Archived threads:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Wretched%20Sea

1st Thread: Introduces naval combat and economic mechanics.

2nd Thread: Introduces looting in the ruins, the large-scale Battle of Sbvysek.

3rd Thread: Heavy exposition for the Republic, the Citadel Navy, and Reynolr himself.

4th Thread: Revelations about the unsettling amulets popularly worn by Scrap Bay nobility, and a great deal of exposition in general from a untrustworthy and evasive source in Céleste Chapuis.

5th Thread: Strange journeys with Miss Chapuis using the amulet - after dropping off the Republic prisoner with your new acquaintance in Scrap Bay, you set out into the southern Interim Sea on escort duty only to face a remarkably accurate Republic ship in a blinding storm.

6th Thread: Exploring the ruins of the fortress, you encounter a thinking relic of the Old Empire, and after an unsettling encounter, repair the Brora. After, you find your way to... Vryag, was it? You were chasing something, but you can only really remember the red speckling the walls, and a wreck-strewn beach. The memories are fading fast.

7th Thread: You explored an island, didn't you? Something about a mission, and cliffs of crystal... a sharp headache dulls this line of thought.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScribeQM

File: Retcon.jpg (94 KB, 555x517)

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Everything seems quite normal. The engines of the Brora can be felt through the deck, the constant hum of machinery a familiar ambiance. Someone knocks on the bulkhead, calling for you. The voice... McKenna. That's what the voice is.

"Sir? You moving in there?" McKenna's voice comes again, somewhat muffled.

>Open the hatch for him. [Normality]
>Yes, I'm here. Where are we? [Normality]
>Yes, I'm here. What the hell happened? [Caution]
>Yes. I'm here. Am I the only one that thinks we should be on an island? [Caution]
>Stay silent. [Suspicion]
>Something else?

>>1521700
>Yes, I'm here. What the hell happened? [Caution]
You're HERE!

>>1521713
opps

>>1521700
>Yes, I'm here. Where are we? [Normality]
Good to see ya mate

>>1521639
This picture is concerning

>>1521700
test

>>1521700
Long time no see mate
>Yes, I'm here. What the hell happened? [Caution]

>>1521700
>Yes, I'm here. What the hell happened? [Caution]

>>1521700
>Yes, I'm here. What the hell happened? [Caution]

File: Voice of McKenna.jpg (75 KB, 555x400)

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"Yes. I'm here," you say, breathing heavily. You begin to realize how tired you feel. "What the hell happened?"

"Well, sir, I was going to ask you much the same. In a quieter voice, though..." McKenna is as irreverent as ever, and doesn't seem particularly concerned. Well, you remember that - but he didn't answer the question-.

"What happened?" you ask again, more forcefully.

"Sir? Are you alright?" McKenna's voice comes again, louder. "Is that amulet messing with you again?"

"Maybe," you mutter under your breath. There were a lot of those crystals on the island, weren't there...? "Answer the question. That's an order, McKenna. Full report."

"Oh, you wanted a report? In that case - we found the fleet, they're pretty banged up from the bombers. Extirpate's got one stuffed up its superstructure. The corvette is there, I think they lost a gunboat - we're heading back to the Kraegsk."

"Ibis. The corvette's named the Ibis and her skipper is Janae." you say. The names are easier to remember.

"Well, I suppose so - that's news to me, sir. You didn't look well when you went down to your quarters, and didn't wake up on time, but we figured you could rest for a bit after everything that's happened. Burden of command, and all that. Are you feeling alright?"

>Do you remember Vryag? [Caution]
>Alright. That's what happened, of course. I'm ready to take con.[Normality]
>Something's not right. Give me a second to think about it... [Suspicion]
>Something's not right. [Ask McKenna a personal question.] [High Suspicion]
>Do you remember the crystals? [_]
>Something else?

>>1521916
>Alright. That's what happened, of course. I'm ready to take con.[Normality]

>>1521916
>Do you remember Vryag? [Caution]

>>1521916
>Something else?
>"Is that amulet messing with you again?"
"Engineer, when did I ever tell you about an amulet?"

>>1522001
Did we ever tell him? If not, this gets my support

>>1521916
Hmm

>>1521916
>Alright. That's what happened, of course. I'm ready to take con.[Normality]
>>1522001
That one or that one. Can't really decide

>>1522001
>>1521983
>>1522009


"Do you remember Vryag?" you ask.

"Vryag? Isn't that a Republic base?" McKenna's voice is confused. "What would I remember about it? I've never been there."

You realize something that sends a jolt racing down your spine.

"Engineer, when did I ever tell you about the amulet?" you ask, your voice low.

"Ah, scuttlebutt, sir. You know how it is on a ship." Now McKenna sounds flustered, awkward bastard. If it is McKenna...

Seeds of doubt, you wonder.

"Sir, you really don't sound okay. I can call Evans and he can take a look at you, if you open the hatch."

>No. Give me a few minutes, I need to consider something.
>Ah- alright. I believe you. Memory's all messed up, anyhow. I'll take con.
>Something else?

>>1522039
>Ah- alright. I believe you. Memory's all messed up, anyhow. I'll take con.

Should figure out the situation now, then other things later.

>>1522039
>Ah- alright. I believe you. Memory's all messed up, anyhow. I'll take con.

>>1522039
>>Ah- alright. I believe you. Memory's all messed up, anyhow. I'll take con.
Can't go full paranoid fit, even if something's up.

>>1522039
>>Ah- alright. I believe you. Memory's all messed up, anyhow. I'll take con.

>>1522039
>Ah- alright. I believe you. Memory's all messed up, anyhow. I'll take con.

File: Back To Form.jpg (64 KB, 462x283)

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"Ah- alright. I believe you. Memory's all messed up, anyhow. I'll take con."

"Good to hear, sir." McKenna says. You grab your cap and open the hatch - McKenna looks at you with concern, but nothing seems amiss as you head to the ladder. You pass Liset - of course you do, where one goes the other follows - and Seaman Smith, who's going to his bunk. Greetings and salutes are exchanged, putting you much at ease.

Whatever you were feeling earlier - the slight suspicion, certainly - is gone.

Not today, amulet, you think. Not my crew, and not my ship.

It's late in the morning, and Ensign Redek tiredly greets you as you step into the bridge.

"Sir. Just in time - Evans was going down to find you," Redek says. You haven't seen Master Evans, but that man has his ways of getting around the Brora that you can't quite match - he always seems to get somewhere faster than you.

"What's the situation?" you ask.

"Maybe severe, maybe nothing at all. Probably leaning the former - we've got two columns of smoke on either side of the horizon."

"Flankers?"

"Perhaps. We've definitely picked up a Republic shadow to the east - a slender ship, when we catch glimpses of it over the waves, flying the blue banner. The corvette is signalling that it intends to chase off or sink the stalker."

"And the other smoke cloud?"

"Two, actually, slower and smaller ships. They've changed course to stay away from us - our original paths would intersected. Might be Republic, though Evans thinks they're civilian smugglers. Still might be hostile."

"We're to help them?"

"Well, the discussion is purely between the Extirpate and the corvette. The corvette, of course, wants the glory, and we could help, but..."

"But?"

"Well, you know how it is, sir. Small ships are only good for ablative purposes to the bigger ships."

"Too true. Do they want us to deal with the two ships to the west?"

"They haven't contacted us. The remaining gunboat is going to stay with the Extirpate, at least."

The southern islands and wrecks of the Kraegsk are on the horizon.

>Follow the corvette to drive off or sink the Republic tail to the east.
>Split off to investigate the two ships avoiding - or shadowing - the flotilla to the west.
>Stay with the flotilla, heading for the Kraegsk.

>>1522287
>>Split off to investigate the two ships avoiding - or shadowing - the flotilla to the west.

>>1522287
>>Split off to investigate the two ships avoiding - or shadowing - the flotilla to the west.

Hooray, you're alive scribe!

>>1522287
>>Split off to investigate the two ships avoiding - or shadowing - the flotilla to the west.

>>1522287
>Split off to investigate the two ships avoiding - or shadowing - the flotilla to the west.

Whether they're peasant mobs or criminal scum, two ships and their holds are probably worth a pretty penny.

A reward for good service, or, maybe more dutifully, enemy logistics that must not be allowed to go unmolested.

File: Smugglers.jpg (73 KB, 555x400)

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Splitting off from the flotilla, it's not long before you can get a clear view of the strange ships to the west.

"Those are definitely civilians," Redek comments. "The heavy drinking evident in their design confirms it."

And indeed they are strange ships. One is unarmed, a flat-bottomed barge loaded with a covered cargo that appears to have had a larger engine bolted into its stern. The apparent escort is baffling, barely larger than the Brora yet covered in a maze-like superstructure of towers and emplacements, support lattice and wires strung between every gap. She's armed with a light piece on the bow, and AA guns everywhere else. At least four or five that you can see.

"Smugglers," Master Evans says with certainty. "The escort is designed to ward off the air pirates - flying boats, old bombers, that sort of thing. Pirate ships are absolutely dead in these waters, everyone will hunt them gladly - flyers are the only way to go."

"Do they expect trouble from us? Are we expected to give them trouble?" you ask quietly.

"Depends, sir. We can always try and demand a toll of sorts, though they might not bite depending on the pressure they've got on their backs - Brora ain't exactly intimidating. We can leave 'em be, letting them know who let them past, perhaps demand some information... or we can sink and loot them. I'd imagine this is actually quite important for your career, sir."

A raised eyebrow greets that declaration. "How so?" you ask.

"If you want to get an introduction to the underworld, so to speak, of the Kraegsk - maybe find your way inside the Volcano one day - this is as good of a start as any. There's a lot of intelligence and opportunity to be gained from that, and you seem the upstanding type."

"But?"

"But it usually corrupts, even the whitest of lambs start taking bad jobs, get under the thumb of some lord... then you're just another corrupt captain, waiting to get stamped out by the Commissions. Or made an admiral," he chuckles.

"Or you could just loot 'em. Perfectly acceptable, and you seem the upstanding type. Easier to be an honest navy man than an honest trader out here, anyhow."

"Any middle ground?" you wonder.

"Maybe, but you'll never be able to skirt the line forever." Evans takes a look at the expression on your face and laughs. "Simpler down south, ain't it? Be careful, sir. That ship's packing a lot of close-range firepower."

>Approach the smugglers to see their reaction.
>Attack the smugglers.
>Approach the smugglers, signalling your peaceful intentions.
>Leave, and head back to the flotilla. They're no threat to your comrades.
>Something else?

>>1522526
Fuck yeah, Wretched Sea

>Leave

Worried the flotilla may get attacked in our absence.

>>1522526
>air pirates

If only we had a pig.

>Approach the smugglers, signalling your peaceful intentions.

May as well see what they have. Who knows, maybe we'll find a better buyer for some of our shit, or have a channel to get better equipment. Don't have to dive into the abyss if it turns out there's too many skeletons.

>>1522526
>>Approach the smugglers, signalling your peaceful intentions.

>>1522526
>>Leave, and head back to the flotilla. They're no threat to your comrades.

Currently at a tie, lads. First one of the resurrected TQ, heh.

Going to vote between them soon, or if the tie is broken within five minutes - at this point, you can re-vote if you voted previously and are still lurking.

>>1522526
>Approach the smugglers to see their reaction.

If they let us meet with them, just put it down as making sure they aren't Republic. If they get twitchy, warning shot. If they get aggressive, send them to Hell

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>1522694
>>1522557
>>1522561
You steer the Brora towards the smugglers, waiting earnestly for a reaction. Peaceful signal flags are fluttering from the lines, but Evans assures you that's no guarantee of a polite meeting.

File: Warning Shot.jpg (35 KB, 462x283)

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>>1522723
You cringe as a puff of smoke appears on the bow of the escort, the crack of the shot echoing across the water a moment after the shell splashes fifty paces away from your ship.

"Bastard!" Redek yells.

You are at MEDIUM range. Their short-range AA can fire at CLOSE range.

>Return fire. Civilians don't get to fire warning shots at the Citadel Navy.
>Back off and return to the flotilla.
>Back off and open fire at LONG range. Not exactly sporting, but fighting a civilian could never be called sporting.
>Something else?

>>1522740
We'll have to preemptively thank them for their ships and cargo.

>Return fire. Civilians don't get to fire warning shots at the Citadel Navy.

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>1522740
>>Return fire. Civilians don't get to fire warning shots at the Citadel Navy.

>>1522740
>>Return fire. Civilians don't get to fire warning shots at the Citadel Navy.

>>1522740
>Return fire. Civilians don't get to fire warning shots at the Citadel Navy

Smugglers or Republican spies?. Both sink when you hole them below the waterline

File: Firing A.jpg (21 KB, 178x158)

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Rolled 8, 1 = 9 (2d10)

"They don't get to fire warning shots at the Navy," you growl. "Open fire."

"Convenient excuse," Evans comments. "We'll have to preemptively thank them for their ships and cargo."

The Brora shudders as the guns roar.

(captcha: NELSON)

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>1522815
Your shots miss - one shell splash is close, the other falling wildly away from its target.

The smuggler returns fire. It will sure try to close, and bring its formidable AA battery to bear on your ship.

>>1522740
Back off and open fire at LONG range. Not exactly sporting, but fighting a civilian could never be called sporting.

File: Closing Enemy.jpg (28 KB, 462x283)

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>>1522820
The enemy's shot misses, luckily.

The enemy ship is attempting to move to CLOSE. They will be able to fire their AA guns, hitting on a flat 6+.

You will hit on a 7+ next volley if you travel in a STRAIGHT LINE (+1 from them being CLOSE, +1 for your gunners finding the range).

To prevent the enemy from moving to CLOSE, you will have to move away. This would normally reset your rangefinding modifier, but you are equipped with an advanced rangefinder from your last refit in Scrap Bay. Credits well-spent. You will hit on a 8+

>Move AWAY and continue firing.
>Move in a STRAIGHT LINE and continue firing.
>Attempt to surrender.
>Something else?

>>1522846
>Move AWAY and continue firing.

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>1522815
>>1522846
The gods of the sea also realize that they forgot the rangefinder's bonus, and one of your shots actually struck home during the first volley. (8+, it's 10+ base with +1 for being at MEDIUM range and +1 for the rangefinder. Whoops).

The shot impacts the smuggler...

>>1522846
>Move AWAY and continue firing.
Let's keep our range advantage. We have cock all for armor so anti aircraft cannon will probably wreck our shit, even if our current protection helps a lot with machine guns.

>Attempt to surrender.
Scribe pls, if we actually surrendered to a smuggler we'd have to shoot ourselves our of shame.

>>1522846
>>Move AWAY and continue firing.

>>1522846
>Move AWAY and continue firing.

What's the other ship doing?

>>1522848
RIP their lifeboats

File: Stern Hit.jpg (36 KB, 462x283)

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Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>1522848
The shot strikes the stern of the ship. The effect is soon apparent...

>>1522846
>>Move AWAY and continue firing.

>>1522863
A solid hit, though the engines were not harmed - the smuggler is still attempting to close the distance with undiminished speed.

File: Stern Chase.jpg (47 KB, 462x283)

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Rolled 2, 5 = 7 (2d10)

The Brora maneuvers away from the onrushing smuggler, angling to keep her guns on target.

(7+ to hit.)

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>1522879
The shots miss, and the smuggler returns the fire. She'll have an easier time hitting the stern of the Brora - hopefully the engine will remain operational if that happens.

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>>1522886
You're not sure if the smuggler fired a blank for a few seconds, until you see the column of water subsiding a hundred paces from the Brora.

>Continue to move AWAY and fire (6+ to hit)
>Turn and face your pursuer at CLOSE range. (5+ to hit)

Bear in mind that the enemy, lacking a rangefinder, is hitting at one level worse than you.

>>1522894
>Continue to move AWAY and fire

We've got good odds of hitting already, no need to get our crew blasted quite yet.

>>1522894
>>Turn and face your pursuer at CLOSE range. (5+ to hit)

>>1522894
>Continue to move AWAY and fire (6+ to hit)

>>1522894
>Continue to move AWAY and fire (6+ to hit)

Let them chase us. Start a wide circle back to where we started. Stupid huge wide. Enough to drag this out, but not enough that they can turn inside us and close the distance

>>1522894
>>Continue to move AWAY and fire (6+ to hit)

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Rolled 7, 4 = 11 (2d10)

Moving away, you close your eyes and listen to the stress and rage in the voices of the gunners, yelling to each other and to their guns as another volley roars.

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>1522936
A shot strikes the smuggler.

File: Bow Hit.jpg (18 KB, 462x283)

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Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>1522947
The enemy's bow is hit.

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>1522951
You can clearly see a spray of red as gunners are killed at their post - others are already running to take their place, but for now a sole man remains to struggle with the bow gun.

However, the enemy had already gotten off a shot...

(enemy will suffer a -2 penalty on their shots for one turn)

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>1522970
A hit! The Brora shudders and groans in protest at the impact.

>>1522970
damn

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>1522977
The shot strikes the center of the ship. It might have bounced off due to the angle of the impact -

>>1522983
oh christ what the shit

>>1522983
(note no. 1: a 10 on the damage chart usually means the shot whiffs, but center hits are only rivaled by waterline hits for seriousness. However, angle can matter for such a shitty roll)

(note no. 2: I really need to organize and display all the charts for damage, and probably edit them a bit)

(note no. 3: I should start every battle with this: high rolls are good for hitting, low rolls are good for actually damaging)

The shot indeed glanced off, striking the superstructure of the Brora and spinning into the sea. Master Evans is on the ground, having been thrown across the bridge by the impact - he's not bleeding, but he's clutching his head and glancing around in shock.

>>1523002
Oh thank fuck.

>>1523002
The smuggler is accumulating damage quickly - surely their old and patched ship cannot stand much punishment. Evans was actually in the middle of observing that they might try to surrender and barter before he was slammed into a wall.

>Continue to move AWAY and fire. (5+ to hit)
>Turn to face your pursuer. (4+ to hit)

Enemy will hit on a 9+ for this turn due to gun crew loss. Due to >>1522911 you're circling around to keep the cargo barge in range.

>>1523002
Shit christ. I thought 10 was max dmg.

Help master evans up.

>>1523011
>Continue to move AWAY and fire. (5+ to hit)

>>1523011
>>Continue to move AWAY and fire. (5+ to hit)

Circle and fire. No reason to let them strike us any easier.

>>1523011
>Continue to move AWAY and fire. (5+ to hit)

Seems to be working so far. We'll close in when they decide to try and escape.

>>1523011
>Turn to face your pursuer. (4+ to hit)

>>1523019
>>1523017
>>1523016
we are hitting on a 4+
just suck it up
and any damge we take we should be able to fix from looting them

>>1523011
>Continue to move AWAY and fire. (5+ to hit)

If they want to surrender, they better make it fucking clear.

>>1523026
Fuck no, I am not risking our ship when we dont need to.

>>1523011
>Continue to move AWAY and fire. (5+ to hit)
>>1523026
Until they get more gun crew retaliation at medium range for them is almost impossible, whilst they have autocannons or whatever passes for AA ready to lay into us at the close range bracket... Its not really a matter of "sucking it up", and 5+ is still nice. Anyway unless this fight goes disastrous in the next few turns things look to be going solely our way.

>>1523033
fight toe to toe your cowred

also itl be easyer to board up close

Rolled 3, 3 = 6 (2d10)

>>1523033
>>1523026
That's the discussion I missed, mates.

"Continue to fire," you shout, bending down to help Master Evans to his feet. He grips an instrument tightly, swaying as he struggles to remain upright.

The Brora shudders from another volley, still comfortably out of the range of the smuggler's AA.

Shots hit on a 5+.

>>1523026
Why put ourselves at considerably more risk for just a ±1 to hit when we can beat them safely from here?

>>1523039
Misses! Your terse discussion with Redek over the merits of facing the enemy with finality are rendered somewhat moot by the wide berth the shells give the smuggler.

The enemy gun manages to return fire.

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>1523043
The shell comes screaming in, and a QM tries to patch up his mistake.

>>1523041
This, the other ship has been completely incapable of utilizing its vast array of armament because we've been staying out of its range. If we close in we cede our primary advantage.

>>1523038
? Yes, and why would we board the escort without softening it up first? I like our crew. Plus they have alot of AA guns, their ship is a our trawler a CQC monster compared to our trawler. That and if worse comes to worst and we sink the escort before we can loot, well it is the escort, not the actual cargo ship with the sweet lootz.

Rolled 8, 8 = 16 (2d10)

>>1523045
A miss. The same tactical conundrum, still favoring the Citadel.

Owing to the inconclusive results of the last volley, the next one proceeds with little fuss.

Rolled 7, 2 = 9 (2d10)

>>1523051
Hits! Your gunners, swearing all the while, manage to land double hits on the smuggler.

File: Double Hits.jpg (34 KB, 462x283)

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Rolled 4, 4 = 8 (2d10)

>>1523057
Shells strike the bow and center of the ship...

(bow, center)

>>1523049
>>1523045
i missed you
>>1523041
that pulse1 is what we spands lost fo moneys onto get
il risk it every time

also even ifwe sink it justpull it backup

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>1523066
You wince as another splatter of red is added to the bow of the smuggler - the other shell ploughs into the hull at the waterline, sending up a meager spray of water that belays the deadly nature of that damage.

The enemy fires back at 6+.

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>1523073
A hit! You duck instinctively, far too late.

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>1523086
Unsurprisingly, the shell strikes the stern of the Brora. You wonder if any God would hear your heathen prayers for the engine.

Alas, I must go even though the suspense is great.

Good night Scribe, Fellow Anons.

Nice to see you back, boss.

>>1523089
Cries from the gunners at the stern - the shell exploded on the bulwark, sending splinters into the crew. The gun shield protected them from serious harm, but one of them is busy wrapping his undershirt around a bleeding gash in his arm.

[-1 to the stern shooting next round.]

>Continue to move AWAY and fire. (4+ and 5+)
>Turn and face your pursuer. (3+ and 4+)

The enemy ship is a sorry sight. They can't possibly have much fight left in them.

>>1523101
Thanks for participating! It sure is good to be back, and I suppose suspense is one of the possible positives of this ungainly system.

>>1523106
>>Continue to move AWAY and fire. (4+ and 5+)

Give them hell.

>>1523106
>Continue to move AWAY and fire. (4+ and 5+)

>>1523106
>Continue to move AWAY and fire. (4+ and 5+)

While the other ship's main gun has been cleared - twice - no reason to risk it if it turns out they've got more nuts than sense.

Rolled 9, 5 = 14 (2d10)

Your gunners fire, sending shells screaming down range, and screaming in general.

(4+ then 5+)

Rolled 8, 5 = 13 (2d10)

>>1523119
The cordite-mad screaming must be helping, as both shells strike home!

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>>1523119
I think we prayed to the Heathen Gods a little too hard.

>>1523106
>>Turn and face your pursuer. (3+ and 4+)
iknow imissed it but hay

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>1523125
One shell strikes home.

I forgot to add that normally if we hit every shot after would hit automatically, but that's unless we or they move, and we're both moving quite a bit. I'll definitely flesh out these rules and put them all in once place after tonight/this morning.

>>1523134

Can they just uh. You know, surrender. This is getting embarrassing for them.

File: Savage.png (443 KB, 487x605)

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>>1523134
Ouch!

>>1523134
Badly phrased, one shell wiffed (8+) and the other hit the bow. The bow hit just rolled a 1, which is listed under the chart as "EVERYTHING".

The shot appears to detonate the shells carelessly piled against the bulwark. Civilian munitions discipline is truly a wonder to behold.

A sharp explosion sends gunners flying and caves in the bow - the smuggler escort slows and stops, running up a white flag.

"Bastards," Evans spits, regaining his ability to speak in an appropriate fashion. "Their bow gun is scrap, but those damn AA cannons are fine. They might be abusin' Navy ethos, getting you to come close for the surrender..."

"Don't trust a smuggler." Redek agrees.

>Approach the apparently surrendering escort, to accept the surrender and try and find a battle flag for your trophy. And, of course, figure out just why they fired a warning shot at a Navy ship.
>Bypass the escort and make for the cargo barge. Fire warning shots to make sure the escort stays put.
>Sink the escort, just to be safe. It'll be impossible to miss it, sitting still as it is.
>Something else?

File: 1421368703331.png (84 KB, 633x758)

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>>1523137
I don't think they can surrender anymore.

>>1523154
Whoops I'm wrong.

>Bypass the escort and make for the cargo barge. Fire warning shots to make sure the escort stays put.

They do anything funny fire a warning shot straight into their bridge. It will be quite a warning.

>>1523154
>>Bypass the escort and make for the cargo barge. Fire warning shots to make sure the escort stays put.
can we put the loot ship inbarteewn us?

>>1523154
>>Bypass the escort and make for the cargo barge. Fire warning shots to make sure the escort stays put.

File: brora.png (1.07 MB, 1382x1088)

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>>1523154
Do I need to add another tally mark to the shield?

>>1523154
>Something else?
Signal the escort to heave to and abandon ship, if they don't comply, set time fuzes on the HE shells and sweep the superstructure and deck with shrapnel until it's clear, then approach and board.

>>1523170
Agreeing with this, they don't get to stay on our ship.

>>1523154
>>1523170
2nd.

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Rolled 2 (1d10)

The Seamen come up the ladders for this part - using both your standard-issue Citadel signal book and the purchased Republic one, you eventually get the message across to the smuggler escort. Abandon ship - or be battered and boarded, Their lifeboats are intact and there are small settlements on the southern Kraegsk coast, which is in sight, but you can't imagine it'll be an easy choice...

You hear gunfire echoing across the water. Apparently, the choice is getting violent. Civilians don't have Navy discipline, of course.

>>1523213
Ho shit, I managed to completely miss the fact that the vote was tied. Rolling to see if the previous happened: 1-5 it did, 6-10 the other option actually happened

>>1523213
> Their lifeboats are intact

Clearly we have done something wrong.

>>1523213
>>1523217
Sweet, loot.

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>1523217
And this time I'm actually rolling. Don't QM when tired, kids.

>>1523229
and thats a 10

>>1523229
RIP loot.

Back, what I miss?

>>1523235
things going boom

>>1523235
Whoops

>>1523213
>>1523235
>>1523225
We managed to beat a smuggler escort. Surprisingly, we didn't destroy their lifeboats.

>>1523229
The escort ship begins to move - clearly the fools won the infighting. Your gunners don't need to be told twice to fire on the advancing AA battery, and they sweep the escort with a rain of shells that blasts most of the superstructure off the deck, eventually stopping the escort again as the bridge is totally destroyed.

With that display finished, you move to intercept the cargo barge. Wisely, the ungainly ship has decided not to try and flee.

Cowed by your display of firepower and resolve, the barge surrenders without a fight. Its meager crew of six is put under guard, and its cargo is now property of the Citadel - though the intricacies of distributing the loot is something for later...

>Head to the battered escort and again demand surrender.
>Leave them to their fate. The ship is slowly sinking, and most of the crew is probably dead.
>Sink the ship. Get it over with.

>>1523170
To cruel ain't it? Smuggler or no they still get the protection of the law of the sea

>>1523244

>Head to the battered escort and again demand surrender

>>1523244
>Head to the battered escort and again demand surrender.

>>1523244
>>Leave them to their fate. The ship is slowly sinking, and most of the crew is probably dead.

>>1523244
>Head to the battered escort and again demand surrender.
A couple of those AA guns might be a nice replacement for the MGs.

>>1523257
Oh man if those are 20mm oerlikons...

Rolled 2 + 2 (1d10 + 2)

Leaving a prize crew on the docile, unarmed barge, you head for the battered escort, again demanding surrender by signal and voice.

>>1523264
Not sure if theres anyone left on that ship in good enough shape to surrender

Rolled 8 + 4 (1d10 + 4)

>>1523264
"Slaves!" a man screams, rising from the twisted wreckage, clutching a rifle. "Damned slaves, all of you!"

He gets a single shot off, a half dozen bullets dropping him as he works the bolt of his rifle.

You again demand surrender.

>>1523269
Ah, so that guy at least was republic affiliated. Tell them that even if they are pubbies, even they should know when they are beat.

>>1523269
>>1523278
Also tell them we're honorable folk, compared to most folks around here.

File: Battered Escort.jpg (46 KB, 462x283)

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>>1523269
As it is in the Kraegsk, a cup of blood spilt on overflowing scuppers manages to change hearts. Four surviving crew straggle on the deck, hands over their heads - they say a fifth and sixth are down below, one tending to the other's wounds.

The engines of the escort are intact, and you can certainly plug the hole in the waterline. The superstructure is completely wrecked, but an intact 20mm twin-barreled AA cannon is intact on the far side of the ship.

+1 20mm AA cannon
+1 Battered Civilian Escort

>Tell them to get onto the lifeboat, and head for land.
>Tell them to get onto the lifeboat, but take the wounded onto the Brora.
>Take the survivors and put them under guard in the Brora.
>Something else?

>>1523297
You observe that the survivors seem utterly cowed, bloody and afraid - you suppose the ones with fire in them got killed on the deck, or killed each other.

>>1523297
>>Take the survivors and put them under guard in the Brora.

>>1523297
>Tell them to get onto the lifeboat, and head for land.

We've seen the prison conditions back at base. It would be a mercy to pretend that they all abandoned ship and take the prizes.

>>1523297
>>Something else?
Search them for weapons and but them on the barge under guard. Wounded can be brought onto the brora. Put a prize crew on the escort.

The tales they tell there should cow any attempt at running off.

>>1523297
>>1523302
How much time do they have before the escort sinks? Can we just tow the escort as salvage?

>>1523297
>Take the survivors and put them under guard in the Brora.
"So, where were you guys going?"
Going back to read this, I think I would have been against fighting/approaching these guys. The fleet needs our help and I don't want to dabble with teh darker side of the Kraegsk.

>>1523297
Interesting, I'd want to interrogate them some, see who they're mainly affiliated with. I imagine with the criminal underground there are more citadel/republic leaning organisations, and maybe some more neutral or widespread. I'd want to get a picture of whose loot we just jacked. If republic, or small time enough as to be unable to really meaningfully enact revenge or impede us in citadel (or somewhat neutral) territory I'd say let them on their lifeboats, maybe chastise them for firing on a passing fighting vessel (of course this assumes, and would possibly be untrue, that we intended to just let them off). Warning shots should be way more out of the it range to so as to in no way be interpreted as a miss on a genuine attempt to hit. If they're with some one who can make us trouble I'd be more inclined to drop them off at Syvysk and have a conversation with the good commander that it would be nice if these fellows stayed there, and enjoyed an isolated existence.

>>1523314
The escort isn't sinking. The hole below the waterline was plugged and the engines work. It's basically a barge now but it's plenty seaworthy.

>>1523316
Yep, that and it was a ship with alot of close range dakka. Alot of our fights have been very lucky so far, and like the African Savannah just winning isn't enough, if your so weakened the next beast out views you as opportunistically attractive. Plus smugglers are close to a neutral existence, and Likely not something we'd have felt inclined, morally or otherwise, to fight. Of course them firing on us settled the matter, and was a piece of escalation we couldn't ignore, and at 50 yards away was too much, plus them immediately going to close the distance. Be interesting to hear their side of it though, they likely saw it far different. Or they really were just eager to shoot anything that could inconvenience them and looked small enough to take.

>>1523335
I would have to disagree with the first shot being the escalation, we could have easily backed off and shadowed for a bit. A second shot would be untenable, but it seems that first shot was meant to miss.

>>1523311
Appreciate the continuity, mate.
>>1523308
>>1523316
>>1523313
The crew is taken aboard the Brora, apparently shell-shocked and quite compliant. Perhaps they're putting up an act, or perhaps you've killed all the troublesome ones. Either way, they're locked in the rear cargo hold.

Heading back to the barge, you're greeted by a grinning McKenna leaning on the bulwark of the barge.

"Sir! They're carrying a lot of stuff - well, that's obvious - a lot of plating, medical supplies, food, that kind of thing. Some guns, all wrapped up and sealed, and a motor launch! Strange diving suits, I think... there's others, but it's a damned grocer's lot.

Yes... the Prize Codes. You can get to the prisoners later - for now, sitting in triumph on the southern coast of the Kraegsk, you thumb through the relevant folder on Regulations...

>>1523344
>medical supplies

Make sure that the good stuff on there is used on our injured gunner.

>>1523344
SESSION END
Ah, it's good to be back! Thank you all so much for participating - all 17 of you, which is just incredible for such a long and insulting break - and there'll be plenty more to come.

Tomorrow will detail the loot gained and the usual aftermath of a battle. I will follow this post with several relevant documents for the official rules of taking Prizes - hopefully some discussion occurs, as this will say something about what kind of officer Reynolr really is. Thanks for playing, and some minor worldbuilding shall follow!

>>1523348

Whatever happened with the assault infiltration we left off on?

>>1523349
What assault infiltration?
You must be having strange dreams brought about by seasickness or fever.

>>1521650
>7th Thread: You explored an island, didn't you? Something about a mission, and cliffs of crystal... a sharp headache dulls this line of thought.
>>1523348
>>1523349
>>1523351
We infiltrated so hard it's not even in the archives.

>>1523351
WHich is really sad. I like dthe way our character was going after we answered those questions. I hope we stick with it.

>>1523352
It's in the archives. I made sure of it.

>>1523356
But are they in Reynolr's archives?

Just got to reading through the archives. This is really interesting and I'll be following this.

>>1523349
>>1523351
That amulet mang, does things to your head

>>1523349
Retconned - and also why Reynolr was so confused at the start of the session, If you guys had reacted with more suspicion, it would have turned out the cliffs of crystal had turned malignant, and the Brora was not as it seemed... but things are perfectly normal now. Certainly might pop up in discussion with amulet-literate individuals later.

The real reason, though, is that land missions absolutely break my energy with my self-imposed stretches of exposition and scene-setting, lack of constant choices like the sea, and just generally less interesting setting than the sea. I thought it'd be better for Trawler Quest to return by going back to its strengths, too - the whole adventure with the Techno Fortress certainly happened.

It's all actually up in the air at this point, but in the end, I wanted TQ to return to its strengths. I do apologize if any of you were really enjoying the infiltration arc.

>>1523359
>>1523360
>Retconned - and also why Reynolr was so confused at the start of the session,
Does that mean the amulet now has canonical powers of retcon?

>>1523360
So did the crystals still bend time, but not as maliciously?

>>1523360
Ah. Well still somewhat understandable then.

Any interaction we had with the captain of the corvette never happened and we need to meet them again?

The hydrostation is still canon right?

>>1523368
I hope its soft retconned in we talked with the corvette captain on the shore of Scrap bay maybe. Gives explaination how we know her name and still get questioned.

>>1523368
Hydrostation is absolutely canon. As seen at the beginning of this session, Reynolr still recalls the name of the corvette and her captain - they still exist as they did previously, and we'll probably run into them at some point. I didn't draw that fancy corvette just for it not to exist, dammit.
>>1523367
Perhaps. Or perhaps the maliciousness was the power of illusion, not time-warping...
>>1523364
Convenient, isn't it?
Reynolr now cracks open the folder he thinks the Prize Code Regs are in...

CITADEL NAVY REGULATIONS NO. 107
Fraternization With Neutral Navies
Fact. Citadel Supply vessels must avoid all fraternization with non-Citadel personnel.

Contextual. Citadel Warships may trade knowledge and allow interpersonal interaction between crews of Citadel-leaning navies.

Fact. The mere suspicion of Republic sympathies - identified primarily as democratic, regicidal, and/or blue banner tendencies - immediately precludes fraternization.

Fact. There are very few neutral navies that this regulation may be applied to.

Contextual. It is recommended to apply this Regulation to many of the outlying Fleets. Their Citadel stock and subsequent loyalty/adherence to regulations is often highly suspect.

Song of the Republic Prisoner, 'Sofia' - transcribed by Ensign Redek on orders of Master Evans.

A good day when we chopped off the heads of the whole lot

Strung up their guards and hung ‘em from the rocks

And we found the foreman under his bed

Drag ‘im out! On the block! His world goes red!


Now we found the foreman’s bloody little whip

And down from the barbs, our mates’ blood did drip

We found the line boss, startin’ up his truck

Douse the doors! Light the match! Burn the bastard up!


But there ain’t no replacin’ the guillotine

A clean death for dirty men

His body and his head with metal in between

So as to him, to the whole Citadel!

Send them in their own chains express down to Hell!

>>1523378
Here we go

CITADEL NAVY REGULATIONS NO. 34
Commerce Seizure and Prize Codes
Fact. The capture of an enemy warship is to be accredited to the ship(s) that directly shared in its submission. The Prize Codes for a successful general action involving multiple ships is found in Regulation No. 34-B

Fact. A captured enemy warship is to be valued by a Navy commission and its value distributed, either by sale of parts and scrap or by compensation upon commissioning the enemy warship into Navy service.

Fact. Prize distribution is as follows:
1/4 share to the ship’s captain.
1/4 share to the ship’s officers.
1/4 share to the ship’s crew.
1/4 share to the Navy.

Fact. The capture of enemy commerce can only be accredited by this Prize Codes to a proper, commissioned Navy warship.

Contextual. A privateer will refer their individual Privateer Contract for value distribution and looting.

Fact. The capture of enemy commerce is divided between cargo and organic value of the vessel itself.

Fact. The value of the vessel is to be distributed as per above. The vessel is Navy property, and may not be used at the Captain’s pleasure.

Contextual. War-material in the cargo will be distributed as above, compensated by the Navy after the materiel is turned over to Navy stores.

Contextual. Non-war materiel is property of the Captain of the Citadel Warship, and can be distributed at his pleasure.

Addendum/Hawkin Reforms. 1/4 of the value of the above must be distributed to the crew of the Citadel Warship.

UNMARKED TALLY SHEET (No. 49 Of Ream)
Item: ________
Quantity: Hi, Reynolr
Addendum: I do wonder if this will work. I hope you’re doing well - no, I’m not stalking you, your Republic friend has quite filled a void in my home life that has precluded that urge to use the sorcery. You’d call it sorcery, right? Regardless, I look forward to your next visit to Scrap Bay. Conduct yourself with humanity and courage, and the Lady of Righteousness will reward you.

-CC

>>1523386
>Addendum/Hawkin Reforms. 1/4 of the value of the above must be distributed to the crew of the Citadel Warship.

The crew shall have the now plentiful supply of meat.

>>1523389
Well now. This is interesting

MASTER EVAN’S PRIZE CODE
Listen, sir, I can count the number of captains I’ve seen adhere to the Navy’s Prize Codes on one hand - and most of they were ignoring it after a few months. It’d be quite a sight for you to actually follow them… but listen, nobody does ‘em. Maybe bits and pieces, but not all of it. If I were you, though, I’d follow that Hawkin fellow - your crew knows the Prize Code very well, I’ll assure you, and giving them their 1/4 is necessary for theirs and my respect.

What I'm trying to say, sir, is that you can ignore or follow anything you want on the codes. Just make sure you're comfortable with what the pile of cash and private yacht implies for your character... I'm mostly kidding, sir.

Always thought it’d be fun to see an officer force a smuggler to do legitimate trading, though. And those settlements could use meds and food and such.

About\ ships - if you want a place to hide them, you ought to visit some of the minor settlements that dot the islands of the Kraegsk. Special ‘relationships’ with monied officers are commonplace.

That’s all I can think of right now. Hope it’s good enough for whatever situation that’s prompted you to root around this old folder. Ask me if you have any questions.

Good night, everyone. I had a lot of fun, and I hope you guys did too.
>>1523359
Glad you've enjoyed it!

>>1523390
Bear in mind what the garrison commander at sebseyk told us, that the beaucracy is ridiculously long and hard to get through and we might as well deal by selling the ships to the garrison commanders directly.

Theres by the book and then theres the trading reality.

>>1523395
Thanks for the run scribe. Ya gonna stick around ta chat?

>>1523396
I doubt the bureaucracy is interested in this fresh meat.

>>1523395
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5B5FRcbdiA

>>1523213
>Their lifeboats are intact
that's a first

>>1523404
The gunners are slipping.

>>1523397
I'll answer questions as myself or as Master Evans once I wake up until the next session - probably at 7-8PM. For now, though, I'm heading straight to bed. It might be summer and I might be in the limbo between HS and college, but I think I've learned my lesson on sleeping late. Or, at least, past 2AM or so.

>>1523395
Really enjoyed seeing this back, thanks for all this! Good to see you going with a soft retcon to go with what makes you passionate about a quest as opposed to burning out! Also still loving all the art you do for this, really gives perspective (in both the literal orientating the description in my head and the figurative mood and feel of the setting sense). Didn't notice until I left the page and came back that there was still one gunner manning the turret on the destroyed Brora in the opening art, went from only grim to also very Cpt. Ahab-ish.

So, I reckon we should take most of the guns the cargo boat's hauling (I'm assuming they're small arms) along with the twin 20mm and switch them with our tired old bolt-actions and maybe the MGs, so noone's the wiser. Otherwise I feel like we should follow the rules this time, at least in regards to the escort, but since our ship doesn't have officers we can split their 1/4 share between Renoylr and the crew (so essentially 3/8ths to the captain and 3/8ths to the crew).

>>1523430
Let's get the motorboat, the diving suits and the guns, and sell the rest to coastal settlements for a fair price.

I'm worried about the rest of the fleet though. We've basically gone off and got us some fat loot right from under their noses.

>>1523455
We could probably win some brownie points with Janae by letting the Ibis share our claim on the things once we get what we want off of them.

>>1523458
We don't even know if Janae remembers who we are, and there's really no point to share this with another ship.

>>1523378
>>1523386
>>1523392
While what we take depends on the list we are going to get today, I'd like to specifically point out a few things in these posts we can consider.

As a preface, I want to say that I hope the result of whatever we choose to do adds to our fame and honor. We may be soldiers, but that doesn't mean we can't be an officer and gentleman.

First things first is the regulations prize distribution. Yes, we split the total values 4 ways, but things to note here are that we are only officer, and two this split only factors WAR MATERIALS and of that materials we turn in.
Which leads into a key second thing, War materials, which we are obligated to turn into the navy and we get a split of, and non-war material, which is right now our personal property as of seizing the ships.

Things like those diving suits, that motor launch, those can be classified as non war material and while we list thing in the list of seized goods, we don't have to give it up.

Things like that food, medicine, and guns, those can be classified as war materials and we get a percentage value. Now heres where we can bend the rules abit.

We took out two ships, but we are the only ones who know that currently. Neither of these ships have republic flags, so theres no glory to be won in reporting both.

What an enterprising person might do is to load the blasted escort with the war materials, and the barge with the non war materials. then they move what wartime goods we want to keep, lets say some food, a few guns, and half the medicine and maybe a few armor plates into the barge, then hid that away somewhere.

They turn the escort full of war material in to the garrison commander they have favor with later on after completing our mission and get our share, the officers share and the crew's share to distribute and they keep whats on the barge for their own use.

Now, I want to address what I think what we should do with those shares and what goes onto the barge.

First of all I think there should be commissions and promotions handed out. Lets all be honest here, we're not up here for the money and I don't think we are the mindset to become yet another horribly corrupt navy officer. We come from a rich family and while money is nice, there's not much to spend it on in terms of personal pleasure up here anyway.

The Brora is horribly undermanned, we barely have enough to run all our guns in combat and any personnel losses would be untenable. So I say first, we give the crew their 1/4 of the prize we owe them.

>>1524583
Then we promote some of the mates and conscripts to officer rankings because if we are going to properly fill the ship we need capable officers and I don't think theres enough academy trained ones to go around right now. So we promote those conscripts who show the most skill and capacity for leadership, also if they are the only ones there like engineer mckenna and Liset who's our only radio operator. Then we give those new officers the officer 1/4 as a small bonus and congratulations, as well as showing those who don't get promoted incentive to go above and beyond how much effort they're currently putting in.

Also put in a request for more sailors for the Brora or go and do some recruitment of our own.

We can spend our 1/4 on needed repairs and upgrades, as well as putting some to the side for future purchases or endeavors.

For the stuff on the barge, well I was thinking while we use what we need, that we could do a bit of charity work to raise our reputation in the North. Its a hard life up here, and while they may not admit it, they could probably use the help. So we could distribute for free or sell at under market value some amount of the food and medicine we are keeping on the barge and other goods or commodities we have no use for.

It might be an expenditure in the short term, but those who receive gifts will not look a gift horse in the mouth, but more importantly they will want to make sure that gift horse comes back. Building a good reputation will get us rewards when we need them and when we need help.

Also to address are those diving suits and maybe a few other things. I have a funny feeling those are Astaeran tech. Since no one really knows how to use it, we can classify them as non war material, but on the flip side we could try and figure them out for ourselves, or sell them to the scientist at a much greater price than what the navy would probably give us, which we can use to fund other things or save. That goes the same with any more Astaeran tech we find on the barge.

Thats all I have for now. I could probably put a few more ideas forward but I gotta run, seeya later and tell me what ya guys think.

>>1523389
Also we should write a letter to Céleste

>>1524586
Generally a ship of the Brora's size and role would have at very most 3 officers. More often the Captain is the sole officer.

>>1525473
And I guess I should expand on this, our first other officer would have to be an XO who'd handle the administration of the vessel at sea or in port, set watches, organise resupply and maintenance etc. None of our current enlisted crew have shown much aptitude for the kind of book learning this role requires, so more likely we'd have to request a fresh sub-lieutenant from command.

>>1523737
She wouldn't remember us, but she'd be insurance against the rest of the fleet trying anything to steal our prizes and would undoubtedly appreciate the gesture, and having a ship as formidable as the Ibis owing us a favour could come in handy down the line.

>>1525553
Mild flattery of, "Your reputation precedes you" doesn't hurt either

Apologies, long college discussion messed up my planning time. Update within the hour, it'll probably be a few long-winded posts with a lot of options as befits the short nature of this session.

Additionally, I'm scheduled for 6-10+ tomorrow at work (movie theater), so I'll probably try to update a few times before and after that block of time - no traditional session, though.

File: Strange Diving Suit.jpg (86 KB, 504x409)

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Loot Ledger - transcribed by Ensign Redek & Conscript Mays

15 units of plating
8 units of medical supplies
30 units of food
5x sealed Droval rifles (semi-automatic, manufactured by the Bulkwark Conglomerate. War profiteers.)
1x motor launch, approximately the same size as a lifeboat
2x strange diving suits
1x strange black pad - Astaeran?

notes: Strange diving suit appears to be completely sealed. Decorated with strange insignia of what appears to be stars.

>>1525999

Man I wanna keep all of them for use on our boat.

>>1525999
Don't think those are diving suits, although they could be feasibly used for one.

Probably for the sea of STARS

>>1526033
Not sure. Space stuff is all about keeping pressure in, sea stuff is all about keeping pressure out

File: Grovelling.jpg (67 KB, 280x452)

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>>1525999
As you read the ledger, already planning the installation of the 20mm onto the Brora, the barge captain rises from his corner, and old and grizzled man.

"Sir," he says, his voice low and desperate, "I know I have no place to demand anything of you. I know we made a massive... transgression against your Empire. We hired a pack of fools as our escort-"

"Get to it," you say placidly.

"Well- sir, I've been around the Kraegsk and plenty of other places, and I know how it works. It'd... simply be remiss of me not to beg for my ship, on behalf of my family. I worked my whole youth to get off one of those wretched coastal settlements up North here, and surely you are a rich man of noble blood..."

He looks terribly pained, probably a mix between the prospect of losing his ship and the ignominy of a proud, grizzled man reduced to begging. "Then what of those guns?" you say, cocking your head towards their container. "I'm sure you don't think about what those do to families and industrious youths out in those wretched settlements..."

"O-of course, sir - but - sir, they're all orders. Almost wholly food and medicine, things the settlements cannot provide - in return for scrap."

"I'm sure your not trading that at Scrap Bay," you say, "and scrap is property of the Citadel."

"We trade with the small settlements of the border between you and the Republic, and we trade at the Volcano. Of course, you know we reach the barrier forts and pay their toll to access the Volcano..."

"Yes, some of my colleagues are corrupt," you sigh.

"Almost all of them-" your glare shuts him up.

"What, and you mean to threaten me with those forts' patronage?"

"No, sir. I have no leverage. I have nothing at all."

>We're taking all your supplies. Leave the Kraegsk and do not return.
>You knew the risks of running into an honest man. Your words will not sway Regulation and Law.
>Well, perhaps I have some questions. Who ordered those guns?
>Well, perhaps I have some questions. Who ordered those diving suits? What the hell are they?
>Well, perhaps you can keep... [______].
>Something else?

>>1526068
Considering that astronauts train for zero-g in pools, it could be done.

As for it being really suited for the water...most likely not.

>>1526078
>Well, perhaps I have some questions. Who ordered those guns?
>Well, perhaps I have some questions. Who ordered those diving suits? What the hell are they?

Doesn't hurt to ask some questions.

>>1526078
>>Well, perhaps I have some questions. Who ordered those guns?
>>Well, perhaps I have some questions. Who ordered those diving suits? What the hell are they?
>>Something else?
Show me your order lists and receipts.
(To whom these goods are going to and what they've been bartered or traded for)

>>1526078
>Well, perhaps I have some questions. Who ordered those guns?
>Well, perhaps I have some questions. Who ordered those diving suits? What the hell are they?
Who was that foolish escort I filled with holes, and what settlements were you going too?

>>1526244
Test

One long post before session end, sorry guys. Hard to call it a session, but updates will be intermittent tomorrow.

>>1526244
Alright, supporting

>>1526244
Sure, lets go with this.

>>1526244
"Well, perhaps I have some questions. Who ordered those guns, for starters?"

You expect the barge captain to protest, something along the lines of fearing his buyer - but he's an old and wise man, and knows the severity of the situation. "Joshua Krempt, arms dealer in the Volcano."

"Krempt? As in Krempt Social Services?" Master Evans asks, suspicious. "You run guns for one of the most powerful mercenary companies in the Kraegsk?"

"One of a hundred," the barge captain sighs. "He orders piecemeal, so something like this doesn't interrupt the flow. Outfitting your men with Bulwark arms is a matter of prestige and preference..."

You read a little about the mercenaries of the Kraegsk - actual hired soldiers of the Bulwark Conglomerate are rare up North, but plenty of civilians have taken to the sport of war for profit.

"Was that a 'Krempt' boat that we fought?" you ask. Have I made a powerful enemy? is unspoken.

"Of course not, you would have been sunk. And Krempt only deals with more lucrative business-”

“Good,” you say, ignoring the slur to your ship. “And what of those strange diving suits?”

“Some strange man, Bucard, I think - he’s searching for a ‘spire in the north’. Needs the suits for whatever reason. I can’t understand ‘em.”

“Alright… what of the settlements you plan on visiting? And can someone explain to me what this ‘Volcano’ is?”

>>1526520
“Dovain, Jorret’s Column… the Whirling Corpse. And Blyak.”

“The Volcano, sir-” Master Evans cuts in, “the Volcano is in the center of the Kraegsk. Hub of the civilians, so-to-speak. Acknowledged by nobody, but tolerated by all.”

>We're taking all your supplies. Leave the Kraegsk and do not return.
>Perhaps a visit to the Volcano is in order…
>Mark the settlements on my map. I want to see this smuggling chain.
>Perhaps we should visit [settlement], together.
>Go on your way. We’re taking ________.
>We’re taking everything, ship included. Thank you for the information, smuggler.
>Something else?

>>1526547
>>Something else?
-Ask him whats the pad for.

-Ask Master Evans what happens when smugglers get caught, do the buyers demand payment from the smugglers or are they already paid up front.

I think we should confiscate the rifles, the diving suits and the black pad.

>>1526547
>Mark the settlements on my map. I want to see this smuggling chain.
>We're taking all your supplies.
Next time don't hire protection that's foolish enough to fire on Citadel military ships. Or at least hire protection that's smart enough to wait until we're in range of their primary weapons to fire. Consider the seizure of your supplies a stupidity tax.
As for your ship, I am sure you would agree it would be a valuable and legitimate prize for me and my crew. If I elect to allow you to continue on your way, minus your ill-gotten goods of course, how will you make it up to me?

>>1526547
This >>1526579 works.

>>1526547
>Mark the settlements on my map. I want to see this smuggling chain.
>Go on your way. We’re taking everything except the motor launch.
Feel lucky that you're keeping your ship.

This is not an enemy ship, it is a civilian ship. Now the escort is an enemy ship and will be divided up according to the letter of the law.

>>1526579
>>1526600
>>1526602

I'm thinking that we should not take everything from this civilian ship. Abit of mercy.

Take all military based equipment and leave the food and medical supplies for the settlements. Our commander has shown to be more considerate/merciful to civilians.

>>1526579
I'm iffy on taking it all because these are food and medicine shipments too. I'm not one to profit on preventable misery

>>1526547
>Go on your way. We’re taking ________.
The rifles, the plating, the possible Astaeran pad, and 2 units of medical supplies. Also the wreaked escort of course.
>Mark the settlements on my map. I want to see this smuggling chain.
Specifically where that strange man is. I desire to know more

>>1526627
That could work. The food and medicine will probably go to local barons who will lord it over the local population, but at the end of the day we can't really fix that ourselves. As long as we take everything valuable for ourselves I wouldn't mind too much if we leave some minor cargo behind.

>>1526602
This isn't a military ship, but they hired the ship that fired on us. They're at least partially culpable for the enemy attack. If I hired a hitman to murder a guy and the hitman gets caught it doesn't make me innocent of any crime.

However, I can understand the benefits of being at least partially merciful here by way of boosting our black-market contacts.

>>1526635
They're just going to be sold at exorbitant prices, which wouldn't help anyone.

If we truly wanted to be a humanitarian, we'd take them all and then sell them at a very small price to markets across a number of islands.

Why don't give them out for free? Because we need to compensate our crew.

>>1526670
That's a dangerous game. We would undercut the local kingpins who probably make a lot of their power by hoarding food and medicine from the locals. We could easily make some very potent enemies with that "humanitarian" approach.

>>1526547
Just to be clear I'm changing my vote to this >>1526579
but with us taking all the loot except for medical supplies we cannot reasonably use and food.

>>1526681
I concur. The best way to avoid trouble would be to do as the locals do. Honestly I'd be willing to bet if a sky-pirate or anybody else flew down they'd take the ship as well.

Also the guy's a smuggler. Are we going to trust this "oh we didn't mean it, really" and "it's for the children" crap? It's just as likely he's mugging sad and smirking on the inside because we're newbie Jack and we're easier to play than tic tac toe.

>>1526681
I'm not advocating that approach, I'm just saying that if we truly wanted to help the downtrodden - that would be a better way.

Letting these smugglers keep their goods would help nobody but the cogs in the black market.

>>1526662
Why not try this?

>>1526602
This

>>1526662
>>1526697
What's the difference between that write in and the proposed changes you want to make?

>>1526753
Just a short write in I added. You're correct that the general gist of the whole thing is the same.

>"Next time don't hire protection that's foolish enough to fire on Citadel military ships. Or at least hire protection that's smart enough to wait until we're in range of their primary weapons to fire. Consider the seizure of your supplies a stupidity tax."

>"As for your ship, I am sure you would agree it would be a valuable and legitimate prize for me and my crew. If I elect to allow you to continue on your way, minus your ill-gotten goods of course, how will you make it up to me?"

>>1526784
Why not make it an entire separate thing like the other one?

>>1526662
Lets go for it

>>1526810
By that I mean Im supporting it

OP is ded?

>>1526912
That was the last post

>>1526662
Don't forget the boat and the diving suits. Poor northern settlers don't exactly need them.

>>1526979
The boat sure we can take it, but I'm deliberately leaving out the suits to see what plot it drives.

>>1527041
That's not how you bite at plothooks. If we leave the suits that guy will just start his expedition or whatever and we'll never learn what it was about.

>>1527174
Agreed, we need the suits.

There are all kinds of things we could use them for (containment against the red gems, containment against "eldritch" interlopers, actual diving, and diving in space.)

>>1525623
That sort of politicking is best done with a personal gift between Captains, not a share of loot.

>>1526334
I'd like to vote for leaving Kremps shipment of guns alone and escorting the smuggler the rest of the way. Show them that WE are the power on the sea, but that the power is legitimate as we are here to protect shipping and trade.

Confiscate the platingg, suits and such as well as the medical supplies as we can give those to a charitable cause ourselves if we so wish. Maybe through that Noble chick we know.

>>1527379
Thats the opposite way if you want to do that.

Take the weapons and war materiale, such goods should only be utilised by our side during this period of conflict. The food and medical supplies can possibly be considered 'semi-legitimate trade'. As in this might be one of the few ways isolated settlements can get such supplies and without them, people are going to die.

>>1527174
No see, if ya leave the suits with them, the plot is driven offscreen. We can't do anything with the suits, but that other guy can and I want to see what he unleashes

>>1527396
We're taking the ship and the plates and supplanting the Escorts role.

The guns ain't worth shot in the big picture, it was specifically pointed out in fact.

> "One of a hundred," the barge captain sighs. "He orders piecemeal, so something like this doesn't interrupt the flow. Outfitting your men with Bulwark arms is a matter of prestige and preference..."

PIRATES rob ships. GOVERNMENTS levy taxes, import fees, registration dues, and provide protection and stability so that trade may flourish. Let them know that we'll turn a blind eye to small stuff, but if he wants to hire escorts it's going to be through if he wants it to be safe.

I'd be okay with letting them keep the food and HALF the medical supplies. We are at war remember, while I'm sure what wretched scavenger communities out here could use the supplies, the fact of the matter is so could our military.

And, indeed, as servants of the people if they really DO need medical supplies they can petition the Military to provide aid. Not like there's a plague outbreak or anything.

They probably don't even have doctors anyways. Let me spell out "Medical Supplies" in Scrapper and Wrecker cove language -DRUGS SON.

This ain't little house on the Prairie. This is the Wretched Sea.

>>1527396
> "We trade with the small settlements of the border between you and the Republic, and we trade at the Volcano. Of course, you know we reach the barrier forts and pay their toll to access the Volcano..."a

Actually fuck their food and medical supplies. If they want to get their shit they can join the Citadel or starve.

>>1526681
Leave the guns to keep the Mercenaries on our side, and they can help us supplant the corrupt Citadel officers that profit from the smuggling. Heck turn the Mercs into the distributors and only authorized traders. Nothing wrong with a border state so long as it's contained and organized.

>>1527558
We are not pirates, and I am not a heartless person who would profit on preventable misery. as far as I can tell, the settlements is in such a location where if they declare for one side or the other they will immediately get attacked by opposition and if you could not tell, the navy doesn't exactly put rescue fleets to such attacks a high priority.
And we don't even know if these are neutral settlements, it doesn't say. These supplies could be going to citadel aligned settlements who can't get supplies any other way.

Yeah its smuggling and the escort was an idiot, but what other recourse did they have? I'm rather they learn a lesson now and get their food and medicine, then us depriving them of it and making enemies of the settlements.

>>1527563
The mercenaries are probably even more corrupt than the current officials are as they don't even have a pretense of duty openly do everything for money.

If we take the guns the mercenaries will likely blame the lost shipment on the smuggler brazenly attacking a military vessel when the escort couldn't even bring their main weapon (the aa battery) to effective firing range. In such a situation almost any other captain would also seize the attacking ship's cargo.

And we only have the captain's word these weapons are going to the powerful mercenary group. For all we know they're supplying republic spies and insurgents.

>>1526662
I'm still backing this. It's rather moderate

The discussion is amazing but somewhat disjointed. Opting to lean for Minmatar's entry, but less decisive... heading to work real soon.

>>1527680
If you want, we can confiscate them and then make a show of handing them out later.

If we're going to do a good deed I want to get publicity for it.

Although it was PRETTY CLEARLY spelled out that they're be if smuggled in the Volcano, home to illegal scrappers poaching the Citadels scrap. What other recourse did they have?uh. Maybe not being criminals illegally scrapping and making out like bandits and weakening the nation. Nobody "grew up" there. They went there to profit from crime. Nobody us forcing them to live there and steal from our Nation.

And the Mercs are a big name you'll notice. Not something to toss around.

This is why I said we should return it and let them know that they should be doing business with us and not worry about their escorts getting scrapped.

>>1527793
The thing is, a) we should remove corrupt officials over having corrupt mercenaries because b) if the Mercenaries DO become a problem the Citadel can just roll up and drive them off and clean them out. Whereas a corrupt Noble could protect it while it fester like a cancer and weakens our presence in the region. While enriching the kind of men ruining the nation.

>>1527846
It's not as aggressive as I would prefer but

>>1528097

I'll back the namefag.

File: Smuggling Settlements.jpg (332 KB, 1670x870)

332 KB JPG

"I'm not sold on your sob-story," you say, raising your hand, "but let's postpone that a bit. Mark the settlements you plan to visit on this map..."

He complies, quite eagerly, scribbling with a green ink plotting pen.

"So, smuggler," Master Evans says, folding his arms over is chest, "Fair trading? Or deals with the local baron?"

"Trading," he says quietly. "You know how it is. Scrappers and fishermen whose ancestors couldn't escape when the war came up North... boats too small to make the journey. Lost count of the youth I've taken south, abandoning this place."

"Or, you could be lying out of your teeth," Master Evans says indifferently.

"You think I'd go to Jorret's Column to trade with barons? Big spire, right between the powers, someone tries to plant a coastal battery every year or so. Big battle, everyone leaves 'cept for the wretches living and hiding and dying in the cliff shanties... you know how it is. He doesn't, though." he tilts his head towards you.

"Navy Law," you say coldly. "The Citadel is more just than anyone out here."

The barge captain knows better than to dispute you.

"About that strange man... Barcan?"

"Bucard. Always chasing the ruins. I can introduce him to you, if you like-"

"I'll decide that."

>>1528135
Notes: Forgot to say that the other settlements certainly have their barons...

If anyone has a different write in, or addition to Minmatar's, I'll do that after I get home from work.

>>1528140
Sounds like an area ripe for impressing men and women into the Navy!

Do the Barons have a council or Magistrate they are subordinate to, or are they autonomous on their own land?

>>1528160
By "Barons" I believe he means "robber barons" aka crime lords. They are at best upjumped nobility. They would maintain their power through force and corruption - they're too strong to easily beat, they bribe the militaries on both sides, and control distribution of supplies on their islands. While we may be able to conscript from a single island, the local "Baron" will be far from pleased. And if it is known the Citadel military is going after the "Barons" one or more of the following things will happen:

They will bribe officials/the army to punish or "dispose" of those interfering in their territory.
They will band together for mutual strength militarily.
They will provide support for the Republic and cut off trade with the Citadel until such time as the equilibrium is restored.

>>1528229
Well this is the citadel, he could mean it literraly

>>1528312
I'm 99% sure the "Barons" are crooks. Some of the most vain may hold a title by means of bribery by the Citadel, but they are by no means true nobility.

Remember we say "fair trading, or deals with the local Barons." This implies deals with the Barons are not, "fair trading", and so are likely illegal arrangements.

>>1528140
Would prefer to leave both the food and medical supplies since both are likely critical for the settlements in the area.

>>1528779
But then what did we fight for?

At a minimum we should take half of each. We're leaving the guy his ship after all, that's the largest concession.

>>1529058
The other ship?
The guns, the plating, the diving suits and the asteran artifact?

Back from work, writing the update.

“We’re taking the rifles and the plating. War material, to the Citadel cause.”

“Yes, sir,” the barge captain merely says, his words strained.

“The pad, as well… and two units of the medical supplies.”

“War material, too?” he glowers.

“I’m sure one of your miserably little settlements would appreciate it,” you say, nodding to Master Evans.

“Aye, sir,” he says. “These robber barons you deal with - they exist where there’s trade. There’s plenty of tiny settlements scattered in the ruins, out of the way of greed and trying to avoid the war. I’m sure these medical supplies weren’t intended for them.”

The barge captain does not respond.

“Of course, we’ll be taking the hulk of that foolish escort… and the diving suits.”

“Damn,” the barge captain sighs.

“Oh? Interested to see what was to become of them?” you ask.

“Couldn’t care less, but Bucard was paying a lot.”

“Well, I’m interested. Where were you to meet him? I might not take more if you’re kind enough to tell…” Of course, you weren’t planning on taking anything else - but he doesn’t know that.

“Jorret’s Column. We were to meet there for half the payment, and then I’d smuggle them into the Volcano. Custom dues.”

“Hmph, so it wasn’t kindness of heart that took you to the baron-less lands - more profit.” Evans observes.

“Believe what you may,” the barge captain sighs.

“Be glad we’re not taking your livelihood. Hire more prudent escorts next time,” you advise, and with the cargo loaded and the hulk in tow, you part ways.

Where is the Brora headed?
>Back to the flotilla at once.
>Somewhere else - but contact the flotilla via radio.
>Somewhere else - as far as they know, you disappeared.
>Something else?

What is to be done about the wrecked escort?
>Put it into tow, explaining the situation as it happened.
>Put it into tow, leaving out the part with the cargo barge.
>Attempt to find a small settlement on the coast to dock it and pick it up later - and perhaps the sell the plating. Dovain would be nearest.
>Scuttle it.
>Something else?

What are you up to?
>I’m going to speak to the survivors from the escort.
>I’d like to try and return my mail from ‘CC’.
>I’d like to talk to one of my crew. [_____]
>I’m going to rest for a moment.
>I’ll be experimenting with the amulet…
>Something else?