They drifted in the shadow of a broken world, its pale light illuminating the hull of the ancient starship. Far behind them lay the prison colony they had escaped, yet the memory of its bitter dust and razor-wire fields still haunted every breath. Once, this vessel had been called the Luminous Run, but now it went by the Celestial Princess—a name whispered in half-jest at first, but one that had clung to the battered hull as firmly as hope itself.

In the dim glow of the bridge console, the crew regarded the swirling transition point ahead, where reality and drill space bled into each other in a kaleidoscope of orange and white. Their hearts pounded in unison as they prepared for the jump, uncertain whether the battered spike drive would guide them to deliverance or doom. But the psionic knowledge they had wrested from old, half-functioning technology had not led them astray. When the Celestial Princess finally emerged into real space, it came upon a lifeless outpost clinging to the edge of the system.

They found the outpost cold and silent. Its corridors echoed emptily, every surface blanketed by centuries of dust. Yet in a half-collapsed storeroom they uncovered a salvage of freeze-dried rations—relics left behind in vacuum-sealed packaging. The crew felt a flicker of relief. Those few days’ worth of food might sustain them long enough to reach civilization. Perhaps. If there was any civilization left.

From that outpost, it took days of careful thrust to travel deeper into the system. The journey was eerily calm. They hid the Princess’s emissions and glided through the dark, each of them silently contemplating the future. As they scanned the sectors ahead, they found two worlds: one called Astra, the other Ida. Though they knew little of either world, the data suggested Astra’s atmosphere was corrosive and riddled with hallucinogenic compounds. No small challenge. But for a moment, one among them yearned to descend into Astra’s swirling clouds, having glimpsed signs of ancient settlement and possibly alien life. The idea of connecting with these rumored psionic beings tugged at that crewmate’s heart. Yet there were other, more pressing needs.

From space, Ida’s signals were louder and more urgent. Coded transmissions and chatter revealed some simmering standoff between different factions vying for control. A warship, the Ascendant Will, orbited the planet with the calm menace of a predator. The name Triumvirate Ascendancy surfaced again and again, intertwined with a second power—House Sulthane—each claiming Ida as their rightful prize. Down on the planetary surface, native colonists, precarious and unorganized, seemed caught in the crossfire of political pressure. Tense negotiations filled the channels with clipped arguments. The crew of the Celestial Princess listened, hearts squeezed by caution. Wherever they landed, they would walk into conflict.

Yet they had no choice: the starship’s ancient tanks ran low, the few rations from the derelict outpost would soon dwindle. Fuel and supplies beckoned them to Ida, even if that meant threading the needle of fragile ceasefires and contested territory. They approached quietly at first, scanning the planet’s orbit for signs of immediate threat. The Triumvirate warship loomed against the stars, a large silhouette reflecting the local sun’s harsh glare.

When the Celestial Princess finally hailed the station known as Annapolis One, the tension on the bridge was palpable. A crisp voice crackled over the comm, acknowledging their signal with an edge that made no attempt to mask its suspicion. The station operator rattled off a code from some dusty record: the ship was flagged under its old name, the Luminous Run, presumed lost for centuries. The mention of that old identity caused an uneasy stirring among the crew. They had hoped to abandon the past with a fresh transponder code, but history, it seemed, had a long memory.

In a level tone, they stated their new name—Celestial Princess—and explained they had come from a distant route, needing food and a place to put down for repairs. The voice on the comm went silent for a moment, as if cross-checking their words against a litany of suspicion. Then, with a curt acknowledgment, the operator directed them toward Haven Spire, the largest spaceport on Ida. The promise of fuel and further supplies lay there.

“Stand by,” the voice concluded. “We’re sending a craft to dock with you.”

The channel clicked off. For a moment, the crew felt as though the temperature on the bridge had dropped a degree. Outside the canopy, distant starlight glinted on a planet crisscrossed by faint lines of city lights. Another vessel stirred in orbit, creeping toward them like a thoughtful predator. Someone—perhaps all of them—swallowed hard. Every moment here felt like stepping on uncertain ground. The party understood that whatever arrived to meet them could just as easily be friend as foe. Yet the thrumming heartbeat of their starship reminded them that they had come too far—and survived too much—to turn back.

Session Notes

  • GM’s Sandbox Approach

    • The session begins with the GM explaining a sandbox-style approach, focusing on locations, conflicts, and setting elements rather than a strict plot.
    • The GM clarifies that sometimes player questions might be unanswered initially, leading to brainstorming at the table.

  • Location & Situation at Start

    • All player characters are aboard the starship called the Luminous Run, which they have recently found and repaired.
    • The ship itself is large: around 80 meters long and about 100 meters in wingspan.
    • The cargo area is sizable, with a rear loading dock and an elevator connecting to the upper (operations) deck.
    • The upper deck contains the bridge, crew common areas, galley, staterooms, and a small medbay.
    • The party has been escaping from a prison colony on the planet Kinergi Ekta (their previous location).

  • Discussion of Ship Name & Quarters

    • Characters joke about changing the ship’s name from Luminous Run to outlandish names but do not finalize any comedic rename. The transcript keeps referring to it as the Luminous Run.
    • The ship supports six human crew long-term (life support capacity), with multiple staterooms typically designed for two people each.
    • The group briefly discusses who bunks with whom and other living arrangements.

  • Ship Systems & Loadout

    • The ship has a Spike-2 Drive, enabling jumps of up to two hexes at once in the sector.
    • It includes a sandthrower weapon on one hardpoint; a second hardpoint is currently empty.
    • Various items were found onboard:
      • Laser pistols, monoblade knives, survival kits, a survey scanner, armored vac suits, a shotgun, grenades, rope, a small box of Type A power cells, toolkits, data slabs, meta-tools, and more.
    • The vessel’s cargo area can hold a large volume of freight. A cargo crane is installed for moving cargo internally.
    • Life support is set for a crew of six. Exceeding that number places strain on the systems.

  • E-20 the Repair Robot

    • E-20 is introduced as a repair bot that was already on the ship.
    • E-20 informs the party about missing parts for full functionality, though the ship can fly and make jumps.

  • Skill Implant Device for Piloting Drill Space

    • The group discusses the complexities of Spike Drive navigation.
    • E-20 reveals a special psi-tech or sci-tech device left by the previous pilot, Althea Boss. This device can implant spike-drive jump knowledge into a human pilot in emergencies.
    • Grald “Gray” Camrin (the pilot) undergoes a minor medical procedure to implant this pilot skill in his neck.
    • Jun Minh and E-20 assist, with some dice rolls determining success. Grald gains spike-jump capability.

  • Departure from Kinergi Ekta

    • The group lifts off from the planet using the Luminous Run, wary of possible detection by local authorities.
    • They note that the colony leadership has no expectation of unscheduled flights, yet the authorities might scramble interceptors.
    • The pilot checks communications, hears chatter about a suspicious launch, and sees that local forces are confused but attempt an intercept.
    • The party uses the ship’s speed advantage (and possible sensor dampening or stealth settings) to evade pursuit, successfully reaching the system’s outer rim to prepare for a jump.

  • Jump to a Neighboring System

    • The party plots a course through Drill Space to a neighboring system, guided by centuries-old navigational data in the ship’s “rudder.”
    • They spend about six days in Drill Space, monitoring the route, and Grald Camrin’s newly acquired spike-drive skills prove sufficient.
    • Upon emerging from Drill Space, they arrive at the outskirts of a solar system containing two known worlds: Ida (a fully terraformed planet) and Astra (a planet with a toxic, corrosive, hallucinogenic atmosphere).

  • Encountering an Abandoned Station

    • On arrival in the new system, they detect a small, derelict station. There is no power or signals, only a shell of a facility.
    • The party decides to dock briefly to search for supplies.
    • Inside, the group finds a small cache of ancient, freeze-dried rations preserved by vacuum. They gather enough food for a few more days.

  • Learning About Ida and Astra

    • The party listens to planetary comm chatter and discerns:
      • Ida has a breathable atmosphere and an active colony. It also has a station called Annapolis One and a planet-side settlement. There is ongoing conflict or negotiation involving a large military-like vessel in orbit.
      • Astra has a toxic atmosphere, hallucinogenic emissions, and corrosive gases that can damage standard vac suits. Little or no advanced technology signals are detected there.

  • Comms Intelligence: Warship in Orbit Around Ida

    • Through extensive monitoring of system radio traffic, they learn:
      • A ship called the TAS Ascendant Will arrived recently, belonging to the “Triumvirate Ascendancy.”
      • House Sulthane claims ownership of Ida through old colonial rights dating back centuries.
      • The local colonists on Ida have uncertain governance, with apparently strained infrastructure.
      • The Ascendant Will is negotiating or asserting authority, leading to tension with House Sulthane.

  • Decision About Visiting Astra

    • The group scans Astra in orbit:
      • They detect remnants of old settlements and signs of fires near large caves, suggesting possible inhabitants (either humans or alien groups).
      • Jun Minh recognizes architectural patterns reminiscent of Sej Arun (Sej Ru) structures from her past.
    • They debate landing on Astra, acknowledging the atmosphere’s corrosive threat and limited time with standard back suits.
    • They also consider Jun Minh’s telekinetic “pressure field” that can protect up to six people from toxins, but it does not solve large-scale logistic concerns like fuel or major supplies.

  • Choice to Move On to Ida

    • Due to limited food and the urgent need for starship fuel, the party decides to leave Astra for later exploration.
    • They set course for Ida, hoping to get resources from the more advanced planet rather than risk the toxic environment on Astra.

  • Approach to Ida & Contact with Annapolis One

    • As the ship nears Ida, it hails the orbital station Annapolis One for docking instructions.
    • The station identifies the ship’s old transponder code as the “Luminous Run” and notes it is a 300-year-old vessel.
    • The station asks for the system of origin, and the group replies they came from “Chippy” (the data they have on record).
    • Annapolis One directs the crew to land at Haven Spire, a major spaceport on Ida, for refueling and resupply.
    • The conversation ends with the station indicating a craft is being sent up to meet or inspect them.

  • Session End

    • The session concludes with the party learning that the station is dispatching a vessel to their location, presumably to oversee or escort them to the planet.
    • The group stands ready to interface with local authorities and secure fuel, setting up the next session’s negotiations and challenges.