42 PoD Iatehi! 10

Here is the session summary based on the provided transcript.

Session Title: Escape from Kteiroa and Divergent Origins

PCs Present:

• Paloma (Journalist / Broker)
• Nemo (Vespexer / Drifter / Medic-Engineer / Agent)
• Fermín (Criminal / Face of the group)
• Juan (Marine / Infiltrator - Note: Sometimes referred to as Nacho or Juan by the Game Director)

NPCs Present:

• Pika (Mechanic crewmate, accompanies PCs)
• Emilio (Crewmate, Navigator)
• Utea (Local contact on Kteiroa, supplier)
• The “Yankee” (Local criminal, drug contact)
• Fiuq (Antagonist Aslan, captain of the enemy ship)
• Three Vespexers (Rescued prisoners, one temporarily blinded)
• Female Aslan (Pilot/Engineer on the ship’s bridge)

Important Developments in the PCs’ Lives or the Campaign:

• Paloma and Nemo advance in creating their backstory (up to Terminus 4), establishing careers as a Broker (after failing as a journalist) and an Intelligence Agent (after attending University and being a Drifter), respectively.
• The group on Kteiroa executes a risky plan to steal an Aslan ship and rescue prisoners, successfully acquiring a light freighter and jumping to hyperspace towards Drinax.

Loose Ends:

• The stolen ship has made an emergency jump (“blind jump”) near the atmosphere under enemy fire; the ship’s condition and exact destination are uncertain.
• There is an armed Aslan hidden on the stolen ship’s bridge, directly behind the characters as they pilot.
• Fiuq and his escort ships are actively pursuing the PCs.
• Paloma and Nemo still need to finalize their character details (aging, final skills).

Scene 1: Forging Destinies (Character Creation)

PCs Present: Paloma, Nemo.
NPCs Present: None.
Location: Meta-game (Rules discussion and rolls).
Ships: None.

Summary:
While part of the group acts in Kteiroa, Paloma and Nemo generate their characters.

• Paloma: Tries to be a journalist, but is expelled from the career after failing survival rolls and unfortunate events. She changes her trajectory towards Merchant Broker, where she begins to have more success, learning legal and streetwise skills, though with bad dice luck.
• Nemo: Starts as a Vespexer with aspirations. He attempts to enter Drinax’s Military Academy (Navy), but the war interrupts his studies before graduation. He becomes a renegade Drifter, then manages to enter the University (graduating in Medicine and Engineering) and finally joins an Intelligence agency as a spy, gaining rivals and medical skills along the way.

Scene 2: The Trojan Horse of Flesh

PCs Present: Fermín, Juan (Marine).
NPCs Present: Pika (Mechanic), Utea (Trader), The “Yankee” (Criminal/Drug Addict - Archetype: Mercenary Thug).
Location: Spaceport and Market (Planet Kteiroa).
Ships: None explicitly mentioned at this stage.

Summary:
The group on Kteiroa plans how to infiltrate Fiuq’s ship to rescue the Vespexer prisoners. They discard a frontal assault.

• They decide to modify a frozen meat container with a false bottom. Pika and the PCs prepare the container with tools and supplies.
• Fermín uses his Deception skills to sell the container to Fiuq’s faction through Utea.
• Fermín contacts “The Yankee”, a local criminal, paying him with money and drugs to organize a fake supply theft at the Aslan camp. This forces the Aslans to move the container (with PJ Juan hidden inside) inside their freighter for security.

Scene 3: Blood in the Hold

PCs Present: Juan (Marine).
NPCs Present: Three Vespexers (Prisoners - Archetype: Victims/Survivors), Male Aslan (Guard - Archetype: Honorable but overconfident warrior).
Location: Cargo Hold and Deck 3 (Ship Aoiwai).
Ships: Aoiwai (Light Trader, Captain Fiuq).

Summary:
Juan, infiltrated on the ship Aoiwai thanks to the container, emerges using night-vision goggles.

• He locates the three Vespexers frozen in cryo-stasis. He successfully thaws them using his medical knowledge, although one is left temporarily blind.
• He arms the prisoners with what he has.
• Upon reaching Deck 2, Juan is surprised by a Male Aslan who was eating. A melee combat ensues. Juan uses a Static Blade to gravely wound the Aslan. The Aslan attempts to flee to raise the alarm, but Juan pursues and kills him (disemboweling him) before he can organize an effective defense, though he leaves an evident trail of blood.

Scene 4: Bridge Assault and Blind Jump

PCs Present: Fermín, Juan (Marine).
NPCs Present: Pika (Mechanic), Emilio (Navigator), Female Aslan (Pilot - Archetype: Technician/Officer), Fiuq (Voice over radio/Enemy ship), Blind One (Vespexer in turret).
Location: Command Bridge and exterior of the ship (Ship Aoiwai).
Ships: Aoiwai (Light Trader, controlled by PCs), Fiuq’s ships (Hostile Fighters/Escorts).

Summary:
Juan attempts to access the bridge, but the door is locked. He opts to break it down by brute force or cut it open.

• As the door opens, a Female Aslan activates the general alarm before surrendering under threat of decapitation.
• Outside, the alarm alerts ground troops. Fermín and Pika run towards the ship under enemy fire (dodging shots from unarmored Aslans) and manage to board just before the ramp closes.
• With the group reunited, they decide to steal the ship. The ship is slow (Thrust 1), and Fiuq begins attacking them with his other ships, damaging the Aoiwai’s shields and hull.
• Emilio and the PCs calculate a risky emergency jump to Drinax from within the atmosphere and under intense fire. They manage to jump, but the session ends with the revelation that an armed Aslan has managed to sneak or hide on the bridge behind the group.