As Retribution returned to normal space from its last eidolon jump, Hammer considered his latest commission; Professor Doyce was paying well for him and his team to be escorted in and out of the pre-cursor vault on Fanum, a desert world in the Emerald Crucible sector.
An introduction of Hammer's first Path Asset - Courier. For Hammer rather than transporting data, I'm using the 'safety' factor of the asset as a representation of the 'health' of the party that he is escorting
And the first roll: Swear an Iron Vow, Dangerous - "I will escort Professor Doyce and his team into, and out of, the vault on Fanum"
Roll +heart : 5 +2 vs 6 & 8 : weak hit
* begin your quest with more questions than answers
* +1 momentum : now 3
* envision what you do to find a path forward
* set Courier asset Safety to 5
Hammer hadn't visited the Fanum vault before so was unaware of its Remnant activity (vaults always have some remnant activity), but Doyce had accepted that caveat very reasonably - unlike most of his clients.
Hammer had been through the Fanum system before though, so getting to the system was easier than it might otherwise have been.
Set A Course: Roll +supply : 3 +5 vs 6 & 7 : strong hit
* reach destination and situation is favourable
* +1 momentum : now 4
Finishing the return to normal space KOM 3-3, the Overseer AI, began the run in-system to Fanum and with nothing to do for the run, Hammer went to the armoury and began his preparations for the vault exploration.
In Doyce's research team, as well as Prof Doyce was his assistant - Asha Barlow - and 2 interns - Kessler and Sesson. Doyce's employers, the University of Nemus (a terminus hiveworld) had equipped their team well giving each of them armoured enviro-suits and sidearms, as well as a couple of grav pallets to carry their research equipment.
Having briefly inspected the researchers' kit, Hammer moved onto his own equipment. His tribarrel was - as always - in perfect condition, as were his other weapons - sniper rifle, assault rifle, grenades, SMG, pistol, knife. More than once, Hammer had been described as a walking armoury - something he considered a compliment.
OK, a bit 'cheesy', but it is an intro for Hammer's second Path asset: Weapon Master; I envision the weapons as collapsible as in the Mass Effect games
All his weapons ready, Hammer moved onto his power armour, activating a complete diagnostic program that would hopefully confirm what he already knew - that the armour was in perfect working order.
And finally, his third and last asset: Exosuit
Leaving the diagnostic to run, Hammer made his way through Retribution to where Doyce and his team were relaxing in the lounge at the ship's aft. As he entered, Hammer called out to the Overseer AI:
"KOMie, how long to our arrival at Fanum?"
"2 hours, 3 minutes," replied the Overseer's artificial female voice.
"Time for you and your team to gear up," Hammer told the professor, "You can access the armoury now."
"Thank-you," responded Doyce as he and his team stood and walked past Hammer through the doorway.
Ten minutes later, the team were each assembling their kit onto tables in the main hall from the armoury and their cargo container in the hold. As the piles on the tables grew, Hammer leant against the wall, answering questions and helping out as needed.
By the time Retribution had made planetfall at the under construction spaceport, the party was ready. The Viktor was fully loaded, out of its 337 garage pattern container and waiting in front of the cargo hold door, ready to go ...
* * * * * * *
Set A Course: Roll +supply : 4 +5 vs 3 & 10 : weak hit
* arrive, but face a cost or complication
* -1 momentum : now 3
* -1 supply : now 4
Getting out of the spaceport had been a pain, taking longer than they'd hoped. Clan Ninses' policy was obviously to restrict access to the planet's surface, but, as it seemed to be with functionaries everywhere, bribery had enabled them to leave on their 'survey' mission.
Reach A Milestone: dangerous vow : "I will escort Professor Doyce and his team into, and out of, the vault on Fanum"
* progress, now 2/10
Life on Fanum was scarce with no known organisms bigger than a domestic cat, but the titanic skeletons that they drove through and past were impressively spectacular, with the researchers taking many vids and pictures of them, even insisting on stopping several times to take measurements.
Six hours' journey got them to the sinkhole where the entrance to the vault lay, though Professor Doyce was uncharacteristically reticent about how he'd discovered its location. Disembarking from the Viktor, the first order of business was to confirm the enviro-suits were properly sealed. Although Fanum's atmosphere could sustain life, it could only marginally do so and prolonged exposure was definitely not recommended.
The seals on the suits and Hammer's armour were all good and as the team unloaded their equipment, Hammer set about connecting their safety rope to the Viktor's winch. Although they planned to use grav compensators for their vertical travel, Hammer had insisted on the rope as an added precaution. The rope fixed and research kit assembled, the team jumped into the sinkhole, Hammer first followed in turn by the researchers.
Illuminated by their lights, the rocky surface of the sinkhole passed slowly by as they descended. One hundred metres down they saw the bottom of the sinkhole and, hidden from above, a 10m by 10m door - their destination.