AWAY MISSION

CAPTAIN’S LOG
STARDATE 48311.3

We’ve received a message from Narendra Station that a runabout
called the Susquehanna has gone missing in the Carina Nebula,
deep within the Shackleton Expanse. The Susquehanna was
investigating an unusual alien signal that originated from the nebula
when all contact was lost. We have been ordered to enter the
nebula, find the runabout, and determine the origin and cause of the
alien signal. Starfleet has also advised that Romulan and Ferengi
ships have been sighted in the region, so we should exercise
caution since they may well have detected the alien signal as well.

You've traced the signal of the combadges of the runabout Susquehanna to the planet of Seku VI in the Carina Nebula. While the Shackleton Expanse (Beta Quadrant, if I remember correctly...), is currently contested by the United Federation of Planets, the Romulan Star Empire and the Ferengi Alliance, you haven't encountered any other ships during your search.

As you beam down to the surface, you notice it's a barren, volcanic area of the planet, with barely any sign of life, mostly a few patches of some kind of plant. However, there is no sign of the runabout, nor any kind of structures or facilities in sight...
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:54, Mon 22 Nov 2021.

As soon as she materialized on the barred ground, Lt.Cmdr. Shremi Ansari unholstered her phaser and took a quick look around the immediate area. She kept her eyes open for any signs trouble.

Once more, Shremi felt the weight of her responsibilities. She wasn't a rookie security officer anymore... but the role of a ship's Chief of Security was still new to her. She was assigned to this post only a few months ago, not too long after a Starfleet investigation into her conflict with her commanding officer concluded. The investigation found that Shremi's act of insubordination was a justified one and her superior was punished for his breach of regulations... still, somehow, the promotion that followed felt a little like a punishment for Shremi, too. As if a junior officer that caused her superior to face disciplinary charges was an embarrasment to the Starfleet - so, they gave her a quiet promotion and transfered her to a completely different ship. Far away from her old crew and followed by a hushed rumours of a scandal...

Shremi didn't dwell on last months' developments, though - it wasn't the time. She had a job to do here.

And so, her eyes moved over the landscape, looking for anything that might pose the danger to the away team...

OOC: Any roll I should do now?

[OOC: can you please describe the away team? Is it composed just by the two of us or by other people as well? How many? What are their grades and specialisation?]

OOC: Bianca, I replied over at the OOC thread :)

OOC: Ok, let's see, I think to look around for something would mean an Insight+Security, target number 2. I don't actually know where looking around should be.

Bianca thinks that the Susquehanna is a specialist in casting signals, so there is a fair chance that he already discover or will discover soon this small group. However, maybe he didn't think about hiding signs of his presence, perhaps such as an antenna or or some sort of electromagnetic disturbance.
Bianca immediately searches for antennas or electromagnetic disturbances using her view and whatever suitable tool she has.

[OOC: 21:17, Today: Bianca Carthen rolled 26 using 2d20 ((8,18)). Insight 9; Security 2: one success.

Am I doing it right?]
This message was last edited by the player at 20:21, Tue 23 Nov 2021.

OOC: I checked the full rulebook and yes, Insight+Security sounds right for this task.

Bianca, you did do it right, no worries :) You have Insight 9 and Security 2, so your Target Number for this task is 11. You need to roll equal or less than the TN, so you rolled 1 success.

If you had some sort of Focus relevant to the task, you'd also get +1 success for each die that rolled equal or under the Discipline being used (Security in this case). Although you rolled 8 and 18, so that's actually relevant in this case. Also, rolling a 1 gives you 2 successes automatically and rolling a 20 causes... trouble.

Overall, you got 1 success and the Task Difficulty was 2, so you needed 2 successes. So, Bianca failed at her task.

Now, for my rolls... Let's see how Shremi does:

22:28, Today: Shremi Ansari rolled 18 using 2d20 with rolls of 8,10.  Insight+Security.

So... Shremi has Insight 9 and Security 4, so TN = 13. 2 successes. No applicable Focus and the rolls wouldn't qualify for the bonus. So, Shremi succeeded :)

Also! Shremi actually has a Talent named Constantly Watching, which decreases the Task Difficulty of tasks like these (looking out for threats etc.) by 1. So, she actually needed only a single success to beat the task. So, she has one bonus success... which I save into our group's Momentum pool. :)
This message was last edited by the player at 21:42, Tue 23 Nov 2021.

As the group checks around the area, Shremi notices a sound over one of the boulders - it's like someone stepped on the other side, but only silence can be heard after that.

Bianca notices that Shremi is somehow alarmed and looks at him for indications of what is attracting his attention.

"There!", Shremi issued a warning, aiming her phaser in the direction of the boulder. "I've heard something move there!"

Her phaser still firmly pointed at the source of the sound, she glanced at the rest of team.

"Carthen, Lenaris", she ordered, "Let's check it out. Del, Natala, T'Prel - cover us..."

Having said that, she started moving cautiously toward the boulder.

Bianca tries approaching the boulder from the other side, walking a circular path.

I forgot to record each die, but Lenaris took a total of 8 damage.

When the two Romulans realize they had been spotted, one of them shouts "Retreat!", and they try to move away from you in the cover of some rocks, while using their disruptors to provide covering fire, while almost hitting all three of the frontal team. You hear Lenaris shout out in pain, and T'Prel jumping ahead "Lenaris!", as she is moving to provide first aid as soon as possible.

So, I had one of the Romulans to start the combat,

18:54, Today: GM, for the NPC Romulan Uhlan, rolled 22 using 5d6.  damage.
18:53, Today: GM, for the NPC Romulan Uhlan, rolled 13 using 2d20.  attack 13.

He had a TN 13 for Control+Security, aiming for Lenaris. His weapon has a damage of 5d6, and used to decode the damage from the table on page 5.

Since one of the Romulans acted in first turn, now one of the PC's are ready to act now. One of them is at Close Range, and the one who acted is retreating to Medium Range.

Bianca moves behind a boulder, to get partial cover, and fires back, hitting the Roman attacker.

[OOC: 21:10, Today: Bianca Carthen rolled 11 using 2d20 with rolls of 3,8.  control 9; security 2.
21:15, Today: Bianca Carthen rolled 10 using 4d6 with rolls of 2,3,2,3.  damage.]
This message was last edited by the player at 20:19, Tue 30 Nov 2021.

OOC: Okay, I read the combat rules and it looks like it's not yet time for Shremi to act now... Now it's another NPCs' turn. So, I won't be making an IC post tonight :)

Anyway, I checked Bianca's rolls and everything seems correct. Difficulty for shooting at the Romulan was 2, Bianca got 2 successes, so she hit him (her?). As for the damage the Romulan takes: Bianca rolled 2,3,2 and 3 on her Challenge Dice. According to the Challenge Dice table in the Quickstart, this means the Romulan takes 4 points of damage (2+0+2+0). So, his Stress stat is now reducted by 4... unless the damage is soaked by any Resistance (cover etc.). But this is a GMs' side of things, so I'll back up now and let our GM calculate all that :)

The Romulans are in full retreat, not willing to be engaged in a firefight anymore. Bianca still shoots one after them, with the phaser beam hitting ever so close.

(They are in both medium range now.)

Did the Romulans wear uniforms or other signage that may indicate who they actually are and perhaps what they may want?
"Why did they shoot without any warning?" Bianca asks her companions.

"With Romulans, is that really a surprise..?!?", Shremi replied, a note of anger in her voice.

True, Romulan Empire was not in a state of war with the Federation... nevertheless, the Romulan state wasn't the Federation's friend, either. And it wasn't like the Romulans weren't known for their underhanded tactics...

As the two Romulan soldiers started retreating, Shremi aimed her phaser and took a shot. She wasn't going to let them get away after sneak-attacking her team...

OOC: I'll be taking a minor maneauver of Aim before shooting, meaning I get to re-roll 1d10 if needed:

23:46, Today: Shremi Ansari rolled 20 using 2d20 with rolls of 19,1.  Shooting. TN 13, Control 9, Security 4

I got a 1, which means that Shremi scored 2 successes. I decided to reroll the other die and I got:

23:59, Today: Shremi Ansari rolled 1 using 1d20 with rolls of 1.  Reroll.

Overall, Shremi got 4 successes - so she succeeded at the test and got 2 additional successes that I'll be putting into the Momentum pool. As for the damage:

23:57, Today: Shremi Ansari rolled 27 using 7d6 with rolls of 1,4,4,6,6,4,2. Damage.

So, she deals 1+0+0+1+1+0+2 = 5 points of damage... assuming something doesn' soak this up.

Bianca follows Shremi's example and shoots as well on the fugitive Romulan.

[OOC: 21:49, Today: Bianca Carthen rolled 18 using 2d20 with rolls of 4,14.  control 9; security 2.]
This message was last edited by the player at 18:40, Sun 05 Dec 2021.

T'Prel quickly treats Lenaris' surface wound. "Your wound is treated, nothing serious." she nods him, while Lenaris acknowledges her treatment. Meanwhile Natala asks you for confirmation "Commander, are we shooting at the retreating enemy?"

The Romulans wear their standard combat uniforms.

(It's worth to note that Shackleton Expanse is technically not within any empire, but is contested between the Federation, Romulans and Klingons, along with some Ferengi ships in the area.)