Starforged: Valentin Sikorski (Session 2)

Session 2 of my Ironsworn: Starforged actual play journal. Is Valentin going to be able to pick up and deliver the package?

Details about truths, character and the starting sector.

Flashback: Alone

As Orca jumped to the orbit of Thorn, Yelena took her legs from the control panel and kindly moved Jones from her lap to the ground.

“It’s time for delivery.” She opened the black box to reassure herself that the package is still there. Crystal clear cube, roughly the size of a human fist. was still there.” Let’s land and find Mrs Sikorski.”

“Rook to Portent. Data courier with a package, preparing to land.” Only radio silence answered her. Unusual, something is odd here. She repeated the message several times. Then suddenly it cracked in the radio speakers and a young voice of a child answered:

“Hello? Is anyone there? Help me please! Please….” sobbing interrupted the sound. “Calm down kid, calm down. What is happening? Could you find someone grown-up?”

“I am sorry… I think… they are all … dead…. they are all dead. And there is the creature. A scary one. Never saw it whole… Please, help me. I have been hiding for weeks already…”

Yelena looked at her assault rifle attached to the wall in the cabin. She quickly plotted the landing trajectory.” I guess Jones, the package is gonna return to the sender. But hold on, We have a rescuing to do. And maybe a bit of hunting as well”.

The package delivery

Karma station is an admirable piece of engineering. Hundreds of huge hydroponic farms produce enough food to feed thousands of workers living here and a huge part of the sector’s population. Suprinsingly, it orbits a desert planet. Where do they take all the water? The station iscontrolled by a local farmer’s guild and they are keeping their secrets.

It’s not the nicest place to be. The guild struggles to keep the order here. Crime is common. I decided to leave the money hidden on the ship. There’s a hidden compartment exactly for those purposes. Even if someone breaks in, they shouldn’t find it. Let’s find Kiri Braddock.

After not even an hour of asking around and I am forwarded to a table in the local cantina. A tall, aged woman with short grey hair is sitting in a booth and talking to another person. Kiri Braddock. As I approach her, a big and wide fella dressed in rugged combat armour takes two steps from shadow and stands in my way.

“Miss Braddock is busy, as you can see. Who are you and what is your business?”

“The name is Sikorski, a data courier.” I point to my pendant, “Looking for miss Braddock to pick up a data package for Mr Book. She will know. And I am happy to wait”. I figured it’s better to use Julio’s call sign.

He nods and approaches Kiri and whispers something to her. She gives me a grim look and whispers back.

“Come in 30 minutes and bring the payment,” he says.

Perfect, finally something goes smoothly. The box with the payment was still in the hidden compartment. Thankfully it’s not that big so I was able to strap it on my body and hide it under my jacket. I realized I don’t even know what was in there. Sometimes it’s better not to know.

“So you are Mr Book’s friend. Hmm.” She said as I was sitting before her. “Is Julio feeling old already so he sends youngsters?”. I glanced over at Jones. Light purple and ochre flashes. She is suspicious. “I have been working with Mr Book for some time, I suppose he considers me trustworthy.” I slide the package with payment to her over the table. “Do you have the data?” She took the package into her lap and checked the content. She nodded at the big fella.

He placed a transparent data cube in front of me. Blue tint. That’s military-grade.

I took it and put it into a hidden pocket. “Pleasure was mine.”

“Do you, by any chance know a nice place to stay and someone who could help me to get some supplies I need a bit of rest before I go back.”

She raised her eyebrows. “There are no nice places around. It’s just dirt and mould everywhere. But Lowell can introduce you to some folks in the port to resupply your ship.” The big fella nods.

As she said, we didn’t have trouble refilling fuel and of course, plenty of rations to get around here. Food gets only more expensive as it travels from here. I was tempted to stay and have a couple of drinks to cheer up myself. But I am in hurry.

“Common Jones, going back. Should be easier than getting here”.

The journey back was indeed easier and safer, just jumping through drifts along the known paths. Yet it took some time to go all the way to Prism Station.

Once you see Prism Station you can immediately tell that it is a home of scavengers. A chaotic patchwork of old starship wrecks welded together using plates of scrap metal from destroyed ships and stations. People used what they found to build it piece by piece over time. It’s a wonder it still holds together.

“Orca to Prism, have you got a free spot for a courier?”

“Prism to Orca. We don’t really have time to babysit you. Just suit yourself, find a spot. Prism over and out.”

“Well, that wasn’t really welcoming, Jones, was it?”. Prism is quite a chaotic place to dock in. Thankfully I wasn’t here for the first time and I found one empty airlock. Not far away from Julio’s place. The corridors of Prism Station were a bit more busy than usual. People running around, some of them injured, other’s dragging around welding equipment. Bots beeping like crazy. I buzzed at Julio’s door.

“Young Valentin, welcome back, what took you so long?” sounds from the speaker before I even say anything.”

Julio opens the door, and glances over my shoulder, perhaps to make sure nobody is tailing me. Wild grey beard and unkempt curly hair, dressed in shabby clothes, hands always a bit dirtier than you would expect from someone who works with data. He is certainly not a poor guy, just not interested in looks. He does crave information and knowledge.

“Julio, I am glad to be back. What is the havoc outside?”

“Raider attack. Second this month already. I don’t understand what they think they gonna find here. Do you have the data cube?”

“Here it is. It was a bit more complicated, the sender was at a different location and we had some trouble getting there.”

He sticks the cube into a reader and quickly scrolls through a stream of characters and images on the display.

“Bingo! That’s exactly what I was looking for. I’ll have to spend some time analyzing the data, but this looks very promising. I might have a bit more interesting job for you in a couple of days. Now, let’s have a drink tell me about your travels.” He reaches for a bottle of liquor and two metal mugs.