Random Starship Encounters

[Anthanatos]

I wanted to share some random starship encounters I created for use in an Anvil Galaxy campaign focused near Altess space. Any of the encounters could take place elsewhere and can be tailored to individual campaigns.

I would enjoy seeing what others may add to this list.

Starships and Encounter Ideas:

01 – Invictus, Altess Zhokil-class cruiser, enhanced to best of 15th level Operator, Imak Marcus Velis’, abilities (35% greater MDC, including shields, weapons ranges 10% greater, scanning 10% greater (13.2 light years), speed 20% greater (mach 24, 9.6 light years/hr)). Ship was gray shifted (came from an alternate history, possibly an alternate time as well) just over a month ago, uncertain of exactly when as ship was in transit and there was no indication of anomaly. When the numerous Yannar-class destroyers under his command failed to check in, suspicion was initially an attack by the CCW, but connection to GalNet and news broadcasts quickly demonstrated they were a long way from home. Have since retraced steps, unable to return home.
Home is an Anvil Galaxy in which the CCW and Altess Dynasty are the prime rulers of the galaxy. The CCW is a totalitarian regime, with people living in poverty to fuel its war production and research. The Altess Dynasty is an uneasy ally of the CCW, and has conquered and enslaved almost 40% of the galaxy. The TGE, Kingdom of Ryncryll, and UWW are minor kingdoms struggling against the combined powers of the CCW and Altess Dynasty. Other, smaller powers no longer exist, or exist only as struggling and diminished kingdoms.
The Invictus’ mission was to patrol the greater Altess Dynasty, hunting down pirates and other enemies of the Dynasty. Her secret mission was to maintain contact with a vast network of spies to protect the Dynasty and House Velis. Given her current predicament, the Invictus has maintained a low profile, ensuring no communications escaped any ships they have destroyed, while deciding what to do in their new home.
• Imak Marcus Velis is ruthless. His only loyalties are to House Velis, and to the Dynasty second. He enjoys leading his men in storming enemy ships, plundering cargo, and taking slaves.
• Princess Kallisto Velis is the ruler of House Velis, and Marcus’ wife. She had been ferreting out traitors in the spy network. Princess Velis is sadistic and keeps prisoners on board to terrorize before feeding on them to sate her vampiric thirst. She enjoys tormenting and humiliating her husbands’ harem of slaves, taking special delight in disposing of those who have outlived their usefulness. She is accompanied by a pair of Naruni Repo Bots, reprogrammed and armed with the best hardware Naruni has to offer.
• Tassit Democritus Tombras, chief interrogator. Enjoys utilizing his abilities to assist Princess Velis in detecting weaknesses in her spy network, as well as uncovering secrets and weaknesses to be exploited. Demos enjoys using his abilities to spy, as well as take control of others to spread misery.
In addition to eighteen other Altess assigned to the Invictus (3 in medical, 3 science crew, 6 bridge crew, 2 security, 2 engineering, and 2 dietary), there are approximately 300 Advocate robots fulfilling various duties, as well as the following:
- Twelve Altaaran “Red Guard,” accompany the Imak and provide for his personal security and sometimes entertainment. Although their armor is revealing, they are all protected by force fields, and are as deadly as they are beautiful. Three of the Red Guard have slave collars on (can emit shocks or possibly explode), having not yet proven their loyalty, and a fourth without a slave collar on appears in the early stages of pregnancy (should not be possible).
- Callidora, a NeaSyak (Appear as slender-build, buxom, devastatingly attractive human(oid) females with atypical demonic features; small horns, pointed ears, large bat wings sprouting from the back, elongated canines, and a pointed tail. Wings and hair tend to be dark colored, skin pale in color, but as many variations exist in NeaSyak as in normal human beings.) and mistress of Marcus’ slave harem. Responsible for ensuring the slaves are unable to take their own lives, while still maintaining a little fight in them. Enjoys her position of authority and power. One of the terms she demanded was breeding, and has two young daughters, one with Marcus, another with a former prisoner since killed by the Princess.
- Current slave harem: (1) A beautiful elven woman whose vocal cords have been severed, rendering her mute. Was taken nine months ago and prayed for a rescue that never came (never succeeded, actually). Is Princess Silverlight, daughter of King Silverlight of the UWW, although without her noble bearing (is mentally and emotionally defeated, has attempted suicide more than once, is now shackled with magnetic braces to better manipulate and protect her from herself) or raiment no one would ever know. Is pregnant, although not yet showing. (2) A human former TGE soldier, attractive, taken four months ago. At first resisted but has since found it exciting being used and abused by the Imak and sometimes Princess. Very vocal when receiving pleasure. Never wants to leave. (3) A meek human technopath and former saboteur that is kept in a shock collar (activates when she attempts to use her powers), has been abused and broken and may outlive her usefulness soon (Skye). (4) A silhouette with vocal cords severed, former spy for the Altess uncovered as a traitor by the Princess. Was only apprehended a week or two prior to the grey shift, and not yet broken. Working on escape plan. (5) A human smuggler who made the mistake of being too attractive and trying to hide smuggled goods from the Imak during a search of her ship. Her ship was scuttled, her crew enslaved (most now dead), and she was taken. Despite this being three months ago, and numerous injuries and humiliations, still holds a simmering hatred and desire to see the Imak killed.
- At any given time, there are 4-24 prisoners in cells, 75% male, usually pirates or enemies of the state.
• Marcus is arrested by one of the major powers (CCW? UWW?) for crimes against their people – possible piratical raiding and destruction, possible attacks on navies. In the interest of diplomacy, the Dynasty supports a hearing (and sends legal aid) to clear their erroneously accused Seenth and finds evidence of said crimes perpetrated by Marcus.
** The families of victims of said crimes have hired assassins to ensure justice is served.
• The Dynasty has ordered Imak Marcus and crew apprehended for questioning. They are still Altess, so are to be taken ALIVE.

02-Hard Cell, a beautifully maintained, if somewhat outdated, merchantman. Its outdated drive signature masks military grade (8LY) engines, with sub light speeds double what standard merchantmen are capable of. Shields are also enhanced and conceals military grade particle weaponry. Has a crew of 30, mostly human but other diverse races as well. Captain and part of crew are actually Altess, highly trained operatives for House Velis. Have cyber tech that causes sensors to read them as human
• Captain Arth Kadin, handsome and charismatic middle-aged man with a reputation for honesty and keeping his crew safe. Veteran spacer, knows best routes to take to avoid potential conflict. Former pilot for UWW. Wife was a warlock marine killed in action against raiders.
• Misses Ree, Uteni merchant with inventory of non-combat Naruni goods, primarily sporting goods and medical supplies. Can place orders for Naruni goods, as limited stock on board. Reputation for being lazy when “off the clock,” although her medical skills are appreciated by the rest of the crew.
• Ray Skar, handsome, musclebound security chief. All business, always sporting an energy pistol, a vibro knife, and a handful of concealed weapons. Hobby, collects ancient weaponry from the various worlds he visits. When not in port, encourages and trains interested crew in combat skills.
In addition to Naruni gear, has 5-6 other merchants aboard at any given time to broker deals and sell other items. Typically has at least one that deals in art and antiquities from various cultures, another that deals in non-invasive plant species, particularly florals, and a third that deals in dried foodstuffs and spices. Some concealed weapons aboard, although concealed in such a way as to appear as part of ships systems (-40% to locate, and even then may not be sure it isn’t some unusual repairs).
• The Hard Cell has been ambushed and sends out a call for aid. Pirate ships with Starfighters came out of an asteroid field, or a nebula, or had been running dark, and attacked the Hard Cell prior to leaving or after entering the gravity well of a planet or star, meaning they were unable to enter lightspeed.

03-The Rundown, a one-of-a-kind yacht converted to act as a hunter ship. Sleek, curved Altess design, incredibly fast (10 LY/hr!, Mach 20 sub light), capable of water landing, impressive scanners (12LY range), with impressive countermeasures and stealth systems. Lacking in armor and light on weaponry but has impressive shielding. Equipped with six sleeper cells for bounties. Living quarters for two, pilot and co-pilot. Ship is home to a guild licensed Altess bounty hunter, and her co-pilot, a former trainer and Altess commando turned hunter.
• Alexandra Torvic has been a hunter for over a century and has the luxury of being able to be selective in the bounties she chooses. She focuses on the worst offenders, preferably individuals or small groups, to apprehend or eliminate, depending on the terms of the bounty. In addition to the best tech Naruni has to offer, she has numerous magical trinkets to assist her in her job. Has a high success ratio, but a reputation for sometimes leaving a trail of bodies in her wake.
• Nallis Stull, veteran and lead combat trainer on Novus IX, has taken leave of that position for more active pursuits. He has cybernetic tech to completely mask him from detection and is without doubt one of the deadliest men in the Altess Dynasty. He enjoys tracking and eliminating his prey before they even know they are being hunted.
They have a bot on board to handle ship maintenance and repairs.

04-Fortunate One, a runner ship, medium freighter of common design, with outstanding fines in CCW space for fleeing authorities and not subjecting to search. Suspected of smuggling. In addition to smuggling, the Fortunate One is also secretly the base of operations for a successful and highly feared bounty hunter. Has a concealed nuclear cruise missile on the hull, as well as secondary phase engines for stealth.
• Red Dawn, a humanoid bounty hunter with mechanical voice, unknown whether human or something else, male or female or cyborg or bot or something else. All that is known is, despite wearing heavy armor, is able to take enemies by surprise. Rumored to be an alias utilized by a team of numerous people. Red Dawn is actually a mystic with both phase and temporal abilities, armed with various phase, high energy, and immobilization weaponry. Red Dawn has a reputation for apprehending or eliminating high value targets.
• Faetar, Promethian engineer of the Fortunate One. Angry, bitter, failed his test for advancement and lashes out at others. Carries custom heavy phase weaponry, has more martial training than most Prometheans.
• Jera Asteramm, a near-human smuggler and captain of the Fortunate One. Skilled pilot and gambler, goes where the job takes him. On neutral terms with the TGE, although prefers to operate in free space where the powers don’t take a cut. Skilled con artist. Will take any cargo, provided it doesn’t contaminate his ship.
In addition, there are 2 to 3 other crewman that fill odd jobs, usually cargo handling and security when the job calls for it.
• Its not a problem until you need one. The Fortunate One is running on emergency power, with all crew confined to sleeper cells. Their comms have been transmitting a weak SOS, while the ship has been cruising at just under light speed for more than a month. It is only a matter of time before they fall into the gravity well of a planet or star or run out of power to the sleeper cells and asphyxiate.
• A former TGE officer seeks asylum among the CCW and is on the run from TGE operatives. Their run from TGE space was spectacular, causing tens of billions in damages to a shipyard, and footage has been circulating through GALnet news. They beg for assistance, as they have discovered they are being targeted by Red Dawn.

05-Raza, a light cruiser with built-in shuttle, and fighter bay with four modified Scorpion class fighters. Home to a crew of eight, led by Captain Gaim Tontha, a hunter of some renown for his law-abiding nature and efforts to keep civilians out of harms way. Prefers to take bounties in the black, or if unable to do that, at least in isolated or criminal surrounding to prevent civilian casualties. Also known to take escort or transport jobs, to keep the Raza operational and the crew paid.
• Gaim Tontha, a near-human spacer and hunter with a reputation for cooperating with law enforcement and keeping civilians out of harms way. Not too picky about his bounties but will not hunt them in regions in which they are protected (will not hunt a bounty wanted in CCW space in TGE space if they are not considered a criminal in TGE space). Heavy armor, grav pack, variety of weapons – fits typical image of what people think of when they hear the words bounty hunter.
• Charel Albin, human 4-armed cyborg gunslinger and sharpshooter, womanizer, follows Gaim’s lead and direction in hunting. Also a good pilot, enjoys piloting a Scorpion to bring down bounties. Has a cyberlink which lets him have greater control, able to utilize some of his sharpshooting skills in the Starfighter. Always on the lookout for upgrades.
• Niane Wes, Kretig (near human) co pilot of the Raza and often Charel’s wingwoman planetside. Is a bit of a thrill junkie, enjoys going fast, keeps a sky cycle stowed on ship for planetside excursions. Always on edge, addicted to stimulants, has not significantly hindered her job or safety, yet.
In addition, Raza has a machine person mechanic, a human assistant mechanic, a human medic, and two Starfighter pilots that do other odd jobs as the need arises. Has a crew lounge that doubles as a suite whenever providing transport.
• One of the crew runs afoul of Charel (could be over a woman, or spilled drink, or accident, or other misunderstanding), on one of the less civilized worlds, and is challenged to a duel. Maybe he doesn’t like the race of the crew (“pretty boys,” etc.), and is eager to prove his superiority
• The Raza transmits a call for aide. They were escorting a ship and came under attack by raiders. Although they managed to destroy some and chase other raiders away, the ship they were escorting (probably a mid to large transport ship) suffered damage and crash landed on an inhospitable world. They don’t have the resources to rescue all the crew or repair the ship, so are willing to provide whoever assists in the rescue or repair 100% of the fee they would have earned for escort.

06-Lucky Girl, a yacht registered to a wealthy industrialist in CCW space, has since become the favored toy of his daughter, whom has been straying further and further from CCW space. The Lucky Girl is a larger yacht, comparable to a light cruiser in size, equipped with fast engines, gleaming chrome, and large viewports.
• Bella Kast, daughter of Korvis Kast, the famed “armorer for the CAF,” dropped out of university and has been on a vacation without end for the past three years. She has taken the Lucky Girl on a tour of every paradise world in CCW space and has been venturing beyond. She enjoys spending her father’s money and partying and has refused to return home.
The Lucky Girl has a crew of eight, although could easily accommodate thirty crew and passengers. Bella sometimes has tag a longs, but usually only until the next world they visit. The crew are very loyal to her and try to steer her clear of trouble.
• Bella, while visiting a world, takes an interest in one of the crew, sending them gifts and invitations to parties. Once her curiosity is satisfied, she may leave them alone, but until then will remain interested and may even have the Lucky Girl pursue them once they leave planet.
• A group of mercenaries or hunters is after Bella, and she runs into the arms of the players while seeking protection. She explains they tried to kidnap her, and when she resisted started firing at her. Although not obvious, the group is firing stun weapons at Bella, and have been hired to return her to her father. Do the authorities become involved? Are others on her trail to extort money or information from her father? Which side do the players take?
• The players have met Bella before, but this time she seems . . . different. Bella has been kidnapped, and a changeling has replaced her, and although she looks the same, her behaviors are a little off. Plus, she doesn’t remember the players. The kidnappers goals are unknown, although extortion or spying are good bets.

07-Seventh Son, a decommissioned cruiser from the UWW that is still plying the spaceways. A group of retired UWW military pooled their resources and saved it from decommission to use as a base of operations for whatever ventures they decided to pursue. Paperwork being what it is, transponder checks will still show the ship as having been decommissioned. The crew is loyal to the UWW and have decided to pursue leads to locate the cosmic forge, and maybe do some good along the way.
• Captain Arla Valen, human, a retired Warlock marine whose heroic actions above and beyond the call of duty have earned her a place in the history books. Unable to stand the pageantry and social obligations of being a hero of the empire, she retired, and fled the empire. She is still the same person, putting herself in harms way too often, and working to make the galaxy just a little bit better.
• Somer At’lentar, star elven wizard of renown, experienced with techno wizardry and helps maintain the ships systems. Somer cuts a dashing figure on the bridge of the Seventh Son, and frequently handles communications and negotiations. She collects hard currency from the various worlds they visit, and always has on her person numerous talismans fashioned from coins.
• Hajen, a star elven cosmo knight (fallen) and fearless warrior aboard the Seventh Son. Has been slowly learning magic from Somer, and trying to find peace, although is troubled by all he has lost and often throws himself in harms way secretly hoping for an ending. An incredible swordsman, wears black armor, as “doesn’t want to pretend to be something I’m not.”
The Seventh Son has a crew of approximately 75, including engineers to keep the TW engines running (can perform six 20 LY jumps every 24 hours), a surgeon with psychic healing abilities, veteran gunners, and two dozen retired warlock marines. Two shuttles provide the Son with planetary capabilities.
• Although a one-in-a-billion chance, the Seventh Son has emerged from jump space amid the fleet, resulting in the need for evasive maneuvers to avoid collision. It could be seen as an attack, with trigger nervous crew opening fire.
• Lean times. The Seventh Son is in need of finances for repairs and supplies, and jobs are few and far between. They are broadcasting services for hire, to get out of the red and back in the black. Altess ships are a prime target for a potential lucrative payday.
• The Seventh Son calls for aid. Their captain, or one of their crew, was injured and their medical staff are only able to keep them alive, not cure them, and they are running out of time. They were attacked by a modified T’zee nano weapon, with dozens of nanobots having burrowed in, using the crews bio-energy to maintain their charge while cutting away internally. Cold has slowed them down, and psychic surgery and magic has been keeping the crewman alive, but they haven’t been able to completely remove or stop the nanobots.

08-Iron Halo, an unidentified, unregistered ship that bears a slight resemblance to the organic ships designs of the TGE, but only slightly. Looks a bit like something out of a nightmare. No visual communication capabilities, and rudimentary CG drive signal (.5 LY/hr). Black and golden, difficult to pick up on visual scanners against the stars. Will identify themselves as explorers from other realms, eager to learn of other cultures. The ship is a one-of-a-kind ship, cobbled together from wreckage washed ashore on some astral realm, and her engines can take her back through that realm for 10 LY jumps daily. She is crewed entirely by necrophim (see Between the Shadows). Although able to communicate, the crew prefers to (secretly) interact with others through the dreamstream, learning more that way.
• Teargen, strong willed commander of the Iron Halo, who was able to convince others to construct the Iron Halo. Wanted to reach beyond the dreamstream and astral realms to see the worlds beyond. Although only able to leave the Halo for hours at a time, has learned much. Is protected against mental probing and gives every impression of being a curious explorer. Will use her abilities to enslave others, taking them prisoner first mentally, then physically, in her astral domain.
• Gillende, Teargen’s yes man and techno psychic who maintains the ship systems and crew trinkets that allow them to maintain a presence in the material world. Experimenting with various uses of psylite crystals. Fascinated by technology, and exploring ways it can be used to improve the Iron Halo.
• Aytra, a master of shadow magic, working towards becoming a shadow lord (lady). Enjoys using her powers for incursions into enemy vessels, although understands the need for discretion and only attacks when given the order. Has acquired magic that allows her to feed on the life force of others and enjoys using it to torment prisoners.
The Iron Halo is unable to land and can only dock with ships or stations. There are no onboard shuttles. The crew has rudimentary skills, enough to keep the ship going, but would shift out rather than engage in battle. They have made boarding actions against smaller vessels, leaving them relatively intact but abandoned.
• A number of ghost ships have been found in the region, usually runner ships or light freighters, abandoned without evidence of struggle. Trade through the region has slowed as a result, and there is a reward for answers and aide in finding and stopping whatever is preying on ships crews. (it is thought to be some type of contagion causing madness in crews)
• The crew encounters a new species on a space station, with the Iron Halo docked. Both the ship and the species are objects of interest.

09-Ranger Seven, a human alliance long-range heavy cargo hauler lovingly maintained since the early days of interstellar travel. Has had extensive modifications to keep it relatively up to date, while working to maintain its original façade. Had been abandoned during attack by raiders but found its way back home thanks to good Samaritans. Was even provided slight engine upgrades by her Altess rescuers.
• Emix Grail, captain and owner of the Ranger, which has been in his family for 400 years. Was saved from a salvage yard and lovingly restored – has been plying the spaceways for almost 1000 years! Emix loves his ship more than anything, associating it with fond memories of his father. He still has a childlike wonder at being able to look out his viewport on alien worlds and spectacular vistas. His is a born spacer, honest to the core, and does not tolerate illegal activities on his ship.
• Brealar Grail, the captain’s teenage daughter, who loves her father but would do just about anything to get off the ship. She is perpetually embarrassed and has no privacy (EVERYONE knew when she had her first period, and about her exploration into VR porn, and then there was that clothing malfunction. . . . ) and wants to be able to have some fun and be with people her own age.
• Engineer Brin Wing, partial conversion borg with two mechanical arms and an exoskeletal framework to help support him. Middle-aged human, had one arm replaced as had severe birth defect, second arm lost while evacuating ship during raider attack. Going through a bit of a midlife crisis, although loves working as an engineer, regretting never starting a family, and sees his implants as hindrance to any relationship not involving the exchange of money.
Other crew onboard consist of a bridge officer/helmsman, and four other spacers that do odd jobs and assist in the transfer of cargo. Most are temporary crew, as opportunities are limited and pay isn’t great on Ranger Seven.
• Captain Grail (if he has established prior contact with Captain Navarre) finds the Talon is in a region of space the Ranger Seven was recently in, and his daughter is missing! She was very sneaky, feigning illness to remain in her room, recording messages a-la Ferris Bueler, and programming the computer to document use of resources (food, water). The ship is almost a week away and is rushing back.

10-Dreamweaver, a fast luxury cruise ship with a route between CCW space and the Paradise Federation. Luxury accommodations for approximately 800 passengers, with more than 300 crew. Pools, restaurants, bars, theaters, sports rooms including zero g sports, and gambling are all offered aboard the Dreamweaver. She has five sister ships that also ply the route between CCW space and the Paradise Federation. The Dreamweaver is the oldest of her fleet at just over 20 years, although is maintained in pristine condition.
• Captain Nomi Eclipse, human, former singer turned cruise ship captain. Very much a people person, and if she has a fan base aboard has been known to spend an hour or two performing. Attractive siren, always the opening act for others, never the lead, now beginning to show her age (50-something, equivalent to and appears 30ish with rejuvenat treatments). Working off her contract with the Paradise Federation.
The Dreamweaver is typically escorted by a pair of destroyers or a light cruiser, maintaining distance to not spoil the aesthetic view for passengers. 1/3 of the crew are ex-military and trained to defend the ship should the need arise, although they typically fill other jobs onboard. Additionally, there are approximately four dozen servant bots (appear as feminine robotic maids) that secretly have built in weapons and combat programming. The Paradise Federation also maintains a network of spies on board, to gather information for potential future blackmail.
• There was a raider attack, and although the Dreamweaver’s escort ships managed to chase them off, the Dreamweaver’s engines were damaged beyond their ability to repair. A repair ship and backup luxury cruiser have been dispatched, but even with best possible speed they are three weeks out. They are requesting emergency aide. In addition to paying generously for any repairs, preferential treatment, status, and free tickets/passes/vacations in the Paradise Federation are guaranteed.
• Quarantine. The Dreamweaver is sitting in a spacedock under quarantine. An illness has been sweeping through the crew and passengers, fatal to some, debilitating to all. A small team of medical specialists are aboard but are making little progress. Some spectacular footage has made this a prominent current event in GALnet media. The fleet is nearby and called on for aid.
• A terrorist group has taken over the Dreamweaver and is threatening to space passengers and crew if their demands are not met. They are demanding the release of several criminals from CCW prisons, and escort to the Kretig dominion where they will meet up with the released criminals and return custody of the Dreamweaver.

11-Private Eye, a communications ship (light cruiser) employed by GALnet, assigned to report on newsworthy evens. Each region of friendly or neutral space has several communication ships assigned monitor duty. Communication ships have routes they take, where they frequently transmit GALnet data to various worlds and other GALnet ships and satellites.
• Gia Dushon, lead newscaster and reporter aboard the Private Eye, reputation for discretion and protecting her sources. Very professional but was given her current posting as she “isn’t flamboyant and sensationalistic” enough to garner highest ratings. Married to her job, to the point she finds herself “interviewing” her co-workers and associates instead of conversing normally.
• Nola Sinol, productionist for Gia and several other newscasters aboard the Private Eye. Maintains technical equipment, programs and guides the remote cameras and microphones, much more “sensationalistic” than Gia, and wants to make a name for herself. Not above hiding spyware on others or in locations where it might provide information for a juicy story. Fancies herself an artist (she isn’t), and a spy (not a good one).
The Private Eye is captained by a former CAF officer, Vega Trace, who is as by-the-book as they come. Total crew aboard the Private Eye are 100, with some of the most advanced computers and archival data in the CCW.
• The crew have been part of an historic event and are sought after for interview. While Gia will be interested in getting an unbiased story, Nola will be interested making the best presentation for said story, and on digging up dirt by spying.
• The Private Eye calls for help – a small fleet of raider ships have attacked without provocation or warning and are intent on destroying the ship. Do they have footage or information someone doesn’t want to get out? Is it even something they are aware of (could have been incidental footage)?

12-Luminary, an Auntin class cruiser maintained from better days in the Golgan Empire, manned by Golgan patriots turned privateers (pirates), spending her time patrolling lost parts of the empire (used to control a significant part of the Anvil Galaxy) and preying on others to maintain their ship/fleet while contributing to the empire. Rarely seen without her sister ships, the Night Hunter, and the Gaelor. Crewman wear outdated Golgan uniforms and still follow protocols. Mostly Golgan crew, although have a few crewman of various races, most significantly human.
• Gaus Jepar, respected military leader whose region of space declared independence from the Golgan Empire almost two decades ago. Jepar, rather than leave the empire or pledge himself to another part of the empire, has become a privateer, still receiving limited assistance from the (now) republik, while reporting information to the republic and engaging in conflict with those viewed as traitors or threats to Golgan sovereignity. He is a charismatic leader that other Golgans naturally follow.
• Jelia Vertas, captain of the Night Hunter, lost when the empire ceased to exist in his region of space, quick to follow the banner of Gaus Jepar. Not much loved by his crew, as he is quick to engage in bold (sometimes foolish) actions that have left the Night Hunter crippled on more than one occasion. Currently, his ship has one of its main guns inoperational, as it has been for more than a year, and her hull is in less-than-optimal shape.
• Jelia Berias, captain of the Gaelor, loved by her crew, and a bit more lax in following protocols for an empire they no longer serve. Loyal to Gaus Jepar, but the Gaelor has experienced more crew changes than the other ships, as crewmen retire or leave to start families or pursue other interests. Operating with less-than-optimal crew numbers, crew more loyal to their captain than the empire.
The Luminary has had some upgrades over the years, which has reduced the number of crew required to maintain her, and no longer flies the colors of the Golgan empire as they are not technically members of that military. The actions of the Luminary and her sister ships (often referred to as “Luminary Battlegroup”) have led them to be considered pirates, and they have destroyed ships and taken lives to preserve an empire that no longer exists.
• A cargo convoy heading for Syndian space is attacked and sends out a distress call. They refused to surrender to the Luminary group and are facing destruction. The Luminary group is attacking any ships that may be carrying weapons into Syndian space, in effort to help their Golgan brethren in retaking lost territory.
• A lone ship in PC fleet is threatened by the Luminary group. They are given the option to surrender and may be attacked if they fail to do so. They could be on a mission to prevent traffic in a certain area of space, could be wanting to get revenge on those Altess, or could be just engaging in piracy for monetary gain.
• The Luminary group is engaged in battle against other pirates, or possibly TGE forces, and has been detected on scanners. Up to PCs if they decide to intervene, and to what extent.

13-Maelstrom, a TGE dreadnaught, one of only a handful operating in the Anvil Galaxy. No longer following orders from the empire, all loyalists in positions of authority have been eliminated, with the exception of the Imperial Guardsmen, which are kept in the dark and trust the captain in the absence of the political officer (killed in an unfortunate “accident”). If they were to receive verification the Maelstrom had gone rogue, it would result in onboard fighting. As the Maelstrom engages against enemies of the TGE, including the CCW, the TGE has not sent forces to confront the Maelstrom, although are working on a solution to get the ship back. They have informed the CCW the Maelstrom has gone rogue, and a CAF task force has been assigned to hunt and capture or eliminate if capture is not possible.
• Cren-Cressak Yark Klendle, royal kreeghor captain of the Maelstrom, bloodthirsty and battle-hungry, grew tired of waiting around for the next war. When the opportunity presented itself, ensured an “accident” killed the onboard political officer and a number of other crew (political officer there to ensure captains don’t go rogue). Since, has been leading the Maelstrom in a mission to eliminate any opposed to the TGE. Likes interrogating and killing prisoners personally. Ensures the crew that would receive messages from the empire are loyal to him.
• Cressak Qul Grell, kreeghor captain on the Maelstrom, loyal to Cren-Cressak Klendle. Agrees with the mentality an unused warship is a useless warship.
• Kilgore, Kreeghor invincible guardsman who can transform into metal, is incredibly strong, and enjoys tearing people and things apart with his claws. Although not harmed by exposure to vacuum, no mobility powers, so has to rely on others or gear to get into action.
Limited in her ability to affect repairs, the Maelstrom seeks out pirate havens and non-aligned shipyards when in need of repairs. Her damages have only been minor to date (her force fields are impressive), although several of her Starfighters have required repair due to engagements. The Maelstrom is also constantly having to waylay cargo ships to maintain supplies for her and her crew.
• The crew wanders upon the gutted remains of one or several ships, cargo taken, no survivors. This scenario can repeat itself over and over.
• The CAF task force requests assistance in dealing with the Maelstrom. Maybe they are setting a trap. Maybe they have suffered in previous engagements. Maybe they aren’t up to the task.

14-B’toravoth, a Kyrdosian preserver ship, heavy cruiser, usually with an escort of several destroyer class ships. The Kyrdosians are called preservers, as they are known to “collect” various species, especially those that are rare or in danger of extinction and placing them in cold storage. They see themselves as caretakers for the lost species of the galaxies. The B’toravoth is cutting edge technology, assisted by A.I., with devastating weaponry, although she isn’t built for a fight, but as a transport for living cargo. Cargo is picked up from dying worlds, displaced sleeper ships, prisons and slave markets.
• Haraoth the Preserver, Kyrdosian caretaker of the B’toravoth. Follows assigned missions, and additionally seeks out cargo of endangered species. Haraoth is one of the Kyrdosians the Kingdom of Ryncryll are accustomed to dealing with, and has also had dealings with the TGE, providing them financial compensation for sharing prisoners of endangered species. Like others of his species, Haraoth is a born collector, and enjoys collecting and preserving specimen.
The B’toravoth only has a crew of sixteen Kyrdosians, and ninety-six security robots, in addition to various security measures to detain and eliminate threats aboard ship. She is capable of carrying 8,000 souls in cryogenic storage. The destroyer escorts are strictly gunships to protect the B’toravoth, mostly automated.

15-Juggernaut, one of three goliath-class asteroid mining ships assigned to the Krane Breaking Yards. The Krane Breaking Yards are a joint asteroid mining/ship recycling venture that has been operational for over a century, with a centralized processing facility that houses over a quarter of a million workers and families. Despite defenses sufficient to dissuade any would-be raiders or pirate activity, the facility became a minion war battleground due to the opening of rifts through previously unknown ley lines that crossed through the facility. Under a week ago an explosion ripped through the facility, crippling two of the three goliath ships and damaging the Juggernaut’s nav computer and communications. The Juggernaut responded to distress signals and picked up 1600 survivors.
• Captain Rey Montgomery, elderly gentleman with a lifetime experience in the mining industry, has been through his share of accidents but nothing on this scale. Responsible for his crew of just under 800, but could not leave others, including families and children, to die in the ruins of the Krane Breaking Yards facility.
The Juggernaut was the only ship spaceworthy after the accident and made the call to transport survivors on what should have been a three-day journey to a CAF station in free space. Unfortunately, with her nav system and communications damaged, she is off course, and what should have been a three-day journey has lasted almost a week. Her resources, including oxygen, are strained, and in short order the captain will have to make some difficult decisions.
• In addition to survivors, demons or devils or both have shapechanged and are aboard the Juggernaut.

16-The Gravy Train, a heavy transport with specialized cryogenics units for storage of high-quality meats. Also transports various spices, sauces, and gravies to supplement its meats. Caters to wealthier crowd who pay top dollar for fresh, high-quality meats delivered on time. The Gravy Train is fast (6LY/hr top speed, cruises at 5LY/hr), well armored, and sticks to standard shipping lanes to avoid any potential encounters with pirates. In addition, although very rarely used, has multiple gunnery stations with heavy weaponry to provide defense, as well has heavy shielding. Part of a six-ship fleet that travels a region of space, loading cargo from dedicated slaughter storehouses and delivering to select clientele.
• Captain Kl’rt Rustell, early 30s human male with a habit of getting himself into adventures. Would have been fired long ago due to late deliveries as a result of “circumstances beyond my control,” but has become synonymous with making deliveries despite adversity and is well loved by the clientele for his roguish charm.
• Master Kai, mid 20’s human male, has been helmsman on The Gravy Train and the captain’s go-to guy ever since he lost a bet with the captain 5 years ago. Has become a skilled freighter pilot and is a skilled combatant with his twin laser swords.
• Jenny, a shape changer of indeterminate age that usually chooses the form of a young girl to seem innocent and nonthreatening. Stowed away aboard The Gravy Train and has since become part of the crew.
In addition, has a crew of bots for loading and unloading cargo, and power lifter suits for those locations that distrust bots (human alliance) and a crew to man them. Additionally, has a top-notch learning/entertainment suite, and an exercise suite, to keep crew in shape and occupied.
• Big Trouble – Master Kai’s true love has been kidnapped as part of some dark prophecy to turn a local warlord into a god. The group gets caught up in the middle of a street fight and ends up befriending Kai and Captain Rustell and are asked to help. The mission will take skill and stealth and maybe a little magic to save lives and prevent a dark future.
• Escape – The Gravy Train has been impounded and Captain Rustell has been tasked by the local government to rescue the planetary governor’s daughter from an impenetrable prison colony where she is being held for ransom. If he fails, not only could it mean planetary disaster (she has tech that could destabilize planetary defense network) but will mean the destruction of The Gravy Train by the local government.

17-Utopia Three, a city ship (think a massive domed space station covering several miles) of unknown origin that has been traversing space for at least a thousand years. Although not completely self-sustaining, does have cutting edge recycling systems and, with the periodic addition of outside resources (water, nutrient rich soil), is able to provide for its controlled population of 3 million. Has over thirty “districts,” many of which are home to various species, and has a large market district covering several city blocks where visitors can come to vacation and shop. Although universal credits are accepted, Utopia Three prefers a barter system where goods and resources can be quickly brought in.
• B.E.A.M. (Brightest Evolving Artificial Matrix), the evolving A.I. super intelligence that maintains Utopia Three. Provides guidance to the District Managers for the survival and prosperity of the city. Views the city as its body, and the citizens as its children. Communicates only with District Managers, as knows some citizens fear A.I..
• Vorac Aster, a Thorovian (MDC human, advanced physical stats, metallic colored eyes) soldier, captain of the destroyer Hammerfell, usually makes first contact (while leading battlegroup) with any foreign capital ships or fleets approaching Utopia Three. Captain Aster has destroyed numerous threats to the Utopia, bringing in useful resources in the process, while avoiding unnecessary fights. His sister is leader of the Thorovian district on Utopia Three.
• Advocate Dyna, a cyber-enhanced human who is the current First Advocate of the Utopia Three. She greets and works with any high-profile visitors to Utopia, working to serve Utopia while also promoting commerce. One of the highest positions within the Utopia.
Utopia Three travels a 1LY/hr, slow by modern standards, but it is primarily a habitat. Has two cruisers and eight destroyer class vessels, typically in hidden berths, as well as just over two hundred Starfighters, and various power armors for defense. Additionally, Utopia Three has numerous capital class weapons that have been salvaged from encounters to supplement its defenses.
• A criminal network has developed on Utopia Three, and in order to avoid potential district conflicts, they have discreetly requested outside help in dealing with it. The criminal network has been diverting resources for profit, resulting in shortfalls, hunger, and untreated illness. In the short run, it can be countered with trade deals, but it can’t be allowed to gain a hold in Utopia Three.

18-Crimea, an ancient deep space exploration ship (cruiser size) from the Human Alliance, that has been operating since before the Automaton War. Was lost for a time but has since found its way back into service. It has been upgraded extensively, and now serves an entrepreneur who is contracted with multiple corporations to search for rare resources and opportunities. Able to operate with less than half the original crew thanks to upgrades.
• Captain Rayne Steele, eldest daughter of a once-prominent family that has fallen into ruin, won the Crimea gambling and used the last of her resources to modernize her. Used family contacts to set up contracts in the hopes of rebuilding her family reputation and resources. Greedy, power hungry, will do whatever it takes to restore her family to power.
• Science Officer Lita Travers, would-be CAF officer kicked out of the academy just prior to graduation for embarrassing the wrong people. Blacklisted, but given an opportunity aboard the Crimea. Bitter about losing position in CAF, and future she envisioned for herself.
Crimea can reach 6 LY/hr, but travels safely between 4 and 5 LY/hr. Her sensors are just below high-quality sensor suites on CAF warships. Under optimal conditions, would be manned by a crew of 300, but is currently undermanned, with a crew of just over 100. Crew are forced to work extra shifts to ensure the ship functions efficiently. Has multiple medium class weapons, manned by crew in times of emergency. Insufficient lifepods, standard for ships of her time. Carries two short-range shuttles for planetary survey.
• Captain Steele has laid claim to some resources within what is considered the expanded Altess Dynasty. Not officially Altess territory, unofficially claimed. The system is mineral rich, and home to an alien artifact.
• Crimea has been damaged, salvaging resources from a starship graveyard when a shipkiller mine detonated nearby and is presenting a hazard to the crew. Captain Steele will not ask for help, she doesn’t have the resources, doesn’t want to show weakness, and doesn’t want to be indebted to anyone. She still has power and engines, and her plan is to return to a consortium starbase for repairs, although it is weeks away and some of the crew won’t survive the trip.

19-Leviathan, a mega freighter that usually operates in consortium space, usually transporting foods from farm worlds to the less self-sufficient worlds of the consortium. Fast in the process of becoming obsolete, as faster ships have been driving down her profits. As her operating costs are high, to continue operating at a profit, has taken to transporting building materials and other resources for military projects near consortium space.
• Captain Bran Argus, a retired Chief Engineer of the CAF, Captain Argus took command of the Leviathan after his younger brother was removed from command for capital crimes. Captain Argus has no other family, and rather than spend his twilight years in some upscale retirement community, wanted to continue his service to the consortium. Hopeful he can increase the profits of the Leviathan enough to upgrade her, so she doesn’t become obsolete.
• Chief Medical Officer Lerys Anders, a fellow retired CAF officer who served with Captain Argus the last decade of his career. Took a job on the Leviathan to avoid paying alimony or child support. Had been married seven times and had seven children (one for each wife). A pompous man with a bit of a god complex, who spends his free time (of which he has a lot) conducting medical research.
The Leviathan is only equipped with light weaponry to protect against possible raider attacks, although does have multiple tractor beams for handling cargo transferal that can be used in a pinch. She has a crew of 200, mostly loadmasters to handle cargo.
• The Leviathan issues a general distress call. A murderous machine is onboard, eliminating the crew and taking control of parts of the ship. The machine (cyborg) was part of the military cargo (a failed experiment), being shipped to a research station for study.

20-Exodus, a generations ship, last survivors of a species of long-lived chimera-type humanoids (slowly take on traits and appearance of those they are close to). Due to their abilities, their galactic neighbors hated and feared them, leading to a war which everyone lost. The Exodus has been traversing the spaceways for nearly two millennia at sublight speeds and is just now nearing inhabited space.
• Shepherd Vox Exodus, the spiritual and political leader of the Exodus, works to ensure the health and welfare of the passengers and crew. Has had to make difficult decisions, including to “remove” over 1000 passengers in recent years due to unavoidable declines in resources. Distrustful of all outsiders, understandably, but also growing desperate for finding a suitable world for colonization.
• Ancient Scarl Hartrel, the only living survivor from the home world, was an entertainer by trade, now is considered a scholar. Once gone, the last connection to home will go with him.
The Exodus has approximately 73,000 passengers, and a crew of 5,000. Given diminishing resources, every 14 years another 1,000 passengers will have to be sacrificed. Primitive ship, although by necessity have become masters at recycling and botany.
• The Exodus has suffered damage from a meteor storm. Although thankfully few were injured or killed (major damage to one of the hydroponics bays), the resulting loss of precious resources will force another culling of passengers.
• Journeys End: The Exodus has been caught in the gravitational pull of a singularity and doesn’t have the power needed to break away. The engines have been running on full for weeks (months), and are operating in the red, just to prevent it from slipping further down the gravity well.

21-Red Marquess, a long-range scout ship of unknown province, with some distinctly wolfen design elements. Appears blackened, battered, and run down, which is mostly cosmetic, as it is maintained in excellent working condition. Emblazoned with a golden shield emblem (also a bit scorched) on the bow. Over gunned for a ship of its class. One of only a handful constructed during the height of conflict between CCW and TGE prior to the shipyards being destroyed.
• Quatoria Feldspar, a wolfen quatoria (star marshal) operating outside of the empire, working to bring justice to all the dark and lawless places in the frontier. Secret ally of the FWC, has been operating as a star marshal for more than two decades following his “death” during the CCW/TGE war. No real life to speak of beyond what he considers his calling to mete out justice. Has a collection of weapons from fallen cosmo knights he has ended.
• Krel Marshwalker, a wolfen war veteran and demolitions expert of considerable stealth that is indebted to Feldspar and is determined to stay with him until he feels he has paid his debt. Has some skill in keeping the Marquess battle ready, but not an engineer. Has taken up a variety of hobbies and developed a few eccentricities as a result of the long, lonely journeys.
The Red Marquess could support a crew of six comfortably but has never had more than four while under command of Feldspar. Currently there are only Feldspar and Marshwalker aboard, as a third crew member (a hotshot pilot) was killed just over a year ago.
• The Red Marquess is chasing down prey, a stolen vessel (medium freighter) in possession of a murderous con-man. The Red Marquess has suffered some damage (comms are down), and the ship they are after is not registered as stolen. The con-man will comm, begging for help from the pirates that are after him and his cargo.

22-Platyn Score 4, a GL-2 heavy tanker that has been plying the spaceways for over a century. Has gone through several owners and has spent most of its service transporting liquid fuels for Golgan expansion efforts. Has been modified from its original design to accommodate a smaller crew (30) with enhanced engines (4LY hr max). Current ownership is a bitter Golgan racial supremist who is mad at the galaxy over the dwindling of his empire. Has been working under contract with CCW exploration corp, providing fresh water in 5/6 tanks for regions lacking in this resource.
• Glup Belgrup, Golgan captain of the Platyn. Old, has had failing organics replaced with cybernetics, his only enjoyment in life is making a profit, even it if isn’t directly helping the empire. Strong dislike for what he sees as enemies of the empire, to include the Central Alliance, the Zyganians, and the Altess. Has some grandchildren who are part of the Republik military, and while he would like to see the empire restored, isn’t optimistic this will happen.
• Thran Corgan, security chief (with all of two other (human) security personnel) aboard ship, one of only a handful of humans. Given his military service to the empire and his skill as a seasoned soldier, is respected despite being non-Golgan. Skilled combatant and spacer, with a keen eye that has prevented more than one potential disaster.
• Phlin Arahn, Golgan engineer aboard the Platyn. Skilled at keeping ships systems and cargo maintenance systems up and running, not as skilled at starship systems. Also, has been required to assist the ships medic with captain’s cybernetics. Overworked, as no provision for engineering crew, and ship in need of an overhaul, which she isn’t skilled enough to do, even if she had the proper supplies and equipment.
GL-2s and variants are a common sight in the Anvil Galaxy and are prime targets for pirate groups due to use as fuel tankers. Most are not armed or only lightly armed (Platyn is lightly armed) and are vulnerable to attacks on fuel transport tanks (although this would destroy the ship and be a loss for pirates as well).

[taalismn]

Heyyyy, I recognize some of this stuff.
I was surprised by some of this stuff(but have quickly adapted it).

Good capsule stories here.

[taalismn]

Random Spacecraft Ideas:
-23 * Starseed----Merchantman-Yacht Conversion
-Co-Captains are Polskar Neev, an 11th-level Franaj businessbeing, and Yaohov Doblo, a 7th level LLiemid agronomist. The two are indulging a lucrative hobby of theirs in traveling the Three Galaxies, collecting the seeds of various edible plants, sometimes donating them to botanical labs and gardens, and selling others. Their ship is packed with seedlings , seed and spore packets, and cuttings of various plants. The two-dozen crew are hired spacehands and personal entourage of the two wealthy partners, and many have degrees in botany and agriculture.
*A distress signal is received from the Starseed; it has wandered into Arzac space and has been boarded by the authorities there, who have determined that a large number of their seed cargo are proscribed substances(either produce narcotic plants or are themselves narcotics to some species). The captains and crew are looking at serious jail time, or worse, given the draconian Arzac anti-drug trafficking laws. Can somebody rescue them?
*Distress Call Again---One of the Starseed’s botanical samples has sprouted into a fast-growing vegetable monster, The crew have managed to seal it behind some of the ship’s bulkheads, but they could really use some help with the creature before it takes over or destroys the ship.
*Flower-Picking Job Offer--- Neev and Doblo have a job offer for the PCs (possibly due to their experiences with the previous adventure hooks?); accompany them to a feral planet to help acquire samples of several promising plants the two are sure will go over famously in the galactic markets. Feral planet? Wooo-whoo!

-24 * ExTee-THree---Large Cargo Can converted into a private spacecraft.
The XT-3 is brightly-colored and splashed with various decals and graffiti and festooned with an odd asortment of devices that should puzzle those looking at it.
-The Captain/Chief Engineer is Padden Moth, a juvenile Munro and child genius, who has been experimenting with a homebrewed stardrive system that he claims will revolutionize spacetravel, once he’s gotten all the bugs out. The drive system is an extradimensional space-folding system that can make instant leaps of several dozen light years, but it is inconsistant in its distances, among other quirks. It clearly needs more work, as Moth will be the first to admit.
-Moth’s from a corporate research colony where his parents are employed working on various hgh-concept product projects. He and his friends, out of sheer bodredom and poorly supervised because of their parents’ preoccupation with their work, decided to cobble together a spacecraft using their ‘clubhouse’ and parts smuggled from the colony’s labs and workshops, or bought using their parents’ ‘borrowed’ credit cards. His crew consists of a mixed bag of a dozen other nerdy junior geniuses of various species(most of species with an affinity for science and engineering) who have managed to slip the attention of their guardians and hack a spacecraft license and transponder ID. They pretty much taught themselves how to pilot spacecraft from spaceflight simulators. Besides Moth’s super-drive, the kids have cobbled together a number of other questionable devices, including a plasma cannon that the self-taught space cadets like using to take potshoys at passing asteroids(or misidentified spacecraft).
-It goes without saying that these kids are flying around space without their parents’ knowledge or permission. Once those parents realize their kids are missing, though, there’s going to be a sector-wide alert, especialy if they think that their progeny have been kidnapped by parties seeking the secrets of the research colony.
-Alien brats in space, messing around with an eccentric spacedrive without responsible adults around to supervise them. Gee, think there’s going to be trouble?

-25 * Shaudo Gayn---Runner Craft(Modified Amok-class strike ship)
-Crewed by an elite team of Greeth commandos hunting down the Greeth-tormenting ‘stress relievers’ created by their god Nrom. These are hardened no-nonsense newt-people who are sick and tired of being killed at random and inconvenient times and mean to dispose of as many of the death/resurrection trigger-artifacts as they can lay their hands on.
-Leader is Grumpus Nodge, a 10th level Headhunter and arguably one of the most accomplished Greeth with offworld training. She is a driven and bitter individual who sees absolutely no humor in the Greeth situation. Frankly, if she met Nrom tomorrow, she’d try to kill him before sunset.
-The rest of the Greeth crew are equally determined and angry anti-Nromists. They average level 5 in experience and compensate for their species’ normal clumsiness by using heavy ‘pray and spray’ armaments.
*The Shaudo Gayn recently located one of Nrom’s relics and stole it from its then-current owners in the TransGalactic Empire. Problem is, the relic was being used as the favorite chewtoy of a Kreeghor noble’s son, and the Kreeghor wants it back. The Greeth shiptook some damage in the process and is currently in need of repairs and is unlikely to be able to get up and running before pursuit overtakes them. Can the PCs assist?
*One of the PCs bought/acquired a souvenir at the last stop they made. Now the Shaudo Gayn shows up on their tail, initiates contact, and asks for it, without explanation as to the why. At first, the Greeth offer a small compensation to buy the artifact, but if the PCs refuse to part with it, the encounter becomes increasingly and rapidly more hostile.

-26 * Peeker 507----Starshuttle
--GALnet-sponsored News Scout, currently assigned to cub reporter Etha Cribittiz. She uses the ship to travel around her home sector to cover stories, but the young easger-beaver reporter has been straying out of the sector time to time increasingly on unauthoized jaunts to hunt down particularly juicy newsleads she hopes will rocket her to a better position as a journalist.
The ship is fitted with extra sensors, most of military grade, or at least well above cvilian spec. It carries a smaller two-seat shuttle pod in a rear niche in the hull. Aside from commercial shields, it is unarmed and almost completely defenseless.
-Robot Companion Chatterbox---Cribittz’s constant companion is this AI who tags along as her mechanic, communications engineer, co-pilot and assistant. Chatterbox resembles a footlocker-sized box with multiple arms/legs sprouting from it, and possessing a constantly-talking, mile-a-minute worrywart personality going from warning Cribittiz, admonishing her about stupid actions, and updating about repairs and adjustments to the Peeker 507’s equipment.
*PCs receive a distress call from the Peeker 507. Seems that while following up on a story lead, Cribbitz was abducted by certain parties. Chatterbox has used the Peeker’s sensors to track her, but lacks the programming and means to rescue her. Can the PCs help? Chatterbox is sure that GALnet will gladly pay out for the rescue of one of their reporters.

-27 *Sanctum Solomyn-----Small commercial spaceliner
A Lurgess-flagged and operated tour line, promising safe and secure travel for one of the Three Galaxies’ most avoided regular species. The 200-crew and 800 passengers enjoy traveling through space admiring the scenery and occasionally visiting spectacular(but sterile) asteroids and lifeless planets devoid of any chance of spreading or catching infections. It’s the brainchild of the ship’s Lurgess owner and captain, Bulchard Colm, an independantly-wealthy software entrepenaur who feels that off-the-shelf high tech should allow his people to have good things like the rest of the species of the 3G, and allow them to co-exist without friction. So far the idea seems to be working and may set a precedent...as long as the traditionally avoided and under-employed Lurgess have the money to spend on such things.
*Distress Call---The Sanctum Solomyn has been pulled out of FTL and sits in the middle of a minefield. The liner’s engines are damaged, and the shields and meager anti-meteor defenses are barely holding under a continious, if intermittant, bombardment as the activated minefield closes in around them. They need help, not only to hold off the mines, but to repair the damage already done to the starliner. That may require somebody to suit up and go aboard the Lurgess ship, or, worse case scenario, evacuating the starliner to another ship. (GM’s option: It’s a Hemite trap meant to eliminate another shipload of plague-carriers. There’s at least one cloaked Hemite cruiser in the area angling to finish off the starliner and anybody who shows up to help them)

-28 *Happi Happi Cosmic Funball---A 200-ft wide sphere of alien metal(3,000 MDC) with a 6,000 MDC forcefield and moving at Mach 16/6 light years an hour. It will approach ships and introduce itself by quickly and thorouggly scanning them, and then will either streak away or it will begin blasting with a particle beam cannon(1d4x1,000 per blast, 10 mile /10,000 mile range in space, four shots per melee), reasons unknown, until the target is either destroyed, or the sphere takes 75% damage, when it will streak away and attempt to evade pursuit. If it successfully escapes, it may be back later, tracking the same target, and fully repaired(presumably it has some sort of self-repair capability). If it cannot escape, it will attempt to kamikaze on the target, doing 1d10x1,000 MD as its powersource overloads.
*The warsphere may be somebody’s super-weapon gone bad or an Ancient war’bot reactivated and escaped to pursue a war long over. The criteria used for selecting taregts can vary; the presence of Dominator tech, for instance, certain species aboard, or specific materials being carried.

-29 *Blackthorn--Wasp-class Runner Starship
Private security firm starship crewed by Jelden Blackblade, a Manarr vigilante(14th level), who acts as a trouble-shooter-for-hire. A grim-mannered bounty-hunter with little fear of death(at least by appearance), Jelden has racked up an impressive takedown list of the Three Galaxies’ scum and villains, but she’s realistic about the odds catching up to her. She’s also always on the lookout for potential partners for her hunts...though a little research will show that half the time, though successful, her partners have taken heavy casualties in the process.
-Companion is Altra Thorne, a NeaSyak of Scrupulous Alignment working as a freelance law emforcer(12th-level TMC officer-equivalent). Besides helping Blackblade hunt pirates and other never-do-wells, Thorne is hunting, with intent to kill, her twin sister, who has become a notorious slaver. There’s little love lost between the two, it would seem, by the way Altra speaks of her sibling. She will be most appreciative for any information about her sister’s whereabouts.

-30 **Happi Happi Cosmic Tagball---A 200-ft wide sphere of alien metal(3,000 MDC) with a 6,000 MDC forcefield and moving at Mach 16/6 light years an hour. It will approach ships and introduce itself by scanning the target ship, then quickly hacking its navigation systems until only the ability to track the sphere remains(all other naviagtional coordinates in active computer memort wil be erased). It will then announce ‘Tag, you’re it!” and streak away, leaving the ship with no other option but to follow if they want to get back to civilization(the sphere will proceed to the nearest star system and wait for the target to catch up), or, if they have navigation file backups, they can reboot their navigation systems and rid their nav system of the sphere-implanted programming(-30% to Programming/Hacking efforts). ‘Tagging’ the sphere requires somehow breaching its forcefield and making actual physical contact with the hull, whereupon the sphere will stop, restore the target’s navigational files(plus a log of the sphere’s previous travels), then, as soon as possible, race off to ‘tag’ another ship.

-31 *Decaying StarWasp Nest---Normally this organic asteroid-looking contrivance would be teeming with hundreds, if not thousands, of vicious star wasps and warrior-ants looking to tear into anything they encounter, but something went very wrong and the nest now drifts listelessly through space. The queen is dead, surrounded by thousands of her dead subjects, struck down by some mysterious illness or force. Only a few dozen lower-castes(wasps, warriors, engineers, or laborers) still live, and they are confused to the point they will not immediately attack intruders. There’s possible loot aboard the nest, potentially useful intelligence to be gathered about the Star Hives and what killed this one, and possible recruits from the survivors, but is the risk worth taking?

-32 *Courier and Lifepod---A private-contract courier registered to a minor polity had registered a distress call. Those arriving on the scene will find a small courier ship floating listlesslessly and a single lifepod floating nearby, with one lifesogn aboard. The courier crew will signal they have engine trouble and ask the responders to take aboard the lifepod’s passenger, an important diplomatic envoy and convey him or her to an important conference IMMEDIATELY!!! ALL-CAPS VITALLY IMPORTANT PRIORITY ONE! They even go so far as to transfer the transport contract over to the PCs. Once the responders are able to scan the pod and find no overt signs of trickery and take aboard the diplomat, the courier crew will thank them...then zip away on suddenly and suspiciously repaired drives.
The diplomat is legit, but is such a pompous, self-absorbed, demanding(or severely button-pushng in some other way) a$$ that they drove the courier crew to the point of criminal action of forfeiting the contract and essentially spacing the diplomat, but held off doing so until they could inflict the windbag on some other bunch of chumps and legally pass on the responsibility. Frankly the contract isn’t worth much monetarily, but the PCs are now legally responsible for transporting the diplomat safely to the conference(the original couriers will promptly file the transfer of contract to cover themselves). Now the dignitary is their problem, and the local authorities take safe-conduct contracts VERY seriously.
(Extension of the above; the conference may not be very important, or maybe it is, and the diplomat’s presence is vital. Or else, it isn’t, but somebody still tries to kill the passenger anyway while they’re still in the PCs’ custody and care. Now the PCs are faced with an unendurable unwelcome passenger and mystery opponents who want to kill him/her and anybody in the way for reasons unknown. Given how the dignitary acts, it’s easy to imagine that the list of parties who want to kill them is very long.)
Chasing the courier down(difficult, unless the PCs have a faster ship) may be construed as an act of piracy, but if the PCs do decide to go after them and capture them, will find the small ship’s complement reduced to shivering nerve-frayed psyhological wrecks pushed to the edge fo sanity by their former passenger, and they do just about anything to push the responsibility off on somebody else and get as far away as possible from the jerk.

-33 *Cursebane---Heavily modified Nao-class medium freighter registered to a private humanitarian relief agency.
Cursebane is owned and operated by Alceda Trian, a 12th-level Atlantean mage specializing in researching and breaking curses. She has resident and research privileges on Cybolyte in the United Systems Alliance, which acts as one of her sponsors. She courses about the Three Galaxies responding to calls for assistance in dealing with various mystic curses and maladies. She was VERY busy during the Minion War incursion and is still dealing with fallout-cases from that event.
Cursebane has a Promethean-made Class-F FTL drive cable of 6.7 light years/hour. The ship carries a fully-equipped medical bay with several stasis chambers and a magically-insulated null-cell(if Trian cannot deal with a curse on-site, she will transport the victim to a better-equipped location for advanced treatment). The ship also carries Trian’s library of magic research and an FTL-radio hyperlink allowing her to access a number of academic networks and consult other specialists in faster time.
Because not everybody wants to see the victims of curses relieved of their suffering, Trian and her entourage have often come under attack. Cursebane thus has extensive defensive armament and strong military-grade shields ( 1,000 MDC per side, 6,000 total). She is also accompanied on her rounds by a security team profficient in deling with magical threats(the most likely to use magical curses). Head of Cursebane’s security detachment is Vullard Camis, a 12th-level Headhunter formerly cursed with aggressive lycanthropy, which has been moderated by Trian’s efforts so that Camis now has full control of the curse and retains conscious rationality regardless of the form he’s in. The grateful Camis volunteered to be Trian’s protector.
Other members of the crew include Lysan and Diatra, twin Vinobe sisters(Lysan is a Mystic Herbalist, Diatra a Body Fixer), several healer-priests of various denominations(who have agreed to set aside whatever personal and theological differences their religions might have in favor fo helping people), and a complement of medical AIs.

-34 *Ragelight---Stealth Runner/Hunter-class destroyer
Ragelight is operated by the Mind’s Light Club, a on-the-surface MENSA-style organization and exclusive club for high-operant psychics. In reality, it’s a high-sounding front for an amoral group of psychic-supremacist terrorists who have decided that it’s fun to go around the Three Galaxies using their psychic powers to covertly incite violence in others and sit back to watch the results. The Club was founded by a group of upper-class and terribly -bored- psychics who see themselves as superior to the ‘mind-numb’ hordes surrounding them. The crew are all high-level (7th level and up) Master Psychics and are certifiable sociopaths in attitude, who enjoy inflicting pain and misery on others.
Ragelight is a heavily-modified Hunter-class detsroyer hull, hacked with the best darkport stealth tech and illegal gear aristo money can buy, and psyhic talent swindle, off the black market.
These psionic agitators use their stealth vessel and onboard psionic amplifiers to sneak into regions where tensions are already high and stir things up. They seek out events that they can blow up into riots and uprisings, such as causing sports events, political rallies and normally peaceful demonstrations to turn into mass bloodshed events. Smoldering border disputes are also a favorite tinderbox of the Club, with one or two agitated borderguards or ship officers psychically ‘assisted’ in triggering an incident. Then they essentially get high off the heightened violent emotions generated by the runaway aggression. They also occasionally record the violence to sell to news organizations and war-lovers.
When not stirring up brushwars and atrocities, the MLC will often shadow starships and agitate their crews, using any personal gripes and differences they sense aboard as levers to jack up tensions and push them to the breaking point. If psychic means aren’t enough to finish off their targets, the MLC will use the guns of their ship to get rid of any inconvenient witnesses to their games. They’ve already left a number of derelicts in their wake, the crews having killed each other. All for **** and giggles.
Ragelight is fitted with stealth features, fast drives(Mach 12 and 6 ly/hour), and a complement of armament illegal in most star systems(3x Kreeghor Laser Horn Lances, a 12-shot cruise missile launcher). It carries a pair of stealth shuttles. The MLC has access to a variety of psychic amplification gear(particularly telepathic and empathic projection range that can be measured in tens of MILES), some of it unique(and custom-built for the Club) that the wealthy psychics have acquired. All very expensive and valuable gear if taken intact.

-35 *Last Flight Out#32---Non-FTL Ark Transport
A giant nuclear pulse propulsion vessel some three miles long, cruising along at relativistic velocity. The ship is dormant, but contains some 25,000 passengers in stasis. The vessel is fleeing a planetary catastrophe, but is way off course. Entering the ship and interrupting any of its systems will awaken an emergency-response crew.
*The FLO#32 is currently on course for a potentially habitable system some 17 years away objective-time. , but that system lies within the declared boundaries of a hostile star-polity(or xenophobic species) likely to detect the intruder well before then. A safer system lies some 80 years away, but will require a major course correction.
*The current ‘on-call’ up-shift captain who will awaken to deal with the latest crisis(the arrival of outsiders) is Silas Avor, a technician-priest whose religious zealousness had been heightened to mania by cryostasis psychosis. He will disbelieve anything about future dangers that any strangers tell him and his crew, and will regard them as a ‘test’ of his people, deliberately trying to mislead them from their ‘promised land’.
*The FLO#32 is well-armored and equipped with several powerful ‘communications lasers’ incidentally capable of boiling armor off even modern FTL ships, but its most powerful weapon is its nuclear pulse drive. Individual drive charges can be fused and flug as bombs, doing nuclear blast damage equivalent to long range missile warheads(damage and blast radus x10), but the most powerful weapon is the drive itself, using forcefields to focus the blast of warheads in a cone of destruction some 50 miles long(radiation emissions out to 500 miles) and damage x25.
*The ark has become infested with a colony of vampire space-uglies hiding in the machine spaces. Naturally any disruptions to ship systems, illnesses among the crew, and disappearances/deaths of passengers are blamed on the newcomers who just HAPPEN to be in the vicinity of the incidents.

[Anthanatos]

Very cool - will be incorporating some of these into my games!

[taalismn]

36-*Armod’s Inquiry----Modified Gas Mining Ship, Science Vessel.
The Armod’s Inquiry is a scientific research vessel sponsored in part by General Galaxy(the major ship supplier to the CAF) to study hyperspace phenomena, to gain a better understanding of subspace dimensions(ideally with an eye towards improving propulsion systems). The old mining vessel has its collection tanks and docking ports replaced with a variety of sensitive sensors and the support gear to keep them operating. The ship generally spends long missions in deep space far from any star system, carefully studying any perturbations in space/time and conducting experiments.
*The nominal mission head is Professor Gorfin Creneed, a distinguished-looking older academic from one of the older CCW coreworlds.
*Normally a friendly, if rather stuffy, old academic considered harmless by most, of late the good Professor has been acting more curmudgeonly than usual, becoming more demanding of accuracy and punctuality of his assistants, plotting out more audacious and bizarre experiments, and becoming more and more irritable. Some of the crew believe the old guy is finally losing it after a generally undistinguished career, and is looking to make any sort of breakthrough before he is forcibly retired by his corporate sponsors.
*The PCs are hired to take part in experiments, flying out various distances from the Armod’s Inquiry to set up signal beacons and sensor buoys. It’s tedious and monotonous low-paying work.
*Extradimensional entities from a previously unsuspected band of subspace have been infiltrating the mainstream levels of reality, possessing beings and engaging in less than benevolent activities. They have learned of Prof. Creneed’s experiments and fear that he may be on the verge of discovering their existence and have decided to take action. They’ve already sabotaged several of the experiments aboard the Armod’s Inquiry, but this has led to Creneed stepping up the pace of his studies. This in turn has the entities plotting more aggressive action to stop their unveiling.

37-Ahalden Rose----SpaceYacht
An opulent and very well-appointed personal spacecraft carrying a single occupant, identifying herself as Alsa Ulsara, galactic journalist and essayist, gathering material for various articles on galactic society. She will, in the course of an encounter with PCs, subject them to an intensive questioning and bio-scanning, while( it may not be noticed at first), collecting tissue samples(shed skin flakes, hair, and other material), supposedly in the name of collecting material for future writing.
*A comprehensive search of an up-to-date Galactic Who’s Who should hint that ‘Alsa Ulsara’ is an alias for Sendra Kasis, an Altess national and financier. However, there are enough anomalies in ‘Alsa’s’ story and behavior to cast doubts as to whether or not she really IS the Altess heiress.
*Kasis’s reason for stellar wandering is to find a suitable mate and gene-donor for her future children. This should come as a surprise to anybody with a knowledge of the Altess, because while they may take up non-Altess lovers for a spell, are not known for mingling their bloodlines with outsiders, and zealously defend the purity of their gene-pool. In fact, it’s not known if they’re capable of interbreeding with outside humans at all . Furthermore, because of Altess immortality, their birthrate is VERY slow and very much heavily regimented and regulated, so an Altess flying off on a lark to get pregnant should strike the PCs as VERY unusual and suspicious to say the least.
Anybody attempting violence against Alsa Ulsara will quickly learn that the Ahalden Rose is closer to a destroyer in terms of firepower and its crew of advanced warbots are VERY proficient at dealing with threats to their owner.
*That’s exactly what’s on the minds of a squadron of well-armed pirates who show up with holding the lone Altess for ransom.
*Alsa(or is it Kasis?) requests the assistance of the PCs in recovering an artifact of great importance to the Altess(or so she claims) from those who currently wrongfully hold it. Is it a case of quiet recovery or grand-theft with dupes?
*Other tests of ‘suitability’ should range from the absurd to the sadistic. Is she really testing for suitability, character, or just making people jump through hoops(maybe literally) for her own bored entertainment?
*Alsa makes it clear that one of the PCs may very well be the sort of mate she’s looking for. Provided he passes a few ‘tests’. But is it a con job,a one-night stand, or a chance to pick up a hot Altess girlfriend and possible patroness?
-Multiple armed and angry ex-suitors keep showing up on the PCs’ tails. Seems the PCs weren’t the only ones Alsa ‘tested’.
-Just when the PCs are prepared to call Alsa’s Altess bluff, a very big and very obviously Altess WARSHIP shows up, its master declaring himself Kasis’s TRUE trueblood Altess mate; he’s angry as hell she’s looking outside the Dynasty and jealous enough to blow any rivals out of space.

-38 *Hellbaster Number Seven----Automated Cargo Drone(equivalent to a Merchant-freighter)
Hellbaster #7 is an automated antimatter-transport and refueling drone that was lost during a battle during the last big TGE/CCW conflict. The ship’s handlers were killed in the fight, its transponders were damaged and taken offline, and an emergency recall program activated, sending the automated vessel off on a return to base. The ship has been flying at minimal thrust through real space heading for the nearest CAF base(nearly a hundred light years away!) in its navigational computers...which haven’t been updated in over a century. The dumb tanker still has 20% of its original payload of antimatter in secured tanks aboard, which is still a considerable(several dozen lbs), and extremely valuable, supply of the powerful fuel and worth a fortune on the galactic black market. However, the ship is damaged and deteriorating, and any further damage to the ship might compromise the cargo and result in a potentially catastrophic antimatter leak.. The smart thing would be to back off and report the ship’s location to the CAF to recover, but before they can arrive, somebody else might show up to snatch the prize. And of course, there’s the temptation for the PCs of just claiming the windfall for themselves....

-39*Drifter----Modified Spacesuit
A heavy-duty work envirosuit of Human Alliance make, several centuries out of date, but still functional at a minimal power-draw level, floating between the stars. Upon recovery, it is discovered to be occupied by a human woman in deep stasis, thanks to what seems to be a non-standard piece of technology grafted into the suit’s systems.
If and when the occupant is revived(fairly easy with a successful Medical Doctor skill roll), she will identify herself as Arlene Yancy, and she claims to have been pitched out of her starfreighter by a catastrophic incident. She is hopelessly out of date on knowing about recent events and the state of the Three Galaxies.
A number of Lore: History skill rolls will poke holes in her story and suggest she is lying. As it turns out, and she will slowly admit this, she was actually a pirate who had a disagreement with her fellows, and was spaced, albeit with the benefit of a spacesuit(or maybe they thought a slow death by asphyxiation would be crueler?), for her troubles. However, a piece of loot she held back from the rest of the pirates(the alien technology found grafted to her suit) put her into deep stasis, rather than slowly suffocate.
Some inquiries of historical databases will turn up that Yancy’s pirate gang was thought to have been eliminated or broke up centuries ago, leaving the castaway the last known member of the group, and not one recorded in surviving law enforcement records.
While her knowledge of the Three Galaxies is out of date by several centuries, Yancy’s still a fair pilot(8th level) who knows the basics of starflight, she’s a fair shot with an energy pistol, and with a little study she can easily learn to fix basic systems. She may also know of a few locations where her old gang hid loot. But can the PCs really trust a pirate who may not be as ‘ex-’ as she claims?

-40 Santi M’hk’als---Low-FTL Large Transport(roughly equivalent to a starliner)
A large low-FTL speed starship carrying missionaries to spread the word of their religion to other species. They’ve been looking for a First Contact after detecting faint signs of intelligent communications, so they’re thrilled when they run across the PCs.
The crew of Santi M’hk’als will eagerly question the crew, especially if any of them do NOT resemble the missionaries’ species, about anything and everything, but especially about their spiritual beliefs.
The fact of the matter is that many of the crew are experiencing second thoughts about tooling around the galaxy looking to convince alien species to join their religion. If they can just get the PCs to convert, they can call their mission a success and return home. Some of them will get increasingly agitated and aggressive if the PCs do not. As the missionaries are accompanied by a well-armed militant order of warrior monks/nuns to protect the mission(and they have both a squadron of starfighters equal to Flying Fangs and power armor to back their actions), they may resort to force to coerce the PCs to reconsider their spiritual needs and /or donate any superior technologies they have to the Good Cause, some, maybe many, commandments may be broken. Some of the monks and nuns may freak if seeing particularly alien species for the first time and may react irrationally(especially if the aliens they see have a Horror/Awe Factor). Displays of magic or psionics may drive them especially wild.
In the alternative, any revelations the PCs make about the greater Galactic scene may cause/aggravate a schism in the crew of the Mission, with some wanting to go on and continue the journey in the face of great odds and others wanting to turn around and go back home.
Maybe the PCs can sneak away before somebody declares a high crusade, holy war, or jihad.

-41 Rodic Manru----Ocean-Going Freighter
An oceanic vessel of vintage technology(it’s powered by diesel engines) adrift in deep space. This thing can’t fly, let alone fly through space, so what it’s doing adrift in the deep black should raise some questions. The ship is your typical general-transport tramp freighter, but seems to belong to a sept of techno-orcs, judging by the freeze-dried bodies of crew aboard and all the writing in a dialect of Orc-Gobbeley(-15% to read if one has the Gobbeley literacy skill), while the navigation charts are of an unfamiliar world. The crew is all dead, but combing through the journals of the officers and the ship’s logs(as well as at least one sailor’s diary) will turn up references in the last entries about picking up a ‘strange cargo’, ‘increasingly bad weather’, odd behavior from one of the passengers taken aboard at the next-to-last port, and a growing sense of unease among the crew, including several crewmembers deserting at the last stop and the ship’s mascots disappearing. The last bridge log entry tells of unexpected storms brewing up, then...nothing.
The ship is carrying a general cargo of merchandise including apparel, shoes, machine parts and industrial materials, canned goods(still edible) and crates of junk jewelry. Some study between the crew’s journals and the cargo manifest can allow the PCs to learn that the ‘strange cargo’ was held in a cargo hold that is still sealed, and the quarters of the ‘odd’ passenger almost directly adjacent to the hold.
Anybody want to go investigating?

[Anthanatos]

42-General Augustus, a destrier escort cruiser that has been in service to the FWC for 20 years, prior to refitting was a chevalier class ship part of the HAFN, named after a general made famous during the automaton wars. Was involved in heavy fighting against the TGE and has been saved from the breaking yards several times. Most recently (five to six years ago) has been saved by a group of machine people who have used it as a base of operations to hunt down small groups of TGE forces and sympathizers. As she is crewed entirely by machine people, does not register life signs, and doesn’t require life support. Has a fighter complement of four silver shrike starfighters.
• Argent Omicron, captain of the General Augustus. Aging machine person with experience in both the TGE as a combat engineer and the FWC. Left the TGE after genocidal campaign against K’Taarans. Holds no love for the CCW (their failure to recognize and aide the machine people led to their annexation by the TGE).
• Barry Bronze, hotshot ace pilot and soldier aboard ship, leads the fighter group. Grew up around humans, took a “human” name. Grandson of the captain. Enjoys adding silhouettes to his starfighter for kills.
• Genesis Sterling, tech guru, power-armor pilot, and saboteur. Has the remnants of a modified Silverhawk exoskeleton she utilizes to slip past enemy shields and latch onto the hull of enemy ships for direct assault. Will sometimes “catch a ride” with Silver Shrike towards enemy ships.
The General, in addition to her group of four fighters, has a dozen trained combat specialists that enter any situation armored up, bonded to heavy weapons, ready for war.
• The General has powered down everything, jettisoned cargo, and appears to be dead in space. An automated distress call may be transmitting as well. Some of the jettisoned cargo may be particularly valuable. They are baiting a renegade band of militants allied with the TGE, waiting to strike when the enemy is least expecting it.
• The General approaches the group, shields down, requesting trade. They have acquired items valuable to organics (foodstuffs, clothing items, oxygen) and are seeking a trade in minerals valuable to them for ship maintenance and their own regeneration. Optionally, the crew of the General may be discreetly investigating the player ship for suspected involvement with the TGE. This could involve computer hacking and could lead to conflict if caught.

43-Bethany Home, a Lasser-class Frigate converted to cargo hauler that was one of the ships taken by the Procylonians in their exodus from HAFN controlled space. Controlled by the Stonebreaker Clan, the Stonebreakers were one of the more visible clans during the liberation of their people and are one of the few clans on good terms with all the other clans. Over 2000 Stonebreakers escaped aboard the Bethany Home, and most have remained, taking jobs as mercenaries while trying to avoid the attention of the HAFN.
• “Scar” Strongarm, Captain of the Bethany and one of the leaders of the Stonebreaker Clan (did mining work). Considered ancient by Procylonian standards at 92, Scar is one of the oldest of his people. Charismatic and wise, Scar carries his hatred for humanity, and the HAFN in particular, and to a lesser degree the CCW, around like a badge of honor. He lost family, including his mate and his children in the uprising, and has never recovered from that loss.
• Tomas “The Tank”, a heavily muscled (PS 32, considered augmented) crewman and hero of the Stonebreakers with a cosmic hammer recovered from a fallen member of the Omegan Order. Dangerous in a fight, rarely leaves the Bethany.
Currently the Bethany has an active crew of 300, to include trained marines specializing is low and zero G combat, as well as trained to present a minimal target and maximize use of cover. There are approximately 700 non-combatants, mostly children and their caregivers. At any given time, there may be up to 1500 more trained mercenaries aboard if they are not away on assignment.
• The group stumbles upon a battle between two starships, one Lasser-class Frigate, the Bethany Home, and a Hunter-class Destroyer, the Wildfang. The Wildfang flies the colors of the HAFN, however, her comms have clearly been damaged.

44-Wildfang, a hunter-class destroyer in service to the HAFN. Has seen action on dozens of battlefields over decades of service and has the (repaired) scars to prove it. The Wildfang is part of a fleet that has been assigned to hunt down Procylonian war criminals, and so far they have been successful. In addition to engaging stolen ships, the Wildfang has followed up on leads regarding small mercenary groups of Procylonians, paying fairly for any information that leads to their whereabouts.
• Lt. Commander (Alexis) Beynard, has served the HAFN for a decade, and has been in command of the Wildfang for just over a year. Wanting to make a name for herself (and well on her way) so that she can be promoted to a better ship. Although the hunter is a reliable and sturdy ship, the close quarters and limited amenities, as well as the clear age of the ship, are not to her liking. Her hope is she can successfully complete a few more missions, and the Wildfang can be turned into the museum piece it is.
• Gunmaster (Ing) Kintle, an aged veteran of multiple skirmishes and fixture on the Wildfang for the past decade. Knows how to maximize the weapons, providing a 10% boost to range, and receiving an impressive +2 bonus (in addition to ship systems) on any strike rolls. A good soldier, eager to go down with his ship (would be a good payout to family), although will fight to the last to protect the crew.
The Wildfang often operates light years away from any fleet support and has become known for both hit-and-run and stealth tactics used by her captain. Despite a mostly distinguished service, it is slated for the breaking yards in the next year (may or may not happen – has been slated for this twice before but kept in service “just a little longer.”)
• The Wildfang comms and questions the groups ship about any Procylonian War Criminals they may have encountered. If the group is harboring Procylonians, and the Wildfang isn’t up to the task to bring them to heel, they will round up other elements of the fleet until they feel they outclass the group.
• The Wildfang has been having difficulty with her comms, with range reduced by 75%. Other elements of the fleet don’t have the necessary parts for a field repair. If on favorable terms with the HAFN, the Wildfang will hail the group in hopes of bartering for necessary parts.

45-Grim Harvest, a Demon Fury Frigate (Rifts® Dimension Book™ 12: Dimensional Outbreak™, page 132) that has found its way into the hands of a “privateer” group. Lost in the early days of the Minion War, The ship has seen extensive repairs and modifications. Has been equipped with a transponder that identifies the ship as the “Grim Harvest,” and “not an enemy.” As transponders aren’t standard equipment on abyssal fleet assets, this alone sets it apart from other ships of its class.
• Captain Adamantios, a Godling son of Ares who has in recent years expanded his horizons to the stars. Shares his father’s mastery of all weapons, although favors an aberrant runic bow that fires entropic bolts. Against man-size targets (1 mile range), this inflicts 6d6+6 MDC; against large vehicles (10-mile range) it inflicts x10 damage. Any object struck is destroyed beyond ability to repair. A firm but fair captain to his crew, keeps his word of honor, but doesn’t know the meaning of the word mercy. Has never lost in hand-to-hand combat, and if he ever were to (and survive), he would dedicate himself to revenge.
• Father Mikel, a priest of Hades and long-time travelling companion of Adamantios. Now in his twilight years, Mikel prefers to remain out of combat if possible. He carries with him an artifact that treats any area within 1000 feet of his location as sacred to Hades, and anyone who dies in that area can expect their soul to be a gift to Hades. Usually accompanied by two iron golems that he uses to transport gear and defend him.
The Grim Harvest, although not officially allied with any galactic power, has operated in TGE space frequently and has come to the support of TGE ships and personnel against the FWC and other rogue assets. They are officially recognized as a “friend to the empire,” although this isn’t known outside of TGE circles, to allow the Grim Harvest to operate throughout the galaxy.
• The Grim Harvest sends out a call for aide – they’ve located a ship in distress but don’t have the resources to render assistance. The Harvest will send coordinates to the ship in distress. The ship in question is dead in space, clearly the victim of an attack (astute sensor operators will know the weapons used against the ship don’t match those equipped to the Grim Harvest). The ship is question is a heavy cargo hauler, and although most of her cargo is missing (anything of value), there are dozens of crew aboard.
• The group detects a battle at long-range – the Grim Harvest is engaged with a TGE Smasher. The Smasher in question is a pirate vessel, a crew that failed the TGE and rather than face retribution, went rogue. They’ve preyed on TGE, CCW, and other ships during their exile.

46-Echoes of Tomorrow, a one-of-a-kind experimental gate ship. Roughly the size of a heavy cruiser, the distinguishing feature is a circular gate structure large enough for a cruiser to travel through. It travels with a group of decommissioned CCW/HAFN destroyers for protection. Although not obvious, the destroyers are equipped with energy siphons that direct energy from a star, through the siphons, into the EoT. Blue and white stars work best for the operation. The EoT is a joint research venture between General Galaxy and Rascallion Stellar Technologies, developed in response to the growing concern of repression fields and harmonic disruptions.
• Doctor T’lani, chief scientist of the EoT and of Project Pathway. A Noro with an even bigger head than usual, very sure of himself and the future of the project. Has a large team of dedicated astrophysicists working with him triple checking every gate activation.
• Admiral (R) Tucker, captain of the EoT and admiral of the fleet. Retired from CAF after an illustrious career, went into private sector to keep active and make some easy money to supplement his retirement. Has seen the vase power expenditures to power the gate and imagines how a weapon of that magnitude could have turned the tide in war against the TGE. Or how instantly transporting a fleet could have turned the tide of several battles. If the project works and becomes reliable, it could change the future.
Although not part of the CAF military structure, the CCW maintains watch over the EoT due to the large investment and the potential returns the project has to offer. There are always CCW assets nearby when the EoT is on the move. Although her decommissioned destroyers (six of them) have been heavily modified, they are still just as capable in a fight.
• The group could encounter the EoT while in a rush to get to some distant location. The EoT could offer to assist, after the signing of any waivers to ensure no future litigation against the project or its backers. For a nominal fee, the EoT can outfit the group ship (less than 30 minutes work) with sensor gear and transport them to their desired location. Of course, there is no guarantee they will arrive at the destination. If within 100 light years, 98% success rate; 250 light years or less, 88% success rate; 500 light years or less, 78% success rate; 1000 light years or less, 58% success rate; 2000 light years or less, 38% success rate; anything more, 18% success rate. Maximum limit not yet known. Failure could transport the group anywhere in the prior or succeeding categories (for example, attempting to go 240 light years away and failing could put the group anywhere from 0-500 light years in direction of destination). Note, for legal reasons can’t “fire” a ship to CCW space.
• Although there is nothing on sensors a ship suddenly appears in the direct path and on a heading towards the groups ship, which will result in a collision without some fancy piloting.

47-Harper Rose, a clearly ancient cruiser of an unknown classification, the Harper Rose has been the subject of old spacer’s tales and ghost stories for as long as there have been old spacers. The ship has patchwork repairs to the hull, and the superstructure is visible in sections like a rib cage. The ship is under minimal power and doesn’t have a CG signature. It is unknown whether it was a warship, an exploration vessel, or a colonization ship, although the name suggests one of the latter. Few who have seen the Harper Rose have lived to tell the tale.
• Captain Hendil has seen better days. She was upon a time the rising star of the empire and given the most illustrious of postings. She successfully led her crew for over a decade cataloguing every corner of the (expanding) empire and beyond. Until they entered a previously unidentified nebula and were lost. The Harper Rose never returned home, but it did end up . . . somewhere. Captain Hendil spent weeks trying to escape the green storm they found themselves in, which slowly eroded their ship, and started changing the crew. Everyone became sick but didn’t die. Eventually the pain subsided, but the sickness and decay remained.
• Chief Surgeon Trusdale, along with the crew, has come to embrace his status as a plague lord. Unlike some of the crew, Trusdale has kept his intellect, although he now uses it for darker pursuits. Although crewmen are seldom destroyed, when they are Trusdale enjoys “transitioning” captives into new crewmen. He sees himself (and the Captain) as immortal servants of a god of decay, and gladly shares the blessings.
The Harper Rose looks like a space hulk, aside from some faint energy readings and (given time to observe) some obvious guiding force. A cloud of green gas surrounds her and she leaves a cometary trail of said gas. To add to the eerie nature of the ship, areas of discoloration and corrosion at times undulate as if the ship were somehow alive.
• The Harper Rose fades into existence in scanner range of the group. She may send out a distress signal, not responding to hails, in order to get them to board. If the group takes the bait, the Harper Rose will allow them to get deep inside before sealing off exits (they seem to “heal” over like wounds) and allowing the crew to play. The crew are like zombies, with triple normal MDC, and all are skilled combatants. Wounds caused by the crew must save vs disease or will inflict a rotting disease that will leave the afflicted dead within 24 hours.
• The Harper Rose is docked with a science vessel that responded to her distress call and is now non-responsive. Can the group rescue any of the crew of the science vessel without becoming infected?

[taalismn]

48. A Micro-Nebula---A pocket of gas and debris roughly twenty times the diameter of Jupiter in size. The nebula seems to be held together by it being laced with 'strange matter', bending many laws of physics and interacting strangely with normal baryonic matter. This distorts sensor readings in the cloud, but it should soon become apparent that there are massive -chunks- of exotic matter in the cloud....larger than are normally encountered and some of it seems actually shaped. Running into any of these pieces could prove deadly given their odd interactions with gravity, energy, and matter.

Further scrutiny of the cloud debris should reveal that the normal matter consists of man-made materials(or the degradation products thereof) consistent with a large spacecraft or station. Combing through the debris will show that while most of the materials have been warped by great violence, enough survives intact to make a preliminary guess as to its origins.

An appropriate History or Lore roll at -20% comes up with the debris belonging to -MiPher- technology. The MiPher were an ancient species in the Three Galaxies some 80,000 years ago that were experimenting with synthesizing exotic matter and generating artificial wormholes, but like the majority of cultures that tried this hazardous activity, lost control of their experiments in a series of catastrophes that ultimately led to their rapid decline and extinction, leaving little behind. The micro-nebula is probably the remains of one of their experiment stations or wormhole ships.

From an astro-archeological standpoint, the nebula is a significant find, and may yield clues as to what really happened to the MiPher. The exotic matter too is potentially very valuable for those studying its possible applications, especially -synthesized- strange matter. but actually capturing and safely transporting the pieces, some of which are much larger than current starships, requires special skill and equipment.

[Shorty Lickens]

49: 20d4 Frozen puppies aboard an abandoned light freighter.
Thaw one tenth of a second at 3000 Celsius.

[taalismn]

49: 20d4 Frozen puppies aboard an abandoned light freighter.
Thaw one tenth of a second at 3000 Celsius.

You get better results with the microwave.