Kima
Yazirian Assassin/Expert, Loyal to his Yazirian Clan, played by Steve Gibbs
Ship: Lancelot
Freelance mercenary out of the Expanse, running from something.
Seek the Wolf in Thyself!
Seek the Wolf in Thyself!
Yazirian Assassin/Expert, Loyal to his Yazirian Clan, played by Steve Gibbs
Ship: Lancelot
Freelance mercenary out of the Expanse, running from something.
Message in the Dark
The Asteroid Belt in FS30 system (Mhemne system)
You and the crew are still docked at the Belter Mhemne hidden asteroid base. The United Planetary Federations (the governmental and military arm of the Zebulon’s Expanse. The others in your party have come to affectionately call them the UpFeds) have been rather pushy about getting help from you and you have not seen a lot of return for the efforts, until now.
The Sathars are the worst hated enemy in the entire Expanse. Regardless of how you feels about the Vrusks or the Dralasites, the Sathars are truly hated. They caused three wars in the past and it has been over two centuries since their last war. Many believe it is overdue. The fact that they are building weapons and war ships is no surprise to you. Many believed it would not happen in their lifetime and for many that was true. After all it has been over two centuries since anyone has seen a Sathar behind any kind of war machine. You never believed you would see it in your lifetime either, but the fact that you are is rather shocking to you.
It is not lost to you that the UpFeds are using your group for plausible deniability. You are the only one not from their region of space – The Galactic Concord, but the since you have no direct affiliation with any political faction within the Expanse, they overlook you. Being a mercenary (so to speak) tends to have its advantages when things get politically sticky.
However, you come from the Yazirian Empire, a member of [ CLAN NAME ] Clan. However, you could not get out of the Expanse fast enough, to avoid the wrath of the Vrusk Collective. Sometimes politically stickiness is just bad for business.
You never made it to the fabled region of space the Concordians call the Verge, but you are close. Where you are is known to you as the Rimward Fringe. The Concordians call it the Frontier. Regardless, it still does not feel far enough away from the Expanse. The arrival of the UpFeds made that feeling even more poignant. But for now, you wait for the opportunity to leave and get back to the Verge. These guys are your best bet to getting to the Verge.
Presently however , the Sathars seem to be making moves in the Frontier. In fact, it is in violation of the last war treaty signed a couple of centuries ago. The biggest concern is that the Concordian stellar nation VoidCorp has (1) been in this region longer than most other stellar nations have known about it (2) had contact with the Zebulon’s Expanse before the Concord has (3) is apparently working with the Sathar to build war fleets, combining their tech with Sathar tech. There is no telling what kind of advantages the Concordian tech will give the Sathars but it can’t be a good thing.
Docked at this asteroid base, the UpFeds have asked you to help with first contact with the Mhemne in this system they have labeled FS30. The Sathars are subjugating the Mhemne, pitting factions against each other while committing a near genocide on their homeworld. This reminds you too much of the stories you heard about the last wars and it bothers you considerably.
After the initial negotiations with the Belters of the Mhemne, you learned that the Mhemne are a divided people between the aristocratic Homeworlders, the fractured Colonials, and the Belters. They have access to a lot of very useful ore, most of which is right now being used to create a formidable Sathar fleet.
The UpFeds don’t really feel that the Belters are a good representation of the Mhemne as a people, so they have asked you to go to the Homeworld to see if you can find the resistance there. A plan has been devised to get you there, using the magnetic slingshot the Sathars are using to mine the asteroids. This plan sounds dangerous but if you can free the Mhemne, it might be worth it.
While preparations are being made for the infiltration of the slingshot (intel gathering, waiting for the right window in Sathar security and other factors), you receive a message from someone named M’kix Ris’Z – a Vrusk you remember as the Chief Engineer on the UPF ship, The Osprey.
Sathar Mystery Unfolds
The Asteroid Belt in FS30 system (Mhemne system)
In the days that follow the disturbing message from M’kix Ris’Z, you receive another. This time it is from a fellow Yazirian named Gonelus Vry. He identifies himself as a member of a clan that is allied with yours. He proves it by sharing the sworn words of allegiance that only members of the respective clans would know.
Gonelus says he has information that he thinks the officers are either ignoring or are covering up. He saw you as the only person he could turn to with this information. Gonelus works in the science division of the Osprey (the UPF ship). They are examining some of the remains of the Sathars from the scout carrier your group boarded. They found some odd facts about the crew and the physiology.
There are very few records of recovered and examined dead Sathars from fields of battle in the last war. If there were, they would be 200 years old. So they have very little to compare to, if anything. But one thing is for sure, what they found out here was something far different from the Sathars of the past wars.
You remembered seeing the Sathars being aided by robotic devices and you thought perhaps that was just the Sathar advancing. And perhaps in some ways it was. But Gonelus believes is far beyond simple advancements. In his analysis, he could not find where the Sathar ended and the robotics began. Before he could do any further analysis, the project was closed off from him and he had to move on to more mundane pursuits.
Independent Materials Processing Plant
Belter Asteroid Base, The Asteroid Belt in FS30 system (Mhemne system)
Intelligence shows that these Sathars are using something called IMPP – Independent Materials Processing Plant. It’s a generic name of something that has long been banned in the Expanse. It is basically automated strip mining on a planetary scale and only intended to be used on dead worlds. Unfortunately, during the last Sathar War, some factions including the Sathars themselves, destroyed livable worlds to obtain the materials they needed to make their war machines.
The Sathars apparently still use this method. This only proves that the Sathars intend to go to war. But against who is the question.
Aside from the obvious question, there is another. It’s been 200 years since anyone has seen this kind of aggression by the Sathars. What advancements have the made on the IMPP systems.
According to what you know of history, am IMPP starts out as massive starship that entered in the system, and released the three stages of establishing a system-wide war machine factory. (1) Mining robots systems are dispatched to the asteroid belts and any dead worlds or moons with essential minerals. (2) Factory building robots are sent along with a majority of the live staff to establish space stations in the best locations to receive the raw materials from the processing plants (3) Massive factory ships plow themselves into the surface of the dominant world and are converted to massive mining and processing factories that strip mine the world on a massive scale.
These huge plants burrow down into the planets crust at points where the ore is most rich. Once thoroughly imbedded in the crust, all that is evident on the surface are administrative buildings, communication structures, and shuttle hangar bays. Deep within the surface is the power core, mine shafts, and the massive computer core.
Journey to the Second Heart Part 1
The Asteroid Belt in FS30 system
The Adventures of Chissa and Kima
While the rest of the crew of the Lancelot finished the rescue of the Mhemne cultist from the heavily damaged asteroid base, Chissa awoke from the trance he was in and reached out to the first mind he could think of – the Yazirian Kima. Meeting the simian crewman at an abandoned Mhemne shuttle, they left the collapsing asteroid to points unknown.
Chissa was acting on instinct, based on his astral experience "in the song of the stones." There is an essence among the asteroid. An essence that was once a planet but no longer. A planet not unlike the world of Magh Mahr in Waller Nexus. A world that housed a planet wide crystal entity living in the crust. This world had to have a heart like Magh Mahr, but where was it?
Avoiding Sathar robot patrols, Chissa and Kima found themselves travelling to a far edge of the asteroid belt, an area the robots seem to have no interest. But Chima sensed something in one particular asteroid and ask Kima to pilot the shuttle there. Kima dreaded yet another EVA walk.
The asteroid was like any other at first, but Chima knew better. The two of them walked to a large mountain-like feature of the asteroid where they found a cave. Journeying further in, the cave halls changed from rough natural rock to the flat smooth worked stone of a building of some kind. The hallways that followed were a maze but Chima seemed to be guided by deeper knowledge – an internal positioning connection that guided them both through the alien halls.
Their first challenge they came across was a room with concentric circular tiles making up the floor. The center was a white star. The room had no other exit. The tiles appeared to make up a star system of five worlds. The system they were in – designated FS30 or Libertas – had 4 planets and the asteroid belt. But Chima knew that many millennia ago, the asteroid belt was a planet itself. At the door on the wall was a miniature version of the same layout, with finger holes where the planets were. Chissa could turn the planet holes to different positions and the room would adjust accordingly. Kima’s intuition told him this was originally some kind of trap but there was not telling if it was still functional without testing it. Chissa was not going to take the risk.
Chissa concentrated, trying to channel the same psychic essence he did when he was with the cultist. He sought out the song of the stones, knowing he was at the center of it. His fingers dialed the planets in an alignment that obviously meant something to someone at a time long ago, but Chissa could not determine the meaning. While the room adjusted to the position of the dial, the two imagined that this ancient system would be making a horrendous racket, however in their EVA suits in the vacuum of space, it was as silent as it was stayed still.
The concentric circles collapsed into a circular stair well that ran along the sides of a vast and dark pit. Visor optics in the EVA suits could not even see bottom. Kima and Chissa looked at each, seeing only a reflective faceplate staring back. They started the long trek down these ancient stairs.
It took hours, but once they reached the bottom, they were face with a new challenge. The stairs lead them through an opening beyond which was a long hallway. The floor of this hallway had many holes all along the floor. Even as small as Chissa was, he could not avoid all the holes. The asteroid was low gravity so jumping it would have been an option if the ceiling was not so low. Kima could not glide as there was no atmosphere. Once they were in the general vicinity of the hallway, long crystalline spikes shot up from random holes, very rapidly. A hallway of deadly crystalline skewers.
On the wall of the opening into this hallway was a small opening, like a key opening. However, it look more like a place for a stone or crystal. Chissa reached into his pack and pull out the crystalline heart of the Magh Mahr entity. As he stared into it, the a piece of crystal sprouted from its midsection and dropped off. Taking the crystal from the floor, they inserted into the keyhole. The spikes stopped except for a series of them that created a new path down the hallway – a sort of detour. I door opened on the wall where the spike pathway led. This lead to a new room.
Beyond the hall of spikes was a partially collapsed room. They both had a growing concern that this could be the end of their journey. The room had no other exists apparent, and was at least one third collapsed in. They both knew, considering what the planet had gone through, the chances of them finding a clean path to the heart was slim. Kima suggested charges and Chissa hoped he was kidding. There was no telling what an explosion would do to this questionable structure around them.
Despair was setting in. Time was running as the power of their EVAs was running dangerous close to the point of no return. They still had several hours worth of a return up the stairs. Chissa closed his eyes and heard the song again. He felt a surge of psychic power overcome him. It was like on the asteroid among the cultists but even stronger. He looked around for Kima but he was gone. The collapsed room was no long there. All was black.
Journey to the Second Heart Part 2
The Asteroid Belt in FS30 system
The smell of stale dusty earth-laced air filled their nostrils and this woke them with a start. That could only mean one thing – they were no long breathing the filtered air of their EVAs. Both taking a deep breath, they realized that they were in a pressurized room with breathable air, their EVA face shields shattered and EVA systems damaged beyond immediate repair. They stood in a room covered in crystal. However it was not shiny bright crystal. It was more like old, cracked and dusty crystalline walls that might have been once a breath taking sight but now it was just sad. The floor was covered in crystal shards.
A crystalline tunnel lead downward from the small room they were in. Chissa and Kima gathered themselves up, double checking systems for any functionality to no avail, and headed downward into the crystalline hallway. Light seemed to pulsate around them, giving them enough to see, although at times it was darker than they liked. Crystalline shards lined the floors. The walls were cracked and dull. At one point, they came across the dead carcass of a crystalline arachnon, a alien creature they encountered previously on Mahg Mahr. It hung frozen over them in a crystalline web suspended from the ceiling.
Kima continued on despite the growing feeling that they had no way to escape now. With their suits all but useless, there was no chance of them getting back to the shuttle. Not without a miracle. Chissa on the other hand, was distracted. The psychic energy in this structure was deafening to him. His head throbbed from the noise he could only hear.
The hallway ended at an opening into a vast cavern. They could see where the tunnel continued on the other side of the cavern but it was at least 200 feet away. Between them and continuing on was a vast matrix of razor sharp crystalline strands, struts and trusses, randomly crisscrossing and in varying degrees of sturdiness. It appeared at one time there was a bridge here but there was little sign of it was left. The two looked across the divide and then at each other.
Chissa continued to feel the psychic impulses around him. Here they seem to resonate in a strange pattern. He focused his mind on the patterns, shutting out all around him. He could faintly hear Kima calling his name, as he felt his body move forward. Feeling the psychic energy surround him, creating an ethereal tunnel, he levitated across the cavern. He was propelled like a rail gun round in a gauss gun, he strained to control his speed. He feel forward on the other side, sprawling into a heap of crystal shards.
Kima watched as a bubble psychic energy levitated the Fraal across the cavern and the crystal strands. Not having the psychic ability the Fraal has, Kima was not immediately sure how he was going to get across. But then something occurred to him. He had low gravity … and air pressure. Perfect gliding situation. All he had to do was weave through the crystalline struts. Razor sharp as they were, it could end his flight rather abruptly. He removed much of the bulky EVA suit, took a deep breath and leaped.
Chissa watched the graceful flight of his Yazirian friend, as he weaved through the dangerous chaotic truss system. It was a matter of minutes and the Yazirian was on the other side with him.
The Heart
The two walked into another vast cavern after a long series of hallways. This room was more heavily damaged then any other section they had seen. Collapsed walls, columns, and portions of ceiling littered the floor. The largest feature of the room was a towering crystalline structure, heavily damaged but still huge. At the top was a feint light. The heart waited for them at the top. Neither of them were expert climbers by no means, however they had one thing working for them – the low gravity. But even at that height, a fall could injure them seriously.
They started slowly. Portions of this structure were like giant stairs, where Chissa and Kima could stop and rest. The air in this room was thinner than in the others areas they have been, so the climb grew harder and harder as they ascended. When they finally reached the top, it had been hours. Their supplies were dangerously low. Thoughts of how they were going to get back still lingered. They had hopes a solution would present itself once they reached their goal.
At the top was what remained of the central processor of the crystalline entity that once spanning an ancient world. It lay in a disarray of broken crystal structures. In the middle of all this disorder, still attached to crystalline umbilical was another heart, similar to the one Chissa still carried.
Chissa carefully removed the heart from the attached crystal connectors. A sudden pulse of energy through them both back. Kima sprawled dangerously close to the edge but was able to save himself. A low rumble shook the room, as more rock and crystal fell slowly to the floor. The entire room began to shake violently. Climbing down was quickly becoming less of an option. Kima reacted the only way he knew how. Ordering Chissa to stow the heart in his pack, he grabbed the smaller Fraal, and leaped over the edge.
Chissa closed his eyes he gripped around the waste of the Yazirian, the pack pinned between them. Debris tell around them as, arms stretched out, Kima glided gracefully through the thin air of the chamber. Chissa once again concentrated on the song in the stones, almost to the point of praying to it. Channeling into unseen energies, he had nothing left but to hope.
A flash again and they were somewhere else again. A new crystalline walled room, this one small and cold. In front of them stood three pods, inside which were three humanoid creatures, similar to Mhemne, but larger and slightly less hair. They wore ceremonial robes and were surrounded by a blue light field that seemed to be fading by the minute. They could still feel the rumble as the room they were in collapsed but it was dying down. Chissa stood and stared into the face of the center pod’s occupant.
"We are the Great Ancestors. We are the Song of the Stones. The Heart needs a new being. A new vessel. The Song kept it alive until now. You must hurry. A new body awaits"
In another flash they were in their shuttle.
A people torn apart
Mhemne homeworld, Ninguis
Kima time spent amongst the homeworld Mhemne has shown a stark contrast between the two Mhemne cultures you have encountered – the other being the Belters. The Belters were for the most part, faithful people, some stronger than others but overall they had faith in the Great Ancestors that Ascended. They had great hope that one day the Ancestors would return and unite the people.
However, the homeworlders were once staunch socialist/communist, loyal to the state. But since the Sathar attack, many of those loyal to the state – the leaders – were killed, leaving the common folk . The survivors of the attack have a certain faith as well – a faith that the Ancestors turned their back on them. They feel betrayed by their leaders and by the Ancestors when they watched their world, almost recovered from the cataclysm that devastated their world 1000 years ago, collapse again under the massive assault of the Sathar invaders.
These Ancestors are more than just what the name implies. They are revered like ancient gods, worshiped and prayed to. Their "ancient knowledge" is said to be stored in crystals of knowledge but no one seems to know where those crystals are anymore. Most believe they were lost long ago around the time of the First Cataclysm 1000 years ago. It is said that the Ancient Ancestors, sometimes called the Ascended Ones, saved the Mhemne race from a fiery destruction and brought them to their promised world – Ninguis. There are many version of what exactly the fiery destruction was but it apparently was many millennia ago before modern Mhemne society.
It is also said that the more faithful believe that the Ancestors will return to save the Mhemne in their greatest time of need.
Remembering the Message
Mhemne homeworld, Ninguis
One thing that Kima has not forgotten is the situation surrounding Captain Dentin of the UPFS Osprey and the message from the Vrusk.
With all that was going on, Kima has not beeb able to follow up on this, even though the threat seemed real and it really concerned him. Kima’s hope is that with everyone on alert performing Operation Cracker (the assault on the Sathar fleet) and the impending arrival of the full task force, that the Vrusk (M'kix Ris'Z) was too busy to think about it.
Kima’s feelings towards humans has always been a little less harsh then some of his clan brothers. He felt a sort of kin-ship with the humans and their sense of adventure. He could never understand the general Expanse society’s treatment of Expanse humans. Just because these humans did not have a homeworld, they were treated like vermin for a long time, until the uprising several centuries ago. Couple that with the new discovery of other humans and a possible link to the Concord human homeworld (Earth), it has given the humans a new sense of hope and some a new sense of entitlement. Kima could not imagine what the Expanse humans were feeling now.
Dentin seemed to be a competent commander. Tenacious, aggressive, rough background, he is driven by personal pride and loyalty. You have learned that he has a fanatical hatred of Sathar. It is unknown where that hatred stems from, it may stem from a family connection to the last war.
Operation Ferret: The Final Stage of the Campaign
L4 Station, Libertas System
What has gone on before…
For several months now, the party has been involved in the liberation of the Mhemne people from the clutches of thought to be a new Sather incursion outside of their own space. This being the first time anyone has seen Sathar activity outside their “empire” in a over 200 years, it was a surprise to see them so “advanced” despite restricted trade and embargos from all known parts of the Expanse. Apparently, the Sathars have had contact with others.
One of those others was Void Corp, who are in all levels of Concord legal violations by interacting with a known enemy of a potential ally. But there is something more about the Sathars that has the party wondering that perhaps there is more to this plot than just a Sathar expansion attempt.
It was already well know that the Sathar society was heavily dependent on robotics and cybernetics. However, no one imagined advancements like the Sathars display in the Libertas (Mhemne) system. The advancements range from simple cybernetic integration into their robotic chairs to full cybernetic and organic tech upgrades to their entire bodies. The workers on the surface of the Mhemne world had the very simple advancements and were aided by heavy robotic units that showed considerable improvement since the Sathars were last encountered. There was also evidence that these Cybered-Sathars (or Cythars) were experimenting with Mhemne, trying to integrate similar technology into the near-human race
On L4 station, there was considerable more surprising developments.
Upon arriving onto L4 through the experimental teleporter, the party encountered the first of many advanced Cythars (command level, perhaps) as well as similarly cybered Mhemne. It appeared as if Sathars were turning less and less Sathar as they party went up the chain and more something else.
The first level of the L4 Station the party encountered was the Shuttle bay level. Fighting their way through, they found the Mhemne technology overlaid with the organic tech of the Cythars, spreading like some infection. In organically shaped alcoves, Cy-Mhemne as well as a few Cythars stood silent, connected to whatever central consciousness there was. Some awoke to confront them while others did not. It was a lein combination of simple technology of the Mhemene, overlaid the sinister alien tech of the Cythars.
After the shuttle bay level, an elevator took the party to the Shuttle Crew Deck. This two was a fairly familiar design, where the shuttle pilots would come and go, like a starport terminal. However, it has been converted much like the previous deck they encountered. Many more Cy-Mhemne stood in alcoves, oblivious to the party’s arrival. Others did awaken and attack but once the first wave failed, no second wave followed. After sorting out a few problems involved a errant grenade that landed too close to the station outer wall, the party discovered a yong Mhemne crawling in the air vents of the station.
Kima’s Departure from the Expanse
Libertas System, Lighthouse Station
Kima’s departure from the Expanse is not something Kima like’s to dwell on nor does he like to talk about. It was supposed to be a simple body guard job for some rich and powerful Vrusk family attending some prestigious event on his home world in the Yazirian Confederation. It was supposed to be an easy job.
Kima arrived at the Vrusk residence early casing out the transport as well as the perimeter of the residence just to be safe. He also interviewed the personal guards around the estate to make sure nothing strange went on before his arrival. Always one to be overly cautious on a job, Kima approached this job as professionally as he would if he was on the other end of the job. Everything seemed normal a routine.
From this point on, Kima’s memory of events is a little fuzzy. He’s not sure why but that might seems to blur together every time he thinks about it. The order of events were not clear. There was an incident. Somehow, someone with a weapons slipped through security and all the protocols Kima had set up. Shots were fired in a crowded reception and some one was killed. Kima’s employer was rushed out of the reception unharmed, but one of his closest friends was dead. To this day, Kima does not quite understand how that happened but his memory is so fuzzy about the incident that it makes it hard to figure out. What he does remember is a very attractive young Yazirian female named Liscia but he has not been able to find her since that night.
That night and for several days afterwards, Kima was held by his employer’s security. An investigation followed and evidence was found that linked the assassin to Kima and some of his old associates. More and more this was looking like a set up. Instead of hanging around and finding out, Kima decided to pursue his future in the newly discovered region of space called the Verge. Contact with the Galactic Concord via the small frontier region called the Verge changed the Expanse in so many ways. It was an escape for many from the perceived tyranny of the Vrusk. Kima did not quite understand those who claimed the Vrusks were tyrants until now. The Vrusks put a bounty on his head and had already convicted him.
After being released and being told not to leave the sector, Kima enrolled in a program with his clan as a scout. Pulling some strings with contacts within his clan, he was able to explain his situation and clandestinely gain help from the scout division of his clan. It was difficult because the agents of the Vrusk were everywhere, but Kima was able to gain the necessary equipment, passage and licensing to leave the Expanse as a deep space scout for his clan. Much to the chagrin of the Vrusk investigators trying to frame him, Kima was gone before they new it.
In this ordeal to leave the Expanse behind, Kima also found evidence of others who not only believed that the Vrusk were manipulating the other races for their own means but are actively seeking to bring down the power of the Vrusk. Others call them terrorists and fanatics, while they call themselves freedom fighters.