The Red Sky

Welcome to the Red Sky, your portal to intergalactic travel!

The Red Sky is one of five operational Class 3 spacecrafts. These spacecrafts are fitted with terradrives, immense machinery that was once used to alter atmospheres of entire planets. These behemoths are the only vessels known to be capable of faster-than-light (FTL) travel.

The Red Sky Descent:
The Red Sky was driven to the surface of one of these uncharted worlds through billows of flame and black smoke. Impact craters, still burning from The Red Sky’s descent, scar the planet's surface. The survivors, those wealthy enough to own their own spacecraft or those lucky enough to have survived the impact, began settling in the inhospitable world.
Some fragments of the enormous ship have been used as entire villages. The wreckage, where able, has been stripped of resources and repurposed elsewhere. Even were the ship repairable, it would destroy what's left of the atmosphere if it were to exit Arcosia.
-Red Sky, A History c. 1257

Red Sky Side View

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The Red Sky Index

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Plot: Through the Passage, Darkly

Summary: The PCs make contact with a rogue Stowaway and go through uncharted tunnels.

Hook:

Navigating the Red Sky. Upon securing a berth on the Red Sky, you receive the official welcome letter and map, detailing the most important locations of interest. Appearing in your inbox, the title reads “Welcome to the Red Sky!” At the bottom of the map is the Cartographer’s emblem. It should be noted this map is filled with inaccuracies, unknown even to the Citizens. PCs may visit the Cartographer to secure a guide and explanation of the inaccuracies moving a mountain.

Political and Cultural Scenery of the Red Sky

The Red Sky is divided among three major classes: Citizens, Nomads, and Stowaways. Each class has subclasses, which are sometimes indiscernible from those outside the class. These classes pertain only to the Red Sky, and are largely meaningless off-vessel.

Citizens

This is the smallest class. The highest position of the Citizens is titled Progenitor, or First Citizen. They benefit and owe their lives of luxury to the Nomads and Stowaways. Their power derives from judicious oppression of Stowaways and shrewd dealings with Nomads. The general policy is to apply as much pressure without triggering a revolt. The goal of the Citizen class is to maintain the status quo. Those seeking to distribute power amongst the other classes discover severed political connections. Citizens who would be overly harsh find themselves in similar positions: on the outside of power. The mantra being, “Don’t rock the boat, or the boat will rock you.”
Corrupt Practices.

Nomads

represent those renting a berth in the Red Sky. They range from destitute dirt ranchers looking for a new start on faraway enriched planets to wealthy merchants looking for exquisite wares for hideously wealthy clients. In addition to the docking and berthing fees, they are conscripted for the defense of the vessel in time of emergency to compensate for a lack of firepower. Adjusting berthing rates. The Nomad class is essential to protecting the Red Sky. The lack of offensive weaponry native to the vessel means the Citizens must ensure rates are as attractive as possible. These rates are calculated based off a ship’s time in berth and distance traveled.

Nomads seeking to become a Citizen will sometimes launch their ships into the the wise do this with a VSE device Signs of Life). While this method of obtaining Citizen status through forgery and deception is difficult, it is still much easier than the alternate path through bureaucratic offices of the Presidium.

Stowaways

This is the lowest and most numerous class. Most Stowaways are believed to have once been Nomads who could not afford to maintain their berths. Nomads may voluntarily sign over their ship to a Citizen in order to pay an incurred debt, joining the fold of the Red Sky society as a Stowaway.
Upward mobility. is actively stymied by the Citizens and nearly impossible to reach. Some Nomads undergo a ritual called burning the ship, while others seek to become a Citizen through employment in the guard.

Culture

Upon birth, an individual is given a nearly indestructible piece of cloth known as a tapestry. Throughout life, unique and identifying information is placed on it in pictographic form. This information includes where its bearer was born, highest level of education, social status, accolades, etc. Tapestries define their bearers. To take it from another is grave, and to own another's is to own him.
The culture of The Red Sky resembles that of a melting pot. It doesn’t offer new insights into philosophy and doesn’t offer a planet-shattering perspective on social or economic questions. Rather, it serves as a curating and consolidating entity, expressing the cultures of its inhabitants and Nomads. Despite all its misgivings, it offers a sort of sanctuary amidst intergalactic decay and a showcase of the vibrant cultures.
The Tapestry of the Red Sky Likewise, vessels are given a tapestry which annotate its accomplishments and accolades. A tapestry is the paramount material item to own in this world. It defines its bearer. Additionally, they are laced with bio code and micro fiber. In the Justicar’s Hall, where the Progenitor sits, is the tapestry of the Red Sky. This tapestry annotates, in pictographic heraldry, the centuries of flight it has known. The tapestry is finely woven and measures approximately 100 meters in length.
Details and Appearance
Over long periods of time, the Stowaways have gradually constructed new passageways and sealed off sections of old ones. The maps maintained and distributed by the Citizens are accurate only to a marginal degree, with the main establishments being the only unchanged points. Citizens seldom leave their zone, and when they do, their maps give them so great a confusion, that they even more rarely dare to venture outside of their zone again. Nomads can hire a Stowaway guide to help navigate the maps that conflict with the reality of the vessel.
Technology
The Red Sky is equipped with 550 berths (110 berths per rotor, 5 rotors per core, 1 core per vessel). Each rotor spins in concentric circles to power the gravitational field, shield generator, and life support systems.
Class 9 Giga-cannon. This is the official name of the docks.
Berths lock a traveler’s ship into the dock and provide various commodities. The most notable being raw space. A traveler is provided an antechamber, while bed and other life necessities are assumed to be drawn from the Nomad’s ship. In the event of an emergency, the Nomad’s vessel constitutes an escape pod.
Antechambers come equipped with sofas, a standard array of repair tools, potted plants, a shower, and proximity to the vessel interior. Additional items may be requested for an additional fee. Cheaper chambers are closer to the shield generator, which has a tendency to provide telecommunication interference.
The shield generator power is routed through the core and projected to the front of the vessel. The shields are designed to allow the ship to obliterate debris in its interstellar path, rather than fend off attacks. While making the ship nearly indestructible in FTL, it leaves the ship vulnerable to pirate attacks while not in FTL. To compensate for this, all Nomads, as a contractual obligation to obtaining the services of the Red Sky, must submit to the Autonomus Intervention.
Autonomus Intervention. This gives control of a ship to the self-defense system responsible for warding pirates and other aggressors. The AI will pilot the Nomad’s ship and use its the onboard canons and agility to destroy any threat deemed necessary.
Terradrive. The engine of a Class 3 ship was first designed as a terraformer. After applying several modifications to it and bolting it to an enormous frame, it provided faster-than-light travel. The process of converting it a terraformer to a terradrive was lost during the Darkening, and fear of irreparable damage has halted any known terraformers from being converted. It is a veritable black box.
A Tale of Two Rooms. The rotor has 3 phase system between entering a new section. Between doors is a gyroscopic room with elevator doors. Leaving one room, a traveler will enter the “synchronization” room. This in-between room rotates the same direction and speed of the current room. After the doors close, it will synchronize to the new room, allowing for a flawless transition of relative orientation.

Layout of the Red Sky
Floor 1: Justicar.
1> Justicar:
2> Observation Deck: Access is restricted to citizens and selectively authorized nomads.
3> Archive.
4> Bridge.
5> Chart + Navigation Room 6> Inner Sanctum Courtyard.

Floor 2: Progenitor
1> Home of the First Citizen 2> Treasury
3> Media Dissemination 4> Baths 5> Great Hall
Floor 3: Securus.
//BREAK//
B.6.> Cartographer
Guides can be hired here to traverse the Red Sky. Nomads may try to save money by forgoing this service, but exploring the ship can result in easily becoming lost.
In the cargo hold you find a lad who will guide you through the ship. He can traverse most areas without raising suspicion.
Zone C {Under Construction}.
C.1.> Engine bay
C.2.> General life support
C.3.> Med bay
C.4.> Shield generator

1. Justicar “Judiciary” 2. Progenitor “forefather” 3. Securus “Safe/Secure”: This is the main floor for the guard. It contains dormitory, training, and executory functions. 4. Investigationis “Investigate” 5. Viator “Traveler” The floor of the Nomads 6. Alimenta “Food.” Where food is cultivated 7. Perdita “Lost” 8. Ingenium “Ingenious,” Where engines and mechanics live. 9. Degeneratus “Degenerate” Where the stowaways live 10. Vitalis “Vital” Forest floor