Flight of the Kingfissher Ep 1 - "Hello Spacers"

Flight of the Kingfissher Ep 1 – “Hello, Spacers”

[The hum and crackle of a radio]

Radio Free Frontier DJ (Robert)
Hello spacers, settlers, and a special hello to all you scoundrels. You’re listening to Radio Free Frontier. If you can hear my voice, you’re only a few short starlanes from Port Solar, the brightest spot in civilization outside the old worlds. Stay tuned for the news you can use, and the hottest tunes. And remember: keep on flying.

[Flight of the Kingfissher theme]

Robert
Hello, and welcome to Kitten Marlowe Presents: Flight of the Kingfissher, an actual play of Adrift on a Sea of Stars, an original Carved from Brindlewood ttrpg. This is a game about a group of working class heroes trying to survive on the edge of space. My name is Robert Merkel, I will be the keeper for this game, as well as the person who wrote this game. My pronouns are he/him. And without further ado, let’s jump in.

[A strange, fantasy jungle]

Robert
There’s nothing sweeter than a few days of shore leave on a beautiful planet. Sure, it might be nice if this one had a real city, instead of this pre-fab research camp. But beggars can’t be choosers. Camp Sophia is nestled in an idyllic jungle, atop recently discovered Precursor ruins. Just an hour up the slow river from the white sand shore where your starcutter is moored. It’s going to be a day or so before the dig team finishes up here, and you have to transport them and their discoveries back to civilization. So it’s the good life for now.

Nat, if you would introduce yourself. And tell me, what is your crew member doing to enjoy their shore leave on this tropical paradise?

Natalia
Hi. I’m Natalia Montgomery, I also go by Nat. My pronouns are she/her.

[A radio playing jazz]

Natalia
And my crewmember, Esperanza “Zeta” Cruz, is found at the local watering hole, downing more alcohol than anyone around her. And spending time making wagers, particularly about her lasfire pistol skills. Throwing out pieces of glass into the air and shooting them out, causing little explosions of sparkling glass.

Esperanza is about 5’4” with warm, tan skin and a buzzcut that’s grown out just a little bit. She has a muscular build with strong shoulders, and a prosthetic right arm constructed from a dismantled lasfire pistol. The brushed gunmetal pieces create a hollow structure from the middle of the forearm to the wrist, in the middle of which is a continuously firing laser. A similar hollow casing forms the palm and the fingers, and small laser pulses can be seen firing within them as well.

She is wearing a sleeveless red leather jacket over a crop top. Flared jeans, combat boots, and a lasfire pistol holster at her right hip.

Robert
Alright. T.

[A jungle]

T.
My name is T. Wade. My pronouns are they/them. Dr. Avery Swann is currently slipping up a pair of undergarments, and smoothing out the front of a beautiful floral sundress. They are 5’11”, very pale. The climate of this particular world has not been their favorite. And they are in a mosquito-netted pavilion that presents the illusion of privacy, but is really just a way to keep the local fauna out. They are sweating and out of breath, as they turn to a strapping local, kiss him on the cheek, and say…

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
Well if that’s quite everything, I do have some work to do. [Clears throat] Off you trot.

Robert
And Wes.

Wes
Hi. I’m Wes Franks. My pronouns are they/them. And I am playing Captain Valentine “Shuffle” Dekk – with two Ks.

[A radio playing jazz. The roar and hum of an engine]

We see Captain Valentine Dekk currently lounging in a fold out chair, near where the starcutter, the Kingfissher, is moored. The engine is currently idling, so that there’s a small tight blue flame coming from the exhaust of the rear of it. The foldable chair is folded out from a safe distance away from it. There is currently some meat that has been fished from the sea nearby, that is on a spit that is rotating right just outside of the exhaust, so that the engines are cooking the meat itself.

And currently, the captain is wearing a floral Aloha shirt. You can see dogtags hanging, with a couple of teeth on a necklace. With a ragged, semi kind of mullet. It looks like somebody tried to trim up the sides and edges of their hair and then just kinda said, “that looks great.” And is wearing mirrored sunglasses that are reflecting the sun off. There is also a suncatcher that is beaming sunrays directly onto the face. Giving the illusion or maybe even giving the presence that somebody is enjoying the sun, the beach, the surf, everything. This is the best job ever.

Robert
Esperanza, your revelry is broken when all of a sudden, the sun is blotted out by an enormous gunship. It hovers over the excavation camp. In this moment of panic, what is your first instinct?

[The rumble of a hovering aircraft]

Natalia
My first instinct is to run out of the bar and find Dr. Avery Swann. I do a shot as I go out the door.

Robert
As you’re doing that, the dining hall speaker comes to life, and a gravelly voice fills the air.

[The hum and crackle of a radio]

Commander Thade (Robert)
Hello my friends. I’m sorry to interrupt your important work, but this planet and everything on it is the property of Commander Thade. Shortly, we will be sending down several shuttles to retrieve any valuables that you may have unearthed. We appreciate your cooperation, and look forward to resolving this without much unnecessary violence.

Robert
A handful of small craft break off from the gunship and head towards you. As you prepare to survive… The Daylight Raid of Camp Sophia.

While most Carved from Brindlewood games are about solving a mystery, Adrift on a Sea of Stars is about overcoming problems. The problem of this particular adventure is that Camp Sophia, the archaeological dig where you are currently housed, is being held hostage by Commander Thade and his gunship. If you want to get paid for this transpo job, you need to escape with the dig team and their discoveries mostly intact. This is a Complexity 6.

Natalia
I’m scared. I’m already scared.

[A jungle. The hum of the hovering airship]

Robert
So Esperanza, you ran off to try and find Dr. Avery, who when we last saw them was over in the temporary quarters, where both your crew and the dig team have been housed for the time being. These are mostly pre-fab plasti-steel buildings, small and cramped, and always slightly damp. Paint the Scene: what has the dig team done to make these cabins feel a little more like home?

T.
Because these cabins are so ramshackle and are meant to be collapsed and comported to different tropical areas every time a new dig is discovered, none of them feature a door. They’re all open doorways. So each dig team member, in order to claim their bunk, has a tapestry or other piece of fabric from home that they hang over their door, to mark theirs.

Wes
The pre-fab units have been arranged in a circle, or semi circle, facing those entryways that have the tapestries in front of them. Towards a central community area, or like a conversation pit with a bonfire area in the middle of it, or what have you. Just to kind of push the idea that you are still in a community while you’re here on this job site.

Natalia
And within each of the pre-fab buildings, each member of the dig, or whoever is present on the site, has put up pictures and artwork from home. One person started doing it, and everybody took inspiration from it. Just to make their own living space feel a little more personal.

Robert
You quickly spot Dr. Avery Swann leaving the mosquito netting of their cabin.

Esperanza “Zeta” Cruz (Natalia)
Hi. We have to go. We have to go now.

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
What’s the problem, Z? I need to freshen up.

Esperanza “Zeta” Cruz (Natalia)
Uh, look at the sky. Look at the sky. Look at it.

T.
And looking up, I go…

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
I take it that’s not one of ours?

Esperanza “Zeta” Cruz (Natalia)
Definitely not. We have to go. Where’s Valentine?

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
The captain is always with the ship. Of course. If you can’t find him there, find somebody else’s.

Esperanza “Zeta” Cruz (Natalia)
I came to find you, okay?

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
Well I have to collect my things. I’ll meet you at the Kingfissher.

Esperanza “Zeta” Cruz (Natalia)
Are you going to be okay?

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
Well, that remains to be seen. It was a bit rougher than usual… Oh! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. It’s the usual bundle-and-run. I’ll be right behind you.

Esperanza “Zeta” Cruz (Natalia)
Okay.

Natalia
Zeta takes off towards the ship.

T.
And Dr. Swann goes back into their tent and begins collecting papers, research, all of the, you know, “cluttered desk – clear mind” remnants that have to be shuffled to be organized later.

Robert
Unfortunately, due to the dense nature of the jungle surrounding this dig site you were unable to land the Kingfissher directly at it. So the ship itself is about an hour’s trip down the river, on one of the camp’s hover skiffs.

About an hour down that river… Valentine, what are you up to in this moment?

[Jazz playing on a radio. The hum of an engine]

Wes
You see the captain has now gone from a state of relaxation to a state of flusterment. Is trying to pick up a boombox…

[The music cuts out]

Wes
but also a foldable chair, but also don’t forget the fish, and everything… And is just looking out, like…

Capt. Valentine “Shuffle” Dekk (Wes)
Tio?! What happened to the guy that was helping out around here? I gotta…

Wes
He’s trying to open up one of the side compartments on the Kingfissher and everything. And then finally sees probably somebody that works within the dig site. Is like trying tow ave them down, like…

Capt. Valentine “Shuffle” Dekk (Wes)
Can I get approval to fly? I gotta get approval to fly. You can’t hear me over the engine, I’ve got it idling. You’ve gotta get closer.

Robert
A young woman, dressed in the sort of t-shirt and cargo pants that seems to be the uniform of these archaeologists, runs up to get closer to you so that she can hear your voice. This is Diana “Daredevil” Chapman, the youngest member of the dig team. And the one who has been assigned as liaison to your ship.

Diana “Daredevil” Chapman (Robert)
Hi! Yes, sorry. Do you know what’s going on?

Capt. Valentine “Shuffle” Dekk (Wes)
Yeah. Diana, right?

Diana “Daredevil” Chapman (Robert)
Yes. Diana, yes. That’s me.

Capt. Valentine “Shuffle” Dekk (Wes)
It’s nice to meet you. Captain Valentine. You can call me Shuffle. I think we met before. You’re the liaison, right?

Diana “Daredevil” Chapman (Robert)
Right, yes. Do we need to evacuate? What is going on?

Capt. Valentine “Shuffle” Dekk (Wes)
There’s a big fuck-off ship that’s blocking out my sun rays. I was trying to catch some sun. And there’s the… You’ve got wonderful purple tail. It’s just practically flying out of the ocean into the nets, and everything. So I thought I would take advantage of that. And now there’s… Captain Thade? I hadn’t heard of that one. Thade? Fade? Whatever. It seems that he hacked your intercom systems. Sent a message talking about how all of this belongs to him now. So I need to get approval to get my bird – well, it’s kinda… it’s technically… it’s a bird. Gotta get my bird up in the air, get an hour down the river. I gotta get my crew so we can get the heck outta here. You understand?

Diana “Daredevil” Chapman (Robert)
Of course. Is there anything I can do to help?

Capt. Valentine “Shuffle” Dekk (Wes)
Absolutely, yeah. 100%. So I’m gonna be working on getting the bird ready to get up in the air. I need you to get approval from the Flight Deck that’s gonna want me to get outta here. Because the last time I was stuck in a newfangled situation like this, I got fine after fine thrown at my ass, okay? And I really can’t handle that right now, okay champ?

Diana “Daredevil” Chapman (Robert)
Sure. Yeah, I don’t know if we have an official flight crew, or anything. This is a small operation, but –

Capt. Valentine “Shuffle” Dekk (Wes)
That’s a perfect moment – we don’t have to worry about any of that – ignore everything that I just said for the past five minutes. If you’d just go ahead and come with me, alright. Do you know how to use a turret?

Diana “Daredevil” Chapman (Robert)
[Hesitates] Uh… uh…

Capt. Valentine “Shuffle” Dekk (Wes)
We do not have a turret on board this ship, but we do have means of making it look like we do. So if you can be convincing with that, that would be really solid.

Diana “Daredevil” Chapman (Robert)
I could give it my best shot, but I’m an archaeologist. I’ve never fired a gun in my life.

Capt. Valentine “Shuffle” Dekk (Wes)
There’s always a first time for something, Daredevil. Time for you to earn that nickname, alright?

[A jungle. The hum of a hovering airship]

Robert
Coming back up to the camp. Esperanza, you approach the boat shed, one of the larger buildings in this compound. It houses a few hover skiffs – slow moving vehicles meant to transport people and goods up and down the river to a safer spot, where your starcutter is current moored. The Paint the Scene for the boatshed: Despite being largely used by scientifically minded people, there are evidence of good luck charms and silly rituals all over. What of those do you spot?

Natalia
The way the skiffs exit the boat shed is framed by a wooden doorway, above which is nailed a horseshoe.

T.
Despite the advent of electricity being commonplace in lanterns and other sources of illumination, the boat shed itself is only lit by one oil lamp, which must always remain lit.

Wes
You can see that there are wide-brimmed hats that are typically worn, that are kept on the boats, that have hooks caught in the brim of them. And they’re from catches. Especially, like, big or lucky catches that they’ve made of fish.

Robert
Inside the boat shed is James Kim, a slight man, probably in his late 40s, with thick rimmed glasses. He’s the lead archaeologist at Camp Sophia, and has been the person who ultimately will be responsible for you getting your paychecks for this job.

James Kim (Robert)
Do… Do you know what’s going on? There was an announcement over the speaker, but—

Esperanza “Zeta” Cruz (Natalia)
Yes. We have to go. That is the crux of the issue, is we have to go. So get in a boat. We’re gonna go.

Robert
And as you say that, you hear the distinctive sound of a spaceship engine coming closer and closer, and hovering for just a moment before it splashes down into the river that runs through the camp. The first of the shuttlecraft has landed.

Natalia
I physically pick him up and I throw him in a boat.

Robert
Yeah. You are a big, strong woman. I think you can do that pretty easily.

Esperanza “Zeta” Cruz (Natalia)
Okay. Who else… Who is up river, who is down river?

James Kim (Robert)
Diana is the only one that we left down by the starcutter. Everyone else is either here or in the ruins themselves.

Esperanza “Zeta” Cruz (Natalia)
How many people?

James Kim (Robert)
A dozen?

Esperanza “Zeta” Cruz (Natalia)
[Sighs] Okay. Are you any good at fighting? Any good at anything, other than digging?

Robert
That sounds to me like a Recon move. The Recon move is when you look for an edge, explore the unknown, or otherwise gather information, describe how you’re doing so and roll with an appropriate ability. If you could roll that with Presence.

Natalia
Okay. So Esperanza is holding him by the shoulders, just kind of yelling in his face, and sees that he’s maybe kind of panicking. Reaches into a pocket and pulls out a small circular medal with a buffalo imprinted on it, and presses that into his hand.

Esperanza “Zeta” Cruz (Natalia)
You have more strength than you think. You have more bravery than you know. You can do this.

Natalia
And I’m gonna use my nickel buffalo medal of valor to get advantage on this roll.

[Rolls dice] My presence is 0, so… Hah, okay. That’s gonna be a six…

T.
[Chuckles nervously] Off to a bang up start…

Robert
Alright. Let’s cut back to Dr. Avery Swann.

T.
Dr. Swann takes a lumpy metal ore, pock marked space rock off a stack of papers. Kisses it for luck, and shoves it into their messenger bag. They pick up all their papers, organize them-ish, shove that in there as well. Looking around frantically… Having difficulty trying to decide between personal effects, research notes… There is a firearm that is on the bedside table that is completely ignored. Completely lost in the sauce, as far as this parchment and ink, and just kind of shuffle…

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
The manuscript… The manuscript… Uh… It was trash anyway!

T.
Throws it off onto the floor. And then sees a heavy looking case, and just in their heart knows that that is not going to be something they can drag through the jungle… And has a moment, then pokes their head outside the shed. Goes…

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
Um, Tom! Tom. Come back. No, I’m not looking for round two. Keep your pants on. We have bigger fish to fry. Listen: these artifacts. Thade is going to confiscate everything in this camp. But if you have everything, it takes a lot of time to get through, and some things might be over-missed. Anything in a big crate labeled “Dig Finds” is going to be confiscated immediately.

T.
Swann unlatches the accordion case. Picks up their accordion, sighs… Kisses it, puts it on the bed, and then puts the sheet over it, tucking it in. And then takes the case and gives it to this digger, and says…

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
Put the shiny one in here.

Robert
As you’re telling Tom this, you are outside, so you can see the shuttlecraft that lowers, hovers for a moment, and then splashes down in the river. You can also see the plank that extends from its door. And the group of men, dressed in what looks mostly like Navy uniforms, but a little too ramshackle to be a proper organized military, begin disembarking. Lasfire rifles at the ready.

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
Quickly, now. There’s a good lad.

T.
I kiss him on the cheek, pat it with my hand, and then push him away as I tighten my bag against me and begin… casually, as if this happens to me all the time, strolling toward the boat shed.

Robert
I think that sounds like a Day Move. The Day Move says when you do something risky or face something you fear, name what you’re afraid will happen if you fail or lose your nerve, then roll with the appropriate ability. So to me, that sounds like a Day Move with Composure to keep your cool. What are you afraid will happen if you don’t?

T.
I’m afraid I will be mistaken for the leader of this operation, and brought aboard Thade’s ship for interrogation.

Robert
Alright. Let’s see those dice.

T.
[Rolls dice] Uh, I kissed my space rock for luck. So I’m going to mark that…

5 and 5 is 10, +1 is 11.

[The hum of the Kingfissher’s engine]

Robert
Alright, Valentine. You’ve managed to get the Kingfissher booted up and ready to go. You have Diana Chapman on board with you, and as she’s sort of looking around… While she’s been on a few spaceships before, she has no experience in driving or operating on in any way. What are you doing?

Capt. Valentine “Shuffle” Dekk (Wes)
Alright. So you’re gonna look around the area right here…

Wes
And the Kingfissher, the inside of it looks like three Winnebagos that have kind of been smushed together…

Natalia
[Snorts]

Wes
I guess you could say. With one of the Winnebagos slightly forward than the rest of them. On the outside, it looks like a sleek, cool, like Star Fox ship. But on the inside it’s much more functional. And so there’s like those rotating, just like… Probably dreadfully upholstered chairs that are all earth tones. And he’s just like…

Capt. Valentine “Shuffle” Dekk (Wes)
Okay, you can go ahead and sit down in any of these chairs, right here. Except not that one, because that’s Esperanza’s chair. And Zeta… You’re gonna get tossed out the airlock real quick. That’s how you get locked out, you know? [Chuckles] Don’t sit there, because Swann will talk about the specifications about how that is not an optimal place to sit for the rest of the venture… So I think just that chair, right there.

Now, if you see any buttons that you wanna press? Don’t touch those, okay? But the buttons that you don’t wanna press? The ones that you’re just like, “uh, it’s just like a switch”? Go crazy. I have no idea what those things do.

[Mechanical beeps and bloops]

Wes
He’s gonna go around and wheel around and sit in the front primary chair that leans back a little bit more. And is gonna start the process of hitting the 39 different switches and everything like that. Turning on these CRT monitors that are barely giving out any readouts or anything like that.

Capt. Valentine “Shuffle” Dekk (Wes)
Do you like music, or anything like that? I probably can’t find a tape or anything. It’s probably not for the best. Uh… Alright… Dr. Chapman, do you know anything about physics?

Diana “Daredevil” Chapman (Robert)
I mean, I took a few classes in undergrad, but that’s… You know, only the most basic.

Capt. Valentine “Shuffle” Dekk (Wes)
Okay. Newtonian principles are kind of familiar with you and everything like that? Objects at rest stay at rest, objects in motion, you know…

Diana “Daredevil” Chapman (Robert)
Yes. Yes, yes, yes. I understand the basics, yes.

Capt. Valentine “Shuffle” Dekk (Wes)
Okay, alright. So thanking the fact that I don’t have any guns online for this, because it was supposed to be a simple pleasure cruise and everything, you know.. I’m gonna have to do a fly by on these guys. You know what that is, right?

Diana “Daredevil” Chapman (Robert)
Uh, I assume the description of it is pretty much self-explanatory. You’re going to fly by them.

Capt. Valentine “Shuffle” Dekk (Wes)
Very close, very fast, very rapidly. Gona try to knock them in the water, and everything like that. The thing is I’m gonna need you to make sure I don’t get too close to land? Because the Kingfissher here, she’s an ornery girl, and everything like that. If that stomach of hers grazes anything of land while she’s going, she’s gonna tip over ass over teakettle. We’re gonna be in the drink faster than you can slurp down one of those mac and cheese protein packs that we got back there.

Robert
Alright. Well the ship that you are attempting to do a flyby on is a full military-grade gunship, and you are just a small cargo ship. So I think this sounds to me like a Night Move. When you do something risky or face something you fear, name what you’re afraid will happen if you fail or lose your nerve. The Keeper will tell you how it is worse than you fear. You can choose to back down or go through with it. If you go through with it, roll with the appropriate ability.

So what are you afraid will happen if something goes wrong with this flyby?

Wes
Oh, I’m gonna do more harm than help, in this situation. Probably damaging the Kingfissher pretty badly.

Robert
Oh, it’s worse than that. Not only will you damage the Kingfissher. You will alert the gunship that there is maybe more here than they bargained for. And they will come down in stronger force.

Wes
That seems fair… Luckily, my Specialist move is the Ace Pilot. So if it can fly, I can fly it. If it rolls or floats, I’ll give it my best shot. When I am piloting a flying vehicle, all associated rolls are taken with advantage.

Robert
Okay. So if you could roll me the Night Move. I think this is also with Composure.

Wes
Perfect. Alright… I’ll gratefully take the +2 of my Composure. I rolled two 3s and a 1. So I’m gonna take those two 3s, add my +2, and I’m gonna get an 8.

[A jungle. The hum of a hovering airship]

Robert
Let’s head back up to the boat shed, where Esperanza maybe came on a little too strong to Dr. Kim, who’s now sort of cowering with nerves, as he seems more afraid of you than of the raiders attacking his outpost.

Esperanza “Zeta” Cruz (Natalia)
Okay! Stay in the boat! Just stay in the boat. Get down in the boat. Don’t be visible. Stay in the boat.

Natalia
And I’m gonna go run out and just collect more people to get on this boat.

Robert
As you leave the boat shed, you see that the group of soldiers in naval uniforms have begun to spread out through the camp, trying to find people and whatnot.

Natalia
Are any of them, like, actively threatening a person right now?

Robert
I don’t think any of them are actively threatening a person right now, but that’s only because he various archaeologists at this dig stie seem to pretty much be willing to do whatever the big men with guns say.

Natalia
Mmhmm, mmhmm. But I mean, they’re like corralling people?

Robert
They are corralling people over towards the dining hall, where you just left from.

Natalia
Okay. I keep my gun tucked under my jacket, and I start making my way toward the dining hall.

Robert
Okay, this sort of covert move seems like another good Day Move with Composure. What are you afraid will happen if someone notices you?

Natalia
Oh, I’m afraid they’ll see the person with the gun, and they will shoot the person with the gun.

Robert
That sounds about right. So if you can roll that with Composure.

Natalia
Okay. That is going to be a 6 on the dice, +1 is a 7.

Robert
Avery, as you’re walking casually towards the boatshed, you see your compatriot, Esperanza Cruz, walking a little less casually away from the boat shed. And you notice the bulge underneath her jacket.

T.
I’m always eyeing a bulge…

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
Esperanza! Z! Z, what are you doing? We don’t have time for them. Come on!

Esperanza “Zeta” Cruz (Natalia)
What do you mean, we don’t have time for them? This is the job. This is the job. This how we get paid.

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
What does it matter if we’re paid, if we’re dead?

Esperanza “Zeta” Cruz (Natalia)
There are people in there. Do they not matter to you?

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
Where did they go to school?

Esperanza “Zeta” Cruz (Natalia)
Get in the fucking boat.

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
Alright. Don’t do anything… rash.

Natalia
Zeta just gives the most non-response to that.

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
God damn estrogen up to the gills, that one. Always has to make a… [Mumbles]

T.
And I go into the boat shed.

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
Ah! Dr. Kim!

James Kim (Robert)
Oh, yes. Hello. There was a loudspeaker, and then your coworker threw me in this boat, and… What is going on?

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
Yes, she’s like that. Coworker’s a big strong. We are being raided. This happens sometimes. The last vestiges of the military like to go around to the frontier worlds, pretending that they’re still the ones in charge, and taking anything they can sell or strip for parts, without actually understanding what it actually is or its impact on civilization as a whole. If they can’t turn it into a gun, they don’t seem to know what to do with it.

We’re just going to make our way up to our little skiff of ours that we came in on, and we’ll get out of here as best as we’re able – and ideally, Miss Cruz will be along behind us with another boat, and the rest of your team. But the real valuable asset to me is what’s between those two ears of yours. So, step lively.

Let’s see if we can make this work. There has to be a “Go” button somewhere around here…

James Kim (Robert)
Oh, these ships are very easy to do. It’s just, you know, turn the key, forward, back, that’s very simple. But, no. What about the relics? We’ve unearthed so much, here. We can’t just leave it all for them.

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
Everybody’s always got something that they need, no one values their own skin… [Sighs] Alright. Please tell me that you’ve stored them all in one convenient location?

James Kim (Robert)
Most of them are stored at the dig itself, yes. I think a few people might ave taken a souvenir or two back with them, but most of them are stored at the dig site.

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
Well, we can trust them to keep that in their pockets, then… I’ve got, the…

T.
I don’t want to keep calling it The Shiny One. I wanna figure out what we actually dug up that is of value. Like something specific that is a Precursor.

Robert
Okay. Why don’t you roll me a Recon move with Reason, to see if the shiny thing is actually something of value or use?

T.
Oh, no… [Chuckles] 5 and 1 is 6, +2 is 8.

Robert
Another mixed success. Alright. Speaking of mixed successes, Esperanza, you are walking through the campsite towards the mess hall, where as I mentioned, the soldiers have been gathering the scientists. How are you feeling in this moment?

Natalia
Definitely outnumbered.

Robert
Why don’t you take the Condition: Outnumbered, Outgunned. Because while you’re safe for the moment, should things break bad, as confident and capable of a soldier you are, there are more of them. But, as I said, for the time being, you are managing to make your way somewhat inconspicuously to the dining hall.

Natalia
I obviously don’t blend in with all of these people. I’m trying my best to. But more than anything, I just… Any archaeologist I come up to that is out of earshot of one of these naval officer guys, I’m just telling them…

Esperanza “Zeta” Cruz (Natalia)
Go to the boatshed.

Natalia
And then just looking away, like…

Esperanza “Zeta” Cruz (Natalia)
Hmm… Did someone say something? I didn’t say anything… Go to the boatshed. Hmm? Did you? Hmm? Huh? Go to the boatshed.

Natalia
Just trying to get as many people as I can to sort of, like, start making their way that way. Maybe if we can all run, we can get away with it.

Robert
Well unfortunately for you, while you are able to get into the ears of a few people on your way to the dining hall, the majority of the camp has already been rounded up and placed inside the dining hall, and there are men with guns standing outside of it.

The dining hall itself is another prefabricated building, its thin walls contain a kitchen and a long dining table. It consistently smells of coffee and mildew. Paint the Scene: the dining hall is the closest thing that Camp Sophia has to a social center. What signs show how the dig team spend their downtime here?

Wes
There is a corner of this prefab unit that has very cheaply made, probably even fabricated from a 3D printer type thing, or anything… Made themselves streamers and a little disco ball, and a small, cheap karaoke unit with microphone.

Natalia
There are a bunch of polaroid pictures on the wall under a sign that says “Best Dish This Week” of different archaeology members with the dish that they made for each other.

T.
There’s one person, like, four times.

Natalia
[Laughs] there’s one guy who’s like actually the best cook, and the rest of them are like, “I made nachos…”

T.
There’s a chipped and worn chess set at one table that is dedicated to that purpose, its wooden pieces much handled and smoothed with many thumbs.

Robert
As you approach the dining hall, like I said, there are men with guns standing both outside the front door and the back door of the kitchen. There are large windows where you can see that inside, the majority of the dig team has been rounded up – those you have not managed to either shove into boats or direct towards boats surreptitiously.

Natalia
How many, like, “not us” guys are there?

Robert
At the moment, probably about 20.

Natalia
Fuck. That’s so many…

Robert
But you saw more than one shuttlecraft detach from the mains hip.

Natalia
Uh huh… [Sighs] Outside this door is just two of them?

Robert
Yeah, absolutely.

Natalia
I’m gonna get up to as close to either of them as I can. I’m going to shoot one and then try and choke out the other one.

Robert
This 100% sounds like a Night Move.

Natalia
Yeah. No, for sure.

T.
Oh no!

Robert
So what are you afraid will happen if you fail?

Natalia
Oh, I’m afraid I’ll be way to loud about it and more of them will come out.

T.
Too loud, shooting the gun?

Natalia
It’s a lasfire pistol! It doesn’t have a… like… a gunpowder chamber. I don’t know how it works. It’s quiet to me.

Wes
I’m sure Esperanza will be able to use the body of the other guy as a silencer to kill the other guy, or something like that. I don’t know.

Natalia
We’ve moved past loud guns! We are so far in the future, loud guns don’t exist.

Wes
We’ve made a technological advancement, you know. We have the ingenuity.

T.
It was the first problem when we got to space.

Wes
Absolutely.

T.
There’s no sound in space, so we can’t have loud guns.

Natalia
Exactly.

Robert
Well unfortunately, it’s much worse than that…

Natalia
[Laughs]

Robert
Not only will the admittedly quiet noise of your gunfire draw some attention, it will also draw the suspicion that there are more than just scientists here. And the crew of Commander Thade may start being a bit rougher with some of their prisoners, to the point where some of them are severely injured or even die.

Natalia
Yup.

Robert
Alright so that is a Night Move with Vitality. This is going to be at disadvantage because you are Outnumbered and Outgunned.

Natalia
Don’t say that! That’s mean! Alright, let me just roll this last one… Ugh. That last one would have been a 6, but I don’t get to count it. So 2+6 is 8, +2 is 10.

Robert
Okay.

T.
That’s my bodyguard!

[The hum of the Kingfissher’s engine]

Robert
Alright Valentine, as your cargo ship The Kingfissher does its close flyby over the gunship…

[The ship zooms by]

Robert
…you’re close enough to actually read the name that is written across the side of it: The Azure Dragon, written in bright blue letters. Luckily, your temporary crewmember did her job and made sure that you didn’t get very close to the ground at all, so you didn’t take any damage from that. However, you did get close enough to the gunship that they have definitely noticed you, and are starting to train some of their weapons on you.

Wes
It would not be me if I did not just immediately do this. So I’m gonna go ahead and mark my first Shades of the Past, to bump that up from a mixed success to a full success. So that I don’t get – I don’t like guns being trained on me. That’s actually the exact opposite of what I wanna do.

Robert
Alright. If you’d like to go ahead and read the prompt, and then narrate.

Wes
A flashback to the last time you said goodbye to someone you care about. Why are you worried it may be the last time?

We see Captain Dekk hitting some nozzles, flying the Kingfissher, this kind of, like, semi rickety but also kind of graceful starcutter. Swooping down and blowing back the exhaust, blowing back, like, tropical trees. Palm fronds going all over the place. Leaning in close. And the captain goes…

Capt. Valentine “Shuffle” Dekk (Wes)
Alright, Diane. You know what I always say in a time like this? You know what Captain Valentine “Shuffle” Dekk says at a time like this, when you got a big old bully staring down at you in an Etrusian Point Bay dive bar. And you know what, he just found out that you’ve been cheating the last four hands of poker.

So he’s got you held up by your throat, with the back of your head up against the wall. And looking at you, and saying, “Hey bud, do you know exactly what you’re doing? Do you know exactly what kind of mess you’re stepping in? Do you know exactly who you’re dealing with? What are you gonna do about this?”

And you know what I say to them every time? Old Captain Dekk looks them right squarely in the eyes and says, “You know what I wanna do? I’m gonna show you something that’s gonna blow your skirt up, pal.”

And he’s gonna prepare that evasive maneuver. And look over, and in the frame of the first viewport of this ship, that you can see on the front end… Much in the kind of, like, 1999 Honda Civic or a, you know ’93 Toyota Camry, you have little tchotchkes. Little knickknacks hanging up around everything. And there are little frame ports, like little frames from film that have been cut out and are, like, plastered on the edges of this ship.

And the captain looks at one that has this woman in the foreground, where she’s crying. She’s crying into her hands. In the background there’s this figure that looks like it could be a cowboy or something, that’s in the frame of a door. And is, like, silhouetted. Like they’re leaving. And the captain thinks back on this moment with a blink that cuts like there’s, like, Super 8 film or something that’s catching this moment from his own life…

[The clatter of a film reel, followed by the hum of a HVAC]

Wes
…Where you see this young girl, about 13. The same woman that’s in this photo that the captain has. Where she is isolated. She is by herself, sitting at this, like, prefab unit kitchen table. And working on some sort of homework or something, writing something out. And you hear, like, a alarm clock going off, ruffling cans moving, groaning, crunching, moving around… As you see Captain Dekk stepping out of the back bedroom of this unit. Looking a mess, looking like he’s late and everything. Looking around, trying to find his jacket. This kind of mock, like, mixture denim that has a leather tall collar with like buckles on it and has patches – like maybe Air Force in nature? Some kind of Air Force or something.

And he goes, “Alright, sweetie. Dad’s gotta get going, and everything. So Miss Ratinsky’s gonna go ahead and take care of you. She’s got all of your schedules figured out for school, and everything like that.”

The kid is obviously ignoring him, what’s he’s saying.

He’s like, “I went ahead and I stored up a bunch of ration points on your card for you, and everything. So you can go out, get whatever you need. Just gonna be a simple… Uh… It’s a hauling run, sweetie. You don’t… Hey, kiddo, are you listening to me? Hey, kiddo? Is there something that’s really important there that maybe you can say to me before I have to go for about six months?”

Kid goes, “Bye.”

“Cool. Bye. Great. Really touching. Fantastic. Well, alright. I love you, and I hope that you do well in school, and I will see you when I get back from this run. And I promise it’ll go by quicker than you think.”

“That’s what you said last time.”

“That’s what I say every time. And you know some times things happen, sweetie. Okay? Sometimes you have a contract where they don’t pay out the fuel card, and so you have to go play a couple games of chance so that you can get enough fuel so that you can come back home, so that you can take all the money and you can buy, you know, great new schoolbooks and everything for… You’re right. I’m being impatient. I’m being insensitive to your thoughts and your feelings. So I apologize, and I will see you when I get back, okay?”

“Sure, Captain Dekk.”

“Great. Great. Good talk…” And is going to turn and walk out the door, with the door sliding open. And you have that kind of same, like, frame shot coming back to it…

[The clatter of a film reel, followed by the hum of the Kingfissher’s engine]

Wes
And just the thoughts reeling back there of being, like, I’ve gotta get away, this is the last job, I’ve gotta get back to where I’m going… And there’s no risk, no chance, the captain is going to let anything stop this bird from getting back to where he needs to get it to go.

Robert
Your years of flying experience prove themselves in this moment, as you take the Kingfissher just close enough to skim the ship.

[The ship zooms by]

Robert
Maybe knock it off balance very slightly. And more importantly, knock one of the landing vessels off of its balance. And you see one spiral down and crash into the jungle below.

However, while you are able to get some info, do a little bit of damage, and then fly away safely, you do notice behind you a shuttlecraft that is larger than any of the others that you have seen so far detach from the ship, lower down as though its going to land on the river below you. And this one has a picture of a blue dragon painted on the side of it.

[The hum and rumble of a ship’s enormous engine]

Robert
Avery. As you reach into the accordion case where you hid a piece of Precursor tech, you draw your hand away, as it is hot to the touch.

[Strange, alien humming]

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
Ah!

Robert
It doesn’t seem to be an intact piece of Precursor tech, but rather several broken shards. And you notice that where you touched it, it glows and is warm. This is your first Asset: pieces of Precursor tech that begin humming ominously, glowing, and are hot to the touch.

[The humming fades away]

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
Well there’s something new…

Robert
But also…

T.
Hmm... Mmhmm…

Robert
As your hand was singed, I’d like you to take the Condition: Singed Fingers, as you draw them away from this hot piece of metal.

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
Ah! This is why I became an academic.

T.
I put the tip of my little finger in my mouth instinctly, to try and heal it. And as I’m doing that, an idea comes to mind.

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
They don’t know what this is, either. I mean, I certainly didn’t expect that to burn me. We don’t know anything about Precursor tech. It’s all fringe science. We don’t need to get away from the bully with our lunch money. We need to let them get away with something that they think is more valuable.

When I first went off world, my mother told me to keep the majority of my funds rolled up in my sock, and have only a little bit of pocket money on my person. That way if I were accosted by a mugger, they would take the lesser sum, thinking that they had taken everything. We don’t need to hide the assets. We need to convince them that they’ve taken them, and give them junk. Where are you storing the majority of the find?

James Kim (Robert)
Like I said, the majority is down at the dig site itself. And there’s also a team down there, right now. Three of us, I believe.

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
Right. We need to get to them, quietly and quickly.

Robert
Esperanza, I would love you to describe exactly how you take down these two soldiers with military precision.

Natalia
Zeta walks up to the dining hall with the gun still tucked under the vest, cradling her arm, pretending like it’s injured. And walks up to the two men guarding this door. Doesn’t even let them get a word out, and immediately pulls out the gun, points it at one, shoots him in the head, grabs the other one by the throat, takes him tot eh ground, and just holds down on his larynx until he stops breathing.

Robert
It takes longer that you would like, but quicker than one would expect for this man to die completely.

Natalia
I’m going to the back door, to try and attempt the same thing. I want all exits available.

Robert
Absolutely. You do that with ease, taking it down another two guards. And now you have a clear path into the mess hall.

Natalia
I would love to look through a window into the mess hall, and see if I can figure out the best way to get these people out of here, without anyone getting hurt.

Robert
That sounds like a Recon Move to me. If you would go ahead and roll that with Reason.

Natalia
Ooh, boy… That’s gonna be an 8 + 0. So just 8.

Robert
We’ll get back to you in just a moment, because the landing craft that your captain saw exit the gunship is now touching down in the river.

[The hum and rumble of the landing craft]

Robert
Esperanza and Avery, you both see this happen. And this time, when the door opens and the gangplank goes out…

[Slow, sinister military music]

Robert
After a few rows of these same sort of, you know, Naval uniform soldiers, you see a man walking out in an overdecorated military costume. Gold braid, medals… Every sort of ridiculous accessory that one could imagine a general would be wearing bedecks his Navy jacket. He walks with a swagger as he takes a look around.

Commander Thade (Robert)
Alright, folks. It looks like things are proceeding well, here. If a group of you gentlemen would like to accompany me, I think it’s time we head towards the dig.

Robert
And Commander Thade and his closest bodyguards break off from the rest of the camp, and head over towards the mostly buried, enormous stone structure that is the Precursor ruins that this camp has been digging up.

T.
I just invoked my mother giving me advice about how to avoid robbery. I watch as Thade heads directly to where I needed to be, quickly and quietly. And scrapping that plan, say to Dr. Kim…

Dr. Avery Swann (T.)
Well, I never listened to my mother back then. I don’t see why I should start now.

[Flight of the Kingfissher theme]

Kim
Flight of the Kingfissher is a Kitten Marlowe production. This episode was edited and produced by Kim Dalton, and feature da theme song by Jason Myers. You can find out more about us by visiting KittenMarlowe.com, signing up for our newsletter, or following us on socials. For Discord access, exclusive cast talkbacks, ttrpg materials, and more, visit Patreon.com/KittenMarlowe and join the folks on the frontier, our Kitten Marlowe patrons, in supporting artist-driven storytelling. Thanks for listening.