Sorry CSX, I'm going to push back on this.   Your reasoning is sound, but I don't want to do all the work :)  So, I'm not going to give you suggestions on this.
What Aspect do you think Bear posseses?

Once we've finished defining the Aspect, I will reveal the results of the Rapport conflict, and--if required--invoke the created Aspect.  With Rapport being a Great(+4) rank, chances are real good that it'll be a success.

Never forget benefits done you, regardless how small.

BTW, if our friendly internet is to be believed, this is an actual Vietnamese proverb... :)

Okay then...

Chang Sheng Xin rolled 4dF(-1)+Empathy(+5) to Create the Aspect(Never Forget Benefits Done For You).
 
SUCCESS (by a 2-shift difference)
The aspect is close enough that we might as well go with it.

Chang Sheng Xin rolled 4dF(+3)+Rapport(+4) to overcome Bear's resistance to the idea of recruitment. 
SUCCESS WITH STYLE

So... bottom line.  If you want to claim a life-debt, Bear will join you.  We can assign him  a temporary Aspect Life-Debt for the interim.  And, of course, in the way of things, if enough drama has passed between them, the accounting of such a life-debt may become moot... for when too much has happened, it just becomes a--gasp--kinship.

So, you've succeeded enough that Bear is willing to consider recruitment.   But the in-character arguments aren't terribly convincing...

CSX has some interesting ideas about getting Bear to turn traitor.  But I don't feel that enough has been said in-character to justify actively playing the spy for you.  Or, for that to become his primary focus.    That's a long-term commitment you're asking of a boarding-party corporal mercenary who you've sparred with and had a brief conversation with about maybe joining up.

This is a good example of why I prefer to do this as an abstracted out-of-character exchange rather than in-character dialogue.  This kind of manipulation should take time or shared-experience--not a quick 100-woord conversation.

Baylee, since it's not really in keeping with CSX's character, I suggest that you claim the life-debt.  Bear will work with you and will not counter your interests.  You can choose how to use him--as a temporary crew-member or as a ZM plant/information-source.

If you use him as a crew-member, then he might go,  "Saved your lives.  We're done."  But, that's only if it comes up sooner rather than later.   More likely, he'll be around for a bit.

Either way, his working with you--assets he might legally be required to safeguard and recover--would be a black mark on his ZM record.   So he could be trusted to keep that secret.

Yes, he'd work behind the scenes for your benefit in the future.  Letting him go with that spin on the Life-Debt also gives me another tool to have him occasionally pop up with "important intel" or "dire warnings" etc...  And he becomes a usable Aspect. Having him "owe you one" looks real attractive to me, and I suggest going with it.

Of course, Bear doesn't know that you were "quick-loaded" and doesn't know that the quick-load malfunctioned.  He has no reason to think you're lying to him about the suffering.  Except, of course, that you are all criminals, sentenced by an authority that has the authority to do so...

I have an idea of where to take this and possibly even how to get there.

Rayfe & Gothique both possess the experience (and thus skills) to be able to "convince" the AI to stand-down and possibly even to grant access...  But this is a difficult proposition...  As the ZM tech-team were unable to do it over three days.  So I can't just give it to you :)

Rayfe and Gothique together have pinnacle Systems and Tech skills.  Good thing, 'cause I'm setting the difficulty to get access at 10 shifts.  So, this is a metagame discussion.  How are you going to get there?

A couple of reminders:

Teamwork can be done in one of three ways:

• Combine the same skills:  Figure out who has the highest skill.  Anyone else assisting who has at least an Average(+1) rank in that skill can add +1 to the roll. (For instance: Gothique-Tech(+5)  Rayfe-Tech(+4), Gilina-Tech(+4), Viper-Tech(+1).  Combined this could give Gothique a 4dF(X) + Tech(+5) + Teamwork(+3) roll.)  You all share in the costs and consequences of this roll...  And no-one says it has to be done with Gothique and a Tech roll...
• You can start setting up Situation Aspects (Rayfe starts introducing a simple interrupt virus... if he rolls successfully, he gets a +2 which he can give to Gothique when she makes that roll... or even a re-roll instead, if preferred.) or Discover an Aspect that already exists (but hasn't been defined yet)...
• You can spend a fate-point to invoke an existing Aspect as well... and give that invoke to whoever's making the roll.

As a reminder: the list of Aspects we've got going are listed in:  00: Stress-Pools, Aspects & Fate Point Offers   There's definitely some stuff you can use in there.  So, the tools are there and you've got the skills to do this.    Hell, a +10 shift threshold isn't even terribly out of reach for you.   I just need you to figure out how you want to approach this.

The big potential consequence is the arrival in-scene of an enemy combatant that will attempt to take you--all four of you--out physically.  If you fail, the ships autonomous defense-grid will come online.  And none of you have any clue what that means.  Yet.

I do like the idea of putting a consequence-forming virus in place, letting it take hold, and then doing the teamwork thing to crack it open. I also get the impression that the AI could use a little love and attention too. An AI who seems to be having a bit of an emotional crisis is not going to end well for us...

As a player I don't mind whatever the group consensus is.

Gothique will be all about do this now damn the consequences!  Like surprised she has not already ignored and done it yet type deal.

Well, uh, there's not much, yet, for me to sink my teeth into in the conversation with Karin until Casks shares.

Yup... I wanted to give a chance if there was anything he cared to actually say or do with Karin on the way...   But if it's all just passive pickups, then there's not really anything further to give.   I don't mind adding this in after-the-fact... not everything has to be run sequentially...

So... How do you want to approach Karin?  Give her the shpiel?  or go right to the fighting?

Sorry, I didn't realize that folks were waiting for me...  O_o

The part I really wanted to play out was with Bear.  I certainly wouldn't mind playing out Karin's escorting, but I don't want to leave Baylee hanging any longer...

Again, not everything has to happen in a linear format.  Just make it clear who you're talking to and when.  If it gets confusing, I may take some drastic action to clarify it.

But, really...  You guys have just interrogated and "auditioned"/fought with Bear.  Asking someone about their personal religious beliefs in this situation could be easily taken as suspect.  You're already manipulating him based on a moral/ethical opinion.   He's probably seeing it as another attempt to develop more leverage to use on him at a later date.

Don't worry... he's not going to get off of K-Zino any time soon.  There just isn't that amount of traffic on an Asteroid colony.  Certainly not out-system traffic, anyway.  Even if this is a hub of the local quadrant of the asteroid belt.

If you want to pursue this, I strongly suggest that you keep him in mind, and make use of him in the current scenario.   What happens to him on K-Zino will probably play a huge part in how he interacts with you and others further on in the game.

CSX is genuinely trying to build trust, not to make Bear feel pressed.

He isn't going to probe further unless he senses that Bear is so inclined, particularly after Bear's initial guarded reaction.  CSX already gave Bear the invitation, so the ball is in Bear's court if interested.

I've already moved the action forward IC... :)


I'm not sure that I follow this.  Do you mean make use of him as a spy as planned, or something else?  O_o
This message was last edited by the player at 03:52, Wed 02 Mar 2022.

I'm not sure that I follow this.  Do you mean make use of him as a spy as planned, or something else?  O_o

I mean, simply, remember him.   The more your characters interact with Bear, the more opportunity there is to develop a relationship for good or ill.   Going drinking on K-Zino?  Invite him along!  It doesn't even have to be played out.  Just mention that he came along in a post somewhere...  You have that latitude!

Got it.  That would definitely be CSX's inclination already... :)

Viper:
and showed it to all present, one by one, hiding the screen from prying cameras.

This statement could be well-founded and based on observation or it could be simple, practical, caution.

So, this is a question about the setting... Do you guys want there to be cameras throughout the ship? 


Also, so we're clear, endlessly testing the silver sphere interface beside the big thick door will not trigger countermeasures. it just plays various tones.  This does suggest a check & response mechanism.

Uh, smugglers and pirates. I doubt there are internal cameras...  well, not obvious ones. Haha.

I would actually say because of what the ship was there is cameras everywhere save maybe some rooms.

Removing them might be a first priority.

Hmm, there might be cameras but I suspect there'd be not recordings. A paranoid captain might want to surveil, but a good smuggler does not want a record of their carog and how to get into the hidden places... haha

I suggest that it's probably a level of paranoia we don't want on the ship...  There may be some key areas that are monitored, but by and large it isn't all over the place...  I just don't think I want the PCs to view the ship as a hostile home base.  Well, once we're a little further in.    Maybe K-Zino is a good place to really make the Orishi yours.

In reply to Control (msg # 202):

It's not paranoia, it's self-preservation of an asset, and electronic senses providing information.

Cameras are the AI's eyes, but she also has pressure, temperature, mass, magnetic, sensors, and some others. Only for this reason can an AI state (preferably in a cold, informative but imperative, voice) : "There's a depressurization in room 5-C. Likely a hull breach, consistent with the external hull vibrations. Magnetic sensors signal a heavy metallic mass moving slowly. Likely an armored intruder. Red alert, the Orishi is being boarded. Camera shots available"

On the other hand, the tech crew had stripped down the ship... But we may come to regret it.

I like Viper's take on docking! It makes a lot of sense. I love the fact this game is evolving into a technical vision that matches the more gritty feel dramas, rather than the super high tech comfort of Star Trek.

I've been playing Mass Effect: Adromeda and watching Season 5 of The Expanse, so the gritty feel appeals to me.  I don't want to get too deep into the technical side of things, 'cause the story should always be about the people (and I don't want to corner myself).  But I feel that we're all pretty much on the same page about that.  And you guys are definitely helping to shape the setting as we go!

Viper's approach is practical and efficient.

K-Zino has a couple of thousand people on it.  So, it's a pretty big colony as far as asteroids go.  I suggest that there's a "soft spine" that acts as the primary docking facility.  This is that giant hose.  It's got to be flexible and adaptable so it can be retracted, moved, compressed, etc. in the event of a near-pass to another asteroid.  And believe me, those orbits and trajectories are tracked and monitored constantly!.

The Orishi, itself does not currently have a shuttle, a runabout or a ground-vehicle on-board.  But such a facility as K-Zino would have that service available. and I don't see necessary drama in it at this stage, so hand-wave, of course you get that....

OK... grand theft shuttle, anybody? I'll pretend to be the Goodyear blimp, and Viper can steal one!

No, no, no instead of stealing a shuttle, we need to build one from the ground up.  We can call it the Gamma Aviator.  We can incorporate ...no wait wrong franchise.

Yes I like grand theft shuttle.

So, since we're still in the early setup...  Rayfe had been given read-only privileges to personnel and jump-drive systems.  There does not appear to be any installed jump-drive in the system.  But there are a lot of anomalies in the data.

Sadly, we are talking about an absolutely enormous amount of data and programming, and even at Rayfe's prodigious skill-levels, he's not going to be able to go particularly quickly through much of this.   Part of this is because I want to time things and part of it is because I want there to continue to be mysteries down the road.

However, there's one I want to reveal to you right now, and for that, I need a hacking roll.  Simple Overcome roll target +6.  This is to help me determine how to give you the revelation...

If you want to find a way to give yourself write-access, it'll be a systems(+4) target roll.  I wont' accept taking zero on this one.  If you want to get access to other areas it'll also be a System(+4) target.


Reminder:
"If you can investigate without fucking up any ship systems, fine. Also, as a side project, if you could locate any subroutines related to the ghostly jumpy drive and relay them to Viper, do it. Computer, This one has limited access to files on jump drive and personnel. Read only, no editing. "