Episode 7: The Cipher

(Gatrelix focus. One of them (who we eventually find out stole the cipher) took a cipher from the Gatrelix and is attempting to use it to find a rare material, and it looks like they want to use it to make a weapon. )
Bring back in the one dude from the pilot. He's the one investigating the theft. One of their own took a kind of cipher map from the archives (similar to the Stegosed, the Artifact) and is using it to locate a rare material (do I have something from the T'Vienor Expanse?). There's an external force involved (Tiajo Vallol?) and (crap what was his boss's name?). They're working together to find something.
Weapon part more vague than anything. We're keeping it short, so this needs to be focused on finding the thingamajig.
Review Gatrelix culture so I know where their stance is on the theft, and also on the help here. End up with a shift in the Federation meter.

Rough outline

After a cold open, they encounter a distress call from the ship of Fo Rexeth Hoidlear. He should recognize the PCs and insist on their being the ones to help.
Review what happened, what they know. Chance for them to gather more details. Investigate based on info (I should have a black market asteroid somewhere in the files). Track down peeps, navigate black market stuff. Shuttle chase, ending with experiment site. Showdown! Rexeth should be helping. Include details of possible medical ramifications to what they're attempting along the way.
Actually, combine lab and black market. The chase should happen on the way there, that they were leisurely making their way to it and then they're caught so we chase them there, to a security limit.
(Keep this short! Two hours)

Sub plot

Commander Vath tags along to evaluate the Gatrelix, to guide the away mission, and allow her to evaluate the unusual nature of the PC group. She'll be looking to test them and won't be super helpful. So they're also looking to gain her approval.

Cold Open

Should at least have something to do with the theme at hand, which is what exactly? Being helpful? I dunno. And this shouldn't be a completely unrelated thing where we're on one adventure and then other stuff happens. Just a quick little moment to get us in the moment and give some character interactions.
On the ship, in the mess hall. Take a minute to discuss the recent "battle". More of a misunderstanding with a bunch of wannabe pirates. Talk about life on the ship. How's it going? One of you just had a really bad day. Why? Ask for how they've been friendly in the interim.
(Read off the log first, and then transition here)

Quick notes: Etangen Ore

Etangen Ore is stuff only found on Yilneh, but some small supplies of it can be found elsewhere because it's been taken. As one of their old stopping points, it makes sense that the Gatrelix would have a little. It's orange and crumbly, and enhances telepathy. Also enhances energy transfer in general. I think the Ketinitet have a small stash of it.

Quick notes: The Cipher

This did turn out rather like the other session that I'll be doing, but it's a basic plot that works. The Gat dude stole an artifact that's a map. Or rather, a tool to decipher the stars and figure out where the stash is, because the people of T'Vienor would make their maps more flexible than that.
The object is meant to be a scroll-like object that unfurls and is meant to be held over the stars or else interfaced with a computer. It then projects a path if you're close enough to where it belongs. The item itself could be used as a guidance system once it's fulfilled its primary purpose to locate the stash and could be reprogrammed.
The cipher is carved with a series of symbols that are location coordinates. You're meant to input which of the numbered caches you want to locate, with a special sequence for "locate closest"

Clues

A few stages to this. The first one is mostly Rexeth explaining what was stolen and what they know (the cipher, who stole it), and needs the crew to help figure out where they went, and who they went to.
Information about why is not being shared, but the PCs can find out: the cipher is a map of some kind, that occasionally turns up a particular odd mineral that has unusual properties and can be used as a weapon. Only the 2IC would know beyond captain, but there might be details in the databanks.
Where can be solved by some sensor sweeps and examining the details. Find a warp trail, flight records, and a prior relationship with Tiajo Vallol, all eventually leading to a popular drop spot near a particular black market spot (finding out that exactly should be more of a find) Frella Station.
Locating within the station will require asking, scanning for the energy signature of the device, or getting there fast enough for a literal foot chase. Not a hidden detail.
Possible checks and info to offer: Conn would allow for scanning the computer systems for information, using knowledge of how shuttles work to look for signs. Medicine could use psychology to get a good profile of the person, or get a better sense of the Gat as a whole. Command can get the Gat to follow better, have the black market folks fall in line better, or talk your way out of a confrontation. Security comes in for predicting the chase behavior on foot, and for more effectively following along. Science gets more details about the ore and the background of what the thief might be trying to accomplish, and the archaeology behind how it's been passed down. Engineering is more details about the cipher itself and can possibly gain clues.
(If I want to tie it in at all to the Savenar 5 stuff, if they're making an info roll just out of curiosity it's Difficulty 2 and they will have to ask the right questions.)

Location: Gatrelix ship

Some details on Rexeth's page. The interior of the ship is rather orange, as is Gat standard, but clean and comfortable. Mostly rounded edges, tactile screens with buttons and levers instead of HUDs and lights in the air. The doors contract from the center like an iris.

Location: Frella Station

A kind of relative of Gert Station, or rather an offshoot, Frella station is the slightly more obvious station devoted to "the trade of scientific ideas." Meaning this is where stolen inventions go to be traded off to someone else. The station is replete with labs and offices, and is composed of lots of breakable parts so if something dangerous breaks containment, they can snap that off real fast and save the station as a whole.
There's a main hangar for some level of control as to who comes and goes, but this facility is less about permanent vendors and more about being a meeting place, to facilitate trades between two parties who don't typically require this kind of thing. It's rare to have repeat customers, although an individual stay can be rather longer since people will want to explore devices and concepts before leaving. And sometimes they're just investigating as fast as they can before the thief has to take back the original to go unnoticed.
Getting down to the lab would be fairly easy since they don't have a ton of security on station. You're expected to provide your own since you're the one worried about things being traceable. The biggest challenge would be finding directions to this particular unlabeled lab. (Will be easier if they've identified Tiajo at this point)
The lab itself is meant to be a modular lab, similar to on the ship. The furniture and tables and equipment can all be pulled in and out of the walls and is meant to be put away and flexible. It's fairly standard stuff, nothing special, and the more specialized spectrometer would be something the scientist brought and would be fairly unsecured. The door has a good lock, and an airlock. There's a safe to the back of the room, and also sterilization protocols designed to annihilate whatever's in there (these would be difficult to enact without admin privileges, however).
See Frella Station and Denizens for details of people.

"Captain's" log

First Officer's Personal Log, Stardate 52210.1 (Commander Vath). I believe the crew of the October has finally passed through the adjustment period and have begun to acclimate to each others' requirements and attitudes. The captain in particular finally appears to feel at home here, something for which I had initially felt some skepticism about, her background being what it is.
I believe the recent pirate attack was an important reminder to the crew to remain on guard. I have suggested several drills to the captain and she has left the majority up to the individual departments. I intend to suggest action. Even so, most of them performed adequately. I was moderately impressed by Lieutenant Chirhat, interrupting his personal time and coming straight from the holodeck to his post. Note: ask Lieutenant Hendriksson for an explanation of "surfer boy".
The captain has put a few of our lower ranked crew members up for a commendation. Fully aware of their records, I remain unconvinced that their admittedly impressive achievements in recent away missions have been anything but random chance, competent Starfleet officers performing their duties as expected as any other crew members would.
(lil details about the crew we know so far, to give a sense of personalities?) (also reference a few instances of what the ship was up to)

Chase scene

In the shuttle, someone is flying, and someone else is manning the sensors (or guns). Which leaves one more PC and an NPC who could help. Figure out where they're going? Attempt to predict actions? Come up with alternative plans? Decipher the shuttle trail that they left behind to work out where they've been? Prove that this was the shuttle that has the dude who stole the thing? (a Gat in a Fed shuttle would be weird enough)
The opposition shuttle can be taken off guard and some damage dealt. I'll just use stats for a Federation type shuttle, or else find something else in the books as a rough equivalent.
Whatever challenges we pass or face will affect how close or far they are, and thus how much of a lead we get once on the station.
Find a way to indicate that the artifact isn't on there, so don't destroy this ship, and also that it would definitely run for home and not try to draw people off.

Meanwhile...

The rest of the crew is off doing what? They were recently in an attack and need to effect repairs by heading to Starbase 308 which is where they're at. Hence the more subtle investigation, because there's no way the ship would do well against pirates. Commander Vath sticks with them because they keep getting sent off on their own and it keeps turning out weird.

Fo Hoidlear Has A List

See Gatrelix for a favor meter and what might affect it.

To-do list

The things I want to go over.

• *done* Create Captain's Log to read off at the beginning (doesn't have to be the captain, though)
• *done* Rough outline points to hit
• *done* Checklist of details to hit (include: clue beats, threat spends, etc)
• *done* What is the "plot" of the bridge crew? What are they up to? (referring to overall stuff, in tandem with the PC season)
• *done* Stages of episode, and detail each one (include a shuttle chase, and at least the possibility of a shootout with Tiajo)
• *done* Secondary plot: Vath
• Vath needs deets
• *done* Clue list for IDing in the first place, tracking down, what they're up to
• *done* Medical and engineering and science details to have checks for to see if they know more stuff to make a finale showdown easier
• *done* Design shuttle chase
• *done* Find premade or create material to be ep focus (see Etangen Ore)
• *done* Describe cipher and artifact stolen
• *done* Create the thief Gatrelix (see Glisen Roun)
• *done* Quick details for black market and secret lab shootouts for cover purposes
• *done* Make a handful of named Gat crew (they can all have the same stats)
• *done* Gatrelix favor meter (and the things that might affect it)
• Handful of black market dudes (also same stats)
• *done* What have they all been up to and where are we starting this ep? (give them a quick cold open) (also ask for how they've been friendly in the interim)
• *done* Describe Gatrelix ship (use data from that page)
• *done* Prep for which bridge crew will be involved and what else they might be doing (why do we just throw the PCs to it instead of helping?)
• *done* Name episode
• Possibly outline a closing captain's log (or just ask one of them to give the closing log)

In-episode checklist

• Vath participates and has opinions and is a character
• Use the Threat! Seriously. Add extra pirate enemies to fight, give them extra boosts with their dice rolls, add complications.
• Show off Gatrelix culture
• Decent car/foot chase
• Chance to work out the science of what this guy is doing
• Shift the meter
• Chance for PCs to take a moment and rp
• Closing log