Ice Station Episode 4

Never leave Zanderbey asleep on a bench

General Summary

(24/5/317AG)

Zanderbey floated comfortably through the darkness of The Vast. First flecks of dust, then larger chunks of rocks began hurtling past him as something emanating a menacing orange glow approached from behind. Zanderbey twisted and turned, rolling around frantically to see what was behind him. Finally, he saw it: a gigantic black hole with stars and debris swirling around its central pitch-black eye before being drawn into unknown crushing depths. He stared at it for a second, and it seemed to stare right back.

Zanderbey twitched, and found himself standing in the rain. He seemed to be on a small hill, bleak rocks and the darkness of night was everywhere he could see - except behind him.
He turned around and saw a small church with a pointed steeple - old and ruined, with dust obscuring the windows. Candlelight flickered within, and as he approached he could see figures moving inside. Peering inside the window, he brushed aside some of the dust and saw a woman with gaunt, grey skin wearing a formal black gown lying on the ground inside. She gasped, struggling for each breath, and stretched a weak hand out to him.

"Zanderbey..." she gasped, and then collapsed as thick black blood flowed out from a hidden wound. A figure nearby that Zanderbey had not noticed until now knelt down next to her. (Zanderbey noticed that he placed his weapons - a rune-etched revolver and a wand sharpened into a makeshift knife next to him). He checked her pulse, then wailed his sadness to the sky above.

---

Zanderbey snapped out of his dream - far more creative than the ones he normally had. He wrote down a quick summary, thinking he'd look into it later. Ted was still in the conference room with the local commandant, Tyrfing had left to scour the VLE's databases (trying to find a weakness to exploit), and Julakesh was nowhere to be seen. Zanderbey decided to make the most of his time, and made his way with Shadowfox to the communications room - known locally as "traffic control."

Inside, Sergeant Vorst Foster checked his background briefly before listening to Zanderbey's request - to keep track of the other Stewards on Verces and to notify him if any 'unusual events' should occur. With that backup plan in place, Zanderbey was ready to move on to his next idea - just in time to see Shadowfox leave the room with the vital evidence against Del Agrae.
There was the briefest of pauses before Zanderbey gave chase, dashing across a crowded office just as his target got into an elevator. Stairs were the next best option and Zanderbey bolted down them as quickly as he

could, down into the basement. He exited them just in time to see Shadowfox disappear into the holding cells, guarded by a single (obviously bored) officer. Unfortunately for Zanderbey, he also turned out to be on a slight power trip - not at all like the typically courteous officers that were native to the planet.

Zanderbey was thrown into a holding cell with Shadowfox...and a pair of thugs. Who just so happened to work for NextStep. They recognised him instantly, and decided to collect the bounty that Del Agrae had put out on him. A brief brawl followed, resulting in Zanderbey soaking the pair via the fire suppressant system and then electrocuting them both - impressing Wyla (also in a cell across the hallway), the woman that Zanderbey had met only last night. Soon after he was thrown into solitary (more to protect the other prisoners from him than anything else), Wyla likewise caused a disturbance and gained a cell across the hall from him. They had time for a brief talk before the peace was interrupted - a warning light flashed, giving her seconds to prepare for transport out of the holding cell and into a prison. Wyla had only a few seconds to ask Zanderbey to find a way - any way - of not letting her fall into a trap where NextStep was certainly waiting to pounce on her.

There was little to do in solitary but wait. Fortunately, only an hour later Zanderbey was released back into the general population - this time not in a cell with NextStep. Zanderbey quickly made a deal with his cellmate to use a comm and sent a message to Ted about his situation. Shortly afterwards, Tyrfing arrived with the guard in tow, who was sporting a fresh black eye. Zanderbey was released and Tyrfing escorted him out amongst their cheers.

Once outside, there was no time to waste. Zanderbey quickly excused himself from Tyrfing and plugged his rig into the facility's internal comm array. Vorst answered quickly, and commissioned a retrieval of Wyla - saving her from her fate.

With her now in safer hands, Zanderbey could finally relax. But even as he stepped into the elevator with Shadowfox, Ted sent him a message: a decision had been made. They would meet in the conference room for further details.

Rewards Granted

• Shadowfox received an upgrade: a small beam turret.

Missions/Quests Completed

• (+2xp) Assisted the downfall of Del Agrae by tracking all Stewards.
• (+5xp) Defeated NextStep thugs in the prison cell fight.
• (+1 Duty) Zanderbey rescued Wyla from NextStep.

Character(s) interacted with

• Vorst Foster, the head of 'traffic control'. (coordinating the VLE forces)
• Kal Telbick, a VLE officer.
• Wyla
• Vilo Krizt (AKA "Mixer"), a shifty dealer of goods.
• Tyrfing, as a NPC.

Created Content

• Vorst Foster
• Kal Telbick
• Mixer

Notes

Improvised Session due to only one Player.

Campaign

Ice Station

Protagonists

Zanderbey

Report Date

13 Jul 2019

Primary Location

Verces

Secondary Location

VLEB-1