Editor's Note: Ironsworn: Starforged was created by Shawn Tomkin. It can be found on DTRPG. Rise & Shiningstar was written by Tavon Gatling for Starforged and can be found on his Ko-fi.
Action
The eidolon drive spooled down, reverting the Sparrowhawk back to real space on the fringe of an eidolon reactor explosion. Bits of metallic fragments dotted the starscape on a river of blue and pink energy. The fallout of the e-drive eruption was a nearly impassable section of electrified space. The ship's computer systems immediately began to buzz and screens flickered, alarms blared, and the turbulence jolted me and the ship roughly.
The eidolon drive readouts on my HUD flashed red. The excess electromagnetic energy surrounding the ship had begun to overheat the drive.
“Tanner! Get the drive shut down now!”
I wrestled with the ship’s yoke, struggling against the pull of the blue and pink energy river flowing around me. Tanner beeped three times, letting me know the e-drive had been shut down. The knowledge that we weren’t about to become space dust was comforting, but it mattered little if I couldn’t get us clear of the energy storm.
The slowing of the drive from incessant whirring hum to complete silence confirmed that it was, indeed, offline. The temperature gauge was already beginning to slip beneath the critical level, but I knew what had been an hour layover was now more like three.
Action Result
Resource Update
Waypoint
Action
The electromagnetic storm was more treacherous than I had imagined. The ship very nearly drifted too close and electricity arced over the hull and cockpit, sending multicolored lights flashing all over my heads up display. The Sparrowhawk is a tough old girl and managed to shrug off any potential damage, probably thanks to the triple insulation I had installed a few months ago after a run in with some electrical parasites.
That was a hell of an experience. I never have discovered what kind of creatures they were, none of my contacts had reported back with any information. I still had one of the tiny, blue-carapaced creatures in a rubber and cloth box. It was dead, or at least I thought it was, but I wasn’t taking the chance of it reviving enough to start draining the ship of power. I had seen what a swarm could do, nearly overcharging the eidolon drive and shorting out the life-support systems.
A few minutes more and I would have been space dust. Tanner saved us that day, though I’m still not sure what the little bot did—and it wasn’t forthcoming. Some of my colleagues had suggested a memory reset would fix the individualistic streak in the small metal utility bot, but I rather liked his quirks.
Two hours later, the e-drive was recharged and maintaining operating temperatures. The eidolon currents may have cost me several hours of travel time, but I was grateful to have made it through alive. Unlike the poor souls on whatever ship had exploded out here on the frontier of Flint’s Edge.
I took a few more minutes to recheck my route calculations, and engaged the e-drive.
Action Results
Resource Update
Action
During the eidolon jump, I worked on repairing the electrical damage we sustained in the maelstrom. It wasn't much, and nothing a bit of high heat tape and bonding paste couldn't solve, but it took quite a lot of those resources to patch every issue.
When we reached the end of the jump, the Sparrowhawk appeared in a debris field. This one, thankfully, was only metallic fragments that bounced harmlessly off the ship’s armored hull. There were also the remains of several defunct beacons, the type that were often used to indicate construction zones.
"What do you think, Tanner? Looks like an abandoned route construction site to me," I said to the bot, who trilled at me in response.
It wouldn't surprise me if it was exactly that. With such an important research facility, as Shiningstar seemed to be, it would make sense for the Founding Clans to want an established route between the medical station and Deception. The abandonment of the project struck me as odd, but I chalked it up to the need to keep whatever Shiningstar was working on a secret.
When the e-drive indicated that it was recharged, I pressed the activator and watched as the ship slipped into the complete blackness of the slipstream.
Action Result
Resource Update
Waypoint
Action
The Sparrowhawk reverted to real space about two thousand meters away from the hulking metallic orbital station that had the word Shiningstar emblazoned on its side in large white letters.
A quick scan of the station indicated that the large ovoid protrusion on the starboard side was the docking bay. Scans also picked up a large container floating through space. I maneuvered the ship closer to the container, and activated the new cargo grappler.
The controls needed more calibration, so it took significantly longer than I would have thought to wrestle the canister to the airlock. There was nothing I could do with the container now, but I made a note on the ship's registry about it and decided to check it out later. For now, it was time to land on Shiningstar.
Action Result
Resource Update
Waypoint
Check Your Gear
Resource Update
Luckily, the docking bay was an "always open" configuration, protected by atmospheric shield generators. It was trivial to fly the Sparrowhawk through the wide bay doors and put her down next to the craft already at rest inside the hangar.
As I was shutting down the main drives and setting everything to recharge, a long, slimy, root-like appendage slapped across the cockpit view port. It connected with a wet thud and slid almost comically out of view.
I double checked my rifle and pistol and grabbed a couple extra ammo packs before heading to the boarding ramp. A feeling of dread seeped into my bones. Something wasn't right here, I could feel it.
Finish an Expedition
Vow Update
From my vantage at the top of the Sparrowhawk's boarding ramp, I was able to take in the hangar in its fullest. The room was a cavern, as big as any planetside spaceport.
On the far side of the room, the big sliding doors that granted access to the rest of the station were broken. Claw marks gouged the black iron surface, twisting the metal as if something was trying to escape the station.
As I made my way down the ramp, the overwhelming stench of decay assaulted my nose. Debris, dirt, and bodies littered the grated floor. A garbled voice message played over hidden speakers, its words barely sensible.
"Welcome to Shiningstar," the voice intoned, as the lights flickered in haunting parallel to the distorted voice.
A large map took up the center of the hangar's concourse, and I soon realized that Shiningstar was way more than I had expected. With enough space to house several thousand, Shiningstar was not only a research and medical facility. The ship was also a generation ship—one of the ships that brought our people here when they fled our home world during the Great War.
As I approached the main doors, movement caught my eye. Someone was walking toward me, but their gait was odd and disjointed and they lurched to the right with every step. A long vine-like protrusion snaked around the form's right shoulder and flicked toward me like a serpent's tongue.
I drew my pistol and prepared for the inevitable. The creature shambled past me, the stench of rot and plant matter assaulted my nose. It had clearly once been human. Some of its clothing, tattered white lab coat now stained brown and green, clung to its twisted limbs. A thorned vine snaked out of the wretch's back, guiding it forward towards the glow produced by the Sparrowhawk's landing spotlights.
I pressed a button on my wrist-mounted control module and watched as the loading ramp shut and the spotlights went dim. The creature stopped about forty feet away from me, the snaking vine looking left and right as though confused.
My feelings about this place had been right, something was most definitely wrong. I moved closer to the entrance and stopped short when I heard a voice calling for help. Crouched behind two large metal crates was a young woman with bright green hair and several facial piercings. She seemed so vibrant and out of place in our macabre surroundings.
"I hear you, you're ok. What happened here?"
"I don't know. It just happened, and then those creepy things started roaming around. I tried to get to a ship, but the things were already here."
"Are there any survivors?"
Ask the Oracle
"Yes. Some of the security forces went back in for a few of the other scientists. Wait, who are you? Why are you here?"
"An acquaintance of mine was bitten by a venomous creature on Demeter. I came looking for the antidote. Know anything about that?"
Ask the Oracle
"I worked on the Antivenom Blanket. It's kept on level 3."
"Then you can come with me or go to my ship, you're choice. But I've got to get that antivenom."
Ask the Oracle: Does the woman go with Talia? Unlikely (25-), 59, no
"I think I'd rather wait on the ship."
"Fine, I'll cover you. The code for the loading door is oh-nine-two-five-nine. Seal the door when you're inside."
"Ok, thank you."
The woman launched herself over the crates and dashed down the walkway.
Ask the Oracle
As the scientist dashed down the walkway, the shambling creature with the vine snaking out of its back turned with surprising speed and chased after her.
Enter the Fray
Resource Update
Strike
I drew my pistol and took aim at the lurching shape chasing the scientist. The report of the weapon echoed in the large hangar and the flash of the muzzle threw bright light on the dimly lit metal walls. The rounds hit the creature in the back, each blow pushing the already off balance creature closer and closer to collapsing.
Strike Result
Clash
I fired two more shots, but these went wide and cracked into the floor only a foot from the woman. She shrieked and stumbled, going down hard and allowing the creature to close the distance between them.
Clash Result
React Under Fire
Resource Update
Strike
I knew I had to do something, and quickly, or the pink haired woman would be dead—or worse. I ran forward, emptying the rest of the pistol’s ammo clip into the creature. Its body jerked with each blast, until, with a piece of its dessicated head completely missing, it fell to the ground.
Strike Results
I kicked the creature in the side. It didn’t move, but I could hear more shuffling steps from somewhere to my right. This one was dead, but I knew we had to move quickly.
"Go! Quickly!" I called, snapping the woman out of her trance-like state.
Take Decisive Action
She scrambled to her feet and ran the final fifteen feet to the cargo door of the Sparrowhawk. Once the door shut her inside, I clicked a toggle on my wrist-mounted data console and locked out the ship's launch controls. Years in the trade had made me paranoid, I freely admit.
Certain that the woman was safe, I turned and headed into the generation ship-turned-research station in search of the antivenom, and survivors if I came across any.
What has happened at Shiningstar? What was that strange, plant-zombie creature? Come back next week to see what Talia discovers as she treks through the station in search of the Anti-venom Blanket.
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