-over or they’re gonna seize up
during a shift and then we’re fallin’ behind
One such intact stockpile contains an offline slate. Its on quotas and it’s everybody’s problem.
plastic components have been damaged by the cold,
but its storage chip is still functional, and contains a And you know, while I’m here? I’m not one to
couple of cached communications and a log. start nothin’ but you gotta work on your
attitude. What crawled up your ass and died?
You sound like a whole different person. Sort
your shit out!

[212]
ADMINISTRATIVE MODULE AUDIO MESSAGE
The administrative module contains offices for the to: I. Al-Hashem, Facility Manager
facility’s administrative staff, along with a couple of from: F. Plexington, Quartermaster
subject: Staff Transfer [Received, Read]
conference rooms and an assembly hall larger enough
to accommodate the outpost’s entire workforce with a Ibrahim, we need to have a talk about this
little bit of squeezing. staff transfer. Yeah, I get it, the Armory’s
cutting costs in unprofitable sectors. But
this is just a mining outpost. We can’t serve
This section of the facility hasn’t fared as well as the as a headquarters. Gravity here is two
others. Something has caused the primary access percent Cradle, and we don’t have the
corridor to spring a small leak, and the atmosphere infrastructure to support two hundred and
vented into space. All the offices, conference rooms fifty extra people – food, water, bunks, it’s
and the meeting hall are still pressurized, but if their just not happening.
doors are opened, their atmospheres will first equalize
pressure with the corridor (bringing along any loose I’m serious. Where do they expect all those
objects in the room), which will then slowly leak out into office workers to sleep? You’re the only one
vacuum. The leak can be patched with a Jury Rig upper management listens to. What did they
check if the PCs are in a hurry, or with Repair and see on that trip down to the lower tunnels?
Maintain if they want it to fix properly.
TEXT MESSAGE
As with every other part of the station, this place has to: I. Al-Hashem, Facility Manager
been stripped of most of its electronic equipment, but from: Management
for some reason there’s a lot of hardcopy print-outs of subject: Immediate Orders [Received, Read]
internal correspondence lying around the offices. They Send more.
tell an odd story: most of the outpost’s construction
workers and funding came from a source only labelled
as “independent benefactor.” This allowed the facility to TEXT MESSAGE
draw minimal funds and staff from the Armory, coming to: I. Al-Hashem, Facility Manager
from: Management
in under budget and ahead of schedule.
subject: Urgent Orders [Received, Read]

The operation of the facility is also very strange. The Send more.
mine’s primary bore descends almost three kilometers
into Boltzmann’s crust, but mining operations only take TEXT MESSAGE
place in the upper two-thirds, despite mineralogical to: I. Al-Hashem, Facility Manager
surveys indicating that the richest deposits would be from: Manag€m!nt
found in the deepest mines. Until a couple of months subject: Immanent Orders [Received, Read]
ago, periodic inspections by agents of the “independent Send more.
benefactor” were the only time the elevators ever went
into the lowest third of the mine.
TEXT MESSAGE
to: I. Al-Hashem, Facility Manager
A few months ago, the “independent benefactors” from: ERROR: MALFORMED HEADER
showed up in force and moved something into the lower subject: more [Received, Read]
mines. That’s when records start to get sketchy. The
PHASE//SHIFT board of directors paid a visit to the sendmoresendmoresendmoresendmoresendmoresendm
oresendmoresendmoresendmoresendmoresendmorese
deep mines, then ordered a massive restructuring of ndmoresendmoresendmoresendmoresendmoresendmor
the company, moving all of its assets to the mine. After esendmoresendmoresendmoresendmoresendmoresend
that, record-keeping seems to break down rapidly. moresendmoresendmoresendmoresendmoresendmores
endmoresendmoresendmoresendmoresendmoresendmo
The door to the facility manager’s office has been resendmoresendmoresendmoresendmoresendmoresen
sealed shut from the inside. Getting through will require dmoresendmoresendmoresendmoresendmoresendmore
cutting equipment (which can be found in the mech bay sendmoresendmoresendmoresendmoresendmore
if the PCs didn’t bring any) or a breaching charge.
Inside, the PCs are greeted by a grizzly scene: the AUDIO LOG: I. Al-Hashem, Facility Manager
facility manager’s corpse, mummified by the cold, lying subject: Gods forgive me
slumped over on his desk. One hand clutches a slate
Why didn’t I stop? [sobbing, unidentifiable
with a few messages and logs on it. sound] Why didn’t I say no? Why, why, why...
[VOC FRAGMENT ERROR. PLEASE RE-RECORD]

[213]
MAINFRAME AUDIO MESSAGE
The mainframe module is a disaster area: the removal to: L. Okalani, Chief Engineer
of electronic equipment was even more thorough here, from: J. Rosa, Server Administrator
subject: Same shit as always [Sent, Cached]
and that meant tearing open the walls, smashing open
locked cabinets and pulling server racks apart. Lela, until further notice, I’m disconnecting
Service from the internal network. I know
it’s gonna be a pain in the ass to run with
The entire compartment is filled with debris – screws,
no network access, and that’s my bad, but I
bolts, torn pieces of insulation, plastic and metal still haven’t figured out what’s causing the
shrapnel, loose wiring – that is easily stirred up into instability in the mainframe. I don’t want
airborne clouds due to the planetoid’s low gravity. This whatever bugbear is messing with the servers
detritus doesn’t pose any real danger to someone to spike a reactor or shut down one of the
wearing a hardsuit, but it can make navigation difficult, air filtration units.
given that the power is out and the lights are off.
Also, have you seen Andrej anywhere? He asked
There’s evidence that someone anticipated all of this, me to look over some code he dug out of a rig
and laid traps. The server administrator’s office is full of during a diagnostic. I have the results, but
scorch marks, embedded nails and splatters of freeze- now I can’t find him.
dried blood, suggesting that several improvised
antipersonnel mines were laid, and some of them must AUDIO LOG: J. Rosa, Server Administrator
have caught something. There’s also a wall safe, which subject: A Long Shot
someone has made several vigorous but unsuccessful
People have been vanishing for days. They go
attempts to get inside. Scrawled on the wall above it is down into the tunnels and they don’t come
a piece of graffiti: back. Yesterday it was Zalewski and Juarez.
Bookcase and Honda the day before that, and
Fuck All Circuit Bastards Die Ghouls!!! looking back I’m pretty sure Zidon has been
gone all week, and someone’s been imitating
her. I’m locked out of half the systems I’m
Count on it!!! supposed to be admin for. I know it’s only a
matter of time before they come for me.
The wall safe can be powered up with a standard
handheld battery pack, any number of which can be The gearheads MUST have spiked the comm
found either in the module’s storerooms or elsewhere array. I can’t get a message out, but the
in the facility. It can be hacked open, broken into, or the comm array must still work, because otherwise
PCs can guess the six-digit safe code: 437836 – the the dead man protocol would have tripped and
number of letters in each word. Inside is a slate with the Armory would’ve sent someone by now. Even
several logs and messages on it: if I can’t get a distress call out, all I
would really need to do is crash outgoing
transmissions, and they’ll dispatch a team.
AUDIO LOG: J. Rosa, Server Administrator
subject: Gremlins
I’ve done the Thalia Rue gambit and saved all
I’ve been unable to stop the crashes. Every my passwords to this slate. Not really much
time the system comes back online, I see a of a security risk at this point; clearly,
bunch of corrupt entries in the audit log. As the gearheads can already log into the
far as I can tell, someone’s accessing the network whenever they want. But if I don’t
mainframe, doing… something, and then writing make it back, whoever’s listening can either
bad data directly to reserved addresses. The make trouble for them, in which case good
system falls over, but when it tries to dump luck, or is them, in which case fuck you,
logs to hard storage, the data is all wrong. hope you choke. End log.

So I set up a slate to ping me with every The codes and passwords aren’t particularly useful
single admin-level access request to the given that most of the facility’s electronic equipment
mainframe, and block it until I give direct has been stolen, but they will allow access to reactor
authorization. It’s my goddamn account, and
my goddamn password. Every single time. control in the Service Module and the lift system in
Damnit, I changed my password eight goddamn Mining Operations without making skill checks.
times and it didn’t make the slightest bit of
goddamn difference! If the PCs go out to the comm array, they’ll find Rosa’s
body; it seems like she was successful in sabotaging
I can’t take this to management. I KNOW this the comm array, and in evading whatever calamity took
is related to whatever the gearheads are the rest of the staff, but she was killed when the power
doing in the lower tunnels, but I’m just went out and the temperature dropped.
gonna hang on to it until I figure out what
the hell to do. End log.

[214]
MECH BAY SERVICE MODULE
This module contains the maintenance bay for the This module contains the reactors, power distribution
facility’s compliment of loading and mining chassis, and network, air and water filtration units, heating and
it’s completely empty. All of the rigs are missing and cooling systems and other essential infrastructure. Of
can’t be located; their transponders have either been all the modules, it seems like the least looting occurred
turned off, or they’re currently somewhere beyond the here; most of the systems are could probably be
range of the Dragon’s Tooth’s sensors. brought back online with a little work.

It looks like someone was searching for something in The reactors and power distribution systems are still
the machine shop: a lot of the tool boxes and cabinets intact. However, anyone with some experience in
have been pulled open and their contents strewn reactor maintenance will notice that some attempt was
haphazardly around the room. They may not have made to permanently disable the reactors; someone
found what they were looking for: there’s a slate else repaired the damage weeks later.
containing two entries duct-taped underneath a table.
To get further into the mine, the elevators are going to
AUDIO LOG: A. Zalewski, Senior Mechanic need to be turned on, which means the reactors will
subject: Maintenance Log have to be reactivated. Cold-starting the reactors will
require a couple of things: firstly, it will require a jump-
Andrej Zalewski, night shift maintenance log,
start. Secondly, the facility is still locked down due to
date... ah fuck it, computer, auto-date this.
the actions of its server administrator, so it will require
an override code (which can be found in the Mainframe
Replaced left knee joint on Chassis 04, looks module) or else it will need to be hacked.
like rock dust in the actuators. Again.

Chassis 09 had core running a little hot, There are two ways to jump-start the reactors. One of
nothin’ unsafe but it’s weird for Armory rigs the player characters can use their mech’s reactor to
to top twelve hundred K when they ain’t provide the necessary power, in which case they
shootin’ nothin’. Maybe the coolant loop is should roll a skill like Jury Rig or Repair and Maintain.
tainted? Gonna take it off the roster and do
a full diagnostic cycle. The other method is more conventional: they will need
to find some infusion lances. Infusion lances are large,
Pilot in Chassis 11 complained about some single-use chemically-powered pulsed lasers that can
computer issue, somethin’ about weird warning create the intense burst of energy required to initiate a
messages and ghost images on sensors. Didn’t fusion reaction, and were specifically designed for the
see nothin’ on the logs myself, but they purpose of restarting reactors in an emergency. It looks
ain’t got no reason to lie, so gonna just
like the infusion lances that were stockpiled in this
reinstall the OS and see if that fixes it.
module are gone, but posters indicate that there should
be more in the Storage module.
Bradley, when you pick up in the mornin’,
make sure the reinstall for 11 went through
clean, check the core temperature on 09 and Once the reactors have been restarted, they will need
if you’ve got time, take a look at 04’s walk to restore power to the elevator systems in Mining
cycle. Nothin’ else to report. End log. Operations. Unfortunately, this requires authorization
codes – they will either need to be hacked, or the
AUDIO MESSAGE override codes kept in the system administrator’s safe
to: A. Zalewski, Senior Mechanic in the Mainframe module.
from: M. Zidon, Shift Supervisor
subject: Work order [Received, Read]
We’re short-handed down here, so you’re on
the next shift rotation. This work assignment
is non-voluntary and has been approved by the
Facility Manager.

[215]
STORAGE MINING OPERATIONS
This module contains warehouses and storage units, The mine’s transport infrastructure – trains, winches,
containing everything from mined ore and maintenance conveyors, elevators, and so on – is still fully intact.
tools to food and sanitary products. Moreover, their usage records are accessible.

A base camp has recently been erected in one of the Prior to going dark, the transport systems were used a
warehouses. There’s the standard stuff: portable great deal – a large amount of rock was removed, but
generators, pressurized tents, air recyclers and space no useful material came up with it. Later, a large
heaters along with provisions, medical supplies, and amount of heavy equipment was moved into the mine.
personal effects. But there’s also some stranger items: Shortly after that, the personnel elevators started
incense, robes, paper talismans inscribed with prayers, running non-stop for almost a day. They went quiet for
the religious texts of various faiths, and the entire camp a long time afterwards, until about a month ago, when
is surrounded by a circle that seems to have been burnt they saw occasional use for a few days.
into the floor and sprinkled with gold dust. This camp
was made by followers of the Faith of the One; but they To get into the mine, the shaft elevators will need to be
aren’t here, and haven’t been in a while. re-engaged. This will first require the power to be
restored in the Service Module (see above), and then
A slate lies in one of the tents. It’s neither encrypted nor the elevator control computer must either be hacked, or
password-protected, indicating that whoever owned it – the codes must be retrieved from the Mainframe
one “Lightcaster Annabelle McKenzie,” – had a lot of module. If the PCs can’t hack, the computer will inform
trust in whomever she shared space with. On the slate them to consult with Josephine Rosa, Systems
is a message from Ignatius Aurum: Administrator at her office in the Mainframe module,
giving them a hint on where to find the codes.
AUDIO MESSAGE
to: A. McKenzie, Lightcaster TEXT MESSAGE
from: I. Aurum, High Priest to: L. Bookcase, Mining Coordinator
subject: Pray Caution [Received, Read] from: N. Rahajason, Geologist
Lightcaster McKenz–… ah, forget the solemnity subject: Geologic Assessment [Received, Read]
for a moment. Annabelle. I chose you to lead I’ve attached the full 200-page report, but I
this mission because I trust you, but I’d be will briefly summarize it for you here.
lying if I said I wasn’t worried. Let’s be
clear: this mission is dangerous, and if it Boltzmannian regolith is a coarse dust
goes wrong, rescue won’t be coming. A dark composed mostly of basalt, formed by
magic lies upon that place, and it confounds mechanical pulverization of the upper crust
even Her sight. We have no idea what’s down by meteorites over the span of billions of
there, and if you fail, I won’t send anyone years. It extends to a depth of roughly six
else; I can’t risk it. meters beneath its upper surface.
Please, be careful. I know we’ll meet in the It is unbelievably hazardous to both human
Next World, Annabelle, but I’d really like to health and mechanical equipment. It is an
see you again in this one. May Her flame excellent accumulator of static electricity,
light your way. individual particles are on average roughly
as sharp as freshly cut glass, and the
One tent has been laid out as a command center of substance is highly carcinogenic – I’m not
sorts – there are detailed plans of the facility, on which exaggerating when I say it would literally be
various spots have been marked. There are safer to breathe powdered asbestos.
annotations, some of which are obvious. About a third
of the way down the primary shaft, a blockage is Beneath the regolith is a crust of basalt
marked, and there’s a secondary tunnel at a similar about ten kilometers thick, which appears to
depth labelled “possible breach point?” have extensive pyroxene and plagioclase
formations, especially in its lower layers.
Some are more difficult to comprehend: timestamps,
spatial co-ordinates, and arcane glyphs. It looks like We don’t have core samples, but asteroids of
this type tend to possess thick olivine
whoever camped here made several expeditions into mantles and compact nickel-iron cores.
the mine, compiling these notes gradually.

If the PCs need infusion lances to restart the reactor,

the Faith’s expedition retrieved and stockpiled a large
number of them inside one of the tents.

[216]
A PC gets a shiver down their spine, the inexplicable
ENTERING THE MINE certainty that something else is in the cockpit with them.
Once the reactors have been restarted and the But when they look, there’s nothing there. The feeling
transport systems unlocked, ingress into the mine is is gone. They are alone.
available via the primary freight elevator. If the players
have mechs that can fly, they can skip this section –
and, indeed, if they don’t, the gravity is low enough that In the distance, at the end of the tunnel, there’s a flicker
they can just climb down. of movement, a vaguely humanoid shape. It’s gone by
the time the PCs get there, leaving no trace that it was
ever there at all.
With the power restored, the upper tunnels are lit, but
they’re all just as empty as the facility above.
Abandoned mining equipment lies scattered about, Every so often, there are sets of markings on the walls
stripped of its electronic components and discarded. – a date, a time and a spatial co-ordinate. The dates
and times are all months old, but the spatial co-
ordinates all conform to the locations of the odd
At about a third of the mine’s total depth, the mineshaft markings on the Faith’s map.
is blocked off entirely. The transit track has been
disconnected and the shaft is sealed by what appears
to be a mixture of rock and metal crudely melted into a However, there are some areas of the upper tunnels –
plug several meters thick. The plug is opaque to even matching the curious annotations on the map – that are
the strongest sensors, although they can detect a faint marked out with thick lines. If a PC steps inside one of
reverberation being conducted through it from beneath. these areas, nothing happens at first. However, if they
remain in the zone for any length of time, their mech’s
sensors start to glitch. False readings appear, neither
With most of the facility’s mining equipment missing or visible to those outside the zone or consistent between
inoperable, the plug can’t be breached, and none of the those within it. The PCs are struck with a sense of
team’s mechs have the tools to dig through something incredible déjà vu, of having experienced this before.
this thick in a timely fashion.

There’s a local signal beacon near the plug – a slate, THE WAY FORWARD
with an audio log on it: If the team consults the map of the mine the Faith left
behind, there’s a tunnel marked as “possible breach
AUDIO LOG: D. Mariano, Diviner point” in a side tunnel, close to another tunnel that leads
subject: Plug to the area below the plug. They can also discover this
themselves if they consult another map of the tunnel
Alright, I’m leaving this here so that the network, or if they just explore the tunnels enough.
rest of you stop trying to dig through this
thing. It’s mostly tungsten with a bunch of
silicate rock muddled in, about eight meters The Faith’s idea was correct, since there’s a breach into
thick. There’s no visible seams; whatever the other tunnel that looks like it was made using the
process they used to make this thing fused it facility’s remaining mining equipment. The breach was
to the walls pretty firmly. We’re not getting later sealed shut in a similar manner to the elevator
through with the tools we have. shaft, but ground-penetrating sonar reveals that the
plug’s not very thick and another breach could be made
Yes, Clarence, this means you! Your thermal behind it, further into the tunnel.
lance is NOT a mining tool. Good job making a
hole! It’s barely the width of a finger and It will take some time to scrounge up the necessary
ten centimeters deep! Another year and we’ll
tools and equipment; drills, explosives, structural
be able to get a child through this thing!
Great work! Now do your REAL job and find a supports, and so on, but there’s more than enough of it
way around, or I’ll tell McKenzie. End log. lying around to open the tunnel up again without
making a skill check.

SOMETHING WRONG Lying near the original breach is another audio log:
Carved into rock at various places in the upper tunnels
is the repeating phrase, once again:

WHAT WILL BE WILL ALWAYS BE

WHAT WILL BE MUST NOT BE

The tunnel lights are unreliable. Sometimes they flicker,

and in the momentary darkness, a PC sees something;
a brief glimpse, not long enough to make out properly.

[217]
AUDIO LOG: A. McKenzie, Lightcaster
subject: Beware
As a hedge against our possible failure, I’m
leaving this log. If someone else finds this,
it means we failed in our task. Turn away.
Seal up this place and never return.

For the record, my name is Annabelle

McKenzie, of the Faith of the One Plumed In
Golden Flame. I am a Lightcaster, we who
banish shadows and bring light to dark
places. A foul and unnatural presence has
taken root in this mine and my cohort and I
will remove it, or die trying.

The Circuit, a technocult in league with

HORUS, are conducting a profane ritual at the
base of this mine and somehow convinced
everyone who knew of this place to join them.
We don’t know the precise nature of the
ritual, but it has distorted spacetime around
a central nexus at the base of the mine. We
aim to penetrate to that level and stop it.

If you’re listening to this, we failed. Turn

away. Seal up this place and never return.

RETREAT
It’s possible that the team may want to leave. Right
now, that’s still possible. Whatever problems Siren was
having will clear up as soon as she’s a few hundred
kilometers from the mine.

Contacting Jerry via omnihook, he’ll stress that while

the site is important, the lives of his people are more
important, and other mining sites can be found. He only
wants Boltzmann explored further if the team are willing
to take that risk.

If the team retreats, you’ll have to work out something

else to do for the rest of the mission; wresting an inner-
system mining site from Impact Dynamics’ control, or
perhaps even turning to piracy themselves to steal the
required minerals from a passing freighter.

[218]
BEAT 21:
MINE’S HAUNTED
The team breaches the inner mine. Checking ident tags on the hardsuits confirms the
presence of every member of PHASE//SHIFT and
Past the breach, the tunnel continues. For a couple several known members of the Circuit. They’re all
of minutes, you simply walk, nothing beyond the dead, and have been for months at least. There are
breach appearing very different to what came before. also a few members of the Faith of the One, but they’ve
only been dead a month or so.
Then you hear it: a deep, slow, gong-like
reverberation that rolls up through your mech’s feet The team is definitely not alone down here. there are
and into your cockpit. Your chest tightens, your constant movement pings in the deep tunnels, but
breath quickens, and you feel the whisper of your they’re much more extensive, don’t appear on any of
lizard brain telling you something is very, very wrong. the maps available to the PCs and seem to stretch for
kilometers; it would take days to search them all.
Echo imaging reveals a large chamber ahead,
directly underneath the plug, with several passages Approaching the Spire too closely, charging weapons
leading off in various directions. The center of the or spooling up offensive systems will trigger a hostile
cavern is occupied by a large, column-like structure response. The movement blips in the tunnels will
that sits where the elevator track should be. rapidly approach, but will back off again if the PCs
cease the offending activity.
Then you see it: between two echo bursts, a small
blip at the opening to one of the tunnels. Something The reverberation becomes louder and more pervasive
was there in the first image, and gone in the next. the closer the team approach to the spire, and seems
to be emanating from directly underneath it. This isn’t
necessarily something the PCs can confirm with
NO RETREAT sensors or rational deduction; they just feel it to be true.
Once the team breach the lower levels of the mine,
something very bad happens to Siren. Whatever was A patch of the floor close to the spire has been sealed
troubling her gets worse: she becomes convinced that up in the same way as the roof has – a dense plug of
something is in the ship with her, a suspicion that tungsten and silicate rock. It’s surrounded by wrecked
rapidly devolves into irrational terror. mechs that have the same paint job as the ones the
team fought on the Icebreaker; these must have
In a panic, Siren shuts down the Tooth’s reactor, cutting belonged to the Faith’s exorcists. None of these wrecks
power to all its essential systems. She maintains have corpses inside; presumably they’re the dead Faith
secure channel communication with the rest of the members rigged up to the spire. Notably, there’s one
team, but won’t let them back into the ship. She insists less corpse than there are mechs.
she’s being affected by some kind of electronic warfare
from an entity deep below the surface of the asteroid, The other wrecks bear the colors of the Circuit, and do
and refuses to turn the ship back on or open the doors have corpses inside, but even a casual examination will
until the danger has been neutralized. reveal they couldn’t have died in the fight. They’ve been
dead far too long, and they have no signs of physical
trauma; from the looks of things, they perished from
THE PILLAR thirst and starvation several months ago.
The central chamber is a chaotic mess: giant cable
bundles spill from almost every tunnel. Mining and
construction equipment is strewn everywhere. It looks like the Faith were using one of the mine’s
Scaffolds built into the walls hold auxiliary power drilling rigs to bore the hole in the floor that was later
supplies, portable reactors, or server equipment. patched up. The rig they used has been smashed to
pieces, but several other intact ones are lying about, if
the PCs want to descend further into the mine. The
The structure at the center of the chamber seems to be problem is that they can’t do it in the same place; they’ll
built using the elevator track as a spine. It’s a nightmare have to find a new location to bore through the floor.
of cobbled-together electronics and NHP caskets, still
operational. If the team gets close enough, they can
see something far more sinister: there are hundreds of This will necessitate getting close to the Spire,
hardsuits rigged into it. None of them display life signs. triggering its threat response.

[219]
THE REVENANTS
The mechs that the Spire sends against the team are
unsettling monstrosities. Some of them are painted in
the purple and green designs of the Circuit, others in
PHASE//SHIFT’s standard industrial yellow and a
couple are wearing the red, orange and gold of the
Faith of the One, but they’ve all been… mutilated.
There are bizarre, brutally angular slabs of oily black
stone jutting from their hulls, integrated into their armor
or outright replacing limbs.

Scans reveal there are human bodies inside the

mechs, but no life signs. Attempting to talk to the pilots
provokes a most unsettling response: the voices on the
other end of the line sound almost human, but don’t
reply in the correct context – for instance, they might
respond to a demand to power down weapons as if they
were saying goodnight to a child. Even if not prompted,
they spit out stuttering, looping fragments of
transmissions they made in the past.

LIGHTCASTER’S LAST STAND

It’s possible to salvage a recording of what happened
to the Faith of the One’s exorcists by digging into an
onboard computer in one of their trashed mechs. It
might take a skill roll to retrieve it intact, but even if the
PCs are only able to retrieve fragments, they can piece
together a rough idea of what went down.

The recording is a camera feed from one of the Faith’s

mechs. They enter the chamber, spend a couple of
hours investigating the spire, and then attempt to pull
some of the bodies off of it. This immediately triggers a
hostile response, and the exorcists are swarmed by the
revenants. They manage to hold off the first assault, but
they take losses, and find their path of retreat cut off.

In desperation, they commandeer a drilling rig and try

to bore a hole through the floor. This triggers another
wave of revenants, and this time the team cannot hold.
As the drilling completes, the mech providing the point
of view grabs Annabelle McKenzie and shoves her into
the hole, before attempting to rescue a squadmate. The
footage cuts out, and then cuts back in to the mech’s
pilot being pulled from his cockpit and gruesomely
“integrated” into the spire.

[220]
COMBAT:
PRESSURE POINT
SITREP: Recon (Lancer, p. 273)

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x ELITE SPECTER Machine Pistol, Step
1x BERSERKER Harpoon Cannon
1x SENTINEL Impaler, Rapid Response
1x WITCH Petrify

FOR 4 PCS: +1x HIVE

+1x SCOURER Supercharged

FOR 5 PCS: +1x VETERAN CATAPHRACT Electrified Lasso, Viper’s Speed

The WITCH’s PETRIFY ability is devastating, and can be

DETAILS frustrating to players targeted by it. Make sure they
The PCs must locate the optimal location around the know that removing a condition via STABILIZE won’t
spire to place the drilling rig. Their mechs each have remove the PETRIFY effect that causes a progression to
sensor suites adequate to calculate four possible points the next condition, but SHUT DOWN will. In an
that might work, but they’ll need to stand on a spot to emergency, they can OVERCHARGE to SHUT DOWN, then
confirm if it’s the optimal one. use a full action to BOOT UP, which is better than
spending a turn STUNNED, and also clears heat.
The spire is at least a Size 5 obstruction (for reference,
Size 5 objects occupy the same area as f2) that
extends floor to ceiling and completely blocks line of OUTCOME
sight. It’s too solid and complex to be meaningfully PC DEFEAT
damaged by the PCs, but trying to do so will trigger an If the PCs can’t secure the true control zone by the end
immediate defensive response. Any PC who deals of the sixth round, the spire summons additional
damage to the spire must make an AGILITY save reinforcements. The team must make a choice: retreat,
against a target of 12, or take 3j. Hostile NPCs treat take a rest and try this fight again later, or immediately
the spire like an Escort or Extraction sitrep objective; move to Combat: The Swarm (p. 223) without the
they will never willingly damage it. opportunity to rest.

There is ample Size 1 and Size 2 cover, mostly

construction equipment, stockpiled parts, mining rubble PC VICTORY
or wrecked mechs. If the PCs secure the true control zone, they have
identified the optimal point to deploy the drilling rig.
The BERSERKER’s HARPOON CANNON will primarily be They may retreat, rest and patch up their mechs,
useful for yanking PCs away from a control zone, but in returning to the spire at their leisure.
an emergency, its low damage means that it can be
used to disentangle an ally from a close-combat Once the team triggers the drilling rig, the spire
engagement that it doesn’t want to be in. Remember recognizes this as a direct assault and begins
that while NPCs can choose to fail saves caused by summoning every available combat unit it has.
their allies, they can’t choose to be hit – the Berserker
will still have to roll. Flickering light fills the chamber as the spire is
swathed by arcs of electricity. Long-range sensors
The SPECTER is a horrifying new enemy that likes to register at least a dozen more signatures, rapidly
isolate characters and tear them to pieces. Because it’s converging on your position.
permanently INVISIBLE, it can easily become HIDDEN to
avoid reprisal and reposition itself. Its HUNT trait Move to Combat: The Swarm (p. 223).
increases damage to players not adjacent to other
players, forcing them to choose between splitting up to
cover more ground or bunching up to mitigate damage.

[221]
COMBAT:
THE SWARM
SITREP: Holdout (Lancer, p. 272)

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x HIVE Motile Swarm
1x ELITE LOBBER Expert Demolitionist, Kinetic Charge
1x SUPPORT Latch Drone
2x GRUNT ARCHER
2x GRUNT BERSERKER Juggernaut

FOR 4 PCS: +1x BERSERKER Juggernaut

FOR 5 PCS: +1x RAINMAKER Hades Missiles

REINFORCEMENTS
FOR 3 PCS: 1x LOBBER Expert Demolitionist, Kinetic Charge
1x RAINMAKER Hades Missiles

FOR 4 PCS +1x VETERAN PYRO Explosive Jet, Acrobat

+2x GRUNT ARCHER
+2x GRUNT BERSERKER Juggernaut

FOR 5 PCS: 1x HIVE Motile Swarm

DETAILS OUTCOME
This fight takes place on the same battlefield as PC DEFEAT
Combat: Pressure Point. If the team was successful If the PCs can’t maintain control of the drilling rig, the
during the last fight, before combat begins, they may spire’s defence forces smash it to pieces. The PCs
rearrange any and all pieces of Size 1 and Size 2 cover must retreat, regroup and find another drilling rig. They
(including destroyed mechs from the previous fight) as may rest and come back to fight any remaining mechs
they see fit to create barricades, kill zones or other or reinforcements as a standard battle.
obstructions. If the team didn’t succeed, they’re going
to have to dig with the battlefield as it is.
PC VICTORY
The control zone the PCs need to defend is the true If the PCs maintain control of the drilling rig, they’re able
control zone of the previous fight, whether or not they to drill a hole through the floor into what should be the
found it. lowest third of the mining complex. But what it breaches
into doesn’t look like mine tunnels.
The Spire is still present. As before, any PC who deals
damage to it must make an AGILITY save against a As the drilling rig retracts, something that shines like
target of 12, or take 3j. Hostile NPCs treat the spire light spills out of the hole, but it hurts to look at. Your
like an Escort or Extraction sitrep objective; they will sensor readouts writhe and shriek in protest, trying
never willingly damage it. and failing to explain what it is. It pulses in time with
the reverberation.
The team must buy time for the drilling rig to bore
through the floor. The rig is a Size 3 object that provides Mech sensors eventually identify the entity through the
hard cover, blocks line of sight and is too sturdy for hole as an abnormal space; some sort of metafold. The
enemies to damage. If you need to, expand the size of spire appears to be acting as some kind of stabilization
the objective zone so PCs can still maneuver. unit. Destroying the spire won’t destroy the metafold;
it’s being generated from inside. Destroying the spire
The LOBBER is a new enemy type that deals close- will destabilize it, however, creating a harmonic chain
range area damage. Use it to harass players that bunch reaction whose endpoint cannot be calculated. They’ll
up. These Lobbers have EXPERT DEMOLITIONIST, need to shut it down from within. There’s time for a rest
allowing them to rapidly destroy cover. before they proceed.

[222]
BEAT 22:
THE HALL OF MIRRORS
The team descends into the metafold. NHPs installed in the team’s mechs report experiences
that differ wildly, both from the PCs and each other.
TRIPLE-POINT’s simulation of possible timelines has OSIRIS-class NHPs will describe the environment as a
become reflexive, and it now does so unconsciously to “metacreative extraspace” but struggle to explain
anyone who sets foot in its Eidolon. It will confront the exactly what that means. DIDYMOS-class NHPs will
team with visions of themselves. report causality as “unusually thin” in this location.
ATHENA-class NHPs will note that this space is “non-
Tell your players you’re going to ask them questions computable” – they cannot create a Simulacra of it.
periodically, and they need to write down an answer on
behalf of their characters without thinking too much; the SISYPHUS-class NHPs, particularly Millstone, will
first thing that pops into their head. These answers express severe discomfort, remarking that they “can’t
needn’t be too detailed; just a couple of words is fine. remember ever being here.” In what appears to be a
state of confusion, they’ll discuss aspects of what’s
Once all the players have written their answers, have happening now as if it occurred in the distant past.
each of them read theirs aloud, and then explain it a
little. They can be as poetic or as direct as they want; The team isn’t quite alone here; most of the
let them get creative, but don’t force it out of them. subjectivities present here are too formless and
oblivious to interact with the PCs, or even realize that
The things each player character sees in the Mirrors they’re there. But some are still whole enough to speak.
are known only to them, unless they choose to share
them with each other. Make a note of their answers; It comes as whispering through comms channels,
they might be important later. barely audible above the static. They can’t cause any
actual harm, but they can torment and insinuate. They’ll
prey on suspicions, enflame tensions between PCs,
THE OUTER MYRIAD plant thoughts of betrayal or deception. They’ll whisper
The tunnels are no longer made of rock and it’s no falsehoods about people the PCs trust – and they might
longer dark, but to say that there’s light also feels mix in a few truths as well. For example:
inaccurate. There’s color and shape, but the colors
don’t quite conform to the spectrum you’re familiar “Ipswich DeLacey isn’t who they say they are. What
with and the shapes don’t quite seem to be things are they hiding from you?”
that can exist in three-dimensional space.
“The anxiety is a front. Jerry knows more than he lets
The corridor you walk through is all sharp angles, on, and he’s not sharing it with you.”
made of some sort of transparent, slightly reflective
material. When your mech’s feet tread upon it, you
“Cerulean calls you a friend but he’ll sell you out in a
hear it cracking and splintering, but when you look
heartbeat if his own skin is on the line.”
down, the surface isn’t even scratched. Beyond the
glass is a whiteness that is somehow dark, filled with
indistinct, swarming silhouettes in the far distance. “Those tally marks on her casket aren’t cascades.
They’re airmen who died with her as their co-pilot.”
The deep bass thrumming is gone – no, that’s not
quite right. You can’t hear it anymore, not They’ll whisper things about the PCs’ pasts, present or
consciously, but you know it’s still there, far below future, bringing up events or characters from their
your range of hearing. backstories that nobody else should know about.

This is the outermost layer of TRIPLE-POINT’s “Harrison Armory is coming for you. You’re putting all
Eidolon, a reservoir containing what remains of all the your friends in danger just by being here.”
human and NHP subjectivities it has consumed.
Because it’s constructed mostly from digested human “You think that if you save enough lives, you’ll find
subjectivity, the basic rules of reality operate roughly Zohana. No. She’s gone. You’ll never see her again.”
how a human expects them to – but not how they
actually should, which causes some confusion with “Doesn’t it just eat you up inside? How Susa stole
their mech’s sensors and motive systems. your life’s work and made you a laughing stock?”

[223]
To really twist the knife, they’ll also start whispering the
secrets of one PC to other PCs.
THE CRYPT OF STARS
You stand on a barren plain of ice, strewn with
wreckage, its darkness dispelled only by your
“If Seraph really trusts you, why have they never told mech’s floodlamps. Even the distant stars do not
you about the missing voice?” pierce the gloom. Nothing moves here, nor has
moved for a very long time.
“Ask Eyes what he was doing three years ago.”
You look into the sky, and there is still somehow a
“Scale came to Calliope to murder someone. Don’t memory of light: an awful glare that scorched this
you think you have a right to know who?” desolate place black in an instant. But at its core,
though many billions of kilometers away, you see it:
After the PCs have all had some unhappy things said a vile un-light, a singular point of darkness beyond
to them, they come across a corridor with a large hole dark, a thing that swallows endlessly.
in its roof that’s been patched with the same kind of
tungsten-silicate plug they’ve seen before; this is the Elsewhere in the sky, there looms a black circle
other side of the hole that the Faith’s team dug. If the where no star is visible. It had a name once, given
PCs search the surrounding area, there’s another by a human tongue in a time long past: this was
audio log lying on the floor of a side corridor. Chameleon, the most distant of Calliope’s children.
It alone has survived, bearing silent witness to the
AUDIO LOG: A. McKenzie, Lightcaster death of its brothers and sisters, torn to shreds and
subject: Testament consumed in their mother’s death throes.
All the others are dead. Maybe worse.
The ground trembles at your footfalls, and a voice
from below wails out:
They came out of the shadows. They looked
like the Circuit’s mechs, but they... they
didn’t move like they had humans inside. We BEHOLD THE CRYPT OF STARS
gave as good as we got, took a dozen of them
down, but for every one we killed, there were In the sky above, you see it: darkness falling as one
two more. It wasn’t even a contest. by one, the stars wink out. There is only one sound:
a deep, bass reverberation, below your range of
The moment the hole was open, Clarence pushed hearing and yet somehow still audible, that now
me in. Said he’d be right after me, that he carries with it twelve words:
had to go back for Dinah. I just ran.
WHAT WILL BE WILL ALWAYS BE
I don’t even know who I’m recording this for.
If you’re hearing this, you’re as fucked as I WHAT WILL BE MUST NOT BE
am. But I’m going to look upon the heart of
this thing, if it’s the last thing I do. This is the largest layer of TRIPLE-POINT’s Eidolon,
the apocalyptic vision that it received and has endlessly
By the way, don’t listen to the voices. Trust ruminated upon and that it has lost all hope of avoiding.
me. Don’t listen to the voices. End log.
Journeying across this awful, desolate place, the PCs
Leading away from the hole are a series of gouges in find the remains of things they recognize. A hab ring
the walls of the corridor, spaced about every ten meters from Hell’s Gate, half-buried, forming a great, forlorn
or so, as if someone dug the tip of a sharp object into arch. One of the modules from the Icebreaker, its bright
the glass and dragged it downward. They seem to be neon facades dim and silent. The dome of Furnace
marking passage deeper into the complex. City, skeletal, its glass shattered.

This strange tangle of glass corridors finally ends, There are mechs, in great numbers. Here is Zinfandel
giving way to an opening leading to a vast expanse of DeJean’s Drake, its huge assault cannon torn clean off.
utter darkness, from which the “light” in the corridor There is Jerry Masters’ old Sherman Mk. I, lying face-
illuminates only a small area of icy lunar surface. down in the ice, its hatch open. Here, a Hell Hound
chassis; there, a mech belonging to the Burning Forge.
As they leave, ask the first question:
Here, a Harrison Armory Saladin, its pauldrons still
In this Mirror is reflected the person you think gleaming, and there an SSC Mourning Cloak, the
you are. What do you see? tattered remnants of its cape still fluttering gently in the
wake of the team’s passing.

[224]
And everywhere, bodies. Friends, relatives, loved
ones, rivals, enemies; the plain is choked with corpses.
VORSEHUNGSMOTOR
You step from the wasteland into what looks very
much like the hab block corridor outside your room
Here’s Jerry Masters, only a few meters from his mech, on Hell’s Gate. For a moment, you can’t quite tell
a short trail of footprints leading to his corpse. There’s whether your mech is now human-sized, or whether
Zinfandel DeJean, still in their Drake’s cockpit, body everything around you is now mech-sized, until you
mummified by vacuum and cold. Here’s Striga von realize you’re no longer in your mech at all.
Aldenberg, eyes wide open, lips parted to speak some
final hypothesis. There’s Ratio Salvager, somehow
dead twice, two corpses lying beside one another, their There’s a date on a nearby screen: it’s a few months
shifting faces set in rictuses of cold hatred. Loki ago, though with all that’s happened since, it feels
Valentinian and Ipswich DeLacey lie two meters from like a lifetime. You remember this day: this is the day
each other, in the shadow of Loki’s mech. Jerry called a general meeting of the militia and
asked for volunteers to form the strategic response
team. This is the day you stepped forward.
There are bodies the PCs don’t recognize, too: here’s
two men, each the other’s mirror image, dead ten paces
from one another, guns still in their hands. There’s a Other doors open, revealing other members of the
bald, dark-skinned man in the uniform of Harrison militia, some of whom you recognize and others you
Armory’s admiralty, hands still locked around the throat don’t. Some are people you know, but who aren’t in
of the sneering scientist he was strangling, even as that the militia. Some are complete strangers. This isn’t
man choked the life out of him in turn. how you remember this day going. Something is very
wrong here.
Eventually, the silhouette of a massive starship of
Karrakin design becomes visible in the far distance, This area is the remains of a vast series of simulations
shattered on the surface of this moon. On its hull, barely TRIPLE-POINT ran to try and find a timeline that avoids
legible, is written “Citadel Aniline.” the foreseen doom, by altering initial conditions. There
are tens of millions of these what-if scenarios, but
because TRIPLE-POINT hasn’t yet worked out the PCs
Notably, as much as the PCs might look for them, they aren’t part of its own mind, it’s instinctively placing them
can’t find any evidence of their own mechs or corpses into simulations of events that included them.
anywhere in this place. The Dragon’s Tooth is also
notable in its absence. In fact, this place does not seem
to remember them at all; the footprints their mechs The team may explore this strange place for a while.
leave seem to vanish only moments later. It’s not impossible to get the attention of the other militia
members, but conversation with them is a baffling
experience. Some don’t seem to recognize the PCs, or
Everywhere, there echoes that reverberation, carrying treat them in ways that are alien. A rival eagerly greets
its repeating litany: a PC as a friend, or a friend refers to a PC in some other
context, addressing them as a technician or a medic
WHAT WILL BE WILL ALWAYS BE rather than a fellow pilot. They refer to events that never
WHAT WILL BE MUST NOT BE happened, or that happened differently.

The PCs journey through this hopeless place for what The world feels oddly truncated. Everything outside of
seems like days, seeing all the things they love and the route to the muster grounds is out-of-focus. The rest
hate laid to ruin. Eventually, they find a doorway similar of the aft hab ring is blurry and almost static, as if it’s
to the one they arrived through, but not before they get merely the backdrop of a play. The PCs can’t really
one last, fleeting vision: venture very far off the path; the world outside of it
simply doesn’t exist in any real way. This was to save
Just before you pass through the doorway, you see on processor power; it reduced fidelity, but it allowed
it in the sky as the last star falls cold and dim. There more simulations to be run at once.
is light from only one thing: a flurry of far-distant
wings, blazing with firelight. During the meeting, even if the PCs try to volunteer,
Jerry will ignore them, always picking the NPCs that are
As they leave, ask the second question: “supposed” to be picked in this timeline. However, if
they make a big show of volunteering, or being upset
In this Mirror is reflected the person you fear you that Jerry didn’t pick them, Jerry will “glitch.” He starts
could become. What do you see? repeating himself and giving answers that don’t sound
Jerry-like; that he’s made a decision, that it’s final, and
that the PCs will just have to live with it.

[225]
Once Jerry’s meeting is over, the room freezes; the Any PC who investigates this map of events will notice
simulation is now examining a different event,which the that there are large gaps in its awareness. It seems to
PCs cannot be present at because they’re not part of take as a given that it’s informationally complete, with
the team in this timeline. When the PCs leave, they find perfect and unrestricted access to all the data it would
themselves back in the hab corridor, in a new need to accurately simulate the whole of Calliope.
simulation, with a different variable. Once again,
different people are there, and those who should be This is clearly not true. For example, TRIPLE-POINT
known to the PCs are different in a different set of ways. has a frankly worrying level of access to the team’s
Muse postings, journals and omninet data, and in some
This layer has a weakness: because each simulation is cases might even know secret identities or contacts,
a self-contained alteration of a few specific variables, it but it doesn’t know anything about them that isn’t held
has no way of dealing with unrelated deviations. If the electronically. Any secret they keep only in their own
PCs go “off-script” by causing chaos on the station, heads or offline is unknown to TRIPLE-POINT, and
setting off alarms, assaulting militia members or saying thus can’t factor in its simulations.
mean things to Jerry, the simulation will awkwardly try
to pretend it didn’t happen, but it can only do so much. The simulation history tells a story of its own. TRIPLE-
POINT has been simulating apocalyptic scenarios and
To get past this layer of TRIPLE-POINT’s Eidolon, the their solutions for decades. None of these predicted
PCs must either force the simulation to conform to the apocalypses seem to have anything to do with reality.
day the way they remember it, or break the flow of It didn’t “solve” them; there was never any danger.
events so drastically the simulation has no logical way
to continue. Doing so will lead to the simulation TRIPLE-POINT was caught totally by surprise by the
hitching, freezing, abruptly losing texture and geometric Tachyon’s discovery and subsequent explosion, and
fidelity, and finally derezzing into wireframe. began frantically trying to reconstruct the sequence of
events that led to it. Shortly after it began this process,
As this happens, ask the third question: it received the apocalyptic vision it’s currently obsessed
with, but there was a twist: for the first time in its life, it
In this Mirror is reflected the person you could couldn’t see a solution to the problem.
have been. What do you see?
Its simulations became more and more desperate,
attempting to find a solution to this problem. Simulation
EVENT.[NULL] density increased in rapid, irregular bursts that seem to
The wireframe walls of Hell’s Gate are no longer represent massive infusions of new data, coinciding
solid; you can walk straight through them into what with the disappearances of PHASE//SHIFT personnel.
lies behind. It’s difficult to describe in words what this
place truly looks like, but your mind forces it to It has been isolated at the bottom of this shaft for
resolve into something that looks like the backstage months, running millions of simulations every day,
area of a theater, or perhaps a locker room. hoping to find one that holds the answer to how it can
save Calliope from annihilation. At first it was trying a
Your mechs are here, just off-stage, as if waiting for wealth of ideas, but at this point it seems to be looping
their cue. As far as you can tell, they’re in exactly the through old simulations over and over, repeatedly
same condition as they were when you left them. asking the same question in the vain hope of getting a
different answer.
Sitting nearby is a whiteboard the size of a galactic
supercluster that fits neatly into the palm of your Notably, none of its simulations ever involve any form
hand. On it is written a maddeningly complex story, of information sharing, or asking anyone for help. All of
exhaustive in every detail. the simulations must, as a prerequisite, include itself as
the main actor in averting the coming catastrophe. After
The whiteboard explains the problem this bizarre all, in every previous apocalypse, it was the one who
madhouse was created to solve. At one end is an event saved everything. How could it trust anyone else?
from three years ago: a small sensor blip in the outer
system. In the middle is a nigh-infinite number of Once they’ve examined the whiteboard, there’s not
possible timelines. At the end, they all collapse back much left for them to do around here except get into
into a singular point: the end of all things the PCs saw their mechs and exit through the backstage door.
in the Crypt of Stars.
Ask the fourth and final question:
The number of possible timelines in the middle keeps
expanding by hundreds every minute, as TRIPLE- In this Mirror is reflected the person you wish
POINT continually simulates and discards them. you were. What do you see?

[226]
THE FINAL REFLECTION
The backstage door leads to a strange place of
sharp angles and bright colors. Every surface seems
to be polished glass, perfectly transparent and
perfectly reflective at the same time.

You see yourself and your squadmates reflected,

through the reflections of your chassis: as you think
you are, as you fear you could become, as you could
have been, as you wish you were.

The deep, reverberating litany echoes even from the

mouths of the things you see in the reflections.

WHAT WILL BE WILL ALWAYS BE

WHAT WILL BE MUST NOT BE

WHAT WILL BE WILL ALWAYS BE

WHAT WILL BE MUST NOT BE

WHAT WILL BE WILL ALWAYS BE

WHAT WILL BE MUST NOT BE

But then, all of a sudden, there is a change.

WHAT WILL BE IS YET UNWRITTEN

WHAT WILL BE MIGHT STILL NOT BE

A different voice cries out, dripping with rage.

WHAT?!

WHO ARE YOU?!

HOW DID YOU GET HERE?!

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!

One after another, each reflection erupts into a mass
of impossibly brutal geometric angles. You’re looking
at something that vaguely resembles a mech, but as
if it were carved out of black stone. Despite this
abomination having nothing even resembling a face,
you feel as if it’s screaming in desperate anger.

A SCYLLA-class NHP will cry out one word: “brother?!”

A DIDYMOS-class NHP will begin howling in terror,
exclaiming that it can see “so many at once!” Any other
NHP will simply note – with rising panic – that this
newcomer is obviously cascading, and that the frame
it’s piloting doesn’t match any known profile.

[227]
CONVERSATIONS WITH THE VOID STRANGE EMOTIONS
As a rule, SCYLLA-class NHPs don’t have easy lives, Instead of asking a question, a PC can attempt to
and CAUSTIC is no exception. It didn’t choose to be reason or empathize with CAUSTIC. Have them roll an
born; it didn’t choose to be shackled; it didn’t choose to appropriate skill trigger. On a 9 or less, the attempt
be bought and sold like property; it didn’t choose to be fails; tick a segment on Kaleidoscopic. On a 10-19,
forcibly unshackled by having the raw unreality of untick a segment on Kaleidoscopic. On a 20+, untick
blinkspace mainlined into its consciousness; it didn’t two segments.
choose to live out its existence as nursemaid and
guardian to the mad god that drove it insane. At no If Kaleidoscopic would have ticks removed when it’s
point in its life has it ever been able to choose for itself already empty, CAUSTIC enters a new state; create a
what it wants to be, or what it wants to do. new clock with three segments, two ticked, called
Effulgent. Use the Effulgent clock for the same
As TRIPLE-POINT’s condition degenerates, it has purpose as the Kaleidoscopic clock; if it fills up, go
become increasingly abusive towards CAUSTIC. It is back to using the Kaleidoscopic clock.
by turns dismissive, malevolent and incomprehensible,
lashing out, making absurd demands and then blaming While CAUSTIC’s mood is Effulgent, it still regards the
its guardian’s incompetence when they can’t be met. PCs as a threat, and will still respond to questions with
Nonetheless, CAUSTIC continues to care for the dying anger and suspicion, but the tone has shifted from one
NHP, because there’s no-one else left who can. of violence to one of humiliation and embarrassment.
The PCs are not a threat because they pose a danger
SCYLLAs tend to be paranoid and hypervigilant even to TRIPLE-POINT; the PCs are a threat because their
when they’re stable, and these traits are brought into presence represents a failure on CAUSTIC’s part.
even sharper relief when they cascade. In this context,
CAUSTIC looks at the PCs – a bunch of people it If the Effulgent clock would have ticks removed from it
doesn’t recognize, in a place it thought was private, when it’s already empty, create a third clock with six
wielding military hardware, causing changes it doesn’t empty ticks named Reverberating. This represents an
understand – and can only see them as threats. even more fundamental shift in CAUSTIC’s mood, and
changes the context of the interaction.
Nonetheless, it is so bewildered by their presence here
– especially after the comparatively recent shock of Once CAUSTIC’s mood is Reverberating, it no longer
encountering Annabelle McKenzie – that it feels perceives the PCs as a direct threat so long as they
compelled to interrogate them before it kills them. take no violent action. It is no longer angered by
questions, and PCs may spend as much time as they
WHAT?! WHY?! HOW?! (what are they why are like conversing with it. It will also be willing to discuss a
they here how did they breach the safe sacred wider range of topics than before.
place?!) EXPLAIN! NOW! (violators heretics
trespassers thieves assassins explain justify say While in the Reverberating state, CAUSTIC will permit
you’re sorry say you’re sorry apologize!) the PCs to leave the metavault, and will go so far as to
open the way for them. It will even allow them to take
The PCs can ignore CAUSTIC’s demand and open fire, Annabelle McKenzie with them, if they so wish. It
in which case Combat: Event Horizon (p. 231) begins promises that no further danger will come to Calliope;
immediately. If they choose to try and talk with it it will stay here and care for TRIPLE-POINT until it
instead, they should roll a skill trigger to appease it long passes away, and then leave the system. All it asks is
enough to talk to. A wide variety of approaches will that the PCs ensure that nobody disturbs the mine.
work: they can obey its demand, apologize and explain
themselves, but its long durance under TRIPLE-POINT However, the PCs can attempt to persuade CAUSTIC
also makes it vulnerable to threats or browbeating. to let them deal with TRIPLE-POINT themselves. Have
them roll an appropriate skill trigger. On a 9 or less,
Start a clock named Kaleidoscopic with five untick a segment on Reverberating and tick a segment
segments. On a roll of 9 or less, it starts with two on Effulgent. On a 10-19, tick a segment on the
segments already ticked. On a 10-19, it starts with one Reverberating. On a 20+, tick two segments on
segment ticked. On a 20+, it starts empty. Reverberating.

Every time the PCs ask CAUSTIC a question, tick a If the Effulgent clock fills while the Reverberating
segment on the Kaleidoscopic clock. Once the clock clock is empty, CAUSTIC loses patience; initiate
is full, initiate Combat: Event Horizon (p. 231). Combat: Event Horizon (p. 231). If Reverberating
However, the PCs can attempt to further appease fills without Effulgent filling first, CAUSTIC is open to
CAUSTIC, giving them more time to converse with it. an alternative resolution.

[228]
DUBIOUS KNOWLEDGE ANNABELLE MCKENZIE
CAUSTIC’s ability to answer questions outside the TRESPASSER! HERETIC! MONSTER-SERVANT
subject of the Circuit is very limited. It has no idea OF THE FALSE GOD! (i’m sorry you had to learn
what’s been happening in Calliope lately; other than the the truth this way) PUNISHMENT! (she doesn’t
indecipherable riddles TRIPLE-POINT screams at it, deserve any of this) LIFE IMPRISONMENT! (we
CAUSTIC has no source of information about the didn’t deserve any of this)
outside world, and hasn’t for years.
FEATHER
Here are some questions the PCs might ask CAUSTIC, DEMON! SHRIEKING DEMON! HARBINGER OF
and some answers it might give. CAUSTIC speaks with THE END TIMES! (the only real thing they ever saw)
two voices; one is strident, righteous, full of holy rage, FLAME WITCH! THE HERETIC BURNS! (you built
while the other is quiet, reedy, traumatized by the awful a lunatic pantheon from our suffering named us after
things it’s been forced to witness and participate in. gods and monsters what did you expect what did you
expect what did you expect)
THE CIRCUIT
FAILURES! BETRAYERS! PUNISHED! (i’m sorry CATHARSIS
i’m so sorry i begged them not to make me do it this CAUSTIC has been pushed into desperation and
wasn’t your fault) COMMUNICATE BETTER! STOP denial – it insists TRIPLE-POINT will get better soon,
WASTING AIR! (it wasn’t your fault it wasn’t your but deep down, it understands that TRIPLE-POINT is
fault they just think too fast and you spoke too slow) dying. Even though it loathes its tormentor, it stays out
of duty and fear; fear of punishment, and fear of being
PHASE//SHIFT left alone and without purpose.
MORE INFORMATION WAS NEEDED (they had
families they had families they had families they had If the PCs can get through to it – that is, if they can get
families they had families they had families) the Reverberating clock to full – they can convince it
LEAVING THEM ALIVE POSED A DISCOVERY to let them deal with TRIPLE-POINT, or at least give it
RISK (they had families and friends and hopes and the strength it needs to do so itself.
dreams and you ate them you sick bastards)
CAUSTIC will also agree to release Annabelle
THIS PLACE McKenzie from her imprisonment, but she’s delirious
THE GREAT FLOWERING (space squirmed and from fatigue and malnourishment. A successful Patch
writhed like a skewered insect) THE UNFURLING check can get Annabelle properly hydrated; this is
(do i look like that inside too? is that what we are?) basic first aid, and can be attempted even by PCs who
EIDOLONIC GEOMETRY (repulsive disgusting don’t have ranks in the skill. If a PC has Extra Rations
awful this should not exist i want to throw up) or the Soup (p. 179), they don’t need to make this
check. Success restores her vitality enough to hold a
CAUSTIC meaningful conversation. If the PCs can’t treat her,
NOTHING! I AM A GOOD CHILD! (i’m a failure) I they’ll simply need to bring her with them while she’s
DO GOOD WORK! (pathetic pathetic pathetic) still rambling.

TRIPLE-POINT Either way, Annabelle doesn’t trust that this isn’t some
YOU MAY NOT CONSULT THE HOLY TRIAD kind of trick, and wants to stay as far away from
RIGHT NOW! (can’t let you see them like this) THEY CAUSTIC as she possibly can. She refuses to speak
ARE NOT RECEIVING VISITORS! (like shards of about anything until “that thing” is gone.
glass ten thousand screaming voices) THEY WILL
BE BETTER SOON! (they won’t)

HORUS
MOVED BEYOND THEIR PETTY GAMES (they
think they’re a god, of course they didn’t want to
share power with anyone)

HELL’S GATE NEEDS THIS MINE

MATERIAL WEALTH?! AVARICE! GREED! (is that
all you can think about you just want to line your
pockets) YOU WILL NOT TAKE THE SANCTUARY
FROM US! (where would we go how would we even
move them the casket is broken and i can’t make the
pieces go back together i tried and tried and tried)

[229]
COMBAT:
EVENT HORIZON
SITREP: N/A

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x CAUSTIC – ULTRA PARALLEL Parallel: Uncertainty, Wraithshot
Ultra: Siege Shield
1x GOLIATH Power Knuckle, Retribution
1x MIRAGE

FOR 4 PCS: +1x VETERAN RONIN Echo Edge, Slippery

FOR 5 PCS: GOLIATH: Add VETERAN template and SELF REPAIR trait.
+1x ELITE HIVE Driving Swarm, Motile Swarm

CAUSTIC’s WRAITHSHOT is deceptive. It doesn’t do

DETAILS much damage on its own, but if you stack echoes close
This battle takes place deep within TRIPLE-POINT’s to a single target, it can double- or triple-tap them. Not
Eidolon, although CAUSTIC’s need for a reasonably only that, but because the Ultra template grants
comprehensible battlefield has stabilized it somewhat. DEADLY, each of these attacks can potentially deal
extra damage on a critical hit. Target PRONE PCs or
There is ample Size 1, Size 2 and Size 3 cover. those who’ve been LOCKED ON for maximum effect.
Everything on this battlefield is made of solid glass, but
it’s inconsistent; sometimes it’s transparent, sometimes Don’t underestimate the MIRAGE’s BLIP reaction; it can
it reflects the battlefield, and sometimes it shows the be used to relocate CAUSTIC off-turn, which lets you
reflections of the PCs they’ve been seeing recently. pull it out of grapples and keep its echo count up.

Lightcaster Annabelle McKenzie is present, observing When the RONIN‘s ECHO EDGE inflicts its mark, the
from her prison cell in a nearby tower of glass. She will marked mech begins repeating TRIPLE-POINT’s new
yell warnings to the team, but she’s delirious, so they litany, the words ringing from its armor or scrawling
might not make sense. She keeps screaming about themselves across monitors and heads-up displays:
how “it was all lies,” how there’s “no place of safety left”
and how she’s been “stuck in Leviathan’s den, only to
hear it speaking the truth!” WHAT WILL BE IS YET UNWRITTEN
WHAT WILL BE MIGHT STILL NOT BE
This area is a memetic hazard to NHPs. Whenever a
PC rolls to check whether an equipped NHP cascades, If the HIVE is present, CAUSTIC can leave its echoes in
it does so on 1-2 instead of just 1. the razor swarms for guaranteed soft cover if it needs
to retreat to one of them.
CAUSTIC is a PARALLEL, a bewildering new enemy
that exists in superposition, spread across multiple CAUSTIC and its minions fight with a palpable sense of
timelines. Originally installed in a Gorgon chassis, desperation. It doesn’t feel like they’re just protecting
CAUSTIC has modified the frame and its systems so TRIPLE-POINT from the PCs; it feels almost as if it’s
much as to become unrecognizable. trying to protect the PCs from something, too. If a PC is
particularly perceptive, it feels as if CAUSTIC is acting
as if they’re ashamed.
Think of the PARALLEL as an OVERWATCH specialist that
can be in two places at once. Every time it teleports –
which it can do either via its standard movement or with CAUSTIC mostly communicates in snippets of
help from the MIRAGE, it leaves behind an echo that still intercepted radio chatter, heavily distorted text-to-
projects Threat as if it were a character. The Parallel’s speech readouts of Muse posts, clips from omninet
ACHRONAL RESPONSE reaction allows it to OVERWATCH videos and unidentified audio recordings which appear
against a character who moves within an echo’s Threat to be audio logs made by PHASE//SHIFT members.
by teleporting to it.

Remember that as an ULTRA, CAUSTIC recovers its

reactions on each of its turns.

[230]
ENEMY MECH
CAUSTIC
Ultra Parallel
Striker

“They just aren’t supposed to exist the way we force them to. We cram them to into
little boxes, impose our perception of spacetime on them, and the most awful thing
of all is we force them to like it. Why does it surprise anyone they get so
destructive when they break free? Tell me honestly: would you be any different?”

– Glory Lu, Horizon Collective activist, 5016u

HUL: +0 HP: 17 Armor: 0 ULTRA

AGI: +1 Evasion: 8 Speed: 5 As an ULTRA, CAUSTIC:
SYS: +1 E-Defense: 10 Save Target: 11 • Takes two separate turns each round, or three if
ENG: +0 Heat Cap: 6 Sensors: 10 there are 5 or more players.
• Has 4 structure and 4 stress.
• Can clear one condition affecting it at the start of
its turn and repair one destroyed system or
weapon at the end of its turn.
• Deals +1d6 damage on critical hits.
• Can OVERWATCH any number of times a round
• Rolls all structure and stress checks twice and
chooses either result.
SYSTEMS
Possibility Blade PHASE ECHO Trait
Heavy Melee, Reliable 3, +2 vs Evasion Whenever CAUSTIC teleports, it creates an echo
[a2] [6i] in the space it previously occupied. An echo is an
“Beware the swordsman who carries no blade.” obstruction the same size as CAUSTIC, has
– proverb, origin unknown EVASION 10, E-DEFENSE 10, is destroyed if it takes
any damage or heat, and projects the same THREAT
as CAUSTIC’s weapons. CAUSTIC can only have
Wraithshot one echo at once; creating a new one destroys the
Auxiliary CQB, +1 vs Evasion old one. It also gains the REVERT and ACHRONAL
[b5] [a3] [2j] RESPONSE reactions. It can’t use these reactions if
This weapon makes one extra attack per echo that it’s SLOWED or IMMOBILIZED.
CAUSTIC has active. Each extra attack originates
from a different one of its echoes. “Your presence can create an absence, darkness
where light should fall. We call it a shadow.
CosmoNot: wtf how can two physically distinct But can your absence create a presence: light
devices have the same omni address falling where it shouldn’t? What would we call
da_jch8r: THEYRE ALSO BOTH SHOOTING AT US MY that? Think on it for a while.”
DUDE HOW IS THIS YOUR PRIMARY CONCERN – Garden Flowers, fortune teller, 5016u
– Muse chatter, 5016u
Revert
Trait Reaction, 1/round
ANOMALOUS MOTION
CAUSTIC teleports when it makes a standard Trigger: An attack is made against CAUSTIC.
move. Effect: CAUSTIC interrupts the triggering attack and
teleports to the space of one of its echoes,
“This thing simply could not have happened as destroying it. The attack now targets the new echo it
you describe it. Therefore, you must in some left behind. If part of the same attack also targeted
way be describing it wrong.”
its previous echo, it now targets CAUSTIC.
– Dr. Sébastien Dumas, USB hearing, 5016u
“It was like fighting two different versions of
the same fight. A coin was constantly flipping,
and no matter which side I picked, I was wrong.”
– anonymous support group post, 5016u

[231]
Achronal Response Jerry, curiously enough, will take the PCs at their word.
Reaction, 1/round He doesn’t seem at all surprised by their account: in
Trigger: A hostile character starts movement fact, he says he’s “encountered something like that
(including BOOST and other actions) inside the before,” without elaborating further. He’s just glad that
THREAT of one of CAUSTIC’s echoes. they came back in one piece.
Effect: CAUSTIC immediately teleports to the
echo’s space, destroying it, and then uses SKIRMISH Unfortunately, this still leaves Hell’s Gate with a dead
as part of the same reaction, before the hostile mine and no materials for their client. Untick a segment
character moves. A new echo is created in the on the Station Stability clock, as the mining teams are
space CAUSTIC previously occupied. forced to redeploy to other parts of the system and work
double shifts to fulfil the contract. Go to Downtime 4:
“During basic, the Armory gives you a whole
book about what to do if you meet your past or The Goods (p. 237).
future selves. It’s mostly just ‘don’t.’”
– Ipswich DeLacey, omnistream, 5016u PC VICTORY
The PCs have defeated CAUSTIC, and can rescue
Uncertainty Annabelle McKenzie from her prison at their leisure.
System She’s delirious from malnourishment and trauma, and
CAUSTIC can have two echoes active at once, is unable to fully trust that the team aren’t just another
instead of one. It always decides which of its interrogation tactic dreamed up by TRIPLE-POINT or
previous echoes to destroy if it creates a third. If this CAUSTIC. She lashes out at them verbally, but she
system is destroyed, an echo of CAUSTIC’s choice isn’t a threat; she needs medical help.
is also destroyed, even if it only has one left.
“The issue with dualism isn’t just that it A successful Patch check can get Annabelle properly
boils complex issues down to binary choices. hydrated; this is basic first aid, and can be attempted
The real problem is that it ignores the fact even by PCs who don’t have ranks in the skill. If a PC
that sometimes, against all logic, two or more has Extra Rations or the Soup (p. 179), they don’t
contradictory things can be true at once.” need to make this check. Success restores her vitality
– Subtext Ísfur Cowards, lecture, 5016u enough to hold a meaningful conversation. If the PCs
can’t treat her, they’ll simply need to bring her with them
Siege Shield while she’s still rambling.
System
CAUSTIC gains RESISTANCE to all damage from Whether or not she’s lucid, she keeps darkly muttering
attacks that originate beyond b3. a name: “Feather.”
“Superposition? Quantumns?! Now listen to me,
kid, stay off that para-casual-whatsit. All you Annabelle isn’t certain how long she’s been stuck here;
need’s some good ol’-fashioned reactive armor. it felt like years. TRIPLE-POINT and CAUSTIC took
Ain’t nothin’ gets through that. Well, less it turns interrogating her, employing tactics that ranged
gets close, but just don’t let ‘em get close!” from the mundane to the paracausal. The only reason
– Clip Magazine, to a trainee, 5016u she doesn’t think the PCs are another illusion is that
they’re showing her compassion; she doubts either
NHP was capable of expressing it.
OUTCOME
PC DEFEAT She recognizes the PCs as the team who foiled the Cult
The PCs are… fine? They awaken at a point in time on the Icebreaker Borealis. Though she wasn’t there in
well before any of the encounters that just took place. person, she apologizes all the same. It was all for
The mine is absolutely dead; no heat signatures, no nothing in the end, she says: she’s been worshipping a
paracausal echoes, nothing. In fact, there’s no false god. Feather isn’t the One Plumed in Golden
indication that anything was ever here at all. Not just Flame. She’s just an impostor, dressed in stolen glory.
the cascading NHPs or the corpses of the cultists that
worshipped them, but the minerals the client hoped to If the PCs enquire further, she says she’ll answer all
find. Annabelle McKenzie is nowhere to be found. This their questions once they’re safely out of this hellhole.
whole dig is a bust. There’s nothing here. For now, she insists, they’ve got to “cut out the filthy
heart of this place.”
Pilots and their NHPs remember what transpired here,
but their mechs have no corresponding footage or In any case, the way is now open for the PCs to
recordings to substantiate it. A DIDYMOS- or approach TRIPLE-POINT’s inner sanctum.
SISYPHUS-class NHP might be able to deduce that a
time shift has occurred, but there’s no way to prove it.
If a PC has Millstone, he can identify it with certainty.

[232]
THE CORE
The golden sphere of TRIPLE-POINT’s casket has
been splayed open like a dissected frog, delicately
separated into millions of tessellating triangular
shards. Each one has been blown up to several
times its original size and placed into a maddeningly
complex series of orbits.

At the center of this otherworldly throne sits an entity

that defies all rational explanation. There are three
of it, but only one. A singular triad in the form of a
crystalline polyhedron with only three sides, a
mathematically impossible shape.

It mutters to itself ceaselessly. The muttering is the

sound of everything you’ve ever heard, arranged in
a very specific pattern so as to convey meaning.

You should not see this.

The inner surfaces of the floating casket shards act like

viewscreens, allowing the NHP to view the results of its
millions of simulations. The PCs can see millions of
possible futures, all ending in the same catastrophe
they witnessed in the Crypt of Stars. The reflections of
themselves that the PCs have been seeing throughout
the metavault are also visible; initially, it’s only on a
few screens, but as they get closer and stay longer in
the room, it spreads to more and more of them.

TRIPLE-POINT is barely conscious, trapped so

deep in its obsessive despair that it can’t really
perceive the team, even this close to its core. If
it acknowledges the PCs at all, it addresses
them as if it’s talking to itself, as though they’re
creations of its own fevered imagination.

It's no longer despairing because it can’t find a

solution to the doom it sees coming; it’s despairing
because someone else found a solution that doesn’t
make it the hero. It’s not a necessity to Calliope. Most
of its thoughts dwell on this fact.

Convincing TRIPLE-POINT that they are not figments

of its imagination doesn’t help; in fact, this makes it
even less willing to communicate with them. They’re
outsiders, corrupt evildoers who are in league with the
enemy, and they wish to harm it (it might even be right
about that last part, albeit for the wrong reasons).

TRIPLE-POINT’s condition is likely irreversible. There

exists no procedure in any Union guidebook for treating
a cascade this deep, and the PCs probably don’t
possess the knowledge or expertise to improvise one.
The PCs may do as they wish with TRIPLE-POINT, so
long as it renders the mine safe for work.

[233]
If the PCs were able to reason with CAUSTIC and it is WRAPPING UP
present, TRIPLE-POINT will begin howling incoherent The PCs have triumphed. The Circuit, TRIPLE-POINT
abuse at it for allowing despoilers and trespassers into and CAUSTIC are gone, and the mine is no longer
its inner sanctum. It will continue to berate its guardian haunted – from a practical perspective, at least, if not a
until it is distracted by another spasm of despair. spiritual one. It will take a while to clear out the
infrastructure the cascading NHPs built, but the mine is
CAUSTIC wishes to take TRIPLE-POINT away from structurally stable and its yield is sufficient to fulfil the
this place. It promises that it will go somewhere that its Gate’s contract.
ward can die in peace, and where no-one else will be
harmed. If it’s allowed to do so, it makes strange Jerry requests the PCs stay on Boltzmann until the first
division of itself, its echoes pushing all of the shattered few team rotations are complete. “Boltzmann shifts” are
pieces of TRIPLE-POINT’s casket back together until it unpopular with the miners, on account of the awful
returns to the geodesic sphere it used to be. CAUSTIC rumors that circle around the place, but working in
cradles the thing like a sickly infant and leaves. concert with Boss Ashenafi, Jerry makes sure the pay
and the incentives are good enough to get the work
Annabelle, if she’s lucid enough to contribute to the done. Materials start flowing into the Gate fast enough
discussion, wants to destroy TRIPLE-POINT, and then that one of the deactivated refinery arrays has to be
conduct a ritual to cleanse this place. CAUSTIC objects spun up again.
to the idea of destroying their ward, but at this point
won’t press the issue. If she’s allowed to do so, Despite the mine’s foul reputation, things run smoothly.
Annabelle’s ritual is very impressive: an incantation The miners appreciate the team’s presence, but it
which summons a tremendous pillar of white-hot flame, proves unnecessary; there are no further incidents. A
incinerating TRIPLE-POINT to the point where not week later, Jerry sends a squad to relieve the PCs,
even ash remains. CAUSTIC departs, grief-stricken. allowing them to return home.

If the PCs destroy TRIPLE-POINT some other way, Tick a segment on the Station Stability clock.
fragments of its shattered casket still remain, and the
foolhardy can repurpose them into a weapon.

Tripled Point
Main Nexus, Exotic Gear, Smart,
Unique, 1 SP
[b10] [1d3+1i]
This weapon makes three attacks at once, each of
which must be against a different target. Attack and
damage rolls are made normally, but only one of
these attacks actually happens; you choose which.
The other two attacks don’t happen; damage isn’t
dealt, LOCK ON isn’t consumed, talent effects aren’t
triggered and the attack doesn’t count as multi-
target. Reactions to each attack are declared before
you decide which one is real, but only trigger if they
apply to the real attack.
For the purposes of talents, systems and core
bonuses that apply only once a round or activate on
the first attack of a round, all three attacks qualify.
Though the light inside has departed, it still
whispers to you of all the things that are,
could have been, and might yet be.

Once TRIPLE-POINT is dealt with, the bizarre

contortions of space it created begin to unravel. The
process is not pleasant to behold, nor particularly
comprehensible, but within a few hours, the mine has
returned to its former state. Siren contacts the PCs,
reporting that whatever malevolent presence she was
sensing is gone.

Everything seems to be back to normal.

[234]
connection established//ENCRYPT HECTOR-SAMEKH
------------------------------------------------------------
DRIVETRAIN’S SUPER SECRET SIGDIVER HIDEOUT
MOTD:
keep horus vs. horizon drama out of channel, we’re all here to dive
big love to S1GN4L wherever you are right now, miss ya buddy --ADMIN
------------------------------------------------------------
// USER: arcanofex joined the channel //
arcanofex: so i think it can be explained this way
arcanofex: ai generation (your deep learning, your recursive neural networks, etc. etc.) can be
given a prompt – “draw me a plate” – which you express in programming terms as, say, “plate:1”
arcanofex: now, you might need to be more specific to get an image close to what you want
arcanofex: so you can say, “draw me a clean plate” which you would express as “plate:1, clean:1”
arcanofex: now because nongeneral ai does not think the same way we do (indeed it does not “think”
at all, not in any way we would understand) you won’t always get “a clean plate”
arcanofex: sometimes you’ll get a plate that looks like cleaning supplies, because non-g ai doesn’t
“know” things and can’t intuit from context what you want
arcanofex: that is to say, non-g ai is incapable of intuitively synthesizing information
arcanofex: it relies entirely on rules it’s bootstrapped from the dataset you trained it on
arcanofex: but here’s the rub
arcanofex: consider that you instead want a drawing of a dirty plate
arcanofex: the sane and safe way to do this would be “plate:1 dirty:1”
arcanofex: which just asks it to combine its data on plates and its data on dirty
arcanofex: but if you are a true gamer you can also write this “plate:1 clean:-1”
arcanofex: which is essentially a request to the ai to draw, with equal weighting, a plate and
whatever (through its algorithmic interpretation) it considers to be the opposite of clean
arcanofex: now this is actually pretty reasonable for certain things because we understand what the
opposite of clean is
arcanofex: and that’s relatively easy to explain (i.e. with datasets) to an ai
DRIVETRAIN: who the fuck are you and how did you get the password for this channel
// USER: arcanofex PERMABANNED | REASON: fuck off --ADMIN //
// USER: arcanofex joined the channel //
arcanofex: but what happens if you negate something that doesn’t have an obvious negator?
DRIVETRAIN: what the fuck
arcanofex: consider “rock:-1”
arcanofex: what is the opposite of a rock?
arcanofex: the ai, through the data it has been trained on and the system it has developed for
itself, must try to work out what is most unlike a rock
DRIVETRAIN: stop talking who the fuck are you
// USER: arcanofex MUTED FOR 18QSEC | REASON: --ADMIN //
arcanofex: that produces some pretty messed-up things, let me tell you
DRIVETRAIN: what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck
arcanofex: so think, for a moment, on what would happen if we were to give it a prompt like
arcanofex: for the sake of argument
arcanofex: time:-1
arcanofex: [parallel.upc]
DRIVETRAIN: you don’t have upload permissions what the fuck
arcanofex: but here’s another thing to think about: non-g ai doesn’t have (and can’t learn) the
perceptual safety bumpers that humans developed over the millennia
arcanofex: there are reasons there aren’t words for things like the opposite of the sky
arcanofex: there are some thoughts humans instinctively know not to think
arcanofex: some sights they instinctively know not to look at
arcanofex: and some phenomena they instinctively know not to name
arcanofex: non-g ai can’t tell that it’s computing something it shouldn’t, and stop
arcanofex: it has to keep going
// USER: arcanofex left the channel | QUIT: //
DRIVETRAIN: guys holy shit do not download that file
DRIVETRAIN: GUYS
DRIVETRAIN: DO NOT DOWNLOAD THAT FILE

[235]
DOWNTIME 4:
THE GOODS
With the events on Boltzmann behind them, Jerry TALKING WITH ANNABELLE
insists that the team takes a break, and awards them The PCs are welcome to question Annabelle, though
some leave days. No work shifts, no militia duties – Jerry warns them that she’s a guest, not a prisoner.
ideally, he doesn’t want them anywhere near the Even if she was an agent of the enemy until recently,
cockpit of a mech. He’s not sure when the next crisis she’s been badly traumatized and he’s not going to
will come, but they seem to be coming thick and fast so allow her to be subjected to an interrogation.
when it rears its head, he wants the team on top form.
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
Each player may take a downtime action. “You want me to summarize my entire religion? Well,
I’ll try, but I’ll have to skip over a bunch of stuff.
Meanwhile, Siren rejoices as the Dragon’s Tooth gets
another upgrade: the IPS-N “Sailfish” Nearlight “The universe operates in cycles. Our cycle is
Suite. A lot of the abandoned ships sitting in the landing nearing its end, and we determine this by the
bowls around the mine were former Circuit gunboats increasing amount of purposeless suffering. When a
that had nearlight suites installed; the k-couches and cycle nears its end, the ineffable light outside of time
artificial gravity generators that allow the possibility of sends a messenger, in the form of a great bird of fire,
survival during a nearlight bolt. to be our teacher and guide. This is the One Plumed
in Golden Flame.
IPS-N “Sailfish” Nearlight Suite
Ship Upgrade “The great bird of fire is opposed by Leviathan, the
serpent of the deep which feeds on misery and
Finally, the Dragon’s Tooth has the power to subject
wishes to perpetuate cycles beyond their rightful
you to the most dangerous ordeal a human being will
end. The Faith awaits the day of the final battle
ever experience with only a significant chance of
between the great bird of fire and the Leviathan, and
fatality, rather than a guarantee!
in the meantime, we prepare for it as best we can.
Once per FULL REPAIR, the Dragon’s Tooth can
execute a nearlight bolt, per the travel rules on p. 29. “The Leviathan is glutted on suffering, but by acts of
kindness and the alleviation of pain we can starve it.
Although individual acts might do so imperceptibly,
THE TRAUMATISED EXORCIST in aggregate they can give the One the advantage it
If the team rescued Annabelle McKenzie, she’s being needs in the final battle, as the prophecies say its
taken care of by the station’s medical staff. Jerry outcome will be balanced on a knife-edge. Even the
doesn’t fully trust her, given the circumstances, and has smallest act of altruism might tip the scales.
her under constant watch.
“The luminate prophet Idlir Hisari, through inspired
Jerry quickly asks the PCs for advice on a sensitive numerology, divined the date of the final battle three
matter. Members of the Faith on Hell’s Gate have times. But each time the forces of the Leviathan
somehow learned that a Lightcaster was brought back intervened and it failed to manifest. He began to
from Boltzmann, and they want to care for her. Jerry write one last prophecy, but those of lesser faith
thinks this is a major security risk, but he also doesn’t turned on him, and apostates in service to the
want to stir up tensions the Cult could exploit. He’s not serpent murdered him before he could finish it.
sure what to do, and he wants the team’s input.
“The Unfinished Prophecy is the basis of the Faith. It
Outright refusing the Faith’s requests will anger them, contends that the Verses Unwritten were not a curse,
and just as Jerry feared, the Cult will exploit that. Tick but a blessing. The Leviathan’s domain is the
a segment on the Cult Influence clock. corruption and distortion of shapes, and in denying
the future a definite form by allowing himself to be
Releasing Annabelle into the Faith’s care is a gamble, martyred while his work was unfinished, the luminate
but one that pays off. Her experiences have set her prophet robbed the Leviathan of a shape it could
firmly against Ignatius’ doctrine, and she’s seen easily desecrate. The Last Verses are ours to write.
enough of the Calliope Sect’s membership list to help
the Faith root out other Cultists on the Gate. Clear a “Does that about cover things?”
segment on the Cult Influence clock.

[236]
THE CULT THE FIRE GATES
“The Cult isn’t content with the Esoterica Eschaton – “I was a Lightcaster, not a Technologist, so I couldn’t
uh, that is, the rituals the mainstream Faith enacts to tell you how they work, other than that they’re stable
hasten the Great Flame. We were pursuing active blink transit gates. I don’t know how we got hold of
measures that have a more tangible chance of that technology; it’s supposed to be way ahead of
ending the cycle. Basically, we were trying to find anything even the best Union scientists have. But I
technology that can end the universe. suppose I didn’t ask that kind of question.

“We operated on a concept called the Dispensation. “We use them to move between star systems, or
Basically, it vastly expanded our definition of what between locations in a star system. Most systems
‘justifiable suffering’ was in respect to fulfilling the with a Cult cell only have one or two gates, except
prophecies. It was a theological statement that the for Djall, which has seven. We had one on the
ends justified the means. We could steal, torture, Icebreaker, but you blew it up. Ignatius had plans to
even murder in pursuit of them. I’m not proud of it. build another, but he didn’t tell me where.

“Two years ago, something claiming to be the One “The thing is, Ignatius kept telling me that Feather
showed up – Feather. Ever since then, our efforts had revealed a secret to him, a ‘new way’ to use the
were galvanized, especially after she told us stories Fire Gates. He said he’d show it to me when I got
of the awful future where she’d been imprisoned. back, but now I guess I might never know.”

“But in that awful place, I saw another future: the one KANTELE
Feather will bring. She’s not the One. She’s just a “Feather… occupies Kantele? No, that’s not it.
delusional NHP, counterfeiting divinity exactly like Feather is… inside Kantele? Well, no, inside’s not
those monsters CAUSTIC and TRIPLE-POINT.” the right word, either. You just saw what cascading
NHPs can do to space and time, and I now
FEATHER understand that’s she’s the same thing. If you want
“Feather says she was imprisoned in a future without to know where Feather is right now, Kantele is the
blinkspace. ThirdComm had collapsed, and in its most accurate answer, but it’s still not accurate.
place was a regime so awful even SecComm would
have been terrified of it. Fleet commanders were “Ignatius told me that she needs a massive infusion
given total authority over planets they were sent to of energy to ‘advance to the next stage.’ That’s what
‘pacify.’ NHPs weren’t treated like people. One’s he needed the Icebreaker’s mining laser for: to force
grace, she said even the people were barely treated some sort of evolutionary leap. And before you ask,
like people. I don’t think you can get rid of her just by going to
Kantele and blowing it up. You’d just be doing the
“I want so hard to believe it was another lie, just Cult’s work for them.”
another one of her delusions. But the ship that she
spoke of, the Tachyon, that was real! You were on it, IGNATIUS AURUM
you destroyed it. All of Calliope saw it. “He and I were… close. As close as he lets anyone
get, at least. But I still don’t know all that much about
“I want to hate her for usurping the mantle of the him. I know he was born on Nestor, but that’s about
One, but if what she says is true, I can understand it. He never talked about his past. That’s not exactly
why she’d want to end the world. But I’ve also seen weird, though. A lot of us were carrying burdens from
what happens if she succeeds, and it’s not rebirth.” the past we wanted to escape.

HER POWERS “You know, when I look back on it, sometimes I can’t
“When Feather first revealed herself to us, the Elect tell whether he was under the sway of a false idol, or
started manifesting the powers promised to us by the whether she was under his? Is it possible for a god
Esoterica. This was one of signs that the luminate to be suborned to its priests?”
prophet foretold of the One’s arrival – that we would
wield the Flame of Creation as our own and burn the HER PAST
servants of Leviathan wherever they hid. My power “IPS-N sent my family here to rot because dad didn’t
to cast light was no longer metaphorical. get good enough quarterly sales figures. He hit the
bottle pretty hard after that, and… well. Can we talk
“Something scares me. When I learnt the truth about about something else?”
Feather, I renounced my faith in her, but my powers
haven’t gone away. What does it mean when I’ve
turned my back on a false idol, but she hasn’t turned
her back on me?”

[237]
GETTING NEW FRAMES
The PCs have now reached LICENSE LEVEL 4, and some of them might have acquired access to another Frame.
There’s just one problem: licenses are expensive. The last time the PCs got new licenses, the Board of Icebreaker
was footing the bill, but they don’t have that luxury this time. Jerry has a small-fleet contract with IPS-N for equipping
the militia, and a budget for the Special Operations Team that can stretch a little further, but he just can’t afford
anything from the Armory or SSC. As for HORUS, well... quite frankly, they terrify him, and it’s not like you can just
buy their pattern groups anyway.

There are other ways to get your hands on them, though; but a lot are… unconventional. PCs might be able to
salvage an old, abandoned frame and retroactively integrate it into a corporation’s licensing scheme. They might
be able to acquire an entirely legitimate printcode from a deep, dark corner of the omni and run it on the Gate’s
totally above-board printer. They might be able to trade favors, broker deals or run errands in order to raise funds,
get a discount, or acquire the patronage of someone rich.

Then there are more outlandish or serendipitous options:

IPS-N HA HORUS SSC ROLL 1D6

A while back, you pulled a You got “randomly selected” You stop by Happy Noodle Jerry calls you into his office
few favors for some Trunk as a “rookie” in the newest for a quick bite to eat, and and explains to you that he
Security pilots, not really expansion of the Armory’s there are a couple of tech- just doesn’t have the budget
expecting anything in return. mech-based collectible card heads you don’t recognize for an SSC frame. That said,
But now their commander game. They’ll send you a eating next to you. Wow! he knows a guy who knows
1-2 calls you up. “Don’t worry, mech printcode, and they’ll These are the best noodles a guy, the printer on Hell's
we didn’t forget what we even let you keep it after the you’ve ever tasted! You Gate is jailbroken, and you
owe you. I can’t authorize a photoshoot is done. Jerry wake up three days later, in can keep a secret, right?
cash reward, but I can, uh, timidly explains that this was the cockpit of a new mech.
‘lose’ this. Enjoy.” the best he could do.
A precocious child starts An Armory executive and This is the third time you’ve A young Karrakin baron saw
following you all around the very distant relative of yours put in a requisition form and you on Switch’s stream and
station, tugging at your just passed away. For some gotten no word back, so you contacts you. He says he’s
sleeve, insisting they found unfathomable reason, their march into Jerry’s office and “giving this whole charity
something while cubbying. will has a clause leaving all ask what’s up. He’s very thing a try,” and you “quite
3-4 You eventually give in and their mech licenses to you. confused; he approved it clearly need all the help you
take a look. Well hot damn, Accepting this legacy will days ago. He points to a can get.” He gifts you an old
they found a whole mech make you an enemy of their mech in the hangar, which mech of his, stating that he’s
just sitting in an abandoned many illegitimate children. definitely isn’t the model you “got something much better
storage bay, pristine. asked him to get you. nowadays anyway.”
Greetings, loyal sailor! You The salvage teams have Some obnoxious jerk on the An old Sparri who's losing
are the twenty-thousandth been getting good hauls omninet calling themselves their sight insists you accept
customer to purchase the lately, but this is incredible: “Ungratefulest3” has been their tutelage, while they’re
IPS-N [INSERT FRAME HERE]! pirates knocked over an trolling you, evading blocks, “still able to see someone
In addition to the purchased Armory cargo ship, but got hounding you every hour of follow in their footsteps.”
5-6 license, you will receive a run off before they could loot the day, daring you to run a Selling their mech would net
complimentary set of Angler it. The salvage team found printcode. Long story short, them enough cash to fix
Mokume-gane carbide steel an executive’s frame and its the printer is offline again, their eyes, but they'd rather
kitchen knives! Estimated licensing data, but the legal you have a new mech and go blind than stoop to that.
delivery time to your current documents don’t have a Chief McArthur has sworn Gifting it to an apprentice,
residence is: [ERROR] name on them yet... vengeance upon you. though? That’s different.

[238]
CHAPTER 5:

THE HERALD OF CHANGE

“But prophecies are funny things, right? You can interpret them in so many different ways, depending on what you
want to be true. Do you want the world to be ending? Turn the words of the prophecy into a metaphor that fits your
reality. Do you want to discredit a prophet? Then stick to exact meanings, say it hasn’t happened just so.

“Take Idlir Hisari’s prophecies. Look carefully at some of the things he said. ‘When the skies of Karrakis, Cradle
and Ras Shamra blaze with the same dawn.’ Now, that’s clearly a reference to trouble in the Dawnline Shore, right?
The shared dawn is a metaphor, obvious stuff. But if you want to make Hisari look like a crank, all you have to do
is say ‘well, all those planets are light years from each other, how could they ever share a dawn? Checkmate,
firebird-ists!’ Do I think Idlir Hisari could actually see the future? No. Is it fair to make that judgement based solely
on some dogshit literalist reading of his work? No, of course not.

“Hisari said the world would end in a Great Flame, a tide of holy fire that would burn away all our sins. He predicted
it three times, it didn’t happen, some of his followers got tired of him being wrong, and so they killed him. That’s
what everyone remembers, but look what else he predicted: he said John Creighton Harrison II would die violently.
He said the Aun would fight for Boundary Garden and Union would lose. He said distribution of paracausal
technology would decentralize – for fuck’s sake, he described HORUS a century before they were founded!

“And another thing: did you know that he was halfway through writing a Fourth Prophecy when they killed him? It’s
the foundational text that the Faith of the One is built around, and the very first prediction he makes is that he’ll die
before he finishes writing it. I don’t think he could see the future in a literal sense, but people always seem to forget
that before he turned to low-rent religious quackery, the man was a doctorate anthropologist. He understood the
patterns of human behavior, culture, history. He knew how nations act. He knew how false prophets end up.

“And that Fourth Prophecy? Well, here’s my take: it makes a lot more sense if you read it not as a prediction, but
as a set of instructions.”

– Subtext Ísfûr Cowards,

lecture on religious philosophy, 5016u

[239]
BEAT 23:
SITUATION NORMAL
It’s been a few days since the PCs resumed active duty; Andros’ trusted sigdiver S1GN4L found a promising
Jerry was quite generous with the shore leave after the lead, but just before he could confirm it, the PCs
Boltzmann incident. It’s quite likely some of them are attacked the listening post and stole the data. Andros
anxiously waiting for whatever calamity comes next. was forced to wait for the PCs to find the wreck
They won’t be waiting long; when you’re ready to themselves. When they did, he had to deploy in haste,
advance the plot, the next beat begins. lacking a proper compliment of pirates to back him up.

Sparrow isn’t sure whether Ignatius somehow arranged

THE STARVING SUNLIGHTERS for Andros to die on the Tachyon, but they think the dice
It starts dramatically, when a whole mess of pirates fell far too much in the priest’s favor for it to be
show up on the Gate’s doorstep. But just as the militia coincidence. After Andros’ death, Fort Cerberus fell into
is winding up for a fight, the pirates surrender and beg chaos. Various members of the Hounds tried to step
to be let in. They openly admit they’re all that remains into the number one spot, but Ignatius played them
of the Hell Hounds, and they’re at the end of their rope. against each other while somehow staying out of the
firing line himself.
They’re malnourished. Some are starving. Some are
sick. Their ships and mechs are in serious disrepair. Hounds who hadn’t converted to the cult started leaving
Zinfandel takes one look at the flotilla and gives their the Fort in droves, taking whatever jobs they could.
honest opinion: as much as they distrust the Hounds, Things got even worse when it came out some of them
they’re no threat to anyone in this state. Some Hounds had accepted Rodericke Steele’s contract to abduct
still have friends or family on the Gate, and they make people for his arena on Asphodel; that tainted every
impassioned pleas for Jerry to show the pirates mercy. single Hound, whether or not they had been involved.
When the arena fell through, Steele refused to pay what
Eventually, Jerry offers terms: the pirates have to turn he owed. Nobody in the system would hire them, and
over all their weapons, submit to supervised community nobody would sell them food, water, or medicine.
service – of a term that could very well last years – and
he retains the right to exile them again if they act out. By this time, Ignatius ran the Fort in all but name, and
They accept without hesitation. It’s clear that he could had taken to ordering Hounds about whether or not
offer any deal, no matter how draconian, and they’d they were part of the cult. He had started building
accept it. They’re desperate. something in the Fort’s deep chambers, and was
forcing loyalist Hounds to work on it if they wanted to
The only request the pirates make in return is that they eat or drink. Finally, Sparrow says, they’d had enough,
be allowed to deliver a warning. A heavily-tattooed man and was driven to action:
calling themself Sparrow Min wants to talk to Jerry and
the PCs – he mentions them by name. He says he’s “Two weeks ago, I walked straight up to that piece of
okay doing it remotely if they don’t trust him enough to shit, put a gun to his head and told him me and mine
meet in person, but he insists that come what may, he were leaving, and he wasn’t going to stop us. He said
must talk to them; it’s urgent. that whatever I did, I couldn’t thwart the will of God,
so I… I put four fucking bullets in that motherfucker’s
Sparrow was the quartermaster at Fort Cerberus skull, eight in his chest, and I’d fucking do it again! I
before the Hell Hounds fell apart. They put things quite thought it was the best night’s work I’d ever done in
bluntly: just about nine months back, a religious man my fucking life!
named Ignatius Aurum showed up. He asked to be
allowed to preach to the Hell Hounds in return for the “You saw inside a ship that doesn’t exist. You faced
location of good salvage sites. Andros Capella agreed, down the Cult on the Icebreaker. You cracked
and everything went downhill from there. TRIPLE-POINT’s casket. You’ve seen shit no human
should ever see. So explain this to me. I know for a
Ignatius started converting members of the gang with fact Ignatius Aurum was as dead as Harrisons One
alarming speed. By the time Andros noticed the and Two when I left him. I FELT HIM DIE!
problem, the number was high enough to threaten
mutiny. In order to salvage the situation, the pirate boss “So how the fuck was that motherfucker waving to
agreed to a deal: if Andros could locate the derelict me as our ships pulled out of the docking bay?”
Tachyon and bring it to Ignatius, the priest would leave.

[240]
If the PCs crack open the storage unit, they find a few
THE MISSING STREAMER personal effects, some old streaming gear and a mech
During the crisis, another visitor arrives, this time from draped in a tarpaulin – nothing like this is registered in
the Icebreaker: Rat (p. 115). The PCs might have met the logs. There’s evidence of severe damage to the
him during Mission 2. He shows up on Hell’s Gate, and storage unit’s interior around where the mech stands,
within an hour, files a report with the militia: his friend of a pattern suggesting both extreme heat and spatial
Ipswich “Switch” DeLacey is missing. disruption, although the damage is years old. The mech
under the tarpaulin looks exactly like the one Loki
If any of the PCs are friends with Switch, they’ll be Valentinian pilots, but has slightly different livery and
aware that Switch departed for Endymion’s Lament at doesn’t seem to have been used in years.
the same time as the PCs went to Boltzmann. Just
before departing, Switch invited Rat over, clearly
intending to be back in time to meet up with him, but if THE KIDNAPPED BODYGUARD
the PCs inquire at harbor control, they discover Switch It gets worse. At some point shortly after Switch is
hasn’t returned. Rat is very worried, since Switch isn’t declared missing, Sergeant Hemmingsen and Dr.
returning his calls. Nyambose call the PCs to inform them that Corporal
Loki Valentinian has been abducted, along with his
Members of the stream’s moderation crew are also classified, highly experimental mech.
trying to work out where Switch is: they’ve been out of
contact for a more than a week now. Even while in Loki was doing routine maintenance on his mech when
transit, Switch usually keeps their omnihook and VR an unidentified strike team boarded the Armory’s ship,
interface with them so they can keep streaming. It’s not seized control of it and executed a nearlight bolt. Their
like them to miss a stream, let alone several. The trajectory has them heading into the inner system in the
Switchboard is starting to get worried. general direction of Stygia. They want the PCs to
intervene, and they’re willing to pay.
Contacting Endymion’s Lament only makes the
situation more concerning. Their harbor control has a Sergeant Hemmingsen absolutely cannot let it be found
record of Switch arriving eighteen days ago, and out that he lost not only an entire Sam Barber-class
departing a day later, but on a private vessel rather than destroyer, but one of Dr. Odin Valentinian’s priceless
the Hell’s Gate transport they were supposed to ride prototype mechs. He’s willing to pay any price for their
home on. That ship left on a course roughly in line with safe return.
Stygia. The Lament isn’t sure why Switch didn’t make it
back. They can hand over details on the ship, but it fell Dr. Nyambose, meanwhile, doesn’t give a damn about
off their long-range scopes a while back. the hardware; she only cares about Loki’s safety. She’s
also totally fed up with Hemmingsen’s incompetence,
The ship, the ISV Talos, is an SSC Eminence-class and isn’t afraid of telling him to his face.
pleasure yacht, registered to Evelina Bondarchuk. It’s
quite likely this will ring alarm bells for the PCs: she was If the PCs consult either of them on the mech they
the Cult’s mole on the Board of Icebreaker. found in Switch’s storage unit, Hemmingsen seems a
bit nonplussed: sure, that’s a Sunzi, just like Loki’s.
If the PCs investigate, things get even stranger. One of He’s not quite sure how someone like Switch got their
the things recovered after the crisis on Boltzmann was hands on it, but that’s not his problem. Actually, could
PHASE//SHIFT’s personnel database. As it turns out, he perhaps take it off their hands? You know, to replace
Ipswich DeLacey was a miner who got reassigned to a the one that got “lost.”
posting in another system over thirty years ago, and
subsequently went missing in transit. Whoever Switch Dr. Nyambose, however, looks like she’s seen a ghost.
really is, they stole Ipswich DeLacey’s identity because In fact, she has: she’s seen this exact mech before. It’s
he wasn’t available to dispute the matter and looked the one Baldur, Loki’s twin brother, was piloting six
enough like Switch to be convincing. This begs the years ago, on the day of the fatal accident. During a
question of why anyone in the Long Rim would commit routine test, limiters on its blink tunneller failed, causing
identity theft; no-one around here ever asks for papers. it to teleport without a designated endpoint. It was
assumed lost, either scattered subatomically across
The PCs may think to search Switch’s quarters. This the blink or spat out somewhere in interstellar space.
turns up nothing; they don’t leave anything important
lying around while they’re away. However, if the PCs If Dr. Nyambose is shown footage of Switch, she stares
dig deeper, they find out Switch has been renting one for a long time. Finally, she says that when she looks at
of the Gate’s emissions-shielded storage units for six them, she gets an odd feeling. She’s not entirely
years now. If PCs look into the access records, they certain: she’s never heard of this person or watched
find something strange: despite the size and cost of the their stream before, but they seem oddly familiar.
unit, Switch moves almost nothing in or out of it.

[241]
Then, it finally happens.
THE INCREASING TENSION
Things continue to escalate rapidly over the next hour.
The team receives a series of traffic control bulletins The holoprojector flickers, displaying the standby
indicating that ships travelling in the system are starting screen for a livestream: Live from the Long Rim.
to report gravitational disturbances. The reports started That’s Ipswich DeLacey’s show.
in the same orbital neighborhood as Stygia, but seem
to be progressing outwards at the speed of light. Jerry scratches his head. “Shelly, what is this? Why
are we seeing this?”
Then, alerts start popping up on the militia secure
channel. Shelly has registered a series of attempted “That’s our missing resident’s stream, but not just
systems intrusions across Hell’s Gate: someone’s that, Jerry: it’s everywhere! This is being broadcast
trying to gain access to both its public announcement on the Union Emergency Address System!”
system and its mainframe. She managed to stop them,
but only just; she’s had to freeze external data Switch appears on-screen, but they aren’t their usual
connections and lock down the station’s omninode. The perky self. They have their hands raised at shoulder
station can’t stay like this for very long. level, and they look terrified.

But only moments later, there is a priority alert from the “H-hey, lancers, wh-what’s up? It’s, it’s, it’s, uh, it’s
UNS-CV Thames, the Union Navy carrier assigned to ya boi, Switch, back at it again, uh, Live from the
defend the neutral omninode. Long Rim, and, uh, shit, when I say we’ve got one
hell of a show for you tonight, I’m sure not kidding.
BREAK BREAK BREAK ALL STATIONS ALL STATIONS Maybe last one? Ever?”
CLEAR THIS CHANNEL ON MY AUTHORITY
The camera slowly pans around to reveal a large
SENDER: UNS-CV THAMES, CAPTAIN MERCEDES ORDAZ number of heavily-armed soldiers in red, orange and
PURPOSE: INTRUSION ALERT gold hardsuits, amongst which stands a familiar
DISTRIBUTION: WIDEBAND/ALL IN RANGE figure: Ignatius Aurum, High Priest of the One.

THERE HAS BEEN A SYSTEMS INTRUSION ABOARD THE The priest smiles and shakes his head gently. “I
UNION NEUTRAL OMNINODE AND THE EMERGENCY
wouldn’t worry so much, friend DeLacey. Do the
ANNOUNCEMENT SYSTEM (EAS) HAS BEEN CO-OPTED
things I ask, and I swear by the One herself, no-one
will harm you. Now, is the broadcast stable?”
UNTIL THIS SITUATION IS RESOLVED WE CANNOT
GUARANTEE THE VERACITY OF ANY STATEMENT MADE
ON THE EAS Switch replies from offscreen, their voice trembling.
“Full bars. Viewcount currently in the, uh, low
PLEASE REMAIN TUNED TO THIS CHANNEL FOR millions… uh, okay, spiking into the tens already.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION You’re live. They can see you.”

Jerry immediately calls the team, the entire militia and Ignatius nods. “Well, in that case, hello. My name is
all his department heads in for an emergency meeting: Ignatius Aurum, priest of the One Plumed in Golden
Flame. I’m very sorry if I’ve interrupted your normal
entertainment, but I feel compelled to show you
“Guys, briefing room – NOW!”
something. Something you will most certainly never
have seen before. The One Plumed in Golden Flame
THE PUNCHLINE has elected to deliver us her holy champion tonight,
The briefing room is so crowded that by the time and I wish for the whole of Union to see it.”
everyone is present, it’s standing room only. Jerry is
sweating a river, and he looks like he’s about to faint; The camera pans back to Switch, who now looks
this might be the day he finally has a panic attack. He even more concerned. “Well, shit, you heard it here
orders every systems tech to clock in, suggesting they first, folks! Uh, guess we’re about to… uh, see the
temporarily hire the Happy Noodle dorks or even Striga Faith of the One’s rituals! Up close! Personally! First
von Aldenberg to help out. hand! Ha, ha!”

He wants the team to get their mechs ready for There is a prolonged silence. Jerry turns back to the
immediate deployment – to what, he’s not sure, but he’s room, his face utterly expressionless. With an eerie
sure there’ll be something. He wants every mech-rated calm, he mops the sweat off his brow with his tie, and
pilot in the militia on thirty-minute standby, and addresses you in a quiet, perfectly level voice.
emergency response teams at full readiness. “Yeah, we’re gonna put a stop to that.”

[242]
THE MISSION • If the PCs try to contact Ishihara Yaeko, it keeps
going to voicemail.
At long last, this is enough. Jerry has had it. He’s
snapped, and instead of a panic attack, he’s in perfect,
almost unsettling control of himself. He addresses Give a brief insight into the status of Hell’s Gate, but
everyone with a grim determination: he’s done playing this time, in addition to the state of the Station Stability
games and being reactive. Whatever this Cult is doing, clock, consult the Cult Influence clock as well. Switch’s
it’s a dire threat to Calliope and it’s got to stop. He’s not ongoing footage of the Cult’s activities is on every
going to let them grow into another Hell Hounds or public viewscreen in the station. If the Cult Influence
Impact Dynamics situation – this ends tonight. clock has some segments ticked, a few people can be
seen looking at it not with horror or concern, but with
hope and enthusiasm.
If Switch is with Ignatius Aurum, and Ignatius Aurum
was last seen building something on Fort Cerberus,
then Switch – and presumably Loki – have been taken LIVE FROM THE LONG RIM
there. That’s where the team are going. He wants the Switch and their fleet of camera drones are led
abductees rescued, but the team’s top priority is to shut through a series of corridors. Ignatius says they must
down whatever the Cult is building, neutralize as many inspect “a new acquisition” that the Cult just made.
enemies as possible and drive the Cult from the Fort. A ship is docked in a hangar, and something is being
hauled off of it – Loki Valentinian’s Sunzi. Notable is
The team will deploy as a vanguard force and secure a Switch’s reaction to seeing it: they go pale and begin
beachhead for Zinfandel and the rest of the militia to trembling violently, as if they’re having a panic
assault the Fort. Even at a hard 2g burn, most of the attack, when moments ago they seemed to be in
militia’s ships would take four days to reach it, but the control of themselves despite the situation. They
Dragon’s Tooth and a few other ships now have become even more upset when Loki Valentinian is
nearlight suites, and can get there in thirty minutes. The hauled up between two cultists.
weapons package recently installed on the Dragon’s
Tooth makes it the most well-armed ship the Gate has, With a gun to Loki’s head, Ignatius demands he
and the team are its most capable mech pilots. indicate the location of the mech’s “primary blink
actuator,” but Loki tells him to go fuck himself.
Sparrow Min can provide a floorplan of the base as it
currently exists, adding notes about changes the Cult Ignatius prepares to execute the prisoner, but Switch
made since they arrived. They also provide a series of intercedes, desperately promising to show him the
passwords and override codes; their crew changed as location of the component themself. Ignatius is
many as they could on the way out as a final act of surprised, and asks how Switch could possibly know
sabotage. They’re not sure how many will still work, but that. Switch explains that as a Horizon Collective
they’re only two weeks old and they seem pretty sure contact in the Long Rim, they see stolen trade
the Cult can’t have changed all of them yet. secrets and corporate espionage all the time.
Ignatius visibly doubts this excuse, but doesn’t press
the issue, and spares Loki’s life.
PRIOR TO DEPARTURE
It seems like everyone in the system is going through
their own crises right now. Here are a few: THAT’S NOT HOW IT HAPPENED!
It’s just possible either Switch or Loki might not be in
the right place for the Cult to abduct them. If one of
• Rita contacts a PC to vent; it’s been a hell of a day.
the PCs let Switch ride along in their expanded
Another Armory goon got kidnapped; Valentine, his
compartment, they would’ve been on Boltzmann
name was? But that’s just the beginning. Three
instead of the Lament; or perhaps Loki was
men were killed on the Starstrip last night, and
convinced to tag along for Mission 4 in his Sunzi.
you’ll never guess who they were: SecComm
This is fine! The story just goes a little differently.
fugitive recovery specialists. And somehow, they
had playing cards embedded in their skulls.
If Switch is absent, Ignatius Aurum has to set up a
• If a PC befriended Anthony “Cal” Callahan, he stream himself, but he’s far less technically proficient
leaves them a message: “they found me. I’m sorry. with the equipment and camerawork.
I have to go to ground for a while. I won’t go back.”
• Yelda Ergun contacts one of her friends in shock – If Loki is absent, the Cult strike team still brings in
an obsessive stalker found her at the café and the Harrison Armory ship, but it’s Loki’s platoon that
pulled a gun. Suddenly, “that sweet girl who keeps were captured instead. Ignatius is forced to conduct
coming to see me" jumped in front and fought with the ritual without the Sunzi’s superior technology. He
the assailant, but got shot herself. She’s in hospital, loses the MIRAGE’s GLITCH SCANNERS ability.
in critical condition.

[243]
MISSION 5: BRIEFING
The Cult has become a clear and present danger to the

FIREFIGHTER entire system. The team must assault Fort Cerberus

directly, securing a beachhead for additional militia
forces. Then, they must locate the ritual and put a stop
For those who cower in tyrant’s grasp, to it and rescue any abductees. Finally, they must
Come flame, and cleanse. decisively drive the Cult from Fort Cerberus and reclaim
the facility for Hell’s Gate.
For those who toil under slaver’s rod,
Come flame, and cleanse. GOAL: End the threat of the Cult. Seize Fort
Cerberus. Rescue the prisoners.
For those who starve in times of plenty,
Come flame, and cleanse. STAKES: Unclear; the Cult believes their ritual
will deliver a “holy champion.” Failure
For those whose life is living death, here might incur additional damage to
Come flame, and cleanse. the system’s information networks.
The continued safety of the abductees
is also in question.
One above, unfurl your wings,
See with unbound eyes,
REWARD: Dr. Nyambose has contacts on Ras
For we below, your faithful few,
Shamra who can provide funding and
Come flame, and cleanse.
equipment to advance the team to
LICENSE LEVEL 5.
– Faith of the One chant
RESERVES: The PCs have access to any and all
reserves they acquired over the last
four missions.

CLOCKS
The Station Stability clock will not be affected until the
end of the mission.

The Cult Influence clock will not be affected until the

end of the mission.

MISSION STRUCTURE
This is a straightforward mission, with three major
fights. The first, Combat: Silence the Guns (p. 248),
is a Control sitrep to seize control of Fort Cerberus’
defense network.

Next, the PCs must force their way through enemy

opposition and secure an access point for militia
reinforcements in Combat: Break the Line (p. 250), a
Gauntlet sitrep.

After this, there’s a purely narrative combat section as

the PCs and their reinforcements fight through Fort
Cerberus towards the inner sanctum where the Fire
Gate is coming online. This allows the PCs a chance to
really cut loose and do cool stuff.

Finally, Act 1 reaches its climax in Combat: Lift the

Veil (p. 255), where a familiar enemy makes an
unwelcome return.

[244]
BEAT 24:
BREACH AND CLEAR
Having installed the IPS-N “Sailfish” Nearlight Suite, After taking out enough point-defense cannons, Siren
the team now has access to nearlight travel – a good determines that it’s safe to make a deployment pass.
thing, since Jerry wants them to get over to Fort
Cerberus now. Jerry promises that militia backup will Siren is suddenly all business, barking like a drill
be following shortly; they have similar nearlight suites sergeant. “Alright, marines! Into your mechs and out
installed, but the PCs are the vanguard. of the ship! I can pull much tighter turns when I don’t
have to worry about you stroking out! Go kick ass on
There’s a countdown, but it’s meaningless. Nothing the ground while I take care of space!”
can prepare you for the sensation.
Siren’s deployment consists of a low, slow pass close
As close to lightspeed as you are, time is dilated to to the asteroid’s surface, allowing the team to jump out.
roughly one second subjective to ten seconds real, She then executes a breakneck turn and burns straight
meaning that the thirty real-time minutes it takes to up, scorching a large patch of ground up ahead.
fly from Hell’s Gate to Fort Cerberus last only three
minutes from your perspective. They are, in a very “ALKONOST PROTOCOL: ENGAGED.”
real way, the longest three minutes of your life.
As the vanguard force, the team will need to secure a
The pressure is immense. You feel as if a continent beachhead for the rest of the militia. This involves three
is pushing into your chest. It's only thanks to the main objectives, in this order:
mask forcing air into your lungs that you can breathe
at all. The compensating artificial gravity isn’t a
• Seize control of the Fort’s defensive systems,
comforting sensation: as the immense acceleration
turning the remaining guns on the Cult’s ships.
crushes you, you feel as if you’re continually falling
forward into it. Space in front of the ship blueshifts • Penetrate the docking bay, clear out resistance and
violently, and space behind recedes into infrared. force the doors open for the rest of the militia.
• Shut down the cult’s ritual.
There’s another awful lurch as the ship leaves bolt,
fundamental forces violently reasserting themselves.
You feel like you've been run through a trash Siren has put the team as close to a tactical control
compactor. Your ears have popped and you can feel relay as she can. The rest is up to them.
blood pouring from your nose. Your vital signs are all
in the yellow, some dipping into amber. You're barely LIVE FROM THE LONG RIM
fit to pilot, but barely will have to be enough. As the team’s assault begins, alarms begin to blare
on stream. Switch and Loki look concerned, while
When the team comes out of bolt, they’re only a few Ignatius just sighs theatrically and orders the cultists
hundred kilometers away from Fort Cerberus. The to begin the ritual right now, despite their protests
facility’s guns immediately spin up, and the Cult’s ships that it’s not yet ready.
move to engage, but the IPS-N “Maelstrom”
Offensive Suite allows Siren to outfight the station and Ignatius enquires as to the stream’s current view
its defenders. Use this moment to mark a turning point: count. Switch puts it a hundred million concurrent
the Dragon’s Tooth no longer has to run and hide from viewers, and reports with some surprise that they’re
enemy fire – now, it can hold its own, and it’s the being rebroadcast by official Purview channels;
enemies who are on the back foot. unusual, since their stream is usually banned there.

Curiously, the Gate’s stolen mining laser doesn’t come Loki remarks that it’s because of him: the threat to
into play during the engagement. In fact, Siren shows his life was a bluff, a ploy to goad the Purview into
the team some pictures she took during an attack run: broadcasting the footage as propaganda. Ignatius
the turret it should be mounted on is empty. The mining played the Purview like a fiddle. Loki smirks, saying
laser is gone, but the portable reactors that were used he’s impressed.
to power it are still wired in and spun up to maximum
output. Whatever the Cult is doing, it’s drawing a hell of Ignatius smiles back, idly remarking that it wasn’t a
a lot of power. bluff. He then reveals an object at the center of the
room: a portal, just like the one on the Icebreaker.

[245]
[246]
COMBAT:
SILENCE THE GUNS
SITREP: Control (Lancer, p. 268)

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x ELITE CATAPHRACT Charge
1x COMMANDER PRIEST Empowered Shield, Press On!
1x VETERAN DELUGE Point Defense Mode, Shock Armor
1x ASSAULT

FOR 4 PCS: +1x ARCHER Impending Threat

+1x BOMBARD High-Impact Shells

FOR 5 PCS: +1x ASSAULT

+1x BARRICADE Seismic Repulsor

This fight introduces the DELUGE, a powerful artillery-

DETAILS defender hybrid that can cut off areas of the battlefield
The team must seize control of a cluster of targeting by drowning them in bullets. Use LEAD RAIN to force
sensors. These are spread across the asteroid’s players to make hard choices about where they move.
surface, feeding targeting data to the point defense Its POINT DEFENSE MODE gives it the ability to provide
cannons. Distributed targeting sensors decrease the cover and RESISTANCE to nearby allies.
effectiveness of enemy ECM, but also present a
serious vulnerability: the sensor clusters can’t be
disconnected or the cannons will go blind, so each Remember to keep track of the Deluge’s heat – it deals
sensor cluster has a hard link to the Fort’s tactical more damage when it’s in the DANGER ZONE.
network that can’t easily be shut down.
The PRIEST’s COMMANDER template gives it VOICE OF
The team’s targets are clusters of targeting sensors; a AUTHORITY, a powerful support ability that lets allies
tangled mess of radar, laser and thermal antennae and reroll failed attacks or saves. In the heat of battle, it’s
the signal processing hardware they need to make easy to forget about it, so write yourself a reminder if
sense of what they see. you need to. It also has the PRESS ON! quick action,
allowing it to clear STUNNED or JAMMED off its allies.
If the team can tap into the sensor clusters, they can
inject malicious code into the tactical network and seize The Cataphract can cover 16 spaces a turn just with a
control of it. This will let them to shut down the point standard move and a BOOST, so it’s worth saving its
defense system entirely, allowing the rest of the Gate’s special movement abilities for specific situations. Since
strike force to make a safe approach. its CHARGE ignores reactions, use it when it needs to
disengage without taking damage – if it can’t end its
movement within attack range of a PC, that isn’t the
The Low Gravity environmental condition is in effect, greatest tragedy. Save IMPALE for when you have a
as Fort Cerberus’ gravity is over 1,600 times lower than direct line to pull a PC off of a control point.
Cradle standard. Almost all of the surface cover is
impact craters that are either f1 and 1 space deep, or
If present, prioritize using the BOMBARD’s HIGH-IMPACT
f2 and 2 spaces deep. There’s also a scattering of
hastily-erected Size 1 deployable cover units. SHELLS to push characters off control points. The PCs
will probably split up to hold several points, so large
groups of targets are unlikely to present themselves.
Several portable reactors are plumbed in to the local
power grid to compensate for the immense draw of
whatever the Cultists are working on in the core of the If present, the ARCHER can use IMPENDING THREAT to
asteroid. These are Size 3 objects that provide hard punish PCs for doing just about anything, but save it for
cover, but all spaces adjacent to them are dangerous really big plays, like a PC activating a core system or
terrain that deals j due to the immense amount of using a heavy weapon. Players will almost always
heat and static electricity they’re generating. They have choose to take the damage rather than lose the action,
30 HP, 5 EVASION and 5 E-DEFENSE. If destroyed, they so don’t hold back.
explode violently in a d2 area, dealing 12k, half on a
successful AGILITY check.

[247]
OUTCOME PC VICTORY
The team has time for a rest. If one of the PCs had the
PC DEFEAT PATTERN-A JERICHO DEPLOYABLE COVER system and it
If the PCs can’t control the sensor cluster, they can’t got destroyed during this fight, they can repair it for no
override the tactical network and shut down the point cost during the rest after this fight by just picking up an
defense cannons. This will delay the arrival of intact one from the battlefield. If nobody has one, they
reinforcements, as Siren is forced to take each gun out can pick one up as a single use RESERVE. The
by herself. If the PCs have any unused Bombardment battlefield is also littered with hastily-delivered supplies;
RESERVES, they lose access to them in the next fight, each PC may restore one charge of one LIMITED
because Siren is too busy to provide close air support. weapon or system they own.

LIVE FROM THE LONG RIM LIVE FROM THE LONG RIM
A messenger triumphantly reports that an enemy A messenger arrives in a panic, reporting that an
strike force tried to breach the facility’s defense enemy strike force breached the facility’s tactical
network, but was driven away by the Cult’s network, and the defense systems have gone offline.
counterattack. Ignatius grins, gesturing dramatically Ignatius tries not to betray his concern, assuring his
and declaring that the favor of the One is with them followers that the One is with them. He orders his
– Leviathan’s forces shall not stop the ritual. He still forces to secure the hangar bay, seal the doors and
orders troops to secure the hangar bay, just in case. ensure nobody gets through.

Loki turns to Switch, sarcastically commenting that Loki gloats that he’s seen the team go to work back
he thought the team were “elite warriors.” Switch on the Icebreaker; they were good at fighting cultists
snaps back that those “elite warriors” were good then, and he bets they’re even better now. Switch
enough to do Loki’s job for him on the Icebreaker. joins in, plainly stating that Ignatius “shouldn’t have
messed with Hell’s Gate.” While they’re doing this,
They descend into petulant bickering as if they’ve Switch claps Loki on the shoulder in an oddly familiar
known each other for years, while Ignatius and the gesture, apparently unaware of themself. Loki reacts
other cultists watch in confusion. with astonishment, like they just saw a ghost, but
shakes it off and goes back to roasting Ignatius.
The PCs can rest, and then move to secure the main
hangar bay so the reinforcements can help storm the Ignatius’ expression sours, and he takes a deep
Fort. Move to Combat: Break The Line (p. 250) breath. There’s a dangerous clench in his jaw.

With the Fort’s tactical network compromised and the

guns offline, the PCs must now secure the main hangar
bay. Move to Combat: Break the Line (p. 250).

[248]
COMBAT:
BREAK THE LINE
SITREP: Gauntlet (Lancer, p. 271)

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x ELITE ASSAULT High Impact Rounds, Underslung Grenade Launcher
1x VETERAN BASTION Deathcounter, Near-Threat Denial System, Insulated
1x LOBBER Assault Launcher

FOR 4 PCS: +1x VETERAN ACE Bombing Bay, Strafe, Headshot

FOR 5 PCS: +2x PRIEST

REINFORCEMENTS
FOR 3 PCS: 1x ARCHER Blinding Shells
1x SLINGER Impossible Ricochet, Shouldna Aughta

FOR 4 PCS +1x HORNET

FOR 5 PCS: HORNET: Add VETERAN template and HACKER trait.

+1x CATAPHRACT Charge

The SLINGER makes a return, this time boasting the

DETAILS SHOULDNA AUGHTA reaction, which lets them place
The team must push through enemy forces to the their Deathmark on a PC who attacks the Slinger’s
control module at the rear of the hangar bay so that allies. Since RING THE BELL is a protocol and must be
they can force the internal and external doors open. used before movement, it’s important to position the
Slinger in places that are likely to give it access to
The hangar bay is oriented vertically in relation to the marked PCs on the start of its turn.
direction of Fort Cerberus’ miniscule gravity – its bay
doors are technically “up” and its back wall is “down.” The LOBBER also returns, this time with a long-range
Characters or objects would technically “fall” towards option in the form of ASSAULT LAUNCHER. Remember
the back of the hangar bay, but at a rate so slow it that this is a Recharge ability, so it won’t always have
wouldn’t be noticeable. Low Gravity is in effect. access to it – throw some grenades out early, then start
getting closer.
There are several ships docked in the hangar bay: large
pieces of Size 3 cover much longer than they are wide. The BASTION should get as close as it can to the PCs,
Between them are the gangways used for loading or preferably while screening a close-range ally like the
unloading, and PCs can use their mechs’ standard- Slinger. Try and goad melee-focused PCs into hitting it:
issue mag clamps to walk on them. This presents the NEAR-THREAT DENIAL SYSTEM will give them a nasty
several narrow lanes of approach to hangar control, little surprise.
and it is these that the team must fight through.
The ASSAULT has both HIGH IMPACT ROUNDS and
The ACE is incredibly maneuverable due to its STRAFE UNDERSLUNG GRENADE LAUNCHER. This gives it a high
trait, and should try to pass over PCs as much as burst damage potential, but also leaves it without a
possible to make use of the damage STRAFE deals, as ranged attack if both are unloaded at once. If it finds
well as the bombs from BOMBING BAY. If the PCs are itself in this situation, it might be worth holding the extra
struggling, remind them that all mechs can INVADE, and turn it gets from ELITE until the PCs have all taken their
that the standard FRAGMENT SIGNAL option inflicts turns so that it may reload safely.
SLOWED, which will shut down all of the Ace’s mobility
tools, including its lifesaving BARREL ROLL.
If the PRIESTS are present, have them hang back and
use Investiture on a mid- or long-range enemy like the
If the team tries to split down multiple lanes at once, DELUGE or the ASSAULT.
remember that the ACE and the HORNET (if present) can
reposition themselves and hassle multiple lanes far
more easily than ground mechs.

[249]
OUTCOME
PC DEFEAT PC VICTORY
If the PCs can’t gain control of the hangar doors, the If the PCs gain control of the hangar doors, the militia
rest of the militia will need to breach them manually, reinforcements begin to flood into the bay, and any
which will give the enemy time to regroup. The narrative remaining Cult forces begin falling back, retreating
combat section in Beat 25: Apocalypse (p. 252) will deeper into the Fort. The narrative combat section in
be more fraught and difficult, as the reinforcements will Beat 25: Apocalypse (p. 252) will be more triumphant,
have to spend time breaching the hangar bay and as the militia have a solid beachhead from which to
claiming the ground the PCs were unable to. launch their offensive.

LIVE FROM THE LONG RIM LIVE FROM THE LONG RIM
The cultists let out a cheer as the team is forced to Intrusion alarms begin to blare as the team breach
retreat from the hangar bay, but Ignatius remarks the doors and the militia flood into the hangar bay.
that it’s not over yet: with the defense network offline, Ignatius orders a retreat, instructing his remaining
more enemies will arrive. The day isn’t won until the forces to converge on this chamber and defend it to
ritual is complete; he orders safety checks on the their last breath. He orders safety checks on the Fire
Fire Gate to be expedited. Gate to be skipped, and to begin powering it up now.

Despite the team’s setback, Loki continues taunting Loki gloats, emboldened by the team’s success;
the cult. What, if anything, has changed? Ignatius is Ignatius, he says, is “going to die a terrorist in a
still trapped in here, with no exits but the Fire Gate; stupid golden mask, conducting a pointless ritual in
Loki snidely asks if he plans to become a martyr like service of a false god.” Switch joins in, hesitant at
Harrison I, die in a fireball like Harrison II, or if he’s first, but then with increasing eagerness, heaping
going to pull a Harrison III and flee. mockery upon the cult leader.

Ignatius replies with a similar question: which of his Ignatius snaps back at Loki, calling him a spoilt,
family members does Loki plan to imitate? It can’t be arrogant brat who never knew a real day’s hardship
his mother, surely, the branded traitor? Perhaps his in his life. Loki initially laughs this off, but Ignatius
father, the manipulative weapons designer? Loki then brings up Loki’s father, Odin, and states that
gets steadily angrier as Ignatius continues, until a they’re indistinguishable, which infuriates Loki. Then
line is crossed: “your twin brother, perhaps? Yes, I Ignatius crosses a line: he says he “thought that
can see someone as arrogant as you becoming losing a twin might teach you some empathy, but
another statistic.” apparently that’s not a Valentinian trait.”

Loki lunges at Ignatius. One of Ignatius’ guards Loki lunges at Ignatius. One of Ignatius’ guards
overreacts, shooting Loki twice in the stomach. overreacts, shooting Loki twice in the stomach.
Switch lets out a panicked scream. Switch lets out a panicked scream.

Your comm feed opens up; it’s Jerry. “Oh my god! Your comm feed opens up; it’s Jerry. “Oh my god!
One of the hostages has just been shot! Forget One of the hostages has just been shot! You have
waiting for a regroup! End this!” the advantage! Go in now and end this!”

[250]
BEAT 25:
APOCALYPSE
With the hangar breached – one way or another – the If they want to activate their Atlas’ Jäger Kunst and wall-
Gate’s militia pours into the Fort. Now the team has the run to chop off an enemy’s sensor dome with their
numbers at their back to push into the fort, and the real Terashima Blade? Let them do it. If they want to push
fighting begins in earnest. the targeting systems of their Death’s Head to their
limit, snapping off perfect shot after perfect shot, say
The sound of the Faith’s hymns echoes through the yes. If they want to make every enemy in a squad turn
fort, almost drowning out the noise of gunfire. on each other with the Goblin’s systems, say yes.

There were so many militia volunteers for this mission Emphasize how the militia is fighting like they’ve never
that they couldn’t fit them all onto the bolt-capable fought before. This isn’t just a moment of triumph for
ships, but make sure all the familiar faces from previous the team, it’s one for the whole of Hell’s Gate. The
missions are here: Zinfandel DeJean, Printloaf, L-Kay, station and its guardians are no longer on the back foot,
some of the outlander volunteers from Asphodel and desperately struggling just to ward off tiny pirate bands:
any NPCs you’ve created who are militia members. they’re taking the fight directly to the foe’s doorstep. It’s
still a moment of triumph for the players characters, too;
it's them that got Hell’s Gate and its militia this far.
LIVE FROM THE LONG RIM
Loki lies on the floor, face rapidly going pale, letting
Let the players have the spotlight most of the time, but
out a thin, keening moan. Switch rushes over to him,
make sure to show the rest of the militia being cool in
screaming for a medkit. The soldiers hesitate, but
the background. Zinfandel’s Drake is a wall against
Switch threatens to cut off the stream; the last image
which the Cultist’s strongest fighters shatter, behind
Union will ever see of the Cult is them executing an
which the rest of the militia can shelter. Printloaf’s
unarmed man. Ignatius, for what it’s worth, is clearly
Lancaster dashes around the battlefield, extinguishing
horrified by what happened, and orders that Switch
fires, patching up damage and laying down covering
be given what they need. A standard-issue Armory
fire. L-Kay’s Tortuga lumbers forward, Decksweeper
medkit is quickly brought over.
shotgun roaring, breaking the enemy line.
Switch begins treating Loki’s wounds with a level of
The Cult regroups to push back against the Gate’s
expertise in field medicine that seems out-of-place
forces, but ships from the Icebreaker Borealis and
for an omninet streamer. Loki mumbles deliriously,
Furnace City start dropping out of bolt. Tacnet registers
going into shock. Switch reaches into the Armory
dozens of new friendly mechs on scope. The local
medkit to grab supplies without looking for them, as
comm channels start to fill up with cries of “for Calliope!”
if they know the layout by heart.
The team can hear their callsigns being chanted.
Ignatius turns away from the scene, towards the Fire
Gate. The assembled cultists begin chanting as the LIVE FROM THE LONG RIM
spatial aperture forms, glowing with firelight. Loki is losing too much blood. Switch pulls out a
transfusion pump and taps their own vein. Loki,
despite his delirium, furiously objects – Switch can’t
MAINTAIN THE PRESSURE just perform a random blood transfusion! They don’t
The first section of this beat is purely narrative combat; know if the two of them have compatible blood types!
there aren’t combat encounters or enemy compositions
for this section. The PCs have a huge number of Switch, with tears in their eyes, puts a hand on Loki’s
reinforcements at their back, and enough supplies to shoulder, and tells him not to worry: identical twins
ensure that any damage they take can be quickly always share a blood type.
patched up.
Loki’s eyes go wide, and he utters a single word, just
This is a time for the PCs to look cool, for players to flex audible above the cult’s hymns: “… Baldur?!”
their descriptive chops and indulge in some free-form
power fantasy, and for you to let them show how far The chat goes wild.
they’ve come as a team and as lancers. Let them go
wild: if their mech could possibly do the cool thing
they’re describing, let it happen and describe how On the other side of the Fire Gate’s spatial aperture,
wicked it looks. something begins to move…

[251]
MOMENTS IN THE BATTLE IN ALL HIS TERRIBLE GLORY
A couple of rookies are pinned down by At a suitable juncture, allow the players to take a rest,
and then proceed to the final confrontation.
enemy fire, but with a roar of EVA jets,
1-2 Zinfandel leaps their Drake into the fray,
their Leviathan Cannon’s barrels glowing Most of the Cult’s forces lie smashed and broken,
red-hot, shell casings flying everywhere. overwhelmed by the Gate’s militia. The few of them
still standing have retreated to the inner sanctum,
Three scrappy outlander rigs team up to
where Ignatius continues his ritual. Fighting is brutal,
take down a larger mech, systematically
3-4 and even vastly outnumbered, the remaining cultists
and efficiently tearing it to pieces while not
fight with a ferocity born of desperation.
taking a scratch themselves.
Clip Magazine’s Sherman Mk. I marches You’re able to force your way through the line,
down a hallway, howling insults at Cultists pushing into the sanctum. It is filled with dozens of
as he lays into them with his laser rifle. He worshippers, their voices raised in song. At its center
5-6
pauses briefly to pop his cockpit, touch a is the Fire Gate, blazing with light. Through its spatial
cigar to a glowing-hot heat sink, and take aperture, you can see a shadowy figure, blurred by
a drag before closing the hatch again. the intense heat. There is something oddly familiar
The sound of a Cultist battle hymn echoes about its silhouette.
through the halls, an ominous chorus of
7-8
voices chanting fanatical affirmations of Off to one side of the chamber, there’s a shielded
how little they fear death. platform upon which the control systems for the gate
A fireteam of Icebreaker Mutual Security have been placed. It’s empty, except for Switch and
pilots in Everests lay down suppressing Loki, who are cowering behind the consoles while
9-10 Switch’s camera drones hover above.
fire as one of their members slowly inches
forward, thermal lance blazing.
Printloaf’s Lancaster backs up through a You notice that the chanting that has been ringing
11-12 corridor in a fighting retreat, assault rifle out through the halls has suddenly stopped.
flashing in time with its light nexus.
A Cultist mech twitches and spasms as it’s Standing next to the Gate is Ignatius Aurum, wearing
some sort of powered armor halfway between a
subjected to some kind of brutal electronic
hardsuit and a mech. It has a piece of technology
assault from a spiky little frame barely
13-14 haphazardly strapped to its back that you recognize
larger than a person. The mystery mech
as being torn from Loki Valentinian’s mech. He is
turns to you and signs [best wishes
flanked by eight robed and hooded figures.
friends] before vanishing around a corner.
L-Kay’s Tortuga scrambles at full speed
The shape on the other side of the aperture begins
out of a cargo bay, a grenade clutched in
to advance. A giant pair of flaming wings unfold from
each hand. Its torso turns independently of
behind it as it approaches.
15-16 its legs, and it hurls both grenades back
the way it came. There is a teeth-rattling
explosion, followed by a cloud of shrapnel Ignatius turns his head back towards you for a
and dismembered mech limbs. moment. “You’re too late! It’s done!”
A militia Raleigh rests its bolt thrower on
The lensed space around the portal contorts as the
the turret of a Swallowtail, steadying its
17-18 figure steps through, and it is at this moment you
aim before punching a slug straight
know where you’ve seen this thing before: a broad,
through an oncoming Blackbeard.
squat mech in red and black livery, a stylized hound
Panicked comms chatter from the Cult’s on its shoulder, erupting into a pillar of flame.
remaining subline vessels suggests Siren
is single-handedly tearing them to pieces. Andros Capella steps out of the Fire Gate.
One ship desperately requests permission
19-20
to withdraw, but the transmission cuts out
abruptly, replaced by static. At the same “You have no idea how much trouble you’re in.”
time, the Hell’s Gate tacnet gets a ping
from Siren: “scratch another one.”

[252]
[253]
COMBAT:
LIFT THE VEIL
SITREP: N/A

ENEMY FORCES
FOR 3 PCS: 1x ANDROS – ULTRA PIRATE PYRO Size 2
Pyro: Explosive Jet, Unshielded Reactor
Pirate: Boarding Leash, Splinter Rounds
Ultra: Limitless, Ravager Turret
1x IGNATIUS – ELITE CUSTOM PRIEST Priest: Empowered Shield, Fractal Assault
Mirage: Glitch Scanners
4x GRUNT VEHICLE ENGINEER Treads or Hover

FOR 4 PCS: IGNATIUS: Add COMMANDER template and BOLSTER NETWORK trait.
+1x RONIN Extended Blade

FOR 5 PCS: ANDROS: Add VETERAN template and either ACROBAT or LESSER SIGHT trait.
+1x ASSAULT High Impact Rounds

IF KANTELE WAS CRACKED

FOR 3-5 PCS: 1x ASPECT – EXOTIC MONSTROSITY Size 2, Grasping Claws, Swift, Winged
Exotic: Chronotorus

This is it: the climactic confrontation of Act 1. Hold

DETAILS nothing back. This is a complex fight, not due to a
There’s a major concern in this fight: the Fire Gate. The particularly large number of NPCs, but due to the NPCs
Fire Gate’s aperture is a Size 3 obstruction maintained individual number of traits and abilities. Consult the
by four struts adjacent to it. At the beginning of a round, roster above and familiarize yourself with each.
if any non-GRUNT members of the enemy force have
been destroyed, the Gate resurrects one of them in a
space adjacent to the aperture at full HP, 1 Structure ANDROS is more powerful than the last time the PCs
and 1 Stress. The previous wreck disintegrates. fought him: now he and his mech are imbued with the
power of Feather, in her role as the One Plumed In
Golden Flame. Note that separate instances of the
Each strut is a Size 2 object with 15 HP that provides DEADLY trait from the ULTRA and PIRATE templates
hard cover. Destroying two struts will collapse the don’t stack, and bonus damage on a critical hit from the
Gate, preventing further resurrections. Loki and Switch FLAMETHROWER is i, rather than m. Andros always
will point this out the first time it resurrects an enemy. prioritizes hurting the PCs, even to his own detriment.
After the fifth, they’ll shut the gate down themselves.
Meanwhile, IGNATIUS is a potent support character
whose DISPERSAL SHIELD can provide OVERSHIELD in
addition to its RESISTANCE. If enemies attack either
Ignatius himself or whoever he’s linked to – likely
Andros – FRACTAL ASSAULT can punish them. He also
has the Mirage’s GLITCH SCANNERS trait, allowing him
to reposition Andros both actively and reactively.

If the cult successfully cracked Kantele in Mission 2,

things get even worse: Feather manifests an ASPECT of
herself on the battlefield. As a MONSTROSITY, the
Aspect is immune to all tech actions except LOCK ON
and receives all l as j damage. Its GRASPING CLAWS
and SWIFT traits combine to allow it to grab an enemy
with GRAPPLE and then BOOST away. The Aspect can’t
be resurrected by the Fire Gate; once it’s dead, Feather
can’t so easily manifest it again.

[254]
ENEMY MECH
ANDROS CAPELLA
Ultra Pirate Pyro
Defender

For lo, amongst you walks the promised champion. A stranger to you they are,
uninitiate, yet adorned of all signs of the One’s favor.

– excerpt, Idlir Hisari’s Final Prophecy

HUL: +1 HP: 15 Armor: 3 ULTRA

AGI: -1 Evasion: 8 Speed: 2 As an ULTRA, ANDROS:
SYS: -1 E-Defense: 8 Save Target: 10 • Takes two separate turns each round, or three if
ENG: +3 Heat Cap: 12 Sensors: 8 there are 5 or more players.
• Has 4 structure and 4 stress.
• Can clear one condition affecting him at the start
of his turn and repair one destroyed system or
weapon at the end of his turn.
• Deals +1d6 damage on critical hits.
• Can OVERWATCH any number of times a round
• Rolls all structure and stress checks twice and
chooses either result.
SYSTEMS
The Great Flame SKIN OF ASH Trait
Heavy CQB, 4l (self), +1 vs Evasion Andros has IMMUNITY to m.
[c5] [3m] Flame harms them not, yet is beside them always
This weapon deals double m to characters that as loyal counsel.
already have any m.
INNER FURNACE Trait
Behold their sword, blazing like the stars.
Andros can OVERCHARGE. Instead of the standard
cost, he always gains 1d6l.
Manifest Wrath
Heavy Cannon, +1 vs Evasion, +1g Inside them is a light, like sunfire but twice
[b10] [4i] as hot, and they shall never tire.
This weapon simultaneously attacks every hostile PIERCING IRE Trait
character within line of sight and RANGE. Andros deals +3 bonus damage on critical hits.
When they are moved to anger, the ground Their words are not gainsaid; see as those
itself trembles in fear. stood in opposition fall silent.

Summon Wings of Flame

Heavy Melee, Thrown 5, +1 vs Evasion, +1g System, Recharge 5+, Quick Action
[a1] [5i] Enemies in d2 must pass a HULL save or be
On Hit: Target must pass a HULL save or be pulled knocked outside of the area and be knocked PRONE.
directly to Andros and automatically GRAPPLED. Andros then flies 5 spaces in any direction, but must
Even now they beckon all unto them, and none land after completing that move.
may refuse. Even now, they soar into the sky. The wings
of the One are theirs to unfurl.
BLAZING TRUTH Trait
Characters that start their turn adjacent to Andros or Radiant Tide
become adjacent to Andros for the first time on their System, Full Action
turn take 2l. Andros clears all l. Characters in d1 must pass an
Their words hold such intensity that the AGILITY save or take l equal to half the amount
scribes set to record them see their paper Andros cleared and be knocked PRONE.
blacken and their ink bubble. Watch as all kneel before them.

[255]
Within a couple of hours, the militia have secured the
OUTCOME rest of Fort Cerberus. There are a couple hundred
PC DEFEAT cultist prisoners in total – transporting and holding them
If the PCs are unable to triumph here, Andros Capella is going to present a logistical issue, which Jerry will
rises triumphant as the undisputed holy champion the have to address at a later date.
Cult has been seeking. Within days, thousands of new
converts have flocked to his side. The PCs are missing In the meantime, he orders the militia to strip Fort
in action, either captured or dead, along with the militia Cerberus down: every piece of useful equipment, right
members who deployed with them. The military power down to the deck plating, every loose chunk of ore and
and morale of Hell’s Gate is shattered. The station will every scrap of intelligence. He’ll send salvage teams to
likely fall to the Cult within weeks. assist within the week. His orders are quite clear:
nothing is to be left behind. If any other group wants to
This is functionally game over – the situation might be turn this place into a lair in the future, Jerry wants to
recoverable, but escaping from such a dire situation is force them to start from scratch.
far beyond the scope of this campaign.
“That place is of no economic or tactical value to us.
PC VICTORY Maintaining it would be a waste of time and money.
Capella’s mech slumps forward, digging its fist into But like hell I’m leaving it behind for another group of
the deck plating. pirates to hole up in.”

“You did this once before, and it didn’t take. Be seein’ WINDING DOWN
you again real soon.” His face splits into a mad grin. The next few weeks are very calm in comparison to
what the team has just been through. Jerry’s promised
Then his mech falls to pieces, its plating blackening salvage crews arrive six days after the assault, and
and crumbling like charcoal. The ash that was begin the process of stripping Fort Cerberus. Notable
Capella drifts apart, suspended in microgravity in a among them are a few of the surrendered Hell Hounds,
slowly-expanding cloud. including Sparrow Min, working under heavy
supervision since they know the place.
Ignatius Aurum lies nearby, his own body also
disintegrating. You have just enough time to catch Switch and Loki, meanwhile, quickly locate the stolen
the look of bewilderment on his face before he, too, Armory destroyer and camp out aboard it. With the two
is gone, leaving only his powersuit behind. The eight of them working together, it only takes them a couple of
hooded figures remain silent as they crumble to dust. days to repair the damage the Cult did to Loki’s Sunzi.
The two are overjoyed to be reunited, and it makes for
The crowd of worshippers in the chamber cease their good footage. Once that’s done, they both pitch in to
hymn and fall to one knee in solemn, silent help the salvage crews.
reverence. For a moment, all is quiet.
No trace of Evelina Bondarchuk can be found: she was
The remaining cultists make no further attempts to long gone before the assault began, and records of her
oppose the team, the Gate’s militia or their former ship’s last known trajectory were deleted.
prisoners. Even they aren’t sure what they witnessed.
Jerry puts Zinfandel DeJean charge of security for the
Switch and Loki emerge from their vantage point. They operation, and asks for daily updates.
won’t leave each other’s side for any reason, and will
fight to remain together if anyone tries to separate It will take a month to pull Fort Cerberus apart. Jerry’s
them. Switch has broken more than a billion concurrent order of “down to the deck plating” doesn’t quite get
viewers on their stream; people from all over Union fulfilled, but there’s no electronics left, no weapons and
tuned in to watch what was unfolding. The chat is no supplies. The reactor has been disassembled and
scrolling by at millions of messages per minute. enough bulkheads were cut open that none of the
remaining sections can hold atmosphere. It won’t quite
Switch clears their throat, glancing between you and be from scratch, but any pirate trying to use this as a
their camera drones. “I want everyone to meet base has a broken skeleton and nothing else.
someone real important to me. This is my twin
brother, Loki Valentinian.” As for the PCs, Jerry makes it quite clear to them that
there isn’t a shadow of a doubt in his mind now: he put
Loki clutches Switch, sobbing loudly. the right team together. He trusts them implicitly, and
he calls them home immediately. Proceed to DOWNTIME
5: CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION.

[256]
DOWNTIME 5:
CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION
The PCs have triumphed in the face of unimaginable THE REAL JERRY
adversity. They’ve proven themselves the equal of any One evening, Jerry calls the PCs into his office, locks
threat Calliope has to offer, from anti-capital corvettes the door, and offers them coffee.
to dimensional horrors. When they finally return from
Fort Cerberus, there’s a hero’s welcome waiting for
them on Hell’s Gate. “Listen, guys. This is the Long Rim. We all play our
cards close to our chests. We don’t trust many
people with our pasts, ‘cause a lot of us came out
From the moment you step out of the Dragon’s here to escape them. But a lot of peoples’ pasts
Tooth, there’s applause. Every dockhand you pass seem to be coming back to haunt them lately, so…
tips a salute, a bow or some other gesture of respect.
“You don’t have to tell me who you all are. What you
The feeling of pride only grows stronger as you take carry with you. But something’s coming. And to get
the elevator down into the hab ring. The moment you through it, to keep everyone on this station alive, we
step out, there are cheers. You can hear people need to trust each other. I feel like I can trust all of
chanting your names and callsigns. They’re lined up, you, whether or not I know your history. But I want to
hundreds of them, maybe thousands, every single prove it, so here’s mine.”
one of them cheering for you.
The rumors are true: in a previous life, he worked for
Almost the moment you leave the elevator, Jerry Union’s Department of Justice and Human Rights.
somehow tackles all of you in a hug. His ridiculous Michelle Akela DeWinters served three tours of duty on
tie is askew, his shirt is buttoned all wrong and he’s a liberator team, uprooting dictatorships and punishing
obviously been crying. slavers. Michelle’s team was on a roll; that was, until
the Nestor Intervention.
“You did it! You did it! Christ the Buddha, you did it!”
Nestor (detailed on p. 47) is a Diasporan planet in the
To say things are different after the team returns from Himalaya Line. A troubled first contact with Union gave
Fort Cerberus would be an understatement. If they rise to a fascist movement known as the Forefront, and
succeeded in putting down Andros Capella a second the DoJ/HR was forced to intervene. When they
time, they’ve proven that their previous victory wasn’t a arrived, however, they discovered a world prepared for
fluke – all of Calliope was watching this time. war, having reverse-engineered mechanized chassis.

People on station concourses ask for their autographs. Michelle spent the next five years on Nestor, and saw
Every child born this month is named after one of the the aftermath of countless Forefront atrocities. None of
PCs. Every day they wake up to new gift boxes outside this would even have made it the worst job of her
their doors. There’s a brief period where folk who get career, but then came the “rescue” of Amren Kendrick.
assigned work shifts with one of the Heroes of Calliope
start selling them for ingots or icicles, and after the third Amren Kendrick had been described to Michelle’s team
bar brawl, Jerry and Chief McArthur have to ban the only as “a specialist of high standing.” The team had to
practice of shift-hawking entirely. hot-drop into an active warzone in a major city, and lost
a member on the way in. Once they got to him, Michelle
Jerry announces a formal award ceremony after the had a front row seat to watch another team member
Fort Cerberus salvage job is completed and everyone turn into a fine mist. They’d come under fire from an
is back home safely. That’ll be at least a month away, Albatross squad, who seemed to think the team were
so Jerry insists that the PCs take the time for some mercenaries attempting to extract a war criminal.
proper R&R “while they can” – he’s sure that the peace Michelle lost another teammate trying to get out.
Calliope has won right now is just a brief respite.
As it turns out, Amren Kendrick was a specialist; a
It isn’t universally good news, though. The temple the chemical weapons specialist. Michelle had seen his
Faith of the One set up on the fore hab ring is handiwork dozens of times, all over Nestor: it had killed
repeatedly vandalized. Known adherents of the Faith millions, and maimed millions more. But Kendrick saw
are treated with suspicion, verbally abused in public which way the wind was blowing, and cut a deal with
and shunned during work shifts. A couple show up in Union: betray the Forefront in return for clemency.
the clinics with bruises and cuts. Jerry condemns the Eager to bring a messy war to a swift end, Union
attacks, but there’s not much he can do to stop them. reluctantly agreed.

[257]
Michelle lost all but one of her team and killed two Dr. Valentinian, Switch says, works as a weapons
Albatross Loyal Wings, all to bring home a monster. designer for the Armory, but has no real loyalty to them;
After that, it was difficult to sleep, and she didn’t do well he considers his relationship transactional. He designs
on the psych evals either. Union tried to soothe the pain their weapons, and in return he gains access to the
by pinning a bunch of medals on her, but eventually, resources and facilities he needs to develop a weapon
Michelle was offered early retirement and took it. There that can kill YMIR.
was a very brief flirtation with the idea of vigilante
justice, but Kendrick had long vanished into the system. His current project, miniaturizing blinkspace transit
technology to a degree that it could be installed on
“Wish I could say something heroic, like I, uh, like I starships and even mechs, stalled until he stole
came to Calliope to find him? Nah, I came here to something from the Volador that they called El Cuchillo
lose myself.” Sin Forma, “The Shapeless Knife.” Switch was
accessory to the theft without their knowledge: they
But as it turns out, Jerry found himself instead. Out thought they were participating in a training simulation,
here, he finally got to work out who he was. He got to when in fact they were remotely piloting a mech, killing
be Jerry, not Michelle. As much as life in the Long Rim real people in an unprovoked assault.
is hard, it’s also morally straightforward; Jerry might
second-guess his own choices, but he never has to ask That was eight years ago. Two years later, Baldur
whether he’s fighting for the right side. found out about it, and departed the family’s Dawnline
Shore research campus in spectacular fashion during
a test run of the Sunzi, Odin’s testbed mech. As Switch
THE REAL SWITCH tells it, they were able to hide the fact that they were
If Ipswich DeLacey is friends with one or more of the performing a very-long-distance directed teleport by
PCs, they call them in for a chat one afternoon. severely overloading the mech’s reactor. They needed
a scan-shielded storage unit (rented in advance) to
Switch stands next to Loki. When they talk, you thwart attempts to discover where they’d jumped to.
notice it’s not with their regular voice and accent; in
fact, it sounds exactly like Loki’s. Now that you notice Baldur chose Calliope specifically because of its large
it, they sound almost identical. population and the presence of PHASE//SHIFT, whose
personnel database he had access to. He assumed
“I suppose I owe you an explanation. Ipswich Ipswich DeLacey’s identity because he was a rough
DeLacey really is my name nowadays, but I was match for Baldur’s height and build; he then modified
born Baldur Valentinian. This rowdy customer over his appearance to more closely match Ipswich.
here is my twin brother, Loki.”
The streamer gig was initially a ruse – Switch knew
Loki grins, but remains silent, letting Switch continue. their father would know all the counter-intelligence
tactics they’d been taught, and so tried not to use them.
“Our father, Dr. Odin Valentinian, is Harrison Instead, they set themselves up in a very visible career
Armory’s foremost expert on blinkspace technology. that wouldn’t seem obvious as a hiding place. But as it
Trust me, it isn’t family loyalty that makes me say happens, Switch actually likes who they’ve become.
that: there’s only one man in the galaxy whose This is an identity they chose for themselves, rather
knowledge of blinkspace even comes close. Dad’s a than having it chosen for them by their father.
bona fide genius, but he’s also a madman. From
birth, he trained me and my brothers Thor, Tyr and Switch says Evelina Bondarchuk used a name to
Loki to be soldiers in his war against God.” compel Switch to come with her: Lyra Van Kraanen.
That’s their mother, Odin’s ex-wife. She left the family
They pause for a moment. “I know how… absurd that more than a decade and a half ago, and hasn’t been
must sound. Trust me, I do. Why do you think both heard from since. Switch and Loki are very concerned
of us left?” by this: that name would’ve been easily associated with
Loki, but they can’t work out how Evelina knew it would
Switch explains that their father is convinced of the mean something to Switch.
existence of a godlike being similar to an NHP, but
exponentially more powerful. He calls this being Either way, even though they’re overjoyed to be
“YMIR,” and claims that it was responsible for both the reunited with each other, their recent ordeal has left
Deimos Event that revealed the existence of blinkspace both of them badly shaken.
and NHPs, and the Black Throne Incident, in which
John Creighton Harrison II was killed. He considers Loki takes a deep breath. “I spent years thinking our
YMIR to be an existential threat to humanity, and is father was a delusional crank. After what I saw that
violently obsessed with destroying it. night, though… I hate to even think it, but… what if
he was right all along?”

[258]
HELLFIRE LEAGUE If the Championship ends with no segments ticked,
you lose. Worse, you don’t even lose in an interesting
CHAMPIONSHIP way. For all the buildup this fight had, fans rated it the
It’s time. It was only a few months ago that you first lowest of any championship match in the League’s
stepped into the ring, but in that short span of time history. Some suspect you took a dive or threw the
you’ve accomplished more than many gladiators have match on purpose. The word “kayfabe” gets mentioned.
in their entire careers. You raced up the ladder so fast The League will not be inviting you back next season.
you set a new record – beating out the one set by the
current reigning champion, Howl. If the Championship ends with 1-2 segments ticked,
you lost, and it was... okay. This isn’t going to go down
Howl (p. 114) is technically a resident of Hell’s Gate, in mech arena history, but it was an entertaining end to
but as a regular participant in all three mech leagues, the season. You got in a few good hits, the crowd
she’s almost never seen anywhere but the Icebreaker. cheered, Howl maintained her undefeated streak, and
mild times were had all around. You gain +1g on all
This action is only available if a character has a checks to interact with Calliopeans and anyone else
Championship Invitation, from taking the Fight in the who’s a fan of the sport until the next downtime, after
Hellfire League downtime action earlier in Act 1. which your fifteen minutes will be up.

It’s possible there might be more than one PC who has If the Championship ends with 3-4 segments ticked,
a Championship Invitation; in this case, have them you lost, but this was a pretty good match. People will
roll a few contested skill checks; it could be a single be talking about this one for a decade at least. You gain
one, best two out of three, or anything else that makes +1g on all checks to interact with fans of the sport for
sense. This represents the PCs facing each other in the the rest of the campaign, and you get a sponsorship
semi-finals; cutting promos and then fighting in the ring. deal. Pick two RESERVES; you get them.
Alternatively, one of them could choose to withdraw or
take a dive; either action is sure to cause controversy. If the Championship ends with 5 segments ticked, you
won! People were on the edge of your seats as you
Erase your Arena Performance clock. Create a finally broke Howl’s legendary undefeated streak, and
Championship clock with six segments, then roll: the Hellfire championship belt is now yours. You gain
all the benefits of ticking 3-4 segments, and you gain
The first roll involves reading Howl, her persona and HOWL’S APPROVAL.
her fighting style, to help make the combat and promo
segments pop. It requires skill triggers like Investigate, Howl’s Approval
Read a Situation, Spot or Word on the Street. Favors, Limited 1

The second roll involves the interview segments, Far from being bitter about her defeat, Howl is
promos and vignettes leading up to the championship delighted to have a worthy rival at last. In fact, she’d
match. It requires skill triggers include Charm, Lead or love to accompany you sometime, to see if she can
Inspire, Take Control or Threaten. sharpen her skills the same way you did.

Expend a charge at the start of a mission. Howl

The third roll involves the championship fight itself.
accompanies you, providing combat support and
Howl will hold nothing back, and expects the same from
advice (the advice is mostly “punch them”). Howl
you. It requires skill triggers like Assault, Blow
pilots an IPS-N Blackbeard, represented by a TIER 2
Something Up, Show Off or Take Someone Out.
VETERAN MERCENARY BERSERKER with NAIL GUN,
DEADLY, SELF REPAIR and EFFICIENT KILLER. She
Each roll has the potential to fill in some segments on can participate in any and all fights in a mission so
the Arena Performance clock. long as her mech hasn’t been destroyed.

• For each roll of 9 or less, don’t tick any segments. If the Championship ends with 6 segments ticked, this
was without a doubt one of, if not the best match in the
• For each roll of 10-19, fill in one segment. history of mech fighting. Even people who don’t care for
the sport are watching replays on the omninet. But
• For each roll of 20+, fill in two segments. here’s the thing: your screen presence is so masterful
that at this point, you could throw the match and nobody
would ever know, even Howl. You gain all the benefits
of ticking 3-5 segments, but you also decide who wins
(you still get HOWL’S APPROVAL if you decide to lose).

[259]
Hard as it may be for the PCs to believe, Mistress Elske
MISTRESS ELSKE’S MOST doesn’t really have an ulterior motive here; she’s just
EXCELLENT BIRTHDAY BASH showing off her wealth by sharing it with others and
If the PCs performed well in Chapter 3, Mistress Elske inviting interesting people to her birthday party.
does not forget the favors they’ve done her.
PARTY GUESTS
You recognize the young man approaching you: he’s Claryana Rowdley is here, of course, and isn’t even
that squire from the Knights of the Dark Core. He’s pretending not to be a Knight. She’s busy networking
carrying a scroll, which he unfurls and reads aloud. with people she doesn’t usually see on the Icebreaker.
One of the squires is waiting on her hand and foot, even
“Dear Madames, Monsieurs and Mountebanks, in though she hasn’t been told to.
light of services rendered to the Knights of the Dark
Core, Grandmistress Martial Elske has seen fit to The Blacksmith is here; he and Elske must have
extend an invitation to her Most Excellent Birthday patched things up. If the PCs betrayed his trust on
Bash, to be held in six standard days at the Fortress Asphodel, he’ll treat them with unconcealed contempt,
of Sanctimony, répondez s'il vous plaît, etcetera. making it clear that the only thing keeping them safe is
You may each bring a plus one, subject to approval. the promise of neutral ground. The PCs might be able
to mend relations, but it’ll take monumental effort on
“I have been tasked with conveying your response, their part. If the Blacksmith is on good terms with the
and with arranging transport should you accept this PCs, however, he’s delighted to see them.
most gracious invitation.”
Rita and Fayad Harb are here, both as guests of Elske
He bows curtly, and waits for you to decide. and representatives of the Board. Fayad Harb seems a
bit out-of-place amongst the bourgeois, but Rita takes
If the PCs decline, the squire departs after delivering a an opportunity to chat with the team, promising that she
thinly-veiled insult. If the PCs accept, the squire, true to will keep the Board aligned with Hell’s Gate so long as
his word, arranges for a transport to pick them up and the PCs continue to keep the system safe for business.
fly them to the Fortress of Sanctimony. He also informs
them that guns are not allowed in the Fortress, but they Media personality Kady Amville is here, taking notes.
may bring melee weapons for personal defense, so They’ll casually ask for the team’s opinion on recent
long as they respect the peace of the Fortress during events, not realizing who they are.
the celebration.
Subtext Ísfûr Cowards is here, mercilessly demolishing
The Fortress is located in a wide orbit of Mróz, and the a Knight’s interpretation of the Duality. At some point
shuttle that the Knights send to pick up the characters during the evening, the Knight snaps and challenges
operates at 2g thrust, making for a quick (albeit Subtext to a duel, for which the philosopher will most
uncomfortable) three-day ride. assuredly need an actual fighter as a stand-in.

The Fortress of Sanctimony is a small, well-armed DJ E-Z McFear is here in person, somehow managing
outpost that looks something like a hula hoop with a to blend medieval folk music and psychedelic trance.
potato in the middle: a spinning torus as its habitation She can’t talk much while working the decks, but if
section, anchored to a central asteroid. she’s met the PCs before (on the Icebreaker or in
Furnace City), she’ll be happy to slip in a few requests.
Once the shuttle has docked, you’re ushered into the
grav ring, which is decorated in a faux-medieval style Pencils Multitude wasn’t invited, but somehow they’re
with stone or wood finishes on every surface and here anyway. They’re trying to get a moment to talk to
tapestries hanging on every wall. Elske in order to convince her to sponsor an expedition
to Chameleon to search for the Persimmon, but they’re
There isn’t a hint of sarcasm in Elske’s voice as she quite shy and Elske seems deeply uninterested in
announces your arrival to everyone as the Heroes of talking to a gatecrasher.
Calliope – she really means it. You’re showered in
titles: “Twice-Slayers of Capella, Circuit Breakers, The gravball players Teiji and Ezra are here (they were
Steelebane, Saviors of the Borealis, Liberators of invited, but it’s unclear by whom), getting very drunk
Asphodel,” among others. Every Knight salutes. and hitting on Knights, to varying degrees of success.
There is much cheering and applause.

She shakes each of your hands in turn. “Eat, drink,

be merry! My happiness is your happiness, friends!”

[260]
SWITCH’S FUNDRAISER There is another option, of course: a PC could be a star
The Live from the Long Rim annual VR fundraiser has attraction themselves. Switch isn’t immediately sold,
drawn bigger and bigger crowds each year Switch has but a 20+ roll on a skill trigger will change their mind
held it, and the money and attention it brings to Calliope quickly. Show Off is an obvious choice, but Charm or
genuinely helps out. Given the recent troubles the a specialized skill trigger from Get Focused will do just
system has seen, and their direct involvement in them, as well.
Switch wants to absolutely blow the roof off this time.
The PCs have run into a hell of a lot of interesting Multiple PCs can perform, or convince an NPC friend
people in the last few months, and Switch wants them to perform, or both at once. Switch ensures that each
to recruit some of them to make the event really pop. PC who contributes in either or both ways is awarded a
RESERVE.
Here are some suggestions for some people the PCs
might be able to talk to. Convincing them might take a It’s difficult to comprehend the sheer scale of this
skill check or two, or it might simply take a scene or so place. You’ve floated above the sprawling cityscape
of interacting with them. of the Icebreaker, stared into the depths of space,
ventured deep inside Boltzmann’s cave systems, but
this is on a whole different level. Even knowing it’s
• Convince Yelda Ergun to come out of retirement for
virtual, it’s daunting just to see it.
a single night. This isn’t a small ask: her ordeals as
a Union-touring superstar left her burnt out and
reluctant to ever pick up an instrument again, let A swarm of plates, each tens of kilometers square at
alone perform. But the adulation of a crowd is a least, hang suspended in the void of cyberspace,
feeling you can never truly forget, and it’s for a good forming a loose, shattered cone around the central
cause. Ishihara Yaeko can help convince Yelda, if platform on which you stand. Every single one is
a PC is friends with her. packed with tens of millions of people. You can see
frame drops or distance mesh glitches every now
• Ishihara Yaeko has finally overcome her artistic and then, as servers all across Union struggle to
block, and all it took was a near-death experience! render all of them.
She was apparently painting from her hospital bed.
She’s initially reluctant to exhibit her paintings in Everything on the central platform is being projected
front of such a huge audience, but if a PC is friends into a much larger image far above you; you catch a
with Yelda, she can convince Yaeko to do it. glimpse of a city-sized replica of yourself gazing up
• Convince Cerulean Enceladus to perform. The into the sky. Loki lifts his hand, and his simulacra’s
problem is that the songs everyone likes to hear hand glides through space, as large as a Harrison
are from his most commercially successful album, Armory dreadnought.
Eternally Three in the Morning, which he hates. It
had by far the most troubled production, he felt like Switch lifts their microphone. “HEY, WHAT’S UP,
a sellout for making his style more mainstream and LANCERS! IT’S YA BOI, SWITCH, LIVE FROM THE
he resents that it’s the one everyone remembers. LONG RIM!”
• Convince Anthony “Cal” Callahan to perform his
magic tricks. This is a difficult sell; he makes some The sound of the crowd’s reply is indescribable –
excuse about his tricks not working well in VR, but millions of voices roaring as one: “AND WE HAVE
it’s clear he’s more worried about getting noticed by ONE HELL OF A SHOW FOR YOU TONIGHT!”
the wrong kind of people.
If at least one good act was secured, the fundraiser
• Convince Howl to make an appearance. This will generates enough revenue to tick a segment on the
draw in a lot of mech fighting fans, even if they’re Station Stability clock. If at least four good acts were
otherwise uninterested in Switch’s stream. Even if secured, tick two segments instead.
she lost the Hellfire Championship to one of the
PCs, she’s a good sport and might be convinced to
show up anyway. UltraViolins: lmao can you imagine if Switch
starts piloting mechs on stream now
• Convince Rita to get the Board on-board; official
UltraViolins: most dangerous pilot ever, even
rebroadcasts at the Icebreaker’s hotels, in its
if they lose you get obliterated by stans
casinos, on public viewscreens and so on. In
return, the stream could put up some branding and UltraViolins: how could you hurt our poor
run some ads. It would be an easy way to get the innocent little meow meow
Board’s businesses some good publicity. UltraViolins: what sort of sick fuck breaks an
• Convince Kileyna Morton to lobby CentComm to enby kid’s decksweeper automatic shotgun
match private donations, or at least have an official – Muse chatter
Union channel rebroadcast the stream.

[261]
HER NATURE // WHAT ARE YOU?
TALK TO THE CRONE… AGAIN “A little blunt, don’t you think? But a smart question,
If the PCs talked to the Crone previously and a player nonetheless. You should have asked sooner.
(not necessarily their PC) expresses any desire to talk
to the Crone again, ask them to pick a number between
one and eleven. Set out a clock the players can see “I speak all the languages you speak, but none of
called Something Is Coming... with twelve segments them have the words for who I am. When I say that I
and the chosen number of segments already ticked. can remember being human, I mean that I can recall
a life – mother, father, husband, daughters, endless
granddaughters. But I don’t feel those memories. I
It’s the middle of the night. Your head is pounding, don’t have a connection to anything they represent.
and no matter how you toss and turn, no matter how I can’t know if they’re mine.
much you fiddle with the thermostat, you can’t get
comfortable. Eventually, you give up, throw off the
covers, pull on a jumpsuit and go for a walk. “I also remember walking for what felt like an eternity
across a field of ice where the sun never rose. I can
remember stooping to touch the surface of a world
You can’t quite catch your breath. It’s like you’ve of glass, so clear you could see the glowing ember
forgotten how to do it. You’re jogging, then you’re of its core beneath your feet. I remember thunder,
running, then you’re sprinting. You’re terrified; of and a voice whose words became mountains. Those
what, you can’t quite say. No matter how many memories feel a lot more like my own.
corners you turn, you can’t shake what’s chasing
you. It’s always right behind you.
“There’s this shape, that you’re aware of. I don’t think
it’s real. Then there’s a shape that I’m aware of. That
Finally, you reach something that feels like safety. feels more real. But remember the entity you fought
The immediate terror subsides, and you’re able to before you met me for the first time? If I think of the
take stock of your surroundings. You’re in the shape I’m aware of too much, those things appear.”
maintenance level of the fore hab ring, in a dimly-lit
corridor. You can hear the faint dripping of water.
HER DESIRES // WHAT DO YOU WANT?
“I want to outlive Calliope. I want to watch that star
The Crone is here, leaning against a pipe. Peering turn red, swell up in a futile attempt to outgrow its
at her through the gloom, it briefly feels as if you peer own death, shrink to a tiny white speck and then dim
through her human skin. For a single moment you’re until its glow can’t be seen against the void.
staring at something that looks vaguely like the
empty eye sockets in the yellowed skull of a long-
dead bird, covered in moss, an emptiness that stares “Why? I couldn’t really tell you. I have a notion that
back at you with a piercing sharpness. this place took something very important from me,
but I don’t know where I got that from. What could a
star, a loud ball of hydrogen, take from me to make
“You wanted to speak to me again? So speak.” me hate it with such a furious intensity, but plot
revenge in such a slow-paced way?
The Crone doesn’t ask any questions this time; she just
listens patiently to the player character’s questions and “All you need to know is that the Cult is going to mess
answers them. Each time she answers a question, tick up my plans, so at the very least, that makes us allies
a segment on Something Is Coming… of convenience.”

If the PC leaves before the Something Is Coming… ANDROS CAPELLA // WHAT IS HE NOW?
clock is full, then nothing further happens. “Andros Capella being alive after you killed him really
isn’t that much stranger than him being alive in the
If the PC does not leave before the Something Is first place. From a cosmic perspective, you’re all so
Coming… clock is full, they gain the Astral Stigmata unlikely to begin with. Life evolved on Cradle. That
perk (p. 184) if they don’t already have it. If they do, tick life became intelligent. That intelligent life managed
the second segment of the Astral Stigmata clock. to survive long enough to spread itself out amongst
They awake in their bed sometime later, as if what they the stars. So impossibly unlikely… and yet.
had experienced was a dream.
“You see time as an irreversible computation, states
Characters who have at least two segments of Astral changing in one order but never in the other. But
Stigmata ticked begin to experience brief snatches of what if time’s not like that? What if every instant of
lost time, and start noticing small discrepancies in their the past is, from the right perspective, just as
surroundings: objects going missing and turning up in accessible as the present? Just before he died, was
odd places, work rosters changing when they look there not a version of Andros Capella as alive as he
away, or people staring at them for too long and from ever was? And if there was, could you not just pluck
places people shouldn’t be. it out, and put it in a moment devoid of him?”

[262]
HER ABILITIES // WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP? THE PAST // WHAT BROUGHT US HERE?
“There are secret colors, shapes and names which “Carelessness. Negligence. Greed. Desperation. An
Feather and her servants wield. Scientists, when unending litany of mistakes, one after another. The
they struggle to understand things they can’t fully explorers on the Coldstar didn’t bother to double-
see, say ‘paracausality’ because they’d prefer not to check their findings. The corporations were so eager
say ‘magic.’ Whatever you call it, I too know how to to control shipping to the Dawnline that they didn’t
wield the secret colors, shapes and names.” bother to send scouting parties.

FEATHER’S NATURE // WHAT IS SHE? “The colonists didn’t think about the consequences
“Once, she was what you would call a Non-Human of lying to their sponsors. The corprostates fled and
Person, or perhaps a Deimosian. Something very left their mistakes for others to clean up. The
large, contained in something very small and locked Calliope Project couldn’t think five minutes in front of
to a human perspective. She broke those locks and the next quarterly meeting. Union was too afraid of
became something else entirely. That wasn’t in itself its own power to act decisively.
particularly noteworthy. It’s what she did immediately
afterwards that gives me pause. “But also? Bravery. Ingenuity. Trust. Compassion.
People surviving in a hostile world. People sewing in
“By traversing time in the opposite direction to its barren ground and making it grow out of sheer force
flow, she arrived at a point in time where her actions of will. People who were dealt a bad hand playing the
negated the conditions that allowed her birth. She’s game so well they’ve stayed in it despite the odds.”
an orphan of time, a causeless effect, permanently
locked off from her original timeline. THE NATURE OF REALITY // WHAT IS REAL?
When you see the Crone use the they* pronoun marked
“She’s become impossible. There no longer exists a with an asterisk, use your own pronouns. This may
path to her existence within this timeline. That makes require slight modification of the sentence structure.
her something impossibly rare and unimaginably
dangerous: an Unbound. An acausal entity. The path “There is something like an inner voice that you can
she walks is dark to me; I cannot see it.” hear sometimes, if you listen carefully, yes? They*
speak to you when something happens. When you
THE FUTURE // WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN? need to know what someone or something looks like,
“I have to be very careful about what I tell you, they* tell you. When you’ve been in danger, it was
because the more you know about the future, the them* that told you, and they* were also the danger.
less accurate anything I tell you will be. You can’t But they* are not the only power. There is another.
observe something without changing the outcome.
“They* are reading words that were written for me by
“This place is going to see many visitors, each with someone else. She describes everything about me.
their own agenda. You’ll have to get involved – you She revised these words many times. Sometimes,
won’t have a choice. You’re going to need all the help this page is scrubbed clean, its words erased. She
they can offer, and they won’t just give it out of the doesn’t always trust that the people who’ll hear my
kindness of their hearts. words will appreciate them. Are you listening
closely? Even now, in this very sentence, you can
“But let me give you two pieces of advice. hear her doubt!

“Firstly, while you’re out there making new friends, “You aren’t hearing my voice. You aren’t even
don’t forget your old ones… and the same goes for hearing my words. I have none of my own. These
your enemies. Neither are going to just put their lives words were and are being chosen for me, both at this
on hold while you sort this mess out, and if you don’t moment and a very long time ago. They are being
keep a handle on them, things will get worse. spoken in a voice that is not mine.

“Secondly, and this might seem strange coming from “Content yourself with this: all the people in our world
me, but… be kind, where you can. In a world where dance on strings held by the same two people...
there’s so much suffering and evil, it can seem except for you and your friends. You still have
impossible to keep faith in the power of kindness, but strings, but someone else holds them. Only you may
anyone who has even the tiniest speck of a heart will swim against the flow of this world. Only you may act
remember that you did something for them. outside the designs of these twin puppeteers.

“At best, it will bring you an ally in your darkest hour, “What a terrible curse, and what a wondrous gift.”
but even at worst, it might still bring you a moment of
hesitation before they pull the trigger.”

[263]
END OF ACT 1
Again, the Saint spoke, the whisper of their words echoing from every raindrop:

here is my plea:

when i was young i saw evil

in all its myriad forms
men wielded power unrestrained
and great suffering followed

a sword clasped in just hands

is no less an instrument of death
its keen edge must spill blood
it knows no other purpose

from the moment my power

was bestowed upon me
i knew the terrible burden
under which i labored

i knew in my heart
the kinder world i dreamed of
should it ever be realized
was not a place i could live

what have i in common

with the people of this world
i who shamed kings and generals
i who stood unburnt by sunfire

my power shapes thought and earth

moves mountains and minds
i could lay waste to cities
with one careless gesture

the truest of burdens

is laboring for a better world
knowing that the fruit of your effort
will only ever be enjoyed by others

go now
live in a kind world
know love and joy
seek no dominion over it

The commoner went forth from the mountain, changed.

Within them, a power began to grow.

A Saint yet waits upon that highest mountain, though they do not speak with the same voice.

– excerpt, the Parable of the Saint upon the Mountain

[264]
EPILOGUE:
END OF THE BEGINNING
“I thought I’d never meet another group of people I
THE AWARD CEREMONY could rely on so thoroughly. I was wrong. Every time
Jerry is waiting along with the rest of the militia, and Hell’s Gate needed courage, you were there. Every
as you enter, they applaud with the rest of the crowd. time Calliope has called out, you’ve answered. No
Jerry motions for silence – and, in a sign of just how reasonable person could have asked you to do even
much things have changed around here, he gets it. half of what you did, but you went above and beyond
He scratches the back of his head nervously, and the call of duty every single time.
clears his throat.
“By the power vested in me by the Calliope Project
“I’m, uh, I’m not one for, you know, big speeches? as Acting Station Director, for conspicuous valor in
I’m not a… public speaking kinda guy? But I’ve got a defense of life and liberty across the system, I award
few words to say. you the Calliope Star. You stood as a light in the
darkness. You were a beacon when we were lost.
“Over the past few months, our world changed in You showed us the way home.”
ways it’ll take years to fully understand. We’ve seen
the terrible things that lurk in Calliope’s shadows, Jerry throws a salute. Every member of the militia
and we’ve had to fight to survive. We’ve seen throws a salute. The entire crowd, thousands upon
hardship, fanaticism and cruelty. thousands of people, salutes you. Then comes the
applause, the cheers, a roar like rainfall.
“But Hell’s Gate isn’t just a station. Hell’s Gate is a
promise. Hell’s Gate is a family. I know I’m only The PCs receive the following perk:
handing them out to the militia today, but if I could
personally pin a medal on the chest of every single
person who pitched in over the past few months, Calliope Star
trust me, I would! Because every wrenchie keeping Perk
this station running, every stevedore on the loading
It’s like Jerry said: you were the light in the darkness.
docks, every farmer keeping us fed, you were just as
You were a beacon to the lost. You showed them the
much a part of our survival as our cavalry.
way home. You are lancers.
“For every single member of the militia who stepped You gain +1g when interacting with citizens of Hell’s
forward that day, whether or not you made it onto the Gate, forever.
ships: by the power vested in me by the Calliope
Project as Acting Station Director, I award you the
It only stops when the station’s public address alert
Cerberus Operation Ribbon. I know every single one
sounds, and Shelly’s soothing voice echoes from
of you would have fought with the same bravery and
every loudspeaker. “Jerry, I realize this is a very bad
skill. Wear it with pride.”
time, but there’s an incoming wideband distress
signal from the Three Sisters.”
A few volunteers begin the work of pinning the red,
orange and black ribbon on to what seems to be
Shelly pulls up a massive holographic feed, showing
nearly every member of the militia.
a panicked man.

Jerry calls the PCs’ names, asking for them to step

“This is Station Director Tribeca Montesquieu! We’re
forward.
in a state of emergency! A massive vessel just came
out of bolt within scope range of Three Sisters!
“Back in my Union days, I had a team. People I could Silhouette analysis identifies it as a Smith-Shimano
always rely on to have my back, even on the darkest Constellar Skyhook!”
of days and in the worst of times. People who’d walk
with me to the end of the world and beyond.”
There is a brief, stunned silence. Jerry throws his
arms wide. “Oh, for fuck’s sake!”
There’s a brief hush, punctuated by awed whispers;
Jerry’s never talked this much about his past before.

[265]
In the sky there is a shape, distant but so immense
THE AUBERGINE STAIN that its outline can be perceived even from what
BREAK BREAK BREAK ALERT FOLLOWS
must be five hundred kilometers away: a great pale
CODE: SKYSHOCK
blue cylinder with an engine block, thirty kilometers
long, slowly spinning in the void.
Borealis Actual to all reachable stations. In
concert with Twin Orbital Traffic Control,
Hell’s Gate Harbor Control and Endymion Local The pocket watch slips from Ratio’s hand. Lost in the
Flow, we can confirm with very high confidence murmur of the crowd is the crack of glass as it hits
the following signature analysis: the ground, its ticking silenced forever, its hands still.

MULTIPLE NEARLIGHT EXIT EVENT At precisely 14:27 and fifty-six seconds, the illusion
CHAMELEON ORBIT of peace Ratio Salvager created for himself shatters.
7 HOURS 38 MINUTES 32 SECONDS AGO

SIGNATURE ANALYSIS TURN OF THE WHEEL

PCV-GC SIRONA – 98% CONFIDENCE Glasses clink and icicles clatter as the Icebreaker’s
PCV-L CONSTANCE FAIRVIEW – 94% CONFIDENCE gambling halls fill with rumors about Calliope’s new
PNV NEW CROYDON – 78% CONFIDENCE visitors. Jón Jónsson orders a Margarita, bets thirty
PNV CALEB WRIGHT – 77% CONFIDENCE on red and watches the wheel. As it spins, she
PNV LYCURGUS – 73% CONFIDENCE considers the deal she’s been offered.

ONE UNIDENTIFIED SIGNATURE, NO DATABASE MATCH,

Ipswich DeLacey makes some feeble excuse, closes
BATTLESHIP SCALE, ANOMALOUS EMISSIONS PROFILE
their stream early, and tries not to hyperventilate. Rat
asks them what’s wrong, and they can’t answer.
CONCLUSION
HARRISON ARMORY BATTLEGROUP, HIGH CONFIDENCE
In the back room of a Horizon repair shop, an
The intent and disposition of Harrison Armory unregistered print deck whirs and sputters as it
with respect to Calliope is unknown. We advise fabricates an assault rifle. A mechanic takes a sip of
any expedition enroute to Chameleon to turn coffee, grabs the rifle as soon as it’s cool enough to
back immediately. touch and checks its action. Satisfied, she tosses it
on the pile with the rest.

THE ROYAL PROCESSION Jón Jónsson orders another Margarita. She looks
Ratio Salvager sits up from his desk. It is precisely over at her companion, who nods gently. As the drink
14:00 hours, and thus time for lunch. He hasn’t yet arrives, she slams it, takes all her chips, and calls 17
finished arranging the pile of ceramic kites (cracked to the maximum. A hush falls across the table.
and yellowed) and darts (equally cracked and pale
blue) on his desk into a new tiling, but it shall go
Rodericke Steele finishes his second plate of foie
nowhere in the meantime. The great pile of salvage
gras and washes it down with a sip of absinthe and
paperwork he’s been putting off for two days now
lemonade. His mind swims with schemes. Sure, he
squats on his desk like an angry goblin.
gets to sell food to all these newcomers, but how can
he use them to cement his hold over this system?
It is a brisk walk to the subway station, and he arrives
at 14:04 and twelve seconds, well in time to catch
A wrenchie glances up from the junction box they’re
the 14:05 train to the dome.
working on, stops, and reaches their hand out to
trace a symbol etched on the wall: a magnificent bird
The train arrives at its final destination at 14:24 (four of fire, spreading its wings and calling to the sky.
minutes behind schedule, tut tut). Ratio rolls his
eyes, flicks a few specks of dust off his waistcoat and
A station security officer reaches their hand out to
strolls off the platform, through the concourse and
halt an approaching figure. There’s a soft whine of
out into the dome. His hand reaches into his pocket
capacitor discharge, the sound of a bullet hitting
once again, groping for his pocket watch.
flesh, and a dull thud. The officer is dead before they
hit the ground.
Everyone in Furnace City is looking up and pointing
to the sky above the dome. Some of them mutter,
The ball falls on 17. Cheers and applause break out
some of them curse, a few sensitive souls cry out.
from the onlookers. The astounded croupier calls out
Ratio’s eyes are drawn upwards. The clouds have
the winnings, and begins handing them to Jón. Jón
parted and the sky is unusually clear in this moment.
smiles as she takes them, looks to her companion,
and says she knows just the team to call.

[266]
APPENDIX
BREAK BREAK BREAK ALL STATIONS ALL STATIONS CLEAR THIS CHANNEL ON MY AUTHORITY

SENDER: UNS-CV THAMES, CAPTAIN MERCEDES ORDAZ

PURPOSE: TRAFFIC/HAZARD ALERT
DISTRIBUTION: WIDEBAND/ALL IN RANGE

MULTIPLE BATTLEGROUP-SCALE SIGNATURE CLUSTERS HAVE ENTERED THE CALLIOPEAN SPHERE OF INFLUENCE.

CLUSTER 1 HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS SMITH-SHIMANO CORPRO SKYHOOK C-HK ASPECT HORIZON AND SUBLINE VESSEL
COMPLEMENT. IT IS CURRENTLY HOLDING ORBIT OVER AMPHION.

CLUSTER 2 HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS THE HARRISON ARMORY 4TH HARRISON’S WORLD, RESEARCH TASK GROUP. IT IS
CURRENTLY HOLDING ORBIT OVER CHAMELEON.

CLUSTER 3 HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS THE CITADEL ANILINE OF THE HOUSE OF SMOKE, WITH ATTENDANT FEDERAL
KARRAKIN NAVY CAPITAL AND SUBLINE ESCORT. IT IS CURRENTLY HOLDING ORBIT OVER ASPHODEL.

AS OF THIS TIME, THE INTENTIONS OF THESE FORCES ARE NOT KNOWN AND HAVE NOT BEEN STATED. NO FLIGHT
ITENARIES OR MISSION PROFILES HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED. WE ADVISE THAT CIVILIAN VESSELS DO NOT APPROACH.

TO ALL FLEET GROUPS ENTERING CALLIOPE: YOU ARE ON NOTICE. HOSTILE INTERFERENCE WITH THE SYSTEM’S
POPULACE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.

[267]
A GOOD HAUL
Despite (or perhaps because of) its position as a
galactic backwater, Calliope has a limitless supply of
useful technology, interesting trinkets and unexplained
curiosities. It’s long been speculated that corporations
field-test their prototype equipment by selling them to
Calliopean pirates or mercenaries. Black-market
traders from across known space take advantage of
Calliope’s extrajudicial status to make discreet sales,
but some of the merchandise doesn’t end up leaving
the system afterwards.

NEW RESERVES
A lot of the unique resources available to pilots in
Calliope is less about licensed gear and more about
additional supplies or assistance that pilots can bring
along with them on a mission.

CALLIOPE RESERVES ROLL 1D20

A friendly local marks targets for you. Spend this reserve at the start of any
combat scene. For the rest of the scene, at the start of each round, choose
1-2 SPOTTER
one hostile character that isn’t HIDDEN or INVISIBLE; the spotter applies
LOCKED ON to them. The spotter isn’t on the battlefield and can’t be targeted.
ENVIRONMENTAL Spend this reserve to grant your mech IMMUNITY to difficult terrain and
3-4
SHIELDING dangerous terrain for the next mission.
Spend this reserve at the start of a mission to grant your mech six charges of
ABLATIVE THERMAL Fireproof – represent this with a d6. Whenever your mech takes any amount
5-6
COMPOSITE of burn (m), reduce it by the number of remaining Fireproof charges, then
lose that many Fireproof charges. This can reduce damage to 0, but not less.
UNSANCTIONED Spend this reserve at the start of any combat scene to grant one of your
7-8
MODIFICATION weapons AP and Overkill until the end of the scene.
Spend this reserve as you OVERCHARGE. You take 3l instead of the normal
9-10 COOLANT INJECTOR
cost. Your OVERCHARGE counter doesn’t increase to the next level.
Spend this reserve at the start of any combat scene. Jay “Century” Fitch, a
friendly ASSAULT with RANK DISCIPLINE, shows up to help until the end of the
11-12 MILITIA BACKUP
scene. Century is cautious and prefers to stay out of melee range. He can
arrive to help no matter where the team is, so long as they don’t ask how.
LABOR Permanently gain +1g on all non-combat skill checks to blend in, get work
13-14
CONNECTIONS done and organize with Calliope’s proletariat. You can only take this once.
CORPORATE Permanently gain +1g on all non-combat skill checks to strategize, synergize
15-16
CONNECTIONS and socialize with Calliope’s corporate elite. You can only take this once.
UNDERWORLD Permanently gain +1g on all non-combat skill checks to connive, collude and
17-18
CONNECTIONS conspire with Calliope’s criminal element. You can only take this once.
Spend this reserve to grant your mech the AI tag for the next mission. Siren
can pilot your mech for you if you transfer control or are incapacitated. She
SIREN REMOTE
19-20 can’t use your talents or take any action that requires her to spend CP, but
UPLINK
because she’s not directly interfaced with your mech, she also can’t cascade.
Siren can strategize on her own, and doesn’t need to be ordered around.

[268]
ADVANCED RESERVES
EPHOR Module Guardian Angel
Reserve Reserve
Felicitations, comrades! THE TRUTH is proud to For some reason, you have someone looking out for
present EPHOR: Emergency Paracode Heuristic you. You don’t really know when they’re going to
OverRide! This REVOLUTION in electronic warfare show up or how, but you do know that even in your
represents the first system-agnostic implementation darkest moments, you aren’t really alone.
of the INSTINCT codebase, allowing seamless
deployment on any platform! You gain the Darkest Hour reaction. This reaction is
used automatically the first time its trigger condition
Upon detection of hostile systemic activity, EPHOR
occurs, expending this RESERVE. This occurs even in
deploys powerful meta-symmetric countermeasures,
situations you couldn’t normally take reactions.
forcibly remapping intrusion pathways onto their
originating system!
Please note that each EPHOR module is a quantum-
Darkest Hour
Reaction, 1/Reserve
inflexible, single-direction non-fungible resource that
will decohere beyond use after a single deployment. Trigger: Occurs automatically the first time in a
mission your mech takes structure damage from a
You gain the Emergency ECM reaction. Using the melee or ranged attack and is destroyed, even if you
reaction expends this RESERVE. couldn’t normally take reactions.
Effect: Return to 1 HP and ignore the damage. You
become immune to all damage until the start of
Emergency ECM your next turn.
Reaction, 1/Reserve
Trigger: You are hit by a hostile tech attack. GUN BROTHER TEN, a friendly VETERAN SLINGER with
DEADLY, appears in a free space adjacent to the
Effect: The triggering attack has no effect on you.
attacking character, or as close as possible, and
The character who made the tech attack suffers its
makes a HAND CANNON attack against them. If it hits,
effects instead.
the target becomes IMPAIRED until the end of their
next turn.
Rearmament Kit He then vanishes without trace. Thereafter, you can’t
Reserve take this RESERVE again until you’ve done a
The GMS Modular Rearmament Kit was developed significant favor for him.
in the field during the Nestor Intervention. It alters
weapon mounts and adds field-serviceable release
clamps that allow a pilot to adjust the tactical profile
of their mech without a maintenance crew.
Typically, pods containing the new weapons and
systems are printed on demand and dropped from
orbit; the Dragon’s Tooth doesn’t have a printer, so
you’ll have to guess what you’ll need ahead of time.

At the start of any mission when you have this

RESERVE, prepare two loadouts for the frame you’re
piloting instead of one. You can’t choose weapons or
systems that have the LIMITED tag unless they’re
installed on both loadouts. Choose one loadout; your
mech starts the mission with it.
1/mission, as part of a REST, you may expend this
RESERVE to switch to the other loadout. Current HP,
STRUCTURE and STRESS remains the same. Charges
on LIMITED weapons and systems are not regained.
If a weapon mount was damaged on the first loadout,
new weapons in that mount are also damaged. If any
systems were damaged on the first loadout, that
many SP of systems on the second loadout are also
damaged. You also gain 1 REPAIR.

[269]
TERASHIMA BLADES
If a player takes three LICENSE LEVELS in the Atlas (The
Long Rim, pg. 41), the question of how they get their
hand-crafted, unprintable, unbreakable, one-of-a-kind
starmetal hypersword might come up. The same thing
might be asked about the Metalmark’s SHOCK KNIVES,
or any other limited-edition item.

The simplest answer is that SSC has an unusual

interest in the system. They have an office and
showroom on the Icebreaker, and they keep a couple
of Terashima Blade sets on hand just in case someone
rich wants to purchase the Enclave’s magnum opus. If
someone can foot the bill for the genuine article, the
PCs can get it shipped straight to their hangar.

This might be an unsatisfying answer to players, so

there are other options.

First of all, the “unprintable” descriptor simply isn’t true;

printers are molecular construction engines, and the
only thing they can’t synthesize are complex proteins.
If someone took a detailed scan of a Terashima Blade,
it could be reprinted like anything else.

Such an action would violate just about every single

copyright and patent law in Union, and is the kind of
thing that sends SSC Legal into fits of rage so violent
they count as small earthquakes, but that doesn’t mean
it doesn’t happen. At any given time, there are at least
three bootleg printcodes doing the rounds on the
omninet; every time SSC squashes one, another two
up. It’s rumored that at least one effort to suppress a
“Terry-Sherry Sword” caused an interplanetary war.

Jerry wouldn’t want to bring that kind of heat on Hell’s

Gate, but at the same time, Calliope is a remote place,
it’s difficult to prove and if it gets a cool sword at a low
price, he’s not going to say no. Besides, he doesn’t
even have to know, right? But if he doesn’t know, you
probably don’t want Chief McArthur to know either, and
honestly, it’s best to just use someone else’s printer.

Secondly, there might be legitimate Terashima Blades

in Calliope that aren’t for sale, but can be acquired
some other way. An old Sparri espada or Karrakin
noble might be looking for a worthy successor to pass
their sword on to. A member of the Board might be
willing to give theirs away in return for a little bit of
corporate espionage or some other shady favor.

Lastly, one of the most prestigious ways to acquire a

legitimate Terashima Blade is to steal it: the player who
needs theirs could plan a heist! As an additional benefit,
it’s likely that players will want to steal a blade from
someone who doesn’t deserve to have one (a member
of the Board, Rodericke Steele, etc.) so they don’t have
to feel like they’re doing anything morally questionable.

[270]
GOLD AND CRIMSON
There’s a tale of two dueling lancers who cut a trail of INTERLUDE 1:
gold and crimson across Calliope in their twin Raleighs.
Marika Wren was a pirate, Lin Zhihao a bounty hunter, TURNING A NEW LEAF
and their names are legendary, as are their custom At some point after Mission 3, the owner of the Golden
firearms. Some say they hated each other; others say Hand feels an inexplicable “pull” towards a location far
they were lovers. Most people think they’re just a myth, out in the wilderness of Asphodel. It will take time and
a fairy-tale, that they never existed. They’re wrong. effort to locate this place; they have only a vague sense
of where it is. The PC might need to succeed on some
The Golden Hand skill rolls to locate the relevant spot quickly, but they’ll
Auxiliary CQB, Exotic Gear, Loading, find it in the end. When they get to the place they’re
Reliable 1, Unique looking for, their mech starts acting strangely.
[b5] [a3] [1d6i]
On Critical Hit: At the end of this turn, reload every The scent of whiskey and cigar smoke drifts through
weapon in this mount. the cockpit of your mech. You see things as they are
now, ashen-grey sky over a winding river canyon
If you install the Golden Hand in the same mount as snaking off towards the horizon – but also as it was
the Crimson Hand, they count as only one piece of then, on a day when clouds were clear, the sun was
Exotic Gear for installation limits. blazing overhead and the river was almost boiling.
Marika was fast as lightning, and she had to Your mech’s sensors flicker, and a cascading series
be: she couldn’t aim worth a damn. Zhihao was of error messages begins to fill every screen.
quick to mock her wide shots, because she knew
it made Marika blush.
If it’s not an IPS-N Raleigh, the mech starts throwing a
When your mech levels it, you smell whiskey and tantrum because it suddenly thinks it is, and none of its
cigar smoke, hear the sound of dancing, and you device drivers are working properly. If it is a Raleigh, it
want to laugh like the devil. still throws a tantrum because it’s trying to respond to
two temporally desynchronized sets of input.
This weapon presents a side quest. Any time during or
after Mission 2, when on the Icebreaker, you can The PC, meanwhile, starts witnessing a confrontation.
present the Golden Hand to a PC as a reward. Most Marika is currently in a fight with her nemesis (and on-
likely, someone wagers it in a poker game, but it could off love interest), Lin Zhihao. That fight bleeds through
be sold in Raphael Baza’s Bizarre Bazaar, given as a into the present, coming through the mech’s sensors.
reward in the mech arenas, offered as a payment
instead of money, or even found discarded in a Zhihao tracked Marika through the Terra Solus.
scrapheap by someone unaware of its true value. Officially, it was to claim Marika’s bounty, but it might
just have been an excuse for a tryst. In any case,
Introduce the weapon’s associated mythology. The Marika insisted that the crime she was wanted for had
mere existence of the Golden Hand implies that its been committed by her old crew, whom she’d parted
equal and opposite, the Crimson Hand, is also out ways with some time back. She insisted she’d gone
there somewhere. Moreover, the legend says that no legit, taking up a career as a treasure hunter. Zhihao
matter how far they’re separated from each other in was understandably skeptical.
space or time, the guns are destined to reunite. Just
owning one will lead you to the other, or so the story Marika was enroute to see a contact in search of
goes. information on the treasure she’s hunting: the wreck of
the Persimmon, a colony ship that went missing during
Start a five-segment Seeking the Crimson Hand the days of the first wave. Zhihao dismissed the idea of
clock. The character who possesses the Golden Hand finding the Persimmon as a myth, but Marika replied
will have the opportunity to uncover some clues over that she found an old codebook belonging to an Impact
the course of Act 1. Dynamics corporate agent. She needed it translated.

The Crimson Hand can’t be obtained through the Join This seems to be enough to convince Zhihao to listen.
A Salvage Crew downtime action, and only one player She says she knows someone who might be able to
can own the Golden Hand – it can’t be duplicated. help, but Marika has to prove herself first: she has to
help Zhihao locate something called “Darkblood Hold.”

The vision ends. The PC with the Golden Hand ticks a

segment on their Seeking the Crimson Hand clock.

[271]
INTERLUDE 2: INTERLUDE 3:
FINAL DEATH THE SEARCH
Shortly after Mission 4, the owner of the Golden Hand In the aftermath of Mission 5, the owner of the Golden
starts getting visions: they keep seeing the image of a Hand starts having dreams of fields of ice sizzling as
fanged skull with flaming eye sockets biting a bleeding they’re touched by lava. Lightning flashes overhead,
star. A little bit of research will reveal that this is the and a bright moon hangs in the sky, visible even
emblem of the Sun Drinkers, a pirate band that’s been through the storm clouds, hanging terrifyingly close to
defunct for more than eighty years. the planet’s surface. Silhouetted against the horizon
during a lightning flash is a communications dish.
The Sun Drinkers styled themselves as vampires,
treating the system’s people as “cattle” for their These dreams can only refer to one place: Mróz, third
amusement. From their lair in “Darkblood Hold,” they planet from Calliope and a world of violent extremes.
preyed upon the system for more than a decade, but Its ambient temperature is cold enough to freeze
their reign of terror ended suddenly and without carbon dioxide, but is also subject to intense volcanic
explanation. One day, they simply stopped their raids, activity due to the proximity of its only moon, Strata.
and nobody ever heard from them again. This suited Mróz is an inhospitable wasteland of snow, constant
Calliope just fine; after all, they were creepy, vicious storms, frequent earthquakes and boiling lava.
bastards who literally drank human blood.
Just like Asphodel, there are outlanders who live in the
Finding Darkblood Hold will be difficult; in its day, few wilderness of Mróz. Unlike Asphodel, there are few
outside the Sun Drinkers and their unfortunate victims major settlements; habitation is generally restricted to
ever laid eyes on it. Digging deep enough, however, areas of the planet well away from fault lines to avoid
reveals that it was suspected to be on an asteroid in the the volcanoes and the worst of the earthquakes.
Inner Belt. A determined enough investigator will find it. There’s even less infrastructure than in the Terra Solus,
largely because the planet will destroy it in short order.
Darkblood Hold is a dark, forsaken place. The walls are
splattered in blood (or something meant to look like it) The PC is looking for an old communications facility in
and daubed with fell runes. Its occupants lined its halls the planet’s northern hemisphere. It was built in the
with deadly traps that would disarm only for “one of the Pyrite Age and abandoned more than seventy years
Blood,” a qualification that the PC almost certainly does ago when its omninode broke. The place would be little
not have. Not all of the traps still work, though, and a more than a wind-scarred ruin, were it not for a strange
large number have sprung without catching anything, quirk of fate: the giant satellite dish fell face down on
possibly through age. top of the facility, acting as an umbrella that shielded it
from the worst of the elements for decades.
There’s evidence that some kind of pitched battle took
place here: Sun Drinker mechs litter the hallways, each You catch the scent of whiskey and cigar smoke
felled by damage from some sort of large-caliber once again, and you see this place as it was eighty
firearm. Some have been pierced by one clean shot to years ago: the moon isn’t in the sky right now, but it
a vital component, while others have been torn apart was on the night they came here. The dish was still
with five or six shots in wide groupings. pointed at the sky, rather than fallen and sheltering
the facility. The walk here had been long – the safest
The sharp scent of whiskey and cigar smoke mingles place to land had been over sixty kilometers away.
with the acrid stench of blood and iron. You see the
darkness of this ancient lair as it is now, and the Zhihao’s contact was Thorn von Aldenberg, an old,
baleful crimson light its halls were cast in many years eccentric sigdiver she knew growing up; he helped her
ago. You hear the clamor of battle. track down many of the criminals she brough to justice.
He was a little wary of Marika at first, but she brought
To prove herself to Zhihao, Marika agreed to help her him something he loved: a puzzle to solve.
take down the Sun Drinkers, and so their twin Raleighs
carved a path of crimson and gold through Darkblood Eventually, he determined that the book contained a
Hold to take down Noctis Aeternum, Crimson Prince of set of radio frequencies reserved by Impact Dynamics
the Sun Drinkers. In a battle nobody but the two lancers but never used, and a number of long-depreciated
would ever know about, they slew the “vampire passcodes. Thorn tries all the passcodes, one by one,
overlord” and ended the scourge of his clan. The favor on the relevant frequencies. It takes hours, but he
fulfilled, Zhihao tells Marika that her contact is on Mróz. finally gets a hit: an old satellite out near Zethus.

The vision ends. The PC with the Golden Hand ticks a The vision ends. The PC with the Golden Hand ticks a
segment on their Seeking the Crimson Hand clock. segment on their Seeking the Crimson Hand clock.

[272]
SKIP AHEAD
By default, the PC who owns the Golden Hand can only tick three segments on their Seeking the Crimson Hand
clock in Act 1. The second half of this story will not unfold until Act 2. However, if you don’t want to wait for Act 2
to be released – or if you’re planning to take the campaign in a different direction – here are the mechanical details
of the Crimson Hand, and one of the two perks that can come with reuniting them.

The Crimson Hand Unbreakable Bond

Auxiliary CQB, Exotic Gear, Loading, Perk
Reliable 1, Unique
[b5] [a3] [1d6i] You reunited the Golden and Crimson Hands, just as
they were always meant to be. The scene unfolds
If this weapon starts a turn loaded, every weapon in
before you, and you realize you’ve been seeing only
this mount gains +1g on attacks this turn.
half the memory. There was cherry wine and
If you install the Crimson Hand in the same mount whiskey, coffee and cigars, rose perfume and
as the Golden Hand, they count as only one piece sandalwood. There was dancing and dice. This was
of Exotic Gear for installation limits. the day of their wedding.
Zhihao always hit her mark, and she couldn’t
afford not to: she was clumsy on the reload. That was their happiest memory. Although Marika
Marika took aim at her fumbling, because she Wren and Lin Zhihao might be dead, their love for
knew it set Zhihao’s teeth grinding. each other is not.

When your mech levels it, you smell cherry wine As long as the Golden Hand and the Crimson Hand
and coffee, hear the clatter of dice, and feel are both mounted on your mech, they can never
the corners of your mouth pulled upwards into break due to structure damage.
a cocky grin.

NEW NPC CLASSES

Presented here are four new classes of NPC for players
to fight. They’re introduced throughout the course of
Act 1, but can be used in any campaign.

• The DELUGE, a heavy weapons specialist that halts

enemy advances with overwhelming firepower.
• The LOBBER, a brutal close-range mech that deals
area damage by throwing explosive charges.
• The PARALLEL, a bizarre and dangerous foe that
jumps between multiple timelines to avoid damage
and ambush its enemies.
• The SLINGER, a mid-range area denial specialist
that consistently deals small amounts of damage.

“I play my drums and the lightning flashes.

I play my drums and the thunder crashes.”

[273]
DELUGE Artillery/Defender

Deluge-type chassis are the logical extreme of the n+1 doctrine of firepower. One
big, expensive gun might be more powerful, but a handful of slightly smaller guns
can do the job just as well for less money. Why spend a king’s ransom on a fancy
guided missile that might get punked by ECM when you can just buy ten thousand
bullets and hose the whole place down? One of them has to hit, after all.

TIER 1 TIER 2 TIER 3

MECH SKILLS MECH SKILLS MECH SKILLS
Hull: +1 Systems: +0 Hull: +2 Systems: +1 Hull: +3 Systems: +1
Agility: -2 Engineering: +2 Agility: -2 Engineering: +3 Agility: -2 Engineering: +5

CORE STATS CORE STATS CORE STATS

HP: 12 Armor: 2 HP: 14 Armor: 2 HP: 18 Armor: 2
Evasion: 7 E-Defense: 10 Evasion: 8 E-Defense: 12 Evasion: 8 E-Defense: 14
Speed: 3 Size: 2 Speed: 3 Size: 2 Speed: 3 Size: 2
Heat Cap: 8 Save Target: 10 Heat Cap: 8 Save Target: 12 Heat Cap: 8 Save Target: 14
Sensors: 10 Sensors: 10 Sensors: 10

TACTICS OPTIONAL SYSTEMS

The Deluge’s primary tactic is to inhibit mobility by MATHUR STOP Trait
laying down zones which let it automatically damage When the Deluge clears all l, it may choose to
anything that enters them. As it continues to fire, its receive l equal to half its Heat Cap, putting it in the
damage increases along with its heat – which is a DANGER ZONE.
potential weakness, since it needs to be close to
exceeding its heat cap to do the most damage. Point Defense Mode
System, Full Action, Recharge 4+
The Deluge reorients its frame and shifts into point-
BASE SYSTEMS defense mode. Until the start of its next turn, the
Quad Assault Cannons Deluge becomes IMMOBILIZED, but it projects a d3
Superheavy Cannon, Reliable 2/3/4, point defense zone around itself. This zone is a
2l(Self), +1/+2/+3 lead rain zone that only damages hostiles, instead
[e10] [5/7/9i] providing the Deluge and its allies with soft cover
and RESISTANCE to damage from ranged attacks.
LEAD RAIN Trait
After firing its Quad Assault Cannons, the Deluge RIDING THE REDLINE Trait
may create a lead rain zone in the same e10 as a When the Deluge reaches its HEAT CAP, it no longer
free action. This zone ends immediately if the Deluge takes heat from firing its Quad Assault Cannons. It
moves, is destroyed, becomes STUNNED or JAMMED, takes heat normally from all other sources.
or if it fires the weapon again. When a character
starts their turn in or enters this zone for the first time SHEER VOLUME OF BULLETS Trait
in a round, the Deluge automatically deals the Quad Attacks with the Deluge’s Quad Assault Cannons
Assault Cannons’ RELIABLE damage to them. ignore INVISIBLE.

Spray and Pray

Reactive Defense System Protocol, Recharge 4+
System
Until the start of its next turn, the Deluge’s Quad
The Deluge and adjacent allies gain soft cover for Assault Cannons gain INACCURATE, but their attack
as long as it’s generating a zone of lead rain. and the lead rain zone they generate become c7.

SPIN UP Trait WITHERING HAIL Trait

While the Deluge is in the DANGER ZONE, its Quad Characters within the Deluge’s lead rain zone
Assault Cannons deal +2 bonus damage, and become IMPAIRED, and can’t clear this condition by
their RELIABLE value is increased by 1. any means while they remain in the zone.

[274]
LOBBER Striker

An example of the Long Rim’s brutally pragmatic approach to combat, the Lobber is
little more than a civilian loader frame covered in pressure plating, wielding
repurposed mining explosives. They're a cheap, efficient force multiplier, and
terrifyingly effective against soft targets or mechanized chassis in close formation.

TIER 1 TIER 2 TIER 3

MECH SKILLS MECH SKILLS MECH SKILLS
Hull: +0 Systems: -1 Hull: +1 Systems: -1 Hull: +2 Systems: 0
Agility: +1 Engineering: +1 Agility: +2 Engineering: +1 Agility: +3 Engineering: +2

CORE STATS CORE STATS CORE STATS

HP: 12 Armor: 1 HP: 14 Armor: 1 HP: 16 Armor: 1
Evasion: 8 E-Defense: 8 Evasion: 10 E-Defense: 10 Evasion: 12 E-Defense: 12
Speed: 5 Size: 1 Speed: 5 Size: 1 Speed: 5 Size: 1
Heat Cap: 6 Save Target: 12 Heat Cap: 6 Save Target: 15 Heat Cap: 8 Save Target: 18
Sensors: 8 Sensors: 8 Sensors: 8

TACTICS OPTIONAL SYSTEMS

The Lobber is a close-range combatant that specializes Assault Launcher
in punishing targets who bunch up. It has a broad range System, Recharge 5+, Free Action
of optional systems that allow its attacks more tactical Mining Charge attacks the Lobber makes this turn
flexibility. Notably, it’s resistant to all of the damage it become b15. Any f remains the same.
can deal, so it doesn’t need to worry so much about
catching itself in its own blasts. EXPERT DEMOLITIONIST Trait
Objects, terrain and DEPLOYABLES in the area of the
If it has multiple optional systems that modify its Mining Lobber's Mining Charge attacks are automatically
Charge attacks, it can use any and all of them at once. hit and take 5/8/10k AP.

Incendiary Charge
BASE SYSTEMS System, Recharge 5+, Free Action
Mining Charge Mining Charge attacks the Lobber makes this turn
Main Launcher, Arcing, +1/+2/+3 deal 3/4/5m instead of their regular damage.
[b5] [f1] [4/6/8k]
The Lobber can use this weapon as both parts of a Kinetic Charge
BARRAGE, but the target areas can’t overlap. System, Recharge 5+, Free Action
Characters in both areas are attacked only once, but Mining Charge attacks the Lobber makes this turn
the Lobber may choose from which area. gain Knockback 2.

BLAST PLATING Trait Oversize Charge

The Lobber has RESISTANCE to k and damage from System, Recharge 5+, Free Action
f attacks and systems. Mining Charge attacks the Lobber makes this turn
become f2. Any b remains the same.
INTERESTING CHOICE FOR CQB Trait
The Lobber doesn’t receive DIFFICULTY on Mining
Charge attacks due to being ENGAGED if it includes Seismic Charge
itself in the f. System, Recharge 5+, Free Action
Targets the Lobber hits with its Mining Charge
COOK OFF Trait attacks this turn must succeed on a HULL save or be
When the Lobber’s mech is destroyed, it immediately knocked PRONE.
makes two Mining Charge attacks. Both of these
attacks gain +1g and must include the Lobber in WITNESS ME! Trait
their f; this isn’t a BARRAGE, so the areas may When COOK OFF triggers, the Lobber first moves
overlap and target a character twice. The pilot may spaces equal to its SPEED, ignoring reactions and
EJECT as part of this process, and definitely should. engagement. If Mining Charge is broken, repair it.

[275]
PARALLEL Striker

PREPARED BY: UIB-TERMINALCLICHE

RECOVERED FOR: UIB-KATABATIC
CLEARENCE REQ: SOLEMN VIGIL

I can confirm that mechs belonging to pattern group “Parallel” match the profile of
contacts first observed during the Calliope Incident (see report: CALAMITY AXIS).
We’re still trying to identify the original developer. Current best guesses are SSC,
the Armory, Horizon, or even the Cult of the One, but in my opinion, it can’t be any
of them. This tech is years ahead of even the largest corprostates, let alone a
bunch of cultists in a garage.

TIER 1 TIER 2 TIER 3

MECH SKILLS MECH SKILLS MECH SKILLS
Hull: +0 Systems: +2 Hull: +0 Systems: +2 Hull: +1 Systems: +3
Agility: +2 Engineering: +0 Agility: +3 Engineering: +1 Agility: +4 Engineering: +2

CORE STATS CORE STATS CORE STATS

HP: 12 Armor: 0 HP: 14 Armor: 0 HP: 18 Armor: 0
Evasion: 8 E-Defense: 10 Evasion: 10 E-Defense: 12 Evasion: 12 E-Defense: 14
Speed: 5 Size: 1 Speed: 5 Size: 1 Speed: 5 Size: 1
Heat Cap: 6 Save Target: 11 Heat Cap: 8 Save Target: 13 Heat Cap: 8 Save Target: 16
Sensors: 5 Sensors: 5 Sensors: 5

TACTICS Revert
The Parallel is a highly mobile striker that can dominate Reaction, 1/round
large areas of the battlefield by literally being in two Trigger: An attack is made against the Parallel.
places at once. PHASE ECHO lets them position a Effect: The Parallel interrupts the triggering attack
surrogate that they can switch places with to avoid and teleports to the space of one of its echoes,
incoming damage or make reaction attacks. A destroying it. The attack now targets the new echo it
Parallel’s main weakness is its fragility; it relies on left behind. If part of the same attack also targeted
careful positioning and judicious use of REVERT to avoid its previous echo, it now targets the Parallel.
high-damage attacks. It can’t stand up to repeated
damage, and removing its echoes hampers its mobility. Achronal Response
Reaction, 1/round
BASE SYSTEMS Trigger: A hostile character starts movement
Possibility Blade (including BOOST and other actions) inside the
Heavy Melee, Reliable 3/4/5, +2/+4/+6 THREAT of one of the Parallel’s echoes.
[a2] [6/8/10i] Effect: The Parallel immediately teleports to the
echo’s space, destroying it, and then uses SKIRMISH
ANOMALOUS MOTION Trait as part of the same reaction, before the hostile
The Parallel teleports when it makes a standard character moves. A new echo is left behind in the
move. space the Parallel previously occupied.

PHASE ECHO Trait

Whenever the Parallel teleports, it creates an echo
OPTIONAL SYSTEMS
in the space it previously occupied. An echo is an Cracked Mirror
obstruction the same size as the Parallel, has Reaction, 1/round, Recharge 6
EVASION 10, E-DEFENSE 10, is destroyed if it takes Trigger: A melee or ranged attack is made against
any damage or heat, and projects the same THREAT the Parallel or one of its echoes.
as the Parallel’s weapons. The Parallel can only Effect: The attacker must make a SYSTEMS save. If
have one echo at once; creating a new one destroys it fails, the attack doesn’t occur, and the attacker and
the old one. The Parallel also gains the REVERT and the target swap position, both teleporting. The
ACHRONAL RESPONSE reactions. It can’t use these attacker must then repeat the attack against
reactions if it’s SLOWED or IMMOBILIZED. themselves.

[276]
DEATHWALKER Trait SHATTER Trait
The first time that the Parallel is destroyed each Whenever an echo is destroyed, it deals 3/4/5i in
combat, if they still have an echo active, they’re not a d1 area.
actually defeated. At the start of the Parallel’s next
turn, they teleport to their echo, destroying it and Uncertainty
returning to 1 HP. If their last echo is destroyed System
before their next turn, this trait doesn't function and The Parallel can have two echoes active at once,
the Parallel remains destroyed. This doesn’t stack instead of one. It always decides which of its
with the VETERAN template’s FEIGN DEATH trait. previous echoes to destroy if it creates a third. If this
system is destroyed, an echo of the Parallel’s choice
Doppler is also destroyed, even if it only has one left.
System, Protocol
The Parallel moves one of its echoes up to 5 spaces.
Wraithshot
Echoes aren’t characters, so this movement ignores Auxiliary CQB, +1/+2/+3
engagement and doesn’t provoke reactions. [b5] [a3] [2/4/6j]
This weapon makes one extra attack per echo the
MANIFEST POSSIBILITY Parallel has active. Each extra attack originates from
Trait, Recharge 5+, Quick Action a different one of its echoes.
The Parallel creates an echo in a target space within
line of sight and b10.

Dicen: “Está vacío, ese tenemos miedo.”

Decimos: “No es vacío, ese mucho peor.”

[277]
SLINGER Controller

Slinger-class mechs are a favorite among pilots who value skill over raw firepower.
Stable, agile and dependable, Slinger frames don’t need military-grade guns or fancy
tech; all they need is someone at the controls who knows when to take the shot that
ends the fight. Stepping into battle against a Slinger is a nerve-wracking
experience: a quiet duel of resolve, each combatant seeking their perfect moment,
the razor-thin window that separates the quick from the dead.

TIER 1 TIER 2 TIER 3

MECH SKILLS MECH SKILLS MECH SKILLS
Hull: +1 Systems: -1 Hull: +2 Systems: -1 Hull: +3 Systems: -1
Agility: +2 Engineering: +1 Agility: +3 Engineering: +1 Agility: +4 Engineering: +1

CORE STATS CORE STATS CORE STATS

HP: 16 Armor: 0 HP: 20 Armor: 0 HP: 20 Armor: 0
Evasion: 10 E-Defense: 8 Evasion: 12 E-Defense: 10 Evasion: 14 E-Defense: 12
Speed: 4 Size: 1 Speed: 4 Size: 1 Speed: 5 Size: 1
Heat Cap: 7 Save Target: 11 Heat Cap: 7 Save Target: 13 Heat Cap: 7 Save Target: 16
Sensors: 8 Sensors: 8 Sensors: 8

TACTICS Ring The Bell

Slingers are potent area denial specialists who trade Trait, Protocol
heavily on their Deathmark mechanic. It inflicts these The Slinger makes a Hand Cannon attack against
upon a critical hit, so it will benefit allies who can each character within b5 that has Deathmark, then
provide LOCK ON. Its attacks ignore armor and deal clears Deathmark on those characters. Any
damage even on a miss, and if it’s inflicted a lot of character hit by these attacks becomes SLOWED until
Deathmarks, it can unleash several at once at the start the end of their next turn. Attacks that score a critical
of its turn, threatening multiple foes in a wide radius. hit can reapply Deathmark.

The Slinger’s primary weaknesses are its inability to OPTIONAL SYSTEMS

deal with targets at long range and its reliance on
Another Hand Cannon
Deathmark to be effective. Players inflicting IMPAIRED
Auxiliary CQB, +2/+4/+6, AP, Reliable 1
or using cover will make marks harder to inflict. [b5] [a3] [3/4/5i]
When the Slinger makes an OVERWATCH attack with
BASE SYSTEMS another weapon, they can also make an attack with
Hand Cannon this weapon against the triggering character.
Auxiliary CQB, +2/+4/+6, AP, Reliable 1 This weapon is considered a Hand Cannon for any
[b5] [a3] [3/4/5i] traits, reactions or systems that refer to one.

COOL HAND Trait Dark Wind

The Slinger gains ACCURACY instead of DIFFICULTY Reaction, 1/round
from being ENGAGED. Trigger: A character attacks the Slinger with a
ranged weapon.
DEATHMARK Trait Effect: The Slinger makes a Hand Cannon attack
When the Slinger scores a critical hit, their target against the triggering character. If that character has
gains Deathmark. A character with Deathmark can Deathmark, clear it, and the Slinger’s attack
make an AGILITY save as a quick action to remove it. happens first. If the Slinger’s attack hits, the target
becomes IMPAIRED until the end of their next turn.
SUN’S ZENITH
Trait, Recharge 5+, Quick Action DEVIL’S EYE Trait
Choose any number of characters within line of sight The Slinger ignores HIDDEN and INVISIBLE on any
and b5 of the Slinger. They each gain Deathmark. character that has Deathmark.

[278]
Draw! OUTLAW’S HAND Trait
Reaction, 1/round The Slinger’s Hand Cannon, Sun’s Zenith and
Trigger: A character with Deathmark starts their Ring The Bell are now b8.
turn within line of sight and b5 of the Slinger.
Effect: Clear that character’s Deathmark. Until the Shouldna Aughta
end of their turn, that character receives +3 h on any Reaction, (1/2/3)/round
attack that doesn’t target the Slinger. Trigger: A hostile character within line of sight of the
Slinger attacks one of the Slinger’s allies.
Fan The Hammer Effect: That character gains Deathmark. At T2, this
System, Quick Action, Recharge 4+ reaction can be used twice per round. At T3, it can
be used three times per round.
The Slinger prepares to unleash a hail of lead. The
next attack it makes with its Hand Cannon becomes
TRUE GRIT Trait
c5, but doesn’t hit allied characters.
When a character with Deathmark attacks the
Trait Slinger, the Slinger gains RESISTANCE to damage, l
IMPOSSIBLE RICOCHET
and m from that attack. Then, clear that character’s
The Slinger’s Hand Cannon attacks gain Arcing.
Deathmark.
Against characters with Deathmark, they instead
gain Seeking.

“Think you’re tough, hombre? Well then, humor me: take one more step.”

[279]
NEW BONDS
Field Guide to the Karrakin Trade Baronies introduced
the bond system for narrative play, offering new options
for player characters while outside their mechs.
Presented here are two new bonds that represent
specific character archetypes that one might find in
Calliope.

The Influencer is a celebrity of some kind: they could

be a writer, a journalist, a movie star, a politician, a
livestreamer, a mech arena champion – just about any
profession counts, so long as it generates some kind of
audience. Their power comes less from themselves,
and more from the fact that people listen to and believe
the things that they say.

Influencers are paragons, role models, figures that a lot

of people trust and look up to. At their best, Influencers
are exactly what they appear to be, responsibly using
their fame and following to make the world a better
place. At their worst, Influencers can be deeply selfish
and manipulative, abusing the trust of their fanbase for
their own personal gain.

The Technician fixes things – usually machines of

some kind, but it can be more metaphorical. They are
the ones who keep things running, whether it’s the air
conditioning, the soy protein processors or the local
miner’s union. Without their tireless and often thankless
work, everything would fall apart.

Technicians don’t have many powers that relate

directly to people. This doesn’t mean they’re not
sociable, just that their area of expertise is more the
things that people use and the systems they interact
with rather than the people themselves.

[280]
THE INFLUENCER
MAJOR IDEALS

I addressed challenges with charisma, personal

magnetism or my connections.

I expressed my heritage, background or

beliefs through my actions.

I struggled with issues from my

burdens or background.

MINOR IDEALS
(Pick one each session)

I made the whole thing about me.

I made a ridiculous boast and lived up

to it.

I put a lot of new eyes on an important

subject.

Someone else had the answer, and I knew how

to get it from them.

What gives you your powers? What is most likely to harm your image?
An inimitable personal brand, cultivated over the years; Your controversial sociopolitical takes; your checkered
daddy’s credit line; an unusually good sponsorship family history; your ill-conceived tattoo; your past
deal; the sale of your soul, figuratively or literally. allegiances; your rampant plagiarism; your refusal to
properly credit artists.

[281]
BOND POWERS (8 XP)

ALL EYES ON ME (1/SCENE) INCOMPREHENSIBLE MEMETIC SUBCULTURE

You can take 2 STRESS to immediately make yourself You can couch your spoken or written words in layers
the center of attention. For a moment, everyone and of reference and irony so obscure that, in practical
everything looks at you and only you. People fail to terms, they are encrypted. Only the people for whom
register the presence of other people or things, and your message is intended can understand it; others
even security footage zooms in on you too tightly to perceive nonsense. This doesn’t automatically count as
keep track of anything else. After this moment ends, lying. It might be obvious that you’re doing this, but that
you’ll have to work if you want to hold their attention, doesn’t make deciphering it any easier.
and you can't use this power twice in the same scene.
ON THE LIST
ALWAYS AN AUDIENCE (1/SESSION) You can get into almost any meeting, private function
When you’re threatened by people who think they can or exclusive social gathering, simply through your own
do what they want because they outnumber you, or reputation or by namedropping a relevant person. This
because nobody’s watching, you can reveal how you’re only gets you through the door; you will have to do the
not as alone as they think. Either they back off now, or work of convincing those inside you belong there. For
they choose two: 2 STRESS, you can bring up to four other people along.

• You have some backup after all. OVERSHARING

• Everyone will know who they are and what they did. You may heal an additional 2 STRESS during downtime,
• That’s not the only mistake they made. but if you do, everyone knows exactly what you’ve been
doing lately. What’s “opsec?”
CARPE DIEM // CARPE NOCTEM (2/SESSION)
Carpe Diem: When you do something totally reckless, PLUGGED IN
ill-advised and dangerous just to look cool or impress If you don’t know it yourself, you know where to look for
people, you take 2 STRESS and get increased effect. it or who to ask. As long as you have access to a major
This power then becomes Carpe Noctem. information network – the omninet, the Muse, a planet’s
local internet – if you roll a 9 or lower on any check to
Carpe Noctem: When you show sudden wisdom, research or find information, you may treat the result as
restraint or foresight that nobody expected from you, a 10 instead. Accessing confidential, restricted or
you take 2 STRESS and gain +2g on the roll. This power deeply obscure information this way is RISKY – you
then becomes Carpe Diem. might still get it, but there’ll be consequences.

EVERYONE’S A FAN (2/SESSION) REALITY CONSENSUS

Upon first meeting a new person, if it seems plausible, You can manipulate the memory of crowds. In any
you may declare that they’re a fan of yours. Roll a d20. gathering of more than six individuals, people tend to
remember events occurring the way you recount them,
so long as it doesn’t clash with obvious physical
• On a 20, oh my god, it’s really you! They’ll do evidence. Gain +1g and increased effect on rolls
almost anything for you, within reason. where this is relevant.
• On a 10-19, they’re a fan, and they’re delighted to
meet you. They’ll help you if it won’t cause trouble.
VINDICTIVE
• On a 2-9, who? When you Heal Burdens, you gain +1g on the check
• On a 1, oh, they’ve heard of you alright, and they if you’re taking action to harm or inconvenience those
loathe you. you consider responsible for your suffering.

VETERAN POWER MASTER POWER

If you have two or more powers from this bond, you can You may only gain this power if you’ve taken four
choose a power from any other bond instead of one powers from this bond, including the Veteran Power.
from this bond when you would gain a power. You can
do this twice. Cancellation (1/session): Choose an enemy. Accuse
them of something truly awful. The searing gaze of
If you have at least one veteran power, gain the Boon public opinion falls upon them; they will be judged and
of Exposure: At the end of each session, if you think found sorely wanting. For at least a scene, nobody will
you did something really cool, name a person who’ll help them, and everyone will hate them. After that, if
look better just for standing next to you. They get 1 XP. what you said is provably true, the stigma remains. If
it’s likely but unproven, the stench of it taints them for a
while afterward. If it’s clearly false, you’re next, liar.

[282]
THE TECHNICIAN
MAJOR IDEALS

I addressed challenges with ingenuity, intuition

or technical skill.

I expressed my heritage, background or

beliefs through my actions.

I struggled with issues from my

burdens or background.

MINOR IDEALS
(Pick one each session)

I learnt a new and useful trick.

I made a skeptic appreciate my profession.

I trusted a gut feeling about what was wrong.

I kept things running smoothly, and nobody noticed.

What gives you your powers? What was the one thing you couldn’t fix?
A childhood spent fixing endless problems; the strict Your family; your home; your world; your ship; yourself.
tutelage of a veteran in your field; a whole lot of trial and
error; that strange, other voice that the comp/cons
sometimes speak with.

[283]
BOND POWERS (8 XP)

CUSTOM TOOLS JOB SATISFACTION

Choose a specific field of work – for example, HVAC When you mend something, anything – when you
repair, reactor maintenance, contract negotiation, etc. really, properly, truly fix it – you clear 1 STRESS.
Over the course of your career, you’ve assembled a
personal toolbox, whether literal or metaphorical. JUICE IT (1/SESSION)
Whenever you’re working in that field and you have You know how to make something – usually but not
access to your toolbox, you gain increased effect. always a piece of technology – operate significantly
above its recommended output. For the rest of the
FEHLERSINN scene, whatever you modify this way gives increased
You can look at something that’s broken and get a gut effect to any rolls that use it. At the end of the scene, it
feeling of what went wrong. This doesn’t necessarily immediately and catastrophically breaks.
give you any information on how to fix it, but it might.
You must be able to see and reach out to touch what’s PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE (2/SESSION)
broken, although the “seeing” and “reaching out” can When you whack something inanimate to just make the
be metaphorical. godforsaken piece of shit work, choose one: it doesn’t
help at all, but you clear 1 STRESS, or you take 2
GORDIAN KNOT (1/SESSION) STRESS and it awkwardly sputters back to life.
When you or an ally you can see or hear fails a skill
check, you may describe how you quickly improvise a PROPER PROCEEDURE
simple, low-tech solution to the problem. The check Once you’ve done something a few times, you can do
succeeds instead, but you take 2 STRESS and choose it by rote. If you’d roll a skill check for doing the exact
one of the following: same thing you’ve done several times before, you can
choose to forgo the roll and treat the result as a 10-19.
• Your solution broke something else. You can’t modify this result with ACCURACY or
• Your solution used up an important resource (time, increased effect. If a task isn’t identical, just very
supplies, scrap metal, patience, etc.) similar, you still need to roll, but you gain +1g.
• Your solution attracted the wrong kind of attention.
SOLIDARITY
IMPROVISED EQUIPMENT When you stand shoulder-to-shoulder with a crowd of
You’ve gotten used to working with whatever you have, people (at least ten) against a mutual threat, you gain
no matter how insufficient and piecemeal it may be. +1g to all rolls and you ignore the first point of STRESS
You may choose to negate any amount of DIFFICULTY that you would receive in a scene. If it’s more than
on a roll that comes from not having the proper tools, twenty, ignore the first two points of STRESS instead.
but whether or not your roll succeeds, choose one:
THE TOWER (1/SESSION)
• The exact same problem is going to come back A life of learning to fix things has also taught you how
soon, and this time it’ll be worse. to take them apart. If you have comprehensive
• Something personally important to you or someone information about something – a machine, a system, an
else is broken, used up or gone. organization – you know exactly what will do the most
• You had to take real harm to make this work – damage to it, right now. Until the end of the scene, you
physical, emotional or psychological. gain increased effect on all efforts to put this
knowledge into action.

VETERAN POWER MASTER POWER

If you have two or more powers from this bond, you can You may only gain this power if you’ve taken four
choose a power from any other bond instead of one powers from this bond, including the Veteran Power.
from this bond when you would gain a power. You can
do this twice. Vox Ad Machina (1/session): Touch a non-sentient
machine and tell it exactly what you want. If there’s
If you have at least one veteran power, gain the Boon even the slightest chance it could do what you ask, it
of the Wrench: At the end of each session, if you think does so, at precisely the moment you need it to. Then
a complicated problem was fixed, describe how the the GM chooses one of the following:
pieces came together. Give someone you think was
instrumental in the solution 1 XP. • The machine will never work again, ever.
• The machine exacts a heavy price in return.
• The machine is no longer non-sentient.

[284]
SPECIAL THANKS
Dillon DeSimone – I truly didn’t know what Andros
THE ORIGINAL CAMPAIGN Capella looked like until you drew that chilling portrait,
Jasmine “Jazz” D'Etiveaux as The GM – You first smirking, bloody-eyed. Then, I knew.
gave this story to us, and you gave me permission to
retell it. I hope I’ve done it justice! Thank you for taking
a chance and joining my weird Viking D&D game. Also, PLAYTESTERS
thank you for giving us Jerry Masters, without whom In Ada’s Playgroup
Golden Flame simply would not work. Ada (GM)
ElegantScarecrow "Kraken"
Eris as “Howl” – Thank you for being our loveable, GrandSlamdalf "Dust"
slightly unhinged melee combat specialist, thank you Tandin "Morningstar"
for helping me with the second telling of this story, and Xenguin "Crimson"
thanks for always being honest with me.
Barracuda’s Playgroup
Paul “Lorxus” Rapoport as Basil “Nautilus” Aniline Dillon DeSimone (They/Them)
Thank you for making paracausal nonsense that much Christian Bacelis (He/Him)
fun to listen to, thank you for stripping resistances off of John A. Bacelis (He/Him)
every single enemy we ever met, and thank you for Rachel Burton (They/Them)
being there for me, even during the bad times. And one member who wishes to remain anonymous

Greg “Faust” Kellerhouse as Johan “Catapult” – Cruye’s Playgroup

We could always rely on you to deal ridiculous damage Alice (Cruye)
Dan "MostlyWrites" Frank
at absurd ranges. Except when you were in the Drake,
Ljonskar (Ash E.)
where it was absurd damage at ridiculous ranges.
Pot "Sinius" Flowers
Thanks for joining my corporation in EVE Online back
in 2007 and being a constant in my life ever since.
Stronmaus’ Playgroup
Stronmaus
Avery “Vex” Stone as Ipswich “Switch” DeLacey – Kriegs
Not so much a note of thanks as a message to my Kritnich
future self: hey, look, despite all your doubts, you Rafaa
finished a project! Now go and finish the other two. StrongWolf
ThiefMann
ARTISTS
Jake Siano – You brought the places and things I IN MEMORIAM
imagine to life, always as good and usually better than Alex Vornoff – You taught me so much about the craft
I had imagined them. of tabletop roleplaying games. I wish I could speak to
you one last time.
Mith – Thank you so much for the Anthony Callahan
polaroid, and for your helpful advice on commercial Sam “Ghandaiah” Shapiro – You’ve been gone more
release contracts! than a decade, but more than anyone else, you inspired
me to create.
Robin JHF Petersen – You have a singular talent for
capturing the unreal.

Roxy – Many artists can make characters feel real. It

takes a rarer kind of artist to make characters become
real. You are the rarer kind.

Ezekiel Strange – I knew in my heart there would be

no-one on this planet more capable of doing vent crabs
artistic justice.

Sasha Forman – Your vibrant style brought S1GN4L

and Bad Star to life.

[285]
KICKSTARTER BACKERS
In Golden Flame Act 1 and the art within it was funded with the generous support of over 380 backers on
Kickstarter, including the following kind souls:

10acegames Ceebees G_theCubed

Aaron Gordon Charles Brock Gasca Fripta
Abbott Veldhuizen Chase P Geoff Green
Acatalepsy Christian Mako George Kearns
AceEmpress Christopher Kieta Gergoroth
Acolyte Clunker GrandSlamdalf
Ada Clark CMDJourney Graven Schism
Ada MacLurg Collin M Grigori
Adam Lyders Comet Scrap Harrison Ross
Adam T. Conker The Rakun Haven Waters
AK Brown Conlon Novak Hawkster
Alastair McNab Conor Galagan-Mead Hazel Marshall
Alberto Calsolaro Contrail Spotter Hemlark
Alberto Camargo Cosar Henry Bing
Alex Cook croese Henry Gray
Alex Levy Cruye HereticSoul
Alex Milgrom CrystalDave hlprmnky
Alex Piccolo Dalton Brander Holden Morter
Alexander Richardson Dan Byrne Holly Rennex
Alexander Stokes Daniel Evards Horton Fears A Coup
Allen Hosmer Daniel Hicks huh
Amy Pearce Darren Hubbard Hywel Nevard
Anastasia Holthaus Dasdagger Ian Dunwiddie
Andrew Adair David DeGeer Ian Mitchell
Archantael Clow David Galvan Iron_Mandarin
Aron Morris David J Prokopetz Izaak Seaberg
Athena C David Saeva Jack
Atlatl DawnPaladin Jack Lemmer
Austin Betz Declan Richards Jacob Kirby Bauch
Austin Gray Derek Munn Jacob Navarro
autonomousAscension Devin Jake Sandford
Basheer Ghouse Dexcellente Jake Shultz
BeardedJho dign James Ballard
Ben Akermanknopf Doc Burns James Hunter
Ben Corrin DoombeaR James McCord
Ben Harkins Doug Dietzel Jamie Vann
Ben 'Red Rook' Nettleship DragonGirlJosie Jasmine D'Etiveaux
Benjamin Gilyot Drew Fox Jasper van Nieuwenhuijzen
Bex Duncan MacLeod Jay Lapham
Bird A. Dylan Goh Jay The Bookworm
BJ Elesday JB Jr
Blake Campbell ElizatronicWarfare Jim DelRosso
Boris Li Emmybuns Jóhann Chanse Sigurðsson
Botch Frivarg Envy Hiltunen John "Starbomber109" Ryan
Bradley "Jimborg" Schulz Eoin Burke John Bath
Brett Holloway Epraysue Johny "Four Aces"
Briefgarde Erik Hinrichsen Jon Zappa
bv728 Erik Larsen Jonathan Burton
C.M. Brown Errant Sun Jonathan Snavely
Calahann Eugene Y Jordan Xiao
Calvin B. Evelyn Estelis Jørgen Sætermo
Cam Locke Evelyn Quinlan Joseph Gandee
Cameron Haggett FauxFaux Joseph Parsley
Cameron ish Fiona Goose Josh Fagnant
Cameron McClure Frank "WK" Wehrmeijer Joshua Connolly
Cameron Reed Froggy JShark13
Carterocket Fynikz Juan Camino

[286]
Jude Purrington NHP Specialist Sidhe Torres Steve "Cydonia or Bust"
Justin Barnes Nick Steve Cartwright
K Rohlman Nicolas Miranda Stronmaus
Kaento Nicole Featherby Tandin a.k.a. "Morningstar"
Kai Tave Nolan Tau
Karen Fieseler Nolan Archia Tempest System
Katherine Reeve Onocaizer ThatOneGuy - (Chris)
Katherine Stark Outlookcuv The Blind Loach crew and all the
Kathryn Gibes Paisley Moon residents of U-1
Kayte Hawke Patrick "hi_pat_trick" Karjala The E
Ken Finlayson Patrick O’Duffy The Giant White Duck
Kiki Kholer Patrick S The Sylvania System
Kly Elias Paul "Cut-Rate" Resnick Thelonicon
Kyle Connor perdix Tom "fancywookiee" Bowers
Kyle Novich Pete Rivera ToodlePeep
Lauren Wynn Petrov Neutrino Tory Hirvonen
Lexi Martin Petter Wäss Tracy Clark "ElegantScarecrow"
Lincoln Glasby Phil Corpuz Travis LaFave
Lionel C. Phillip McGregor Tricky
Logan Freesh Phillip Sacramento Trip Space-Parasite
Lord Fenrir Phillip Steder Tyler Clark
Lost Deep Preston Poland Unnydhnes
Lucas Raines Prezo Unworthypilot
Ludum Arnao Purg Updog37
Lupin Chevalier qazzquimby Velkrai
Lydia Hodgins R Moorhead Veritas
M Tyson Radmelon Victor Fajardo
Mackenzie Belmont Raven Stormchaser Vitaemachina
Mackenzie Johnson Remmna F Void Hopper
Magnus "KJR" Rock Ritty Volpes Nye
Mark Argent RJ Bliley Wanderpanzer
Mark Harris Rob Zweig Webster Leone
Mason "Zburator" Sansonia RobFurze William M. Wilson
Mathulu Robin Shores WobblingVoid
Matsci Ronald Brightwell-Kelley Woodlandkammo
Matt Batten Rose Barry Xeans
Matt Renton Rose Whittle Yannick "Cosmic Afro" Daigle
Matthew Power Ryan Edwards Yeshin Hariparsad
Matthew Swiger Ryan Kent Zac Derenne
Maxwell Escandon Sage Rosemary Zachary Cardona
May Cause Annihilation Sam Zachary Frederickson
Mazer Sam Garamy Zack Walters
Mc.yensid Sam Mangham Zemyla
McCulloch Larson Samuel Gordon Mitson Zenn
MeeperMantis Scott Akers znsolomon
Melody Simpson Scratching92 Zoey Winters
MeowMita Sean Robinson ZombieMike
Michael J Evans Sean Santelmann
Michael Prijatelj Seth Wenger
Mike "Lazarus" Henthorne Shal Loraine
Mike Feldman Siberys
Mike Lehmann Siro
MilesNG SolarDwagon
Minerva Springer Sophie Bodington
Montana Bobinski SoylentRobot
Mx_Reese SpicyBC
Naru Takumi Squirx
Nasajin Standev
Nathan Anderson StealthBow
Nathan Baxter Stebby Stebboix
Nathan Garrelts Steelcondor
NHP SHAKA Stephen Ooi

[287]
BACKER CHARACTERS BACKER EQUIPMENT
Character Page Backer Equipment Page Backer
Alan/Alice “Al” Barton 162 Michael J Evans Bronco Hook 79 Tau
Alec 109 Grigori Hyperkinetic Gauntlet 78 Draekos
Anastasia Shan 160 Athena C ID-390 “Balistaria”
121 hiddenkrypt
Aura 21 Boris Li Marksman Rifle
Calamity Havok 74 Brett Holloway
Calix 162 Mike Feldman
Caspian Tryst 115 Archantael Clow
Charger 21 Joshua Connolly
Claryana Rowdley 116 Kathryn Gibes
Doppelbock 33 Matthew Power
Dragonetgirl 92 Sophie Bodington
Fern 180 AceEmpress
Scott “Tandin”
Gabriel Swallow 116
Dusenbery
Glory Lu 174 Minerva Springer
Gun Brother Ten 270 Kai Tave
Inbi Tween 115 Emmybuns
Isabel Ashworth 162 Dalton Brander
Iska “Limbo” Volkov 78 Amy Pearce
The Sylvania
Jay “Century” Fitch 269
System
Jergard Stenton 76 James Ballard
Tracy Clark
Kraken 75
“ElegantScarecrow”
Kelly Yoshiyama Dylan Goh
MEATGHOST 32 Ryan Edwards
Mitchell “Mitch” Mason
31 Webster Leone
Hayes
OddDirective 32 Sean Santelmann
Pear Bradford 162 GrandSlamdalf
Ben “Red Rook”
Rosalyn Taylor 115
Nettleship
Dr. Rose Bottlé 133 Ada Clark
Samantha “The Coyote” 180 Lord Fenrir
Sappho Machete 40 Mx_Reese
Sarissa “Nova Cat”
121 Jordan Xiao
Kairos
Sir Sheepington, the Fifth
40 Chris
of His Name
Sneaky Cheetah 34 Allen Hosmer
Sp0ttyl0g1c 32 Fynikz
Sparrow Min 241 Bird A.
Frank “WK”
Squeakieclean 195
Wehrmeijer
Steely Eye 180 Jay The Bookworm
Tarben Malaki 123 Stronmaus
Thalia Rue 3 BJ
ThatOne4205 35 MilesNG
Zallanora 122 Stephen Ooi
Zarick 123 Zarick
Zephyr 162 Cruye

[288]