Coup D'etat - Session 04, "Ships Aflame"

So The Disciples of the Voice of the Deep arrived in the Katsulas System within The Free Alliance, looking for a PROTECT science and research outpost. It was missing, but The Voice of the Deep suggested they search on the inhabited moon of the Katsulas system. It once housed an PROTECT ground support station for the outpost and its memory core could lead the troupe to their prize.

No sooner had they recovered the memory core from the ruins than they were engaged by local law enforcement, charged with tombraiding (a catchall term for people stealing local artifacts that belong in a museum.). 

They're escorted to comfortable prison quarters, to face trial by "The Commander." A quick search of the local information network reveals that The Commander is a Commander Meltha, a renegade commander in the Free Alliance Civil War now a freelance rebel fighting against the neighboring Pris Alliance. 

Meltha herself wears her own uniform and is convinced of the righteousness of their cause. She attempts to persuade Cass and the Celestial Wind to join her band of rebels, without success. Pron Gartor, seeing an opportunity for cooperation has a conversation with Meltha in her impromptu office within the government's headquarters.

The meeting is disrupted when the Priss task force arrives in-system. Meltha and her rebels beat a path back to their ships and Pron quickly finds himself a guest aboard a battleship of elemental Free Alliance design, the Freedom.

Meanwhile, no longer prisoners, Cass and Luke attempt to make their way back to the Celestial Wind, but run into Priss soldiers, who they attack. The fight is stopped by Kyress, Captain of the Priss task force. She laughs at their impulsive behavior, asks them some questions about hiring the Celestial Wind on a mercenary contract, and before leaving mentions that she still has a certain data core.

Pron is taken to the secret rebel base (drink!), revealing that it is, indeed the Katsulas Outpost. The rebels have put weapons platforms on it and added accommodations for refugess. Pron's examination of the base reveals that he cannot determine its location to transmit back to Cass and Luke through their comm systems, but he can determine that the base has a fusion ion core, a working cloaking device (obviously), and a set of equipment neither he (nor the rebels) can identify.

Back on the moon, after a daring theft attempt is cut short Cass and Luke agree to a trade with Kyress; Cass can decrypt the PROTECT hard drive and lead the Priss to the invisible outpost where the rebels are hiding. In exchange, Kyress will keep Luke on board her ship, the Malice. 

Once on board the Malice, Luke finds himself saving Kyress from a maintenance droid. Subsequent investigation yields a unique insight into Priss body language that indicates a deeper level to Priss social structure. It also reveals a vastly more important fact; the maintenance droid was cobbled together from different parts, possessing as many redundant and overclocked systems as those which are lacking all together.

En route to the hidden base, a small force from the Free Alliance military appears. Its captain, Bresnick, offers Cass a commission, states her government's general ambivalence to the current situation, and says to ask if they need any assistance, for which she receives a polite thank you and the two exchange business cards. 

The final approach of the Celestial Wind to the rebel base is filled with the three Disciples of the Voice of the Deep working with one another to prepare a trap for the Priss. Luke sabotages the Malice's war room and life support system before he hops and escape pod. Before he leaves, he hears a strange sound. One not made by any of the Malice's machinery. 

Meanwhile, Cass penetrates the cloaking field and Pron spacewalks over from a rebel gunboat. With a hurried welcome to Cass, he fires up The Pride of Ctha-Ghuulmith exits the field to pick up Luke.

The Priss forces come through the field, and right into Meltha's trap. The ensuing battle is short, but frought with danger as the Priss fleets fracture without a leader. Meltha falls back past the station and begins a fusion ion core purge sequence to destroy the rest of the fleet. The Malice's last act is to set a collision course for the outpost. Luke tells Cass about the fragility of the other battleship's fuel cores and with a crack shot she splits it in half. With an ultimate effort, Luke moves the largest of the remaining chunks away from the outpost. 

A few Priss gunboats escape, and Meltha docks the most salvageable vessels to build up her fleet. A gunboat of evacuating refugees, die as do most Priss soldiers, and the rebels manning the outpost, but the Disciples of the Voice of the Deep are welcomed on board the station, where The Voice docks and informs them that the base is somewhat mobile and that the unidentified equipment is an ancient--and largely useless--sun-thrower device, which uses massive amounts of energy to throw a single ship into a star. It is discouraged, but happy to have the station and its own memory core to help fight the spikes and help Razka discover his background.