Zakalwe had been starting to become a little unbalanced as he piloted
the Phlebus through vast swathes of space with no sentient company.
The lack of oxygen in certain areas of the ship had probably
contributed to his disorientation as had the endless hours spent
carrying out repairs from damage that his understaffed ship had been
unable to avoid. He was consequently overjoyed to have a new crew
member even if he wasn't especially communicative.
He returned to his cabin with satisfaction and observed a brief
moment of silence for Diziet's loss before he activated the archive
computer:
Jump 1 – Zakalwe had not been happy with the prospects as he left
the Engi system. His only paths lay through an Uncharted Nebula, sure
to be full of plasma storms and pirates, or the Mantis home worlds.
He opted for the latter as more likely to contain a few decent
civilian stops. Luckily he was able to slip past Mantis border guards
without any conflict.
Jump 2 - This streak of luck continued as he happened upon a
sluggish Rebel transport that lacked heavy armament and seemed
inclined to flee rather than fight. Two humans beamed aboard the
Phlebus but the crew managed to delay them with blast doors while
they finished off the transport and then used a timely oxygen vent to
force a showdown in the medical bay. Once the boarders were
dispatched the transport yielded a Fire Bomb launcher and 39 Scrap.
Jump 3 – The Mantis presence in the sector continued to be minimal
as sensors detected no contacts.
Jump 4 – Zakalwe homed in on a distress beacon. A Mantis slave
depot had erupted into rebellion and disease as a mind-altering virus
spread through the enslaved Engi work force. Zakalwe suspected that
this had been a desperate attempt by the slaves to escape from
servitude but he reluctantly agreed to send in his crew to control
the crowds. They were successful but an addled and hulking Engi
exoskeleton managed to obliterate Diziet with a blow to the head.
Zakalwe mourned her loss but there was little he could do to save
her.
Jump 5 – Now alone, Zakalwe was horrified to find his way blocked
by a triple-shielded Rebel fighter. He saw little chance of
destroying the monstrosity and so resolved to hold out until the
engine charged. Despite severe damage to oxygen, shields and guns he
managed to get away but not before sustaining two major hull
breaches.
Jump 6 – Zakalwe wiped his brow with relief as he found himself in
an unoccupied zone of space. This was all the opportunity he needed
to laboriously repair the damage that the Phlebus had sustained.
Jump 7 – Arriving at a store Zakalwe paid to repair his hull. He
sold the Leto missile launcher. The trusty launcher had sentimental
value but now he could save his missiles for use with his new as his
new Fire bomb launcher. He also replenished the ship's empty stock of
missiles.
Jump 8 – Engi slave labour seemed to support the economy of this
sector. The Phlebus found itself in orbit around another massive
slave mining complex. No wonder the Engi in the previous sector had
been so sensitive about border infringements. Zakalwe avoided the
colony sensors and jumped away as quickly as possible.
Jump 9 – Zakalwe dropped in at another Store in the hopes of
finding some new crew to hire but none were available in the small
business he located. He left without trading.
Jump 10 – The Phlebus doubled back on itself, returning to the
first Store in order to head for the Exit sector.
Jump 11 – Finally Zakalwe's isolation was broken. He stopped off at
another Mantis colony where insectoids on electronic mounts herded a
race of horse like beings with striped orange fur. Zakalwe had never
seen a reference to these aliens in Federation texts and decided that
they must be native to the system. He approached a young specimen,
which seemed to be gesturing for his attention with a clawed forelimb
and it led him to a crashed but cloaked Engi pod. Inside was an
escaped slave, Flere, who was as glad to get a ride away from his
Mantis pursuers as Zakalwe was to have him onboard.
Evading Mantis patrols they set off for the next sector of the
galaxy.
(This is a game report taking a certain level of artistic license from the game 'FTL Faster than Light'. I'm flying a Zoltan cruiser, which I had the good fortune to unlock after only a couple of plays. Again a mixed performance in this sector but the quick recovery of a second crew member will certainly prove useful.)
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