The Whippet leaves the University of St. Mary of Mars on December 4th and heads insystem towards the Wytherby Memorial Space Station, the high port which orbits VanKilla Kiertotahti. Its a little over a six day trip which should leave them plenty of time to connect with the Pax Combine Tender Hibiscus on which they’ll hitch a ride to Dorlass. It is scheduled to depart on December 15th. On their way in they contact a broker on Wytherby to secure some additional cargo for their trip to Dorlass. They also look into parolee transport since they have a large number of low berths.

They bid 1,000cr each to transport some parolees (they are allocated 12) to Dorlass. The broker finds a couple of tons of prisoner produced wine which after some haggling they procure for 7,600cr a ton. It has a pretty good reputation and would fetch a good price on Dorlass or an even better one on Terra/Sol. There just isn’t a lot of cargo coming out of VKK since it is a prison.

On the way in the crew decides to do another sweep for stow aways. They run a bio scan. The scan is designed to detect the electric signature of biologicals. The scan detects an anomaly in Avionics, an electrical spike. It doesn’t fit the parameters of a biological signature but gets the crews attention. After much paranoia and preparation for invasion the crew decompresses the bridge and opens up Avionics for a look. After going through it with a fine tooth comb they discover a blown circuit which has fried some wiring. Mika sets about fixing the damage.

Also during the trip insystem the crew starts working on a few of their projects and makes progress on recoding the fire control program they stole from Buddy Bricker. They get the beam laser they bought totally refurbished and make progress on the Particle Beam as well.

When the Whippet reaches Wytherby the biologicals all take some R&R time. Neurog continues working on the Fire Control software however. The station itself is very well kept with a plethora of amenities, shopping and entertainment for the most part with some parks as well. The amenities are out of proportion to the numbers of visitors observed. But merchants say it does get busy a couple of times a month as Warden Service personnel come here to get away from VKK which can be kind of a depressing place.

Kimba during his time carousing the station runs across a group of Children of Orion. They make some snide remarks and words are exchanged. The CoO threaten to call the authorities after Kimba responds back to them demonstrating one of the primary tactics. Hiding behind the law to cover their abuses.

They eventually make contact with the Hibiscus and get the Whippet attached for the trip through Tachyon Space. However on day 2 of the 3 and ½ day trip the Whippet is attacked by a group of CoO. After a brief but intense firefight in which a couple of the Children are killed the crew drives off the rest and secures their ship.

The Children who have a ship attached to the Hibiscus as well button up their ship and refuse all contact with the Whippet’s crew as well as the Hibiscus after the attack. It turns out that the attackers came on board in cargo containers in the Hibiscus’ hold. One thing is clear the CoO seem to have declared war on the crew of the Whippet.

Currently the crew has the bodies of two dead CoO and are a day and a half from dropping out of T-Space over Dorlass. What will they do……..?

Leaving Buddy Bricker’s Salvage yard the crew of the Whippet are treated to the sight of an old school Grav Ball game being played in the open hold of a large cargo carrier. The game originated with spacers playing it in much the same manner.

As they leave Mika gets to work repairing the mining laser. She does a bang up job and completes the delicate work in 5 hours.

Not long after the work is finished Neurog picks up a double echo from one of the asteroids they are passing by. Examining the anomoly he detects that there is a ship not 15 meters above the asteroids surface. It is a 200 ton Fat Trader.

The crew divert from their course and examine the ship. They are a mere 7,000 Klicks from the ship and asteroid. They don’t detect any hotspots on the ship either in the drive section of the ship or where it’s turrets should be. They ping the ship but get no response. Using the ships telescope they are able to see a couple of guys on a space walk setting up a torpedo launcher of the asteroids surface.

Upon seeing he torpedo launcher Skeet quickly swings the Whippet into the shadow of the asteroid so that the other ship has no visual on them.

At 5k from the asteroid Skeet nudges the Whippet above the visual horizon. They quickly detect a heat bloom in the other ships engineering section, they must be firing up their engines. They get a comm from the other ship, “Unknown ship, identify yourself! If you continue on your present course we will defend ourselves.”

Mika is able to observe that the torpedos look like resupply ones, which makes everyone feel a little better but wonder about what these guys are doing. At this range Mika is able to read the ship name, it’s the Emerald Dawn. Neurog runs a search on it, it is registered out of Dorlass. She is registered to a Rince Manc. Searching him they find he has a couple of smuggling arrests and has a brother doing a long sentence on Van Killa for the same offense.
The space walkers fire up the two torps in their launcher. The Whippet crew decides to send a message alerting the authorities to this very suspecious activity and then moves away from the area.

30 hours after they left the asteroid the Whippet receives a communication:
“Whippet, this is Dr. Miriam Sophie of the Gaen Research Vessel Dianah. We would like to request your assistance in a research project. Would you be willing?”

“We would like to acquire some biological samples from all male members of your crew. Your assistance will be compensated.”

Mika De Klerke: Hey sure no problem the’d love too. Do you supply jars?

Neurog: What is the nature of the research?

Dr. Sophie: “Ah…it’s good to hear a female voice out here…and yes we do supply jars and an assortment of pornography to assist in the process.”

Kimba blurts out over the open Comm: “Hang on isn’t this the women that hate men and live without them?”

Neurog Does a search on the doctor ((checking credentials.))
Results: The Dr. is a highly respected researcher. She investigates testosterone sensitivity in women. There are some women who have developed a mutation where they are simply unable to tolerate testosterone.

Dr. Sophie: "That sounded like a particularly purile male. You may inform him we live appart because of necessity so he should not allow his ego to feel hurt.

After visual communication is opened Dr. Sophie sees for the first time that Kimba is acutally and uplifted Gorilla: “Oh…I see” Suddenly as if a light went on for her, she says, “It might be advangageous to obtain a sample from you Mr…oh whatever.” Turning to someone off camera she says, “do we have any Gorilla pornography” Turning back she says to Kimba “what exactly do you find stimulating?”

Kimba: RAAAAAAARRRRRRRR

Dr. Sophie: Is that supposed to be some sort of threat display? I’m not sure how you would expect to feel threatned by a 5 foot tall human female but if it helps to stimulate you, I’m all for it.

Kimba: Right that does it. People are going to start dying any second now. I like lady gorillas, in season, at home.

Dr. Sophie: Well we don’t see many Gorillas of either gender around here normally. Tell him we would be able to offer him a bonus of say 1,000 credits for a specimen.

Kimba: We gorillas didn’t escape centuries of extermination at human hands to be taking part in your sick litle experiements. I don;’t care how much money.

Dr. Sophie: Shame, it really would have been quite enlightning to see what were the tolerances to Gorilla testosterone were. Are you sure…would 2,000 credits incent you?

Kimba: What part of NO did you not hear human female.

Dr. Sophie: You see it is just that we are so desperate to find a cure…would you not consider it for the sake of those less fortunate?

Kimba: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO………… N………… O………….Nooooooooooo. Get your ears checked you bunch of deaf female wanabe chimpanzees.

Mika De Klerke: I guess he’s too shy.

The three human males (Hiram, Skeet and the Colonel) volunteer to donate and so the Whippet docks with the large (about 1,400 ton) Gaean research vessel, Dianah.

The three men are lead away by Dr. Sophie to seperate rooms where they can provide their “samples”. While they are gone a young girl who looks not more that 15 or 16 comes into the room. After a few seconds she kind of sheepishly saddles up to Mika and whispers “please, can you get me out of here”

They go out into the empty hallway to talk,the girl identifies herself as Melanie: “Ma’am please can you get me off of this ship! I’ve spent my whole life cooped up in the colony. The only men I’ve ever met are the ones who come to give samples and they’re usually gruby miners. They’re not like the ones I see in the Tri-Vids. I want to have a normal life…please help me.”

After a few minutes of pleading Mika seems to have managed to convince the girl that she needs to stay with the colony until she reaches legal majority. As their conversation is ending Mika sees a Gaean researcher and a miner coming down the hall. The miner is being very beligerant towards the Gaean women yelling that the Gaeans stole his mining claim and that no he will not provide them a sample.

Mika walks up to the confrontation between the two and the miner immediately insults her and takes a wild swing at her. Kimba has come running and a fistfight ensues between the miner and another who ran out of the waiting room presumably to help his friend. In the end Kimba and Mika have little trouble with the two miners the first one they feel may have been drunk or drugged up.

Collecting their money the crew makes there way back to their ship where they head towards their final destinatin now only 6 hours or so away. They make it without any further encounters and deliver their cargo and collect payment.

The briefing continued in conference room 4B on the Port Jefferson docking station.
The robot was clear, the crew of the Whippet was to make money…and make it legally. However it continued after setting a white noise device on the table, “Sometimes circumstances may require you to take aggressive action. We suggest that such action not be discovered by the legal authorities to the extent that it could be deemed illegal.”

The man already sitting in the conference room when the crew arrives is introduced by the robot as Halcomb Botswanna who will be the Ships Master. He says; “you can call me Hal, you can call me Bots or you can call me Colonel but you are not to call me Captain. I ain’t no Navy puke.”

Hiram issues a silent command to his wafer jack to start a search on the Colonel’s record. The results: He was a Confederation Marine Pilot during the war serving on a Sister of this very vessel in fact for 4 years from 2890 to 2894. Based on this he is obviously a Centennial. He mustered out of the Marines in 2914 on a medical honorable discharge. He was a full Colonel when he retired. For the last seventy odd years records show that he has owned and operated a ranch on Dorlass. He has been an active member of the “Sons of the West” both politically and as a lifestyle choice.
The Colonel provides the information on your first cargo, some delicate experimental mining equipment from the University of St. Mary of Mars, they’ll be running 3 AUs up belt to the Universities experimental mining facility (an Asteroid cluster). Professor Elsie Eitcher is the Universities representative and the job will pay you 25,000cr for a little over 2 days work. A nice start.

The group made their way to the ship and got settled in. They contact Professor Eitcher and make the arrangements for the transfer of the cargo. After getting everything arranged the Professor’s eyes roll back in her head and she speaks in a different voice saying:
“Why do you assume the things you cannot know must sleep…but if so then sleep we do…and in sleep we hunger…hunger is the root of creation. and so we are at the root of creation.

The crew are suitably creeped out but take it in stride. The professor saying things like this have happened to her since she was a little girl and that her Mom said she was Psionic but she didn’t think so.

After a few systems checks and the transfer of their cargo from the University.
Within hours of leaving Port Jefferson and the University the players detect a ship following them and almost immediately receive a communication for it. The ship identifies itself as a Children of Orion vessel. A Notorious piratical organization. They tell the Whippet they are trespassing in ‘Children’ space and demand that they heave to and prepare to be boarded. The ship is only a 100 ton scout sized vessel and the Whippet decides to make a run for it.

The ’Children’s" ship launches a missile at the Whippet but after some good maneuvering they manage to avoid it.

The Whippet is fast, much faster than the ‘Children’s’ ship. And in short order the Whippet is able to out distance it’s pursuer and no more missiles are launched. The Children captain has a parting shot, "Run little rabbit but know that you have been marked as an enemy of the Children of Orion.”

Unfortunately the violent maneuvering has damaged a piece on the mining equipment they are transporting. They determine that a replacement part is needed.

Fortunately a huge salvage yard is only about 6 hours off course from where the crew is.
At the Salvage Yard the Crew makes contact with the yard’s owner, Buddy Bricker. Buddy turns out to be a lonely guy and enjoys banter with the Crew. In the end they find the part they need as well as a plethora of other stuff including. Mika makes friends with Buddy who doesn’t get to see a lot of women out this way. In the end they find a beam laser, a particle beam and a triple turret and use a five finger discount to acquire about 80% of a fire control 2 program. All these items will need work and then if they’re used on the Whippet they’ll need to be installed. So the Crew ends up with a number of projects out of their trip to the junk yard!

A tall thin man in an impeccable gray suit walked into the waiting area from the attached hotel lobby. His hair combed straight back; although handsome he clearly was not the product of a gene blueprint created to reflect physical perfection. No…there was no plastic quality to this individual. He fairly radiated confidence and intelligence.

“Ah…early but not too early”, Al-Shareff thought. Their doctor was finally here and what a doctor he was. This was a man whose surgical skills could only be equaled by literally a few physicians in the Known Galaxy. To obtain a physician of this caliber certain compromises had to be made, Hiram Desidious was famous in certain precincts but out here on the frontier he hoped to make a fresh start. At least that’s what he’d said in his application and Al-Shareff at least was willing to take him at his word.

Wait a minute…sitting quietly in the corner was none other than Garett Skeet. “How’d he get there without me noticing”, Al-Shareff thought. I didn’t know he had any stealthy abilities. Well that surely couldn’t hurt anything, one more value added bonus Skeet brought to the table.

The 20 year Confederation Navy veteran was a bit of an enigma. He definitely had the skills to have gone a long way in the service but had only risen to the rank of Petty Officer 3rd class. That hadn’t prevented him from serving as a pilot on a pretty impressive line of ships including the Dreadnought Nike. His dossier also indicated he had some pretty impressive math skills as well, serving as an astrogator as much as he had a pilot.

He fit the bill perfectly for what the Whippet’s crew needed. In his line of work that always mad Al-Shareff a little nervous. There were lots of people both friends and foes anxious to keep tabs on what he was doing. But Skeet was perfect for his needs, he was here and available so Al-Shareff wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth, just keep a close eye on him.

Port Jefferson is kind of a lofty name for a mismatched collection of deep space stations and hollowed out asteroids in VanKilla Kiertotahti’s Outer Belt. But then the outer belt has little to recommend it, so to expect a grand port would be silly.

The outer belt is mostly devoid of raw resources, a fact that the scientists are still after a 100 years or more at a loss to explain. The dearth of resources however provides the University of St. Mary of Mars a good test for their state of the art mining equipment. If you can get blood out a turnip then the equipment must be good! The University is the crown jewel of Port Jefferson. Standing apart from the rest of the Port’s habitats it is a cutting edge design both ascetically pleasing and highly functional. You have to give them their due; the schools architects’ and engineers know how to design more than just drilling tools.

Sitting in the passenger lounge Al-Sharref stared at the holo display coming from the orange sized device sitting in his lap. He was going over the dossiers’ on the group he had picked for the Whippet or whatever they ended up calling it. The first one had just arrived. Mika DeKlerke, a space brat raised around scavengers and Tinkers. Not an obvious choice but perfect for Al-Sharref’s purposes. First of all available and without immediate job prospects, second a wandering soul with just the right hint of curiosity and third someone who wouldn’t be missed too much. And she had skills too; you could never have enough people that could fix things on a Starship he thought.

She looked around expectantly, no doubt looking for a coffee colored man in a Keffiyeh. There are all sorts of disguises but surprisingly one of the most effective is simply a name. It is Al-Sharref’s disguise of choice. He would send his robot over shortly once a few more of his handpicked crew arrived. A couple more were due to dock within the hour.

Well there was no mistaking the next crewman, wait a minute that’s being racist, the next crew sentient. Covered in fur, 7 foot tall and roughly the size of a compact grav car Kimba Bloodfang was unmistakable. The big silverback was an imposing figure.

The humans in the terminal seemed to part before him as he made his way down the gangway from the VanKila Kiertotahti shuttle. His gear was in a large duffle bag and one large floater suitcase. And of course he had a nasty looking gauss rifle strapped to his back.

He was imposing enough to intimidate most humans, even combat veterans and as any good soldier knew that was half the battle. If the other guy was afraid of you, you are well on your way to winning and Kimba was a movable piece of intimidation.

Security was well on its way to being taken care of. The Gorilla had spent a lot of time aboard ship in the Marines, Al-Sharref paged through the dossier. I wonder if he has any other useful skills he thought.

Robots are a ubiquitous part of the 30th century. They are as invisible as the cleaning people of the 20th century were. They’re there, you see them but for the most part you look right through them.

That was no doubt the case for the majority of those in the waiting area as the little UR-14 came floating in. Al-Sharref however immediately recognized it for what it was…the third member of the Whippet’s crew. Anyone who was paying attention would have recognized that this was the physical interface of an AI. The green versus red optics ringing the head sized sphere were the give away. It was amazing though how many people didn’t even notice. An AI by law was required to sport green optics, although an AI wanting a measure of privicy might ignore the law and risk the fine for doing so. In this case the AI known as Neurog followed the law.

Al-Sharref felt lucky to have recruited the digital entity as it came with a very handsome dividend. As a Trinity Research Station Fellow it was a part of a research team testing a new power plant and it’s first trials would be aboard the Whippet. The thing supposedly had two modes, one to increase the energy conversion factor per ton of fuel the other burned through fuel like a son-of-a-bitch but put out an enourmous amount of joules quickly. Theoretically this could superpower a laser or particle beam, increase sensor range or even, and this was a tricky one push a ship through T-Space faster than their TLD rating. His datapad dinged to inform him the experimental drive was being loaded into the Whippets. He pulled up the holo and saw a team of robots not unlike the UR-14 loading the various components of the drive into the ships cargo hold.

He hoped Neurog had some quantum cores it could plug into the ships relatively small Q-3 computer. It was only rated for a 15 processing power, much to small for even a young AI. If Neurog didn’t it was going to have to zip up a whole bunch of skills!

Every campaign gets an Adventure Log, a blog for your adventures!

While the wiki is great for organizing your campaign world, it’s not the best way to chronicle your adventures. For that purpose, you need a blog!

The Adventure Log will allow you to chronologically order the happenings of your campaign. It serves as the record of what has passed. After each gaming session, come to the Adventure Log and write up what happened. In time, it will grow into a great story!

Best of all, each Adventure Log post is also a wiki page! You can link back and forth with your wiki, characters, and so forth as you wish.

One final tip: Before you jump in and try to write up the entire history for your campaign, take a deep breath. Rather than spending days writing and getting exhausted, I would suggest writing a quick “Story So Far” with only a summary. Then, get back to gaming! Grow your Adventure Log over time, rather than all at once.