Session 54 (26 July 2024)

Location: In the vicinity of the Wigoy coral hive in the northern hemisphere of Karth, a desert moon orbiting the blue gas giant Tabernas in the Mendezo-Eeren system (Halcyon 2022)

Date: 330–5600

Travellers: Jacobe Kyman (pilot), Nogudnyk (steward), Torka Jax (security), Griff Kodiak (gunner)

[A note to readers: pleased be advised that this blog contains major spoilers to Joel Hines' excellent Desert Moon of Karth. Read no further if you hope to experience the brilliance of this superb Mothership scenario with your own group.]

While you ponder your next move in the desert, the Dejah Thoris' pilot is enjoying life amidst the smugglers on the Catherizer. There is a good deal of anticipatory celebrating going on as Captain Kelly's crew look forward to reaping huge profits from the sale of the coral dust in their hold. Jacobe himself is keen to sell the kilogram in his possession once he reaches Eeren.

When he does (on Tuday 332–5600), he finds the spaceport abuzz. It seems the Manian government is effecting a rapid troop build-up on Karth and is therefore chartering ships and booking space on any and every available vessel to get soldiers and matériel to the moon lickety-split. There's no official reason given and the government remains tight-lipped, saying only that it's acting to protect the colonists of Larstown. Whatever the case, it seems that a dirty little colonial war may be brewing. Since he's flying the Dejah back to Karth anyway, Kyman sees no reason not to take advantage of the government's sudden need and he quickly fills the staterooms, low berths, and indeed every available cubic metre of the cargo hold with soldiers and gear — including, he observes, some very heavy weapons indeed. To assist in the business of running the ship, he purchases a repair robot, TL-3907. Since it's just an interplanetary jaunt, the two of them are confident they can manage everything.

Meanwhile, back on Karth, you decide to take Pyeat up on his offer to bring you to the Rangers. To expedite the journey, he calls a sandsquid and descends into its maw to direct it from within while you ride on its broad back. It's much faster than walking or riding a camel, but it's unnerving to be at the mercy of the giant creature. Pyeat evidently knows his business, however, and you reach the Ranger base without incident.

The Rangers' fort

Their headquarters is a squat tower, a former visitor and interpretive centre repurposed as a fort. Dozens of Rangers are about, apparently preparing for a campaign: practising archery and combat maneuvers, organizing supplies, and readying travel gear. It seems that the news of the Dawnseekers' troubles, brought by Pyeat's companion only hours before, has spurred the Rangers to action. You have an audience with their leader, Suparint Kirzen, who thanks you for your role in freeing the Wigoy seedmind and killing Asmod. "You have succeeded in accomplishing," she says, "what generations of Rangers have failed to do. We must now seize the opportunity to crush the Ravagers once and for all." In three days, they will hold a sacred ceremony of renewal and then march on the Silver Spire. You are invited to join the Rangers at the ceremony, where their sigil will be carved into the palm of your hand and you will commit yourself to the cause of environmental restoration. You think it's a capital idea.

Later, a familiar face calls out to you. It's Hindal, the young man you met on the shuttle to Karth a week ago. He looks thinner and grubbier than when you last saw him, but he's very excited to have successfully found his way to the Rangers and to take part in their righteous crusade against the Dawnseekers. He can barely shoot a bow but at least he's keen. He, too, will be formally inducted into the Rangers at the upcoming ceremony. He relates his tale: after emerging from the space elevator, he asked around town for the Rangers and, finding none, decided to hike out into the desert in the hopes of encountering them. (Several locals had assured him that they were always lurking about.) He had a harrowing time of it due to his lack of survival skills. After narrowly escaping a roving sandsquid and suffering nasty wounds from a strange cactus, he had a bizarre encounter in the dunes one night. A solitary figure approached, shrouded in a white robe. Periodically, it gave forth a long, keening wail. It seemed not to see him at all. When it got closer, he perceived a young woman with reddish hair — but, eerily, her entire form was vaguely translucent: positively ghostly, in fact. He called to her, but her only reply was a keening "Wwwwhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyy?"

Hindal pulls out his datapad surreptitiously — the Rangers don't approve of such devices and he knows he'll probably have to give it up at the ceremony but for now he's still kind of addicted to several apps — and shows you the photos he took.

Onishi's ghost

Your jaws drop. It's the spitting image of Marie-Eve Onishi.

You ask Hindal where he saw this apparition. He says it was somewhere a little northeast of Larstown, in the general vicinity of a big stone head half-buried in the sand.

Floored by this information, you ponder what to do. Suparint Kirzen, too, has reconsidered matters. Her scouts report heightened military activity around Larstown; a marine detachment was seen returning in haste from the direction of the Silver Spire. She fears that the Manians may send soldiers to support the Dawnseekers; she has long suspected some collusion between their leaders. If they do, it will tip the scales against the Rangers, whose crystal-tipped spears and arrows have not the range and killing power of the marines' advanced combat rifles. Kirzen suggests that you might serve the cause better by going to Larstown and somehow persuading the Manians from joining forces with the Spire, or else undermining their efforts to mount a relief expedition.

The choice is stark: siege and battle or espionage and subterfuge. After some discussion, you opt for the latter. (Hindal decides to join you, having learned from you that the Wigoy intend to absorb all non-indigenous organic matter, including humans. This revelation cools his ecological ardour considerably and he realizes he prefers self-preservation to martyrdom.) Pyeat is dispatched to make sure you get to Larstown swiftly, again via sandsquid. He deposits you a few clicks outside the town and bids you farewell. As it happens, your arrival coincides almost precisely with that of Jacobe, who has left the Dejah Thoris parked in high orbit with TL-3907 on board to keep an eye on things. He emerges from the space elevator just as you are coming in through the main gates. It's Sixday 336–5600.

After a brief but joyous reunion, you prepare to put your plans in action: Nogudnyk plans to contact their fans among the soldiery and convince them that it's wrong to help the Dawnseekers. Torka, meanwhile, has been designing a computer virus to disrupt the devices used by the Manian marines.

The town is humming with activity as scores of newly arrived troops mill about. But it's not just that: everywhere you go there is one topic on everyone's lips: Governor Tanaka has been killed! An assassin found their way into her palace at night. The authorities believe it must have been an outsider, for no solid evidence was found implicating any locals. Indeed, the manner of her death was most suspect: it was as if Tanaka had been drained of life. Her staff and servants saw nothing, but all reported a most curious phenomenon that night: an eery wailing.

Image credits: Ranger Fort by Logan Stahl; Onishi phantom created by AI Comic Factory.