Sunday, January 4th 2032
It is the eve of mankind's first, manned lunar mission since Apollo 17 in 1972, but on Monday, January 5th 2032, three companies of teenage, SAInt pilots, not NASA astronauts, will be landing on the moon's surface to begin exploring its dark side and gathering intelligence on the Mayzor that have landed there along with their mothership, Tartarus.
The Cloistered Research Council (CRC) and the Preservation Forces have classified these, upcoming missions under the name Operation Blue Moon.
Following the alien assault on the Arx Jericho four months ago, the floating, military base has undergone extensive reconstruction and made incredible, technological improvements in such a short time through the help of advanced nanorobotics and reverse engineering of Mayzor technology.
All military personnel, CRC scientists, Preservation Forces officers, SAInt pilots, and general civilians have undergone some level of mandatory, zero-G training, and the Arx Jericho made history by being the first Arx to ascend into orbit around the Earth.
For obvious reasons, the SAInt pilots went through even more, exhaustive training exercises and drills, including everything from flying their SAInts and fighting in zero-G to handling tools and performing extractions in a low gravity environment.
Furthermore, the SAInt Program has seen a major expansion and restructuring. There are now a total of six companies, each with their own, informal nicknames: Blue "Evangelists," Alpha "Aardvarks," Bravo "Badgers," Charlie "Chipmunks," Delta "Dingos," and Echo "Echidnas." The current roster is as follows:
Blue: Rick Hunter (Team Leader), Serena Hunter, Sarah Werner, Opsie Wessel
Alpha: Joanne Klein (Team Leader), Jason Reyes, Marten "Skitz" Oiseleur, Esteban "Spearhead" Knowles, Alex "Strudel" Struder
Bravo: Kazuhiro Mazaki (Team Leader), Laurie Bach, Stephanie Yuzuki, Leo "Raspberry" Hayes, Bala and Lieke "The Twins"
Charlie: Ryoko Mizushima (Team Leader), Miguel "Crybaby" Rodriguez, Annalise Lafayette, Conrad Andersen, Javier Ontonado
Delta: Winston Thornton (Team Leader), Jonathan Sinclair, Lina Maden, Jared Blackwell, Anya Rhodes
Echo: Flann O'Connor (Team Leader), Akachi Afolayan, Aisha Nagi, Renzo Morandi, Winifred Ellis
** More information on the updated cast of Pilot Characters (PCs) and Director Characters (NPCs) can be found here. **Many of the pilots feel prepared and excited to land on the moon, but some aren't as thrilled. The celebrity status and fame some acquired from their valiant efforts and bravery in defending the Arx Jericho from the September 2nd attack has had mixed reactions, but most have experienced a rise in Ego - though it's come at a cost.
It's no secret that the traditional faiths of the world have been in sharp decline ever since the Mayzor sent a hundred or so Magnas to Earth a few years ago to wipe out every, major holy land in an act of pure vengeance against the major, world religions. Today, followers of the traditional faiths still exist, whether it be Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Taoists, Confucianists, etc., but they are slowly being eclipsed by other, more radical, faiths.
The two that pose the greatest challenge against the Traditionalists are the Followers of the Communion and the up-and-coming Faithful.
The Followers of the Communion follow the religion of Universal Communion, which the Legulus advocated on Earth before their exodus into space. Even after the
The Faithful mostly comprise of ex-Traditionalists (especially Christians) who have lost all faith in the traditional, higher powers and have turned to something more concrete. They look to the only, proven defenders of Earth since the beginning of the Mayzor assaults - the CRC and the Preservation Forces. The SAInt pilots of the world, in particular, are being regarded as more than teenage heroes. On the Arx Jericho, members of Blue, Alpha, and Bravo Company are seen as the reincarnation of historic, religious figures. The four, Prophet pilots of Blue Company (Rick and Serena Hunter, Sarah Werner, and Opsie Wessel) are though to be the four, new Evangelists, while many of the other SAInt pilots (Joanne Klein, Jason Reyes, Marten Oiseleur, Esteban Knowles, Alex Struder, etc.) are thought to be the reincarnated Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Rumors are circulating that some of the Faithful have created churches to honor St. Rick, St. Sarah, St. Jason, St. Marten, St. Esteban, and so forth. It's no surprise why the Traditionalists are against them, but the Faithful truly believe that the SAInt pilots will bring an end to the darkness and are the only, true saviors of Earth.
The Interview
Episode 01 begins at the World Wide News Network (WWNN), where pilots of Blue and Alpha Company, accompanied by Captain Anastasia "AK-47" Kasherov and Junior Head of Security Billy Henderson of the Preservation Forces, have been invited to an interview panel with several, Traditionalist leaders including: Reverend Daniels, Rabbi Yosef, Imam Abdullah, and more. They're all seated on stage, as renowned reporter and talk show host, Melvina Vogel, introduces the panel and begins firing questions at the pilots about their lives since the assault on the Arx Jericho and thoughts concerning the growing rumors of the Faithful establishing churches in their names.
Outside the studio, peaceful protesters of Traditionalists and Faithful wave signs and banners, though the energy is growing increasingly hostile by the minute.
Back inside, many of the pilots don't know how to react to Melvina's questions, despite what AK-47 primed them to answer, but Marten takes a deep breath and answers for them - much to the detriment of the Traditionalist leaders giving them scowls and rebuttals. Marten attempts to shut down the opposition calling them wrong while appealing to the audience and anyone watching at home: "Well, I'm a new arrival to this Arx and this team, so I can't speak for everyone else, but what I can say is to what I see out in the world. It's a little too early to be branding us the savior of humanity; give us a little bit more time, and when we have saved everyone, then I think it's time to decide if what we did was truly God's work or mankind proving itself to be just as capable as any of these, super, natural powers."
Marten's Action: Charm + Convince vs. Challenge 9 (his Friend, Stephanie is watching at home and has a Focus of 9) = tie. Marten spends 1 Ego to make it success! Marten makes a Spirit check (Stephanie is a relationship character and Hope is triggered) and gains back 1 Ego.Marten's answer leaves the masses impressed, and the other pilots share their thoughts, but the interview is cut short when sounds of voices shouting, arguing, brawling and glass shattering erupts toward the back of the crowd. Billy calls the pilots back, away from the stage, while AK-47 signals that the interview is clearly over.
Marten grabs his fellow pilots and leads them toward Billy to sneak out of the building through the back of the studio.
Trial - Marten leads a team with Rick, Sarah, and Jason vs. the angry mob (antagonist). 1st Round: Marten's Intellect + Observe vs. Challenge 7 (angry mob has a collective Focus of 7 with 2 Resolve and 2 dice) = 5 + 2 = 7 + 3 Benefit (one automatic for each team member helping) +2 Benefit/Boost (Rick and Sarah matching 5s with Marten) = success!
** Even if the angry mob rolls 2 dice and gets 6s, their max Challenge will be 9, and the PCs succeed flawlessly with a total of 12. **As the pilots escape, they see rioting Traditionalists, Faithful, and several, strange figures on the outskirts of the crowd looking in. They're not involved in the fighting and are wearing hoodies with masks over their faces (not CRC masks). They look somewhat suspicious and peculiar.
In addition, Marten suddenly hears the voice of his dead, ex-SAInt in his head, saying, "The faith is strong." He shakes his said and thinks to himself: "I have no time for this right now."
The Eve of the Mission
Later that evening, the pilots have downtime before their big launch tomorrow.
Joanne tells Jason to take the rest of Alpha Company to the simulation classrooms and run some more drills, while she goes off to have a sparring, Kendo match with Rick.
En route to the simulation rooms, Dr. Harris confronts Marten and asks him to come with her for a last-minute, psych evaluation. Marten protests, but she insists, and he tells Jason and the others to go ahead without him.
Meanwhile, AK-47 has assigned Sarah schoolwork that she missed, due to her expedited, Prophet training, and needs it turned in by tomorrow. Not one for studying herself, Sarah decides to try and copy off Raspberry, who wanted to spend time playing video games, and invites him to the computer lab - right next door to the Kendo Club classroom.
At the computer lab -
Sarah's Action: Charm + Convince vs. Challenge 6 (Raspberry's Focus) = 4. Sarah spends 3 Ego to make it a success. She then makes a Spirit check (relationship character) and earns 1 Ego back.Sarah convinces Raspberry to let her copy his work so that they can get to what's more important - playing the newest version of Shinobi Knights! Later on, Opsie walks and asks her cousin for a private word. She tells Sarah she's been having vivid - possibly precognitive - nightmares of a terrible war on the moon involving eternal light versus eternal darkness. She doesn't know whether it's a side effect of the Prophet training or truly precognitive, like with the interface testing last year, but Sarah comforts her and tells her not to worry.
Next door at Kendo Club -
Rick's Action: Tone + Close Quarters vs. Challenge 9 (Joanne's Vigor) = 10. Rick rolled his Talent and got three 5s, so the first 5 + 3 (Close Quarters Proficiency) = 8 +2 Benefit/Boost from the other two 5s that matched. Instant success! Rick's already at max Ego, so there's no need for a Spirit check.After a blur of parries and swipes, Rick and Joanne seem evenly matched, but Rick finally gets the better of her and sends her falling onto the mat. Disappointed in herself and feeling exasperated, she suddenly blurts out, "I don't want to go tomorrow," and shuts up, scared. She follows up by saying, "Nevermind, forget I said anything," and Rick can tell she's worried or concerned about something. He can't help but pry further, and she says she has to go, she's the team leader, it'll be fine. Her words, however, are unconvincing, and her hands are visibly shaking. Rick grabs them, steadies them, and says she can tell him anything, but Joanne says not to worry and that she's fine. She quickly changes the subject and asks Rick to have dinner with at the cafeteria.
At the simulation classrooms -
Jason's leads a Team Action with two helpers: Tone + Athletics vs. Challenge 9 (Laurie's Vigor because Jason's impressing her and because in a Battle, it would be the equivalent of Change Distance which is Athletics vs. Vigor) = 8. Jason spends 2 Ego to make it a success. Jason makes a Spirit check and earns 1 Ego back.First, Jason sees Strudel embracing Ryoko with Lieke giving them a jealous look nearby. Then, Jason, Esteban, and Strudel undergo a series of simulated, team exercises on the moon that involve high speed maneuvers, and racing to catch one another (essentially lunar tag). Laurie had embraced Jason earlier and gave him a kiss, admiring his appearance on TV and wondering what the whole, religious 'Saint' thing was about. Jason impresses her even more with his team's performance in the simulation, and the other pilots of Bravo and Charlie Company are also fairly impressed.
At Dr. Harris's office -
Marten's Action: Charm + Convince vs. Challenge 10 (Dr. Harris's Focus) = 9. Marten's highest roll was a 5 + 3 = 7, but he matched his highest roll with another 5, giving him +1 Benefit/Boost = 9. Marten spends 2 Ego to make it a success and succeeds on a Spirit checks, earning him back 1 Ego.Dr. Harris begins by asking Marten how he's doing and that she finally received the last of his records. She knows about his mental history following his near-death experience eight months ago after a Magnas ruptured his pilot pod and destroyed his SAInt. She asks if he still hears voices and is concerned about tomorrow, since it'll be the first time Marten's being deployed since the incident. Marten becomes flustered, saying he's been taking his prescribed, antipsychotics, that he's tested well in all his simulations, and that this time could be better spent training for tomorrow instead of undergoing a last minute psych evaluation. He manages to convince her, and she wishes him good luck and dismisses him. Marten leaves and heads off to the simulation classrooms to join up with Alpha Company.
Monday, January 5th 2032
A procession is taking place in the streets of the Arx Jericho, as civilians and military personnel cheer and salute the pilots embarking to the moon, while cameras and news crews go in for pictures and quick questions.
Rick notices that Joanne is extremely nervous, and he embraces her and gives her a kiss, telling her not to worry, as they part ways to their respective, deployment points.
The four Evangelists of Blue Company make their way to the Prophet hangars deep in the CRC facility, while Alpha and Bravo Company don their flight suits, enter their deprivation tanks, and board their SAInts at the Preservation Forces HQ.
Objectives and Deployment
Command uploads a map of the lunar surface, complete with data pertinent to the mission.
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| Source: Google Earth. Image used without permission and modified by myself. |
The pilots are instructed to land in the Mare Humboldtianum (Sea of Alexander von Humboldt) on the near-side of the moon in case any Mayzor are on the outskirts of the dark side. From there, they have a total of five probes to plant onto the lunar surface and safeguard until they dig themselves underground and release hovering, nano cameras for the reconnaissance work.
Summarized Mission Objectives:
1. Plant five probes in five, key locations: the Mare Humboldtianum, the Schwarzschild crater, the Compton crater, the Giordano Bruno crater, and the Mare Moscoviense (Sea of Moscow).
2. Safeguard the probes while they dig into the lunar surface and move on once they release their nano cameras.
3. Watch out for Mayzor and eliminate any minor threats (Swarm, small groups of Locusts, etc.). If there's a lot of resistance, disengage and wait for the drop ship to extract the SAInts/Prophets.
4. If the pilots encounter any Mayzor settlements/Wormwood with humans survivors and are able to rescue them, do so. Otherwise, stick to the recon mission, take photos, and gather intelligence.After the pilots deploy into space and land in the Mare Humboldtianum, Command instructs the three, team leaders of Blue, Alpha, and Bravo Company to issue orders so that the pilots can complete their mission as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Reconnaissance
Rick issues commands to Serena, Sarah, and Opsie, while Marten awaits orders from Joanne, whose nervousness and instability are transparent in her emotions which she's psychically projecting through the MetaTron.
After a short pause, she tells Jason and Marten to stand at the edge of the sea and keep a lookout, while she helps Rick plant the first probe into the ground.
From there on, the companies split up to cover the three craters as fast as they can.
Bravo Company takes a probe to the Schwarzschild crater, where they encounter minimal, Swarm resistance which gives them no trouble.
Blue Company heads to the Giordano Bruno crater, where they encounter an abandoned, Wormwood settlement of porcelain domes and silver spires that resembles an outpost or observatory with a small amount of Swarm slithering inside. AK-47 orders the pilots to plant the probe inside, and they find abandoned, Mayzor laboratories with tools and technology that disintegrate as soon as the Prophets grab hold of them. They decide to leave the Mayzor alone, but as soon as Rick and Sarah plant the probe and it starts digging, the Swarm are attracted to it like moths to a flame. Rick simply steps on them and crushes them to dust.
At the Compton crater, Joanne's lack of leadership begins to annoy Marten, and he takes it upon himself to plant the fourth probe. At that moment, he hears his ex-SAInt's voice inside his head again, saying, "The faith is strong." He shakes it off when he realizes no one else heard anything. However, Jason suddenly hears his mother (who was abducted from Sydney by the Mayzor last year) calling out to him on the MetaTron. Jason curses into the MetaTron and asks whether they have a backup, communication system - especially due to their previous experiences with MetaTron static.
Back at the Giordano Bruno crater, Rick suddenly hears his mother calling out to him as well. No one else seems to be hearing these, individual voices, but then a young girl's voice with a Russian accent begins calling out, "Mama," and everyone can hear it this time. AK-47, back at Command, goes numb with fear and silence.
The pilots still have one more probe to plant at the Mare Moscoviense, roughly 1,940 km / 1,204 mi away. They reground and make haste. Joanne's fear and emotions are getting the better of her, so Marten joins her side to have a private conversation while moving forward.
He asks her what's wrong, over the MetaTron, and she finally admits that she has extreme, astrophobia but didn't want to tell anyone, especially since she's been assigned the honor and responsibility of being team leader. Marten attempts to calm her down by coaxing her and comforting her. Joanne says not to worry, and Marten says he's not worried but that he cares. Finally, Joanne actually responds with a thank you and feels determined to suck it up and keep on going.
Marten's Action: Charm + Empathize vs. Challenge 8 (Joanne's Focus) = 7. Marten spends 2 Ego to make it a success and succeeds on a Spirit check to gain 1 Ego back.Afterward, Rick asks Marten what that was all about, and Marten says he was simply asking Joanne for Stephanie's number. Somehow, Rick doesn't seem too convinced.
Suddenly, Rick and Jason each hear their mother's voices again, on separate, private channels, calling out to them, "Help! Save us! We're trapped! We see you! Come, come help, quick!"
Irrational Crustaceans at the Mare Moscoviense
By this point, the pilots have gotten close enough to the Mare Moscoviense, where they see a much, larger Wormwood settlement of porcelain domes and several, tall, silver spires (+1 Battlefield Cover). They scan it for any sign of human life but find nothing. Instead, their scanners pick up on various, never-before-seen Locusts - most of which resemble Crustaceans and Arthropods.
A giant, Sentinel Locust resembling a Japanese spider crab stands on its eight, tall legs and rises higher than the settlement itself. It's the tallest, possibly largest, Locust the pilots had ever encountered, and it's two, long fore claws reach out past Close Quarters (CQ) range and into Firearms (FA) range. In addition, it seems to have a set of energy weapons at its mouth. The Sentinel stands at the front of the Wormwood, though there's another one hidden toward the back and sinking low to the ground.
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| Reference image for the Mayzor Sentinel. Source: Wikipedia; copyright by Michael Wolf. Image used without permission. |
The pilots also encounter five, Mayzor Locusts called Tanks which resemble horseshoe crabs (though they aren't technically Crustaceans) that turn on the settlement and begin attacking it irrationally.
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| Reference image for the Mayzor Tank. Source: unknown; image used without permission. |
Finally, the pilots discover a third type of Locust hidden within the craters of the Mare Moscoviense. These, four Smashers resemble giant, tank-sized Mantis shrimp and are painted with bright, swirling, fluorescent, neon colors. They have increased strength, like the Brawlers, but are extremely mobile and have one of the most advanced visual systems of all the Locusts encountered so far. Marten was among the first to witness its strength and power.
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| Reference image for the Mayzor Smasher. Source: unknown; image used without permission. |
After engaging the closest Smasher at FA, Marten fails, and it launches itself out of its hiding hole with an incredible burst of speed. Over the MetaTron, Stephanie's emotions are high as she cries out, "Watch out!" but it's too late. One of the Smasher's raptorial claws resembles a bludgeoning club which strikes Marten's SAInt hard, producing a shockwave which trails off into FA range and knocks Strudel's SAInt off its feet. The Smasher's other claw resembles a much sharper, spear-like appendage which it dangles over Strudel, ready to pierce through the SAInt's heart.
Mayzor Locust - Smasher
➤ Challenges: Vigor 8, Focus 9. Range CQ +2 Vigor/Boost, FA, HB N/A
Marten's Engage Action: Intellect + Observe vs. Challenge 9 (Smasher's Focus) = 6. Marten decides not to spend Ego, so he fails and takes 3 points of structural damage (1 for the failure and +2 for the Smasher's Boost at CQ). Since Stephanie cried out and is a relationship character, Marten makes a Spirit check to keep Ego or lose it due to failure. He matches his Spirit Talent and doesn't lose an Ego, but he gains 1 Id since his Ego didn't change this action.
Sarah and Opsie engage one of the furthest Smashers at HB range, while Jason, Esteban, and Joanne stay nearby and engage the other furthest one. Rick forgoes engaging the other, close Smasher and leaps right into its Threat Range with Serena to attack it with dual, 'Arc blades at CQ.
Rick, Sarah, and Jason, leading Team Actions, are all successful in their actions after spending Ego. Since Joanne and Opsie are antagonist characters, they roll their dice in addition to providing the automatic +1 Benefit for helping. Any numbers that match the pilots' highest roll (who are leading the team action) provide an additional Benefit/Boost.Rick slices his target into pieces, and it explodes. He then turns his attention to the next, closest Smasher engaged with Marten and Strudel.
Meanwhile, the pilots continue to hear the little, Russian girl's voice telepathically crying out, "Mama," through the MetaTron.
Marten grabs Strudel and retreats to Take Cover in a crater while activating his SAInt's self-repair with Jason providing cover fire with his Levic Pistol.
Marten's Take Cover Team Action: Intellect + Observe vs. Challenge 9 (Smasher's Focus) = success with Jason's help. Strudel is no longer an Endangered Objective, and because Marten activates his SAInt's self-repair, he heals 3 Structural damage but gains 3 Id, bringing him to 4 Id - a recipe for Frenzy and disaster.Sarah fires her Tiamat Multiple Missile System at her target and destroys the Smasher hiding in its crater with an ensuing explosion. Rick and Serena move toward their next target and destroy it at CQ range, and Jason takes his sniper shot at the last, furthest Smasher peeking its head out of its hole. The particle beam goes through its eyes and out the back of its head, destroying it in one, fell swoop.
Four Smashers are down, but the battle isn't won yet. Two Sentinels and five Tanks still remain, and who knows what other dangers (including the strange, telepathic voices) await our heroes.
To be continued...
Next Time
Barnacles! What the hell's going on here? Is that big, scary, spider crab robot thing launching horseshoe crabs at us?! Crap, they're going after the probes! And the Wormwood, it's rising?! Why are there cracks in the ground? Is that lava spilling out? On the freaking moon?! Let's just hope it's not a Mag- crap! Something's attached itself to our SAInts, we can't... *connection lost*
End of Episode 01
Director's Commentary
Many thanks again to +Robert Ruthven, +David Andrews, +Wolfie Fang, and +Russell Collins for playing! Unfortunately, +Lloyd Gyan couldn't make it, but hopefully he'll join us tomorrow for Episode 02.
Here is the Actual Play video of the game -
I personally had a lot of fun prepping and running this first session. Since it's the start of Season 2, I really wanted to make it special, and I'm probably crazy for all the prep work that went into it, but it totally paid off!
It's pretty self-explanatory, but if you're interested, here are some things I did:
• Had a crash-course on lunar geography through exploring the moon on Google Earth (yes, you can explore the moon on Google Earth - it's awesome).
• Picked out a large territory on the dark side of the moon for Tartarus and mapped out where key, Mayzor locations would be. Wikipedia also helped a ton during this. This actually gave me a clear idea for where much of the story would potentially take place, and a lot of it is pretty symbolic!
• Found a suitable location for the SAInts to land in plus five, key probe locations. The landing point had to be on the near side but close enough to the dark side to easily get to. The Mare Humboldtianum was perfect for this. If you notice on the map I created, the five points I picked create a cross. Faith and religion seem like a big theme in the setting of Tears of a Machine, and I really wanted to explore that more in Season 2.
• Thus, everything began to piece itself together, and I broke the major religious factions into the Traditionalists and the Followers of the Communion. It also made sense that there would be a third faction devoted to the CRC/Preservation Forces and praising SAInt pilots as literal Saints, so naturally the Faithful born.
• Researched the phylum Arthropoda and made a list of all the subphylums and classes for creating new Locusts. One thing I noticed in the game was that every Locust was some type of Arthropod, so that was my starting off point. For this episode, I wanted to include a majority of Crustacean-type Locusts, because the pilots were essentially exploring a dried out, lunar sea. The stats and abilities I assigned to the Sentinels, Tanks, and Smashers were based off characteristics and behaviors I researched from the Japanese spider crab, horseshoe crab, and mantis shrimp respectively. One group of mantis shrimp are actually named Smashers on Wikipedia which was totally awesome, and I had to steal the name!
There's a bit more too, but I can't get into it due to spoilers. You'll just have to stay tuned tomorrow, Sunday, January 11, 2015 at 2:00 PM ET to catch the live session or wait for the next AP. :)
It'll be a Hangouts on Air event, but I didn't post it publicly, so if you want the link, feel free to send me a message on Google Plus (@MishaPolonsky), and I'll add you to the event. I'll post the YouTube recording to my feed as well, so make sure you add me if you want to view it before I post the AP (which won't be until later this week).
Other than that, I hope you enjoyed this Actual Play report, dear reader, and my most sincerest thanks to you!
Until next time, keep on gaming and be well!
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