Still on Valtherus, and still finding plenty of reasons to stick around, turn three opens with a bit of housekeeping. A credit goes on crew upkeep, two more chip away at the ship’s debt, and four credits fund repairs to get Tinhead back on his feet before the next fight.
With Colt gone, the crew can recruit a free replacement without any tests or rolls. Enter Skully, a new face with a grudge of his own, more on that shortly.
New recruit Skully – scourge of TripAdvisor
Trading, as ever, produces a haul of almost entirely broken equipment, including a mysterious ‘hot shot’ pack nobody’s had the chance to identify yet. Jaryn, still recovering in the sick bay, gets a bonus action thanks to a strong roll from the previous turn and heads out to socialise, though he fails to turn the resulting chat into a story point. No matter, there are story points to spare this turn: one sold for three credits, one spent boosting Jaryn’s combat skill to a respectable three, and one more spent giving Dante a second task. That last one sends him out exploring, where he picks up a rather unfortunate side gig as a drug mule for a future delivery job.
And speaking of jobs…
The Valtherian sector government has just declared its seventeenth pandemic of the year – nothing to do with Dr Blight, as always, according to the man himself, who has already released a statement condemning “baseless android conspiracy theories.”
Amid the chaos, the government has offered the Lucky Strikes an urgent contract to assist with outbreak management. This is the kind of job nobody sane volunteers for, which makes the Strikes exactly qualified.
But they won’t get the chance. While the crew are grounded at Cinderdock – a sagging, half-condemned patch of tarmac that generously calls itself a spaceport – Ruddles Asset Recovery tracks them down and hits them while they’re enjoying a few beers and listening to Barry Gibb’s 1984 solo album, New Voyager.
The Strikes are, on balance, fine with this. Their last encounter with Ruddles Asset Recovery cost them a crewmate: Colt Narro, shot dead during the Sludge Basin job. Captain Dante Corsaro had planned to pay these goons a visit soon anyway, so he’s more than happy to have them come round to his place.
The Lucky Strikes prepare to host Ruddles Asset Recovery
Colt’s replacement is a new recruit calling himself Skully, who reached out to the Lucky Strikes after the Sludge Basin job, thanking them for getting one over on Ruddles Asset Recovery. Turns out Skully has been getting bothered by them ever since he left one of Tin Martian’s pubs a bad review on TripAdvisor. Now, he’ll have the opportunity to review these bounty hunters – through the scope of his gun.
A toxic environment condition raises the stakes, any crew member left stunned risks becoming a casualty outright. The battle opens badly, Dust is shot down almost immediately, but Tinhead evens the score by taking out the enemy lieutenant. Momentum swings back and forth, Tinhead falls too, and Skully is stunned and forced to roll against the toxic air, passing by the skin of his teeth. Eventually the Lucky Strikes claw their way to victory, closing the fight in melee.
Post-battle, RAR finally have enough and drop off the rivals list, though the failed government contract costs the crew that patron in return. Both Tinhead and Dust, despite being shot down, walk away with barely a scratch. Loot includes a useful ship parts discount and a personal trinket, while Skully earns a little extra cash on the side during his debut, along with the crew’s respect.
Turn three ends on fifteen credits, two patrons, two rivals, and three story points, the healthiest the Lucky Strikes have looked so far. It probably won’t last.