Favorite Out-of-Game Quote: "You ever going to update the blog?"
Date: Mid-Summer, 3800
Locations: Gub -> Zenna -> Sin -> Altrani Space -> Sin -> Zenna
Negotiations:
The crew awoke in the heart of Gubrox territory. The Red King appointed his second to show the humans around. Dax accepts the offer, and bugs the castle as he walks along the walls. In broad daylight he notices two other castles in the distance. When he inquires about this, he is told that they belong to other Gubrox kings. Further, the largest ship in orbit actually belongs to the "High King", the Gubrox that rules over all others. Realizing that they are not actually being hosted by the official government of Gub, Dax informs the crew of the confusion. The ambassadors decide to proceed anyway and see where discussions go.
After a hearty meal of xeno-beef and rice the diplomats began their negotiations with the king. The crew maintain a close distance in the event that a danger emerges. After morning negotiations they are guided to the arena pit for lunch. To the outrage of the humans, the Red King brings out a male human slave to fight. After a fierce debate over the legality of slavery, the Red King clutches his head and yields. The slave returns to his holding cage. Evening negotiations were rough, with the Michallo representative demanding reparations for previous Gubrox raids. Every time the Red King began to argue, his strange headache returned him to a passive state.
That night, the crew snuck into the Red King's tent and Dr. Vespers carefully conducted a medical examination. Analysis of his blood revealed mind-controlling nanobots similar to the ones used by Flash Cola. Instead of relying on wave signals, like the older bots had, these bots were pre-programmed with a specific task. The crew put up their guard, suddenly conscious of a set-up.
Siege:
The next day the crew awoke to the city in an uproar. The High King, the supreme monarch of the Gubrox, was not happy to find one of his sons courting humans. He challenged the crew to survive until the HSS Firehorn could come to their rescue. The other Gubrox factions banded together to launch a massive attack against the Red King's fort. In the initial battle the Red faction was decimated, with most of the Gubrox loyal to the Red King dying or retreating. The crew rallied the defenses, releasing the human prisoners to assist in the battle.
The battle consisted of four massive waves of Gubrox, both on foot and inside makeshift fighting vehicles. Dr. Harrison's heavy weapons slowly but methodically knocked out each vehicle as it appeared. Halic effectively pored rifle fire onto the attackers, but was nearly overtaken when they began to scale the walls. A fierce hand-to-hand battle saw most of the slaves die, with a lone swordsman single-handedly protecting the revetments until he fell unconscious from his wounds. When all seemed lost, Dax led a fierce counter-attack with his grenade launcher, and pushed the attackers off the walls.
In the last wave the Sun King arrived in full battle dress with his elite bodyguard. Blain and Halleck proceeded to blow him in half in the span of six seconds. At this point the Firehorn was beginning its descent from orbit under heavy fire. It was in this moment that the crew received help from the unlikeliest source: Governor Kevo Bandolin.
War:
A massive Sin Battle Force descented upon Gub, intent on purging it from the galaxy. The crew was quickly evacuated and began to advise and assist a recently rebuilt Kevo from his control ship. The Gubrox fleet was smashed at the cost of the HSS Firehorn. Several ships did escape, but Kevo chose to prioritize his forces on the planetary campaign rather than attempt to pursue. His new chemical weapons battalion decimated Gubrox ground forces, paving the way for a lightning campaign. Within two weeks, the planet was fully under the control of the Sin military.
Peace:
The crew returned to Zenna with the delegation. With the money made from the mission, Halleck purchased a lakeside cabin and invited the crew there for the weekend. They spend a peaceful Friday drinking on the lake. As the night died down, Halic stood and announced his retirement to the crew. He solemnly gave Dax the keys to the ship. They then proceeded to a Zenna University frat party, where they got more drunk and flirted with barely-legal girls.
When they returned from the party, they found that someone had broken into the cabin. Peering inside, they found Halic's brother wounded on the floor. He revealed that the police were trying to kill him, possibly because of his desire to release the details of the Gub mission to the public. Zenna police arrived soon after, but without a warrant they were quickly sent away by Halleck. The crew boarded Providence with Halic's brother and fled to Sin.
Ghost:
Soon after coming back to Sin, the crew was gifted with a mysterious crate in the middle of the night. They opened it to find their confiscated heavy equipment. Dr. Harrison happily reunited with his PGMP, and the whole crew retrieved their Battle Dress. A note inside the container directed them to meet their benefactor in a remote part of space. After collecting dues from their now-functional weapon facility, the crew set off for their rendezvous.
At the meet-up point the crew found a small scout ship. It docked, and the crew was reunited with none other than the late Captain Meade. He explained that he had to fake his death to go under the radar, and explained a complex plot set in motion by President Hey. The battle over Sin that Thatcher had predicted would come to pass; Hey had similar visions of the Haldrax's return.
Hey saw this as an opportunity to unite and defeat all of his rivals in one battle: the Altrani, Gubrox, and the Haldrax. The fallout on Sin would complete his War on Crime, bringing a final stability to Heyson. To ensure that this happened, Hey covertly injected both the Altrani and the Gubrox leadership with nano-bots. He would lead them all to battle on Sin, creating a make-shift trap for the impending Haldrax. After they were worn down he would send in the Heyson fleet, led by a newly built capital ship (the HSS Dragon).
Treason:
After digesting the President's intricate plot, the crew set about to create a plan to once again overthrow their corrupt government. After some hesitation, the crew dared to jump to Altrani space and inform them of the plot. Altrani warships closed around them instantly, but the crew was saved by one of the Altrani captains. He was none other than Q, the Altrani warrior that Dax had saved eight years ago.
Q convinced the Altrani high command to meet with the crew. In that subsequent meeting, the crew used concealed EMP grenades to free the Altrani officers from their nano-bots. Finally awake, the officers were horrified to find that they had caused another Human-Altrani war. The crew explained President Hey's plot, and the Altrani agreed to work with the Sin fleet to defend the planet from the Haldrax.
The Final Battle:
The Altrani fleet arrived shortly before the Haldrax. Working together they built a strong defensive line that held firm against the Haldrax onslaught. Providence, although a small ship compared to the capital warships on both sides, was able to help by shooting down attack fighters. After a hard day of fighting the humans and the Altrani emerged victorious.
The crew then convinced both fleets to jump to Zenna and overthrow the government, and they set off on a massive surprise attack. Zenna was quickly surrounded and subdued with only token resistance. The crew stormed the capital building and arrested President Hey. With that, the First Heyson Republic fell to the same men that had fought to create it. With the Altrani pacified and the Haldrax and Gubrox neutralized, a new wave of peace descended upon the Everfire sub-sector.
The Parting of Ways:
After overthrowing the government once again, and seeing a new wave of peace sweeping across Heyson, the crew finally went their separate ways. Their final stories follow:
Halic Stil retired to his lakeside cabin, finally at peace. Most of his fortune went home to Rok, where it fed his family and supported his brother's recovery. He lived a quiet life until his death less than a decade later.
Dax Griffin helped prop up a new intelligence agency, with the recent political turbulence allowing him unprecedented oversight into government affairs. He de facto managed the establishment of the Heyson Second Republic. Some years later he discovered anagathic drugs, and was able to perpetuate his lifespan indefinitely. He rules Heyson to this day from the shadows, the master of the galaxy's most intricate spy and surveillance network.
Blain Harrison became a renowned professor of primatology at Zenna University. He studied numerous xeno-primates from across the Everfire sub-sector, with his loyal blue friend at his side. He maintained a rigorous workout routine throughout his 60s and 70s, against the advice of his doctors. Blain was found dead in his home gym, crushed by a bench press.
Zex Vespers continued to practice medicine on Zenna. With his new wealth and influence Zex was finally able to edge out his rival Dr. Mercy and become the top doctor on Zenna. When his father-in-law died Vespers inherited the Mugs, which he secretly ran for the remainder of his life.
Kevo Bandolin consolidated his power on Sin and set about to rebuild the depleted military. He successfully occupied Gub and the surrounding planets, creating a swath of colonies known today as "the Sin Sector." Sin effectively became a state within a state under Kevo, flexing unprecedented power and dominating interplanetary affairs. Kevo ruled Sin for over a hundred years, his brain kept alive by his mech suit long after the body had withered away. When Kevo died, his many children peacefully divided government positions, land, and wealth among themselves.
Providence is the personal property of Dax Griffin, and has not been seen by the public in decades. It has faded into Heyson legend, an adventure story told to children before bed. Most dismiss the old stories as rumors; swashbuckling fantasies imagined by the elderly men whose grandfathers fought in the Great Revolutions. The scoff at tales of fierce battles and dark intrigue, of vicious aliens and close calls in the black of space.
Imagine, all that from a stolen pirate ship!
