Endgame

"I heard whispers of some sort of ship, some sort of weapon, and something stolen from the occupational forces also on the list, but you never know... It is all rumor. But the fact that a rare egg is being auctioned off on the same planet Flakko went to is no coincidence.." "Whatever route you want to take that works, is fine with me. I would be wary about using the Cydonian authorities, though. You never know if they'll just apprehend, or even destroy, the contraband that they find." "That being said, I wish you all the absolute best on your mission. Return safely, and I will contact you when you return to the Initium... hopefully with the egg in hand." With that, the hologram blinks of out existence, and Kayarr begins to scoot back to the bridge. "Let's get this rust bucket landed, now. I'm pretty sure I found all the right buttons, so here goes..." The ship begins its descent, decelerating as it pierces atmosphere and swoops down towards a landing pad at the Haurbo Spaceport. The ship cuts through a layer of clouds and slows down, down, down, rumbling slightly as gravity takes hold over it once more. With a loud clunking noise, the landing gear is deployed, and the ship's engines slooowwwly cut out as it descends, jostling just a tiny bit as it lands. A successful trip across space! "See! Told you guys I could do it!" calls out the droid over the ship's intercom. "Let me drop the landing ramp for you, so you can step out..." There is a mechanical whirr as the docking ramp sinks down, some brisk air rushing into the stuffy ship. Refreshing, if not a bit chilly. The sunlight leaking in indicated it still daytime on Gnorra. And sure enough, at the foot of the ramp was the first agent of the Cydonian Collective they would encounter. Sturdy crimson armor and a matching crimson match did little to distract from the large photon pike on the soldier's back, nor the drawn blaster. At least the weapons weren't pointed at them yet, but it sent a message. "Identify yourselves. Do you have a valid Landing Pass for this space port?" she asks. In the distance, the tolling of bells could be heard.

Yep - the galaxy at large still remains mysterious, but I think the nature of how this place works like that little bit on how hard it is to clone stuff, for example) are slotting into place. That being said, the events of this test mission still remain in the non-canon zone, but if it is well liked enough we could probably slot it into the continuity. A huge agree there - some of the figbarfing we've seen in this topic already has been wicked cool.

Kyler pauses, racking his brain. "Aw, dammit, I had it written down here somewhere..." he says as his hologram searches an off-"camera" desk. "Small, single cockpit, two wings, four main thrusters, yellow paint job..." "The E-11 Dart?" "Yes, that's it! How did you...?" "I'm a pilot droid, I know a ship or two." The droid ambles over to a monitor on the wall opposite to the projector, and turns it on, displaying an image. "Looks a little bit like this. Honestly, I kinda hate it. The E-11 is a consumer version of a lightweight combat ship. So they basically took off the guns, cut the engine power and half, and people gobbled it up. The E-10 Combat Dart is a much better ship... If you see Jek's E-11 Dart, do me a favor and give it a good solid kick in the tail pipe for being a crappy ship." "Their old government got put in the back seat, I am sure there are some outspoken activists who are unhappy. Just how it works, I guess? And that is definitely one interpretation. The sigil obviously must have some meaning, given the design, but I have no clue what. To be honest, you've exhausted everything I know about Gnorra and the Cydonians. That being said, any final questions?" Mission Master Note: Expect to land tomorrow, but feel free to keep asking questions/roleplaying - just know that they might not have all the answers by now.

I'm glad! I know I am hitting you with a lot of made-up words and not-real places. but I hope the worldbuilding will pay off when the ship touches ground and you get unleashed into Gnorra. And yes, we all have to come to grips with the new system, me included.

The space pilot was staring off into space, seemingly uninterested in the fate of some delicious organic being. (After all, Kayarr had no sense of taste.) However, he snaps to attention. "I'd say about twenty minutes, roger roger. As soon as you guys are done talking to Kyler the landing sequence will begin, if I had to guess." "It's not an assumption, I'm afraid. After the egg went missing, I kept my ear on transmissions from the planet, and sprinkled in between news and outrage over the occupation, I heard rumors of something called the Umbra Auction, with a "rare egg" supposedly on the auction list. I think the Umbra Auction is something of an old tradition that endures, despite the government trying to stomp it out." "Sounds seedy, makes sense why people would try to get rid of it. And seeing as our good pal Jek is a native Gnorran, he might just have ties to it." "Precisely. The Sabrillo lives in largely temperate climates, and is an exceptionally poor swimmer, believe it or not. It sinks like a rock. As for how the Cydonians do it... I'm a chairman at GLESP, not a general or a politician. But they strike me as the "speak softly and carry a large plasma baton" type. Keep your head down and try not to stir the pot is my advice." "Hardy indeed. They had almost all the tools needed to thrive, if they weren't so delectable. I've sat through many an office debate at GLESP over cloning. I'm still mixed on it, personally... I unfortunately don't know a lot about Fangreaks. Jek wasn't the talkative sort and shared little. And all I know about Gnorra is the transmissions I listened to trying to get a hint as to what happened to the poor egg. That being said, I didn't feel comfortable delving into the criminal underworld of an occupied planet, so... I had to call in help." "Any last questions for me? By the sounds of things you're almost to your destination."

"Ah, no, not a Sabrithinius, but we happen to shelter many organisms of that class at our headquarters. You're welcome to stop by if you're curious! We have a newsletter." Seems like Vannoy wasn't above a little self promotion. "Jek was hired to be a 'stable-hand', so to speak. To clean out animal habitats and maintain equipment. To that end, him transporting the egg's incubator unit through the facility was normal behavior. In fact, it seemed he was en route with it to our lab when he suddenly bolted, diverting course and stealing the Sabrillo egg. We really ought to invest in more security... GLESP dispatched a few volunteers to an old Sabrillo nesting ground on Yandral, which happens to be a very, very cold planet in places. The coldest the Sabrillo was ever recorded living on. And trapped in the permafrost, frozen away, was a lone Sabrillo egg. It was... Well, or lack of a better word, it was a miracle. Nature preserved one for us. But now, we've experienced something of a reversal of fortune." "That's something I can't confirm or deny. Honestly, though, cloning is such a finicky process. the lab boys at GLESP have looked into it before, and I couldn't understand half the science they were throwing my way, but it boiled down to 'cloning anything is hard, and when you try to clone a non-human you have to reinvent the process from scratch.' So yes, there's that. Even if there was a cloning facility, I imagine the Cydonian Collective would have something to say about it..." "When we live in a pond as large as the cosmos, there is no way of saying anything is really, truly gone. Maybe there's some uncharted planet teeming with Sabrillos. But... This egg is the first recorded sighting in many, many cycles." Vannoy's voice gets more serious as he discusses the creature's future, and he looks down at his feet. "It is unfortunate. Yes, it would be alone. But it would be given comfort and care, and hopefully be content enough. And we will try to record as much info about it as possible, both research data and genetic info, in hopes of passing it on to the future, so it is at the very least remembered. As something other than a delicacy." The annoyance was back in his voice there, for a bit. "Jek is a Fangreak. Tall, blue carapace, darker blue forehead plate, red eyes. I don't believe there's too many of them on Gnorra, to be honest, so if you do find him he should be easy enough to pick out of a crowd."

Looking at the rules, you are allowed to know one spell per each point of spirit you have, so I will make a point of having you guys select them before the first combat.

Right, because Dunola has the Holo Scroll in her starting kit, yeah? Just let me know when they are set.

"It'd be smart to hold onto both, I think." As the undead cyborg runs his hands through the hologram, particles of blue light scatter like scared fireflies. Vannoy doesn't react, seemingly unable to tell his hologram was being interfered with. Shoddy technology indeed. "Nice to meet you, Igaz. As for what Sabrillos are - well, were - well, are going to be, assuming you succeed... Have a look." The hologram of Kyler steps to the side, and a new figure emerges. Made of green and yellow light, it was a peculiar reptile, with two long snakey appendages and a large beak. The depiction wasn't perfect, likely due to the nonexistence of a living specimen. "I fear it is not avian, as the Ornithun asked, but moreso a reptile. Of course, you will instead be looking for its egg; it's a large, darkly colored thing, with a tough shell. About the size of a head. Ah, human head, that is." Kyler notes, mentally going through both the species he knew and the species in the party. It was an eclectic bunch he had hired. "Well met, Ensonvi... Ensonvil... Enson," he says, the man's tongue unable to twist around the name. "And I apologize if the note I left your organization was vague. I admit I panicked at first and rushed to find assistance... After all, GLESP has never really had a specimen stolen before, let alone taken by one of our own! But, yes, the man you will be looking for:" Kyler's hologram steps to the opposite side, and the simulated Sabrillo disappears, to be replaced by a rugged looking humanoid alien. "This is Jek Flakko, once an employee of GLESP, and now, sadly, a thief of GLESP. I honestly don't know what possessed him to take it - obviously, since he is auctioning it of on Gnorra, he must want the Credits - but he was such a fine worker! By the time security realized he was taking the egg and not just transporting it elsewhere in the facility, they only managed to get a tracker on his ship. The tracker went all the way to Gnorra before we lost signal." "The Cydonian Collective," begins the hologram of Vannoy, seemingly choosing his words carefully. "I happen to not be a huge fan of them. They have about a dozen planets under their control, as far as I am aware. And with Gnorra now under their occupation, I suppose its a baker's dozen now. That number has been rising, rising, rising... It has come as something of a shock, really. Just four or five deca-cycles ago, Cydonia was a rather self-isolated planet. And now look at them, scooping up worlds left and right. I've never crossed paths with them during my work with GLESP, but a few of our workers actually hail from planets under their occupation." "Jek actually happens to be one such individual. My understanding is is that he was raised on Gnorra; I imagine he returned there because he has ties there, knowledge of some channel that he can sell the Sabrillo egg on." Although the facial hologram on Kyler was shoddy, you can see that he was biting his lip when it came to the subject of the Sabrillo. "The Sabrillo was hunted to extinction. Hunted to extinction because it happened to be, well, unfathomably delicious. Their eggs, even moreso. They became the trendiest dish to eat across half the Outer Rim. I will confess when I was a young boy, before I even knew of GLESP, I had a Sabrillo omelette once, and, well... by the stars, it is still the greatest thing I've tasted. Immensely shameful, now that I know what has become of them, but the flavor... Ahem. That is why I am so panicked. I fear that not long after Jek auctions off the egg, it is going to end up as someone's meal. I can imagine some upper crust or crime boss serving it up as some, some status symbol, not even caring about that poor species - hmph! Makes me sick."

"I'm a pilot by design, so all my info and abilities pertain to ship flying. So politically I can't tell you if they're warmongers or cake bakers. That being said, there are a lot of spaceports under Cydonian control nowadays, so I gathered that they have at least a few planets under their belt." "Hey, at least they made registering for a landing pass pretty easy. That gives any galactic power a boost in my book. But... Yeah. Might be smart to keep your heads down..." "Never heard anything bad about him. And Heroica does a admittedly very limitted background check on clients, so I would not worry all that much about it." "Oh, I don't know about that, I'm a little bit-" And that moment, a light on the droid's control console blinks red. Danger? "Ohp, hologram transmission! I'll set this thing on cruise control and we can head on down to Deck A..." The robot flips a switch on the dashboard, and the group does just that. The droid interfaces with the holo projector, managing to accept the transmission after a bit of fiddling. "I swear, they make handheld versions of these, and this clunker has one the size of missile silo - your organization really needs to- ah, there we go." "Aw crap, holo crystal is all scratched up." Bemoans the automaton. Indeed, the figure was a little blurry, his face obscured by the poor projector machine. "Is this working? Are we good?" "Yep, we can hear ya. Can't quite see ya, but it'll do, I guess..." "Good, good, alright. Ahem - first, thank the six of you so much for dispatching on short notice. I'm Kyler Vannoy of GLESP. We simply had to rush! I fear we don't have all that much time to save the Sabrillo egg, and if this one slips through the cracks they truly might be gone forever..."

"Yep... you know how fragile squishies are. Don't worry, this ship will land just fine." "As for who is occupying Gnorra, well... Here, take a look." The Nav Droid hits a button on its control panel, and one of the ship's monitors swings down. "Seems to be the Cydonian Collective. As for are they hostile or not... Well, I don't know. I pilot rust buckets like this, not politics. The only thing that I know about 'em is that they require a landing pass to use their ports, so I did the legwork and got you this..." Kayarr presents Tester-Three with: Landing Pass: A Landing Pass that authorizes one docking at a Cydonian controlled spaceport. It is stamped with the Cydonian sigil. "Even more recently than that, although I'm willing to bet that is playing a part in things. New sheriff in town, unsavory types tend to duck their heads until they figure out just how serious they are about law enforcement. Some... are less strict than othes, let me put it that way." "Kyler Vannoy is a high ranking member of the Galactic Lifeform Endangered Species Protectors, so says his business card. Some sort of activist, seems real passionate about that kinda thing. I'm a droid, so I can't really get all worked up to the degree he does, but it seems like GLESP does some okay work... And yeah, we're going into Cydonian territory, so it seems. Kyler might have more on that when he calls in." "Here's hoping. I've never been to Gnorra myself, and certainly not under these circumstances. Not that it matters, I'm barely let out the ship anyway..."

I'm not really going to police how anyone formats their posts at this time (as long as its still legible ), especially as it is only a test mission, but what you described is the standard convention, yes.

"This organization is teeming with long stories, don't worry about it. I'm Nav Droid Model Number 567 Designation KR-88... but Kayarr works. "In case of emergency landing, please use the flotation devices under your seats. If we crash somewhere other than water... well... You do the math. So, I can tell you a couple of things. First, I'm pretty sure your client, Kyler Vannoy, will be ringing us up on the holo-projector in approximately ten minutes (plus or minus a confidence interval of 96.36 seconds) to give you guys the full rundown on your mission. Second, from what I know about the planet Gnorra... it recently went under occupation."

"No, no problems here! I, uh, ah. This happens to be a very old ship, you know. Your Heroica organization bought it and refurbished it, and it seems that the controls are somewhat non-standard. Not to worry, I calculate with 99.98% certainty I will have it all figured out by the time we land in Haurbo Spaceport." "And if we are worrying about hostile attack, worry even less, because crime statistics in this sector are at an all time low over the last couple dozen star cycles. Which is good, because this thing has next to no firepower on it."

This is a test mission for the work-in-progress Heroica 2.0, and is meant only for the six selected players to participate in. If you are curious about the game's development, have a suggestion for a rule change, or want to comment on the quest's progress, please visit the Heroica RPG 2.0 discussion thread. The events of this quest are, as of now, non-canon - any story content or lore seen may or may not be part of the final game. ------------- Untold ages ago, societies across the galaxy broke their terrestrial bonds, and took to the cosmos. Countless beings now wandered through space, seeking glory among the stars. Six such individuals were doing just that, united by a common employer, a common point of departure, and a common goal. Six agents of Heroica were on a ship from Heroica Station, en route to the planet Gnorra - in hopes of saving an egg of a critically endangered species. However, in a celestial sea dominated by speedy spacecraft and imposing dreadnoughts, the agents of Heroica found their current vessel to be a bit, ah... Humble. Humble was a good word for it. And so the (once bright emerald, but now more of a sandy green) Initium cruised through the depths of space, carrying the party of heroes-to-be towards their ultimate objective. It was a reliable enough vessel, fast enough to get to Gnorra in a reasonable time, but a bit sparse when it came to luxuries. The cramped bridge was a testament to that. Six chairs corresponded to the six people aboard, embarking on adventure. And those six individuals were: The Party: Igaz (Goliath) 300 Cycle, Male Undead Vitality: 7/7 Strength: 2 Skill: 2 Smarts: 1 Spirit: 1 Proficiencies: Athletics 1, Intimidation 1, Melee Weapons 2, Short Range Weapons 1 Credits: 10 Equipment: Standard Vibrolance (+1, Melee Kinetic Weapon), Standard Plate Armor (+1 Kinetic Armor) Inventory: Shield Booster Kleeck (KotZ) 35 cycle old, male Ornithun Vitality: 5/5 Strength: 1 Skill: 2 Smarts: 2 Spirit: 1 Proficiencies: Persuasion 2, Culture 1, Short Range Weapons 1, Insight 2, Deception 1 Credits: 60 Equipment: Standard Plasma Blaster (+1, Short Range Energy Weapon), Translator Cube Inventory: Ensonvilterayquis (Enson) (Lord Duvors) 60 cycle old, Male Quo’ri Vitality: 6/6 Strength: 2 Skill: 2 Smarts: 1 Spirit: 2 Proficiencies: Melee Weapons 2, Medicine 1, Religion 2 Credits: 10 Equipment: Standard Void Star Hammer (+1, Melee Elemental Weapon) Inventory: Nanite Filter, Plasma Potion Dunola (Kintobor) 125 cycle old, Female Dwarf Vitality: 5/5 Strength: 1 Skill: 1 Smarts: 1 Spirit: 3 Proficiencies: Arcana 3, Culture 1, Short Range Weapons 1, Engineering 1 Credits: 10 Equipment: Standard Flame Thrower (+1, Short Range Elemental Weapon), Holo-Scroll Inventory: Energy Cell Tester-Three (samurai-turtle) One Cycle Old, Genderless, War Bot {Robotic} Vitality: 6/6 Strength: 2 Skill: 1 Smarts: 2 Spirit: 1 Proficiencies: Technology 2, Long Range Weapons 2, Piloting 1, Perception 1, Engineering 1, Credits: 10 Equipment: Standard Arm Cannon (+1, Long Range Energy Weapon), Standard Metallic Exoskeleton (+1 Kinetic Armor) Inventory: Shield Booster Yelana Fennix (Classic_Spaceman) Unknown Age Human Female Vitality: 6/6 Strength: 2 Skill: 2 Smarts: 1 Spirit: 1 Proficiencies: Deception 2, Long Range Weapons 2, Technology 2 Credits: 10 Equipment: Dual-Mode Sniper Rifle E (+1, Long-Range Energy Weapon), Dual-Mode Sniper Rifle K (+1, Long-Range Kinetic Weapon) Inventory: Cloaking Generator, Hacking Chip ----- Truth be told, it wasn't all so bad - although their six seats were packed together like sardines, there was not that much need to linger on the bridge for too long. After all, one of Heroica's many trusty nav droids was at the helm, operating the trio of control panels at his mechanical fingertips with programmed precision. The lack of warning sirens, space turbulence, loud noises, and flashing lights was a testament to their current pilot's expertise. "Let's see... All systems green... Fuel deposits plentiful... Wings stable... Destination will be reached in two hours... Feel like I'm forgetting something... Landing gear! When the time comes, which one of these operates the landing gear..." A consummate professional, down to his circuits. He soon turns to face his passengers as the Initium chugs along. "Ah, never mind that. Welcome aboard, Agents of Heroica!" Mission Master Note: Hello and welcome to Mission Zero, everybody! The six of you ( @Kintobor, @samurai-turtle, @Classic_Spaceman, @Goliath, @KotZ, @Lord Duvors) have 24 - 36 hours to confirm participation. Settle in, get roleplaying, and get ready for the ride.

Stats look good to me - I'll change the formatting a little just for my own purposes while hosting, but the stats themselves seem good. Consider it done. Noted! Welcome aboard. That brings our starring cast for Mission Zero to: Yelana, played by Classic_Spaceman Kleeck, played by KotZ Tester-Three, played by Samurai-Turtle Igaz, played by Goliath Dunola, played by Kintobor Ensonvilterayquis, played by Lord Duvors Expect a mission thread to be up tonight.

Hey, burn-out is natural, and a lot of the playerbase of Heroica 1.0 was feeling it - it's part of why there has been such a noticeable gap between 1.0 and 2.0 in the first place. You're more than welcome to help test, if you'd like to pick from one of the remaining pre-fabricated characters: Thenari 500 cycle old, Female Elf Vitality: 5/5 Strength: 1 Skill: 3 Smarts: 1 Spirit: 1 Proficiencies: Melee Weapons 3, Survival 1, Perception 1, Athletics 1 Credits: 10 Equipment: Standard Beam Blade (+2, Melee Energy Weapon), Standard Parka (+1, Elemental Armor) Inventory: Kleeck 35 cycle old, male Ornithun Vitality: 5/5 Strength: 1 Skill: 2 Smarts: 2 Spirit: 1 Proficiencies: Persuasion 2, Culture 1, Short Range Weapons 1, Insight 2, Deception 1 Credits: 60 Equipment: Standard Plasma Blaster (+1, Short Range Energy Weapon), Translator Cube Inventory: Ensonvilterayquis (Enson) 60 cycle old, Male Quo’ri Vitality: 6/6 Strength: 2 Skill: 2 Smarts: 1 Spirit: 2 Proficiencies: Melee Weapons 2, Medicine 1, Religion 2 Credits: 10 Equipment: Standard Void Star Hammer (+1, Melee Elemental Weapon) Inventory: Nanite Filter, Plasma Potion Anton 52 cycle old, Male Human Vitality: 5/5 Strength: 1 Skill: 3 Smarts: 1 Spirit: 1 Proficiencies: Stealth 1, Slight of Hand 1, Melee Weapons 2, Long Range Weapons 2 Credits: 10 Equipment: Standard Plasma Rifle (+1, Long Range Energy Weapon), Cloaking Generator Inventory: Hacking Chip, Standard Nano-razor (+1, Melee Kinetic Weapon) Awesome! And with that, our roster is pretty much full, so you can all expect a quest thread to be up in 24-36 hours.

That's up them - life tends to get busy this time of year. We've been looking for players for a hair over 24 hours anyway, I'm in no rush. Gives me time to get more details fully finalized anyway.

So far our starring cast is: samurai-turtle as the disposable war bot Tester-Three Goliath as Igaz, the undead space cyborg Classic_Spaceman as agent Yelana Fennix KotZ as... whoever random.org gives them, from the remaining pre-made cast. 1-2 more spots are open, and then we can get this show on the road.

Awesome - any character preference? I was formerly going to be playing Igaz in this one, so you can certainly play as him.

You are welcome to do either! If you are choosing one of the pre-fabs, just tell me which one you'd like to play as. Otherwise, you can make your on character, and I can spot-check the stats.

Apologies for the double post, but something of an announcement to be made: After some talk with WBD, I've been given clearance to run a mission zero of sorts! MISSION TITLE: The Last Of Its Kind PATRON: Kyler Vannoy of The Galactic Lifeform Endangered Species Protectors (GLESP) ASSIGNMENT: Tragedy has struck GLESP. We recently recovered an egg of the once-thought-extinct Sabrillo, and had it kept in incubation. However, one of our own agents stole it! We have reason to believe that he is auctioning it off on the planet Gnorra. Please, help us give the Sabrillo a second chance. REWARD: 200 credits to each agent, assuming the safe return of that poor, poor egg. TEAM REQUIREMENTS: 5-6 Agents For those who volunteered to test already, being Kintobor, Samurai-turtle, KoTZ, and Classic_Spaceman, I'll be shooting you PMs to make sure you're still up for giving the rulset a whirl. That being said, there is still at least 1-2 slots open, so please, apply away. As an important note, this is just a mechanical test run - there'll be a plot, a setting, and story, but the world shown or the lore given may not necessarily represent what we eventually shape Heroica 2.0 to be.

Seconded on the figbarf - Seraphim looks lovely. Been playing around with LDD and POVRay still... Spaceships! Can't wait for the inevitable need to write space dogfighting rules.

So, with Heroica 2.0 getting a little nearer, I decided to brush off LDD and up the production values just a smidge... Don't know how far off we are, but looking forward to the test quest and whatever else is to come. As a tiny note on world building, I think the world tends to build itself, if this goes anything like Heroica 1.0. So we'll have to wait and see - I know I am a bit excited.

I'm down to test! I'm fine with any characters that are already cooked up. Preference to Igaz, seeing as he is cyber-Sorrow.