The Diary of Kain - Chapter Eight
The 'Trip' was stowed in the smuggler's hold, the Acheron was refueled, and it was time to head out. I'd only been at Redhaven for a week, but I felt like I was leaving home. My first leg of the journey would be simple enough. The passage from Redhaven to Vesper was a well-charted route. I engaged the e-drive and caught the Drift.
[Set a Course: +Supply. 3+5 vs 3 and 7. Strong Hit. +1 Momentum (+10)]
I was worried that the Institute, or perhaps bounty hunters, would be waiting for me at Vesper. I didn't know which would be worse. There was no charted route to where I expected Nyx to be, so there was no corresponding anchorage location.
I set a course in the general direction. A few hours later, the ship was recharged and ready to go. I checked the scanners to see if anyone had followed me, and engaged the e-drive once more.
[Expedition: Travel to Nimbus. Dangerous.]
[Undertake an Expedition: +Wits, 5+2 vs 1 and 3. Strong Hit. Mark Progress (2 boxes)]
I hadn't noticed any pursuit as I jumped out of the Vesper system, and no one was waiting for me as I emerged from the Drift. I was afraid to let my guard down, so I dozed in the pilot's chair until the panel chimed that the ship was ready for another jump. Deep in uncharted space, stealth would keep me safer than anything else. I checked my predicted course, engaged the e-drive once more, and headed aft for a shower and chow.
[Undertake an Expedition: +Shadow, 1+5 vs 9 and 10. Miss. Pay the Price.]
[Spaceborne Peril: 17 - Energy Storm Looms]
Alarms began to shriek as the Acheron was torn prematurely and roughly out of the Drift. I ran forward to the cockpit. Looking out the window, I witnessed a spectacle that was literally awesome - that is to say, equally wondrous and fearsome. A scintillating orange aurora, its edges tinged in green, floated through the blackness. There were momentary flashes as it collided with and consumed asteroids and debris in its path.
Balefire.
It was heading toward the ship. It was difficult to determine how quickly it would reach me, but it would be hours until the e-drive was recharged. I was absolutely certain that I couldn't jump in time if I stayed in this position.
[Face Danger: +Edge, 3+3 vs 9 and 10. Pay the Price.]
I set a heading that would hopefully keep me clear of the rapidly advancing storm. Its inexorable approach was terrifying. I needed to constantly correct my heading to distance myself, but its path was as chaotic as the energies that boiled within. Despite all my efforts, the time between contact with the balefire and the time to jump narrowed more and more.
I routed as much power to the engines as I could - even from life support. My vacsuit could sustain me until the e-drive was recharged - and if I couldn't escape by then, it wouldn't matter. The progress meter for the e-drive continued to climb. Ninety-five percent.
A bolt of energy crackled toward the Acheron. I barely veered away from where it would have struck. Ninety-two percent. The overworked sublight engines were howling. If I kept overloading them, there would be damage - again, it would be immaterial if I didn't escape. Ninety-seven percent.
Ninety-eight percent. Ninety-nine. I had evaded the body of that ribbon of deadly energy. I reached for the e-drive throttle, ready to engage. Just then, another bolt of energy lashed out and struck the ship. Damage alarms wailed as I pulled back the lever and shot into the Drift.
[Withstand Damage: -1 Integrity (4). Bypass: 6+4 vs 3 and 9. Strong hit. +1 Integrity (5)]
Now in the (relative) safety of the Drift, I evaluated the damage. No critical systems were damaged. If Breaker was here, he would no doubt complain about what I'd done to the beautiful paint job. It was a stressful encounter. I was frustrated by these obstacles to my progress. Every day, I learned how unforgiving space could be. My skin started to feel hot once more.
I headed back to my cabin, and sat on the bunk. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. I felt the fire that burned inside me. I told myself that I was in control of that fire, it was not in control of me.
[Meditate: +Spirit. 2+5 vs 3 and 9. Weak Hit. +2 Fire]
I could not summon my full concentration, but I felt my skin cool as my belly felt warmer. It would be several hours before the next anchorage. I lay back on my bunk and slept.
[Undertake an Expedition: +Wits. 3+2 vs 4 and 9. Weak Hit. Mark Progress (now 4). Complication.]
[Spaceborne Peril: 82 - Stellar Anomaly emits hazardous energies.]
I woke about an hour before the Acheron was due to transition back to realspace. Unexpectedly, the ship was once more torn unexpectedly from the Drift. Sensors showed that Acheron was in the gravity well of a hypergiant star. Turbulent solar winds were emitted from its surface. All of my sensors were being affected by the radiation. Thankfully the hull and my vacsuit would protect me from most of the radiation. But Acheron was adrift and effectively blind for the time being. I was a sitting grebe, but these harsh solar winds should also conceal me from any possible pursuit. After several hours, I had maneuvered into a position that allowed me to get a better scan of the system. I charted the data and logged the newly discovered star as Alcor H86. Then I got my bearings, laid in the next jump, and crossed my fingers.
[Undertake an Expedition: +Shadow. 6+4 vs 3 and 8. Strong Hit. Mark Progress (now 6)]
I dreaded to imagine what new trouble I might encounter next. But Acheron emerged on schedule, into the tranquility of empty space. As difficult as the journey had been so far, I knew I was getting closer to my destination, albeit slowly.
I had seen so much since I first left Vesper, what felt like so long ago. The entrancing ebbs and flows of the Drift. A ball of pure ice the size of a small city. The stark but captivating sands of a forbidden desert. The deadly beauty of chaos embodied. The anger of a fiery giant star. These spectacles had all tried to kill me, but they also left me with a deeper appreciation of the galaxy, and a perspective on my place within it. I readied Acheron for another jump. Just a couple more and then I could find Nyx.
[Undertake an Expedition: +Wits, 1+2 vs 1 and 8. Mark Progress (now 8). Complication.]
[Spaceborne Peril: 88 - Troubling visions or apparitions.]
I saw a ruined ship, its hull torn open, bodies drifting in the cold, unforgiving vacuum of empty space. Their lifeless heads turned toward me, faces withered masks of Death. Empty eyes regarded me, dark hollows blacker than the void around them. As one, they each pointed a withered finger at me... and screamed.
I bolted awake, still strapped into the pilot's seat.. The cockpit was pitch black. I had once more dozed off to the hypnotic swirls of the Drift. This was the first time I'd experienced a night terror since escaping the Institute. I shook my head to clear it and double-checked my displays. All systems were nominal. According to the data Breaker had provided me, the next jump should take me to a gas giant called Nimbus. It was there that I hoped to find the station known only as Nyx. I had to be very careful this time - in a pirate haven, the known was even more dangerous than the unknown.
[Undertake an Expedition: +Wits, 5+2 vs 8 and 9. Burn Momentum (reset to 2). Strong Hit. Mark Progress (10 boxes)]
The Acheron transitioned to realspace outside the gravity well of the gas giant known as Nimbus. Numerous moons orbited this Jovian world; the haven of Nyx could be on any of them. I fired up the scanners and set about trying to locate Whiz's hidden refuge.
[Gather Information: +Wits, 1+2 vs 4 and 5. Miss. Pay the Price.]
My scan had attracted attention. I located something, all right - a pair of what I presumed to be pirate corsairs on a direct course to my location. Or possibly bounty hunters. I wasn't sure which would be worse. I powered up the laser and linked weapons control to my station, and prepared for the worst. As they drew closer, I was hailed.
[Faction name: 84. Affiliation (17) of the Legacy (25) Identity (70)]
"Unidentified vessel, you are trespassing on private territory of the Coalition of the Dissident Souls. Power down your weapons and engines and prepare to be boarded."
As Breaker had told me, Nyx and her band of criminals were allegedly political exiles who saw the tenets of the Covenant as oppressive, impractical and unjust. They had fled to a location beyond the notice of the Keepers, preying on unwary travelers to survive.
"Negative on that, Coalition. This is the RMC Acheron, outbound from Redhaven. Requesting permission to dock at Nyx."
"Well, Acheron, we've never heard of this Nyx." Again, another piece fell into place. Nyx. A pre-Exodus word for "nothing" or denial. A place that did not exist. "Repeating: Power down and prepare to be boarded." The ships continued to approach.
"Negative, Coalition. I repeat, negative. I have a priority message for Whiz. I will not be delayed." I doubted that they would respect the amnesty of a contracted courier, but it wouldn't hurt to try. It wasn't even a bluff.
[Compel: +Heart, 1+3 vs 3 and 7. Weak Hit.]
"So what, Acheron. Give us one good reason why we shouldn't just capture you, take your ship, and maybe collect a nice reward?"
I had to choose my next words very carefully. "Because I will not allow you to take my ship. I will resist if necessary, and you'll have to destroy me. If you do, this trip, all of it, will be for nothing, and it will never happen again."
I was hoping they would pick up on the implications. There was a pause, and the approaching ships slowed. "Attention, Acheron. You are to proceed along heading 314. If you deviate or take any aggressive action, you will be destroyed."
[Finish an Expedition: 10 vs 1 and 4. Strong Hit. +2 ticks to Discoveries Legacy Track. +2 XP]
[Reach a Milestone: Mark Progress on vow to deliver Trip to Whiz on Nyx (+2 boxes)
[Ending Stats: Momentum +2 Health +5 Spirit +5 Supply +5 Integrity +5]