Session 16: The System of Vorito

The CSS Whispering Shadow had traveled the required distance from the space station known as the World to enter Jump space to travel two parsecs to the Vorito system to turn this ship into the Scouts division of the third Imperium. It is one of two marks that the crew of the CSS Rising Shadow have to turn in on the planet of Vorito in that system. The crew split up so that the both ships would reach the final destination. Captain Birdlerher, Engineer Oswald Smith, Bridge Officer Rudolf, and Security crew member Ace Levy was aboard the Whispering Shadow as ordered by Captain Birdlerher. As last minute preparations were in place as the scout ship was on the verge of jumping into space a, a shrill alarm cuts through the quiet like a dagger. “Contact! One o'clock high! Closing fast—Transponder ID: Subsidized Merchant class—wait, it’s powering up weapons!” Before the crew can fully register the absurdity of a cargo hauler going aggressive, the forward sensors spike with hostile telemetry. A sudden snap-hiss of warning klaxons roars through the ship just as twin laser bursts tear across the Whispering Shadow’s starboard side. BOOM, the ship shudders violently, metal screaming as hull plates buckle. Emergency systems surge to life—fire suppressants, radiation seals, and auto-medic protocols. “JUMP INITIATED! We’re going in hot!” the engineer yells over the chaos. The stars outside stretch into thin, blinding lines as the Whispering Shadow is violently flung into jump space—damaged, wounded, and spiraling in controlled chaos through the ghostly, unreality of the in-between. Seven days later—though it feels like seconds or years—the ship emerges from the jump. Reality snaps back into place with a sudden lurch. The Whispering Shadow materializes in deep space, her hull scorched, venting trace plasma, trailing wisps of smoke from a smoldering dorsal panel. Internal lighting flickers, barely stable on emergency power. Systems are booting up, but sluggish. The ship groans like a wounded beast. One by one, crew members stir in their crash couches and compartments, groggy and nauseated. The lingering psychic weight of the traumatic jump, compounded by the unexpected hit, clings to them like oil. A slow hissing sound is the only reply to groaned curses and half-formed questions as oxygen bleeds from a microfracture in the ceiling. “Status report…” the captain croaks, blood crusting at the corner of his lip.On the cracked viewscreen ahead, the cosmos stares back—uncaring and vast—offering no comfort, only questions. And somewhere out there, a merchant ship with military-grade weapons and a taste for ambushes has just made enemies of the CSS Whispering Shadow. As the crew scrambles to do whatever repairs that they can do to keep the ship maintained until they can reach the High Port of Vorito. Oswald's skills is able to get power to life support and the M-Drive. Captain Birdlerher sets the course for the High Port and the crippled ship starts it long journey to the High Port.   Meanwhile on the High Port the traffic control center sensor alarms rang as the CSS Whispering Shadow showed up in the usuall jump vectors of the system. They immediately knew that the ship came from jump space hot and preparations were made for an emergency landing of the ship. Messages were sent out all ships in the system to clear a vector for the damaged ship. The High Port Command contacted three defense boats to intercept the scout ship for rescues reasons or prepare for another possible ship that may be following soon behind who most likely would have done the damage to the scout ship. The crew of the Rising Shadow was also alerted and like the rest of the ships a the High Port was grounded until the incident was resolved. On board the whispering shadow Oswald in the process of getting the M-drives back on-line finds a dust-covered leather-tan satchel, scuffed and aged. Faint embossing in Imperial Low Gothic reads: "Property of the Imperial Geological Survey – Archive 9-B"A faded crest of the University of Rhylanor sits beneath it, almost rubbed smooth. It looks completely mundane, like something an old surveyor forgot during retrofit. A soft hum escapes when you nudge it—a resonance, not mechanical, but almost… aware. Then he carefully opens the satchel to find something totally opposite A clearly high-quality, with a smooth magnetic seal. Inside, the foam interior is immaculate. At the center lies a golden device—roughly the size and shape of a thick data-slab or old Imperial com pad. The surface is mirror-smooth, glowing faintly with warm, liquid light that pulses gently through intricate circuitry veins etched like living art.   Five distinct foci shimmer on its surface—circular nodes glowing with individual colors:   Red – glows like a sliver of forge fire.   Blue – cool, quiet, almost calculating.   Green – pulses in a slow, organic rhythm.   Black – dull, almost invisible, yet menacing.   Purple – flares briefly with a sharp flicker, like an eye watching.   “This is not a standard Imperial system. It's self-powered, doesn't tie into any known tech tree, and is shielded against intrusion. The signatures look almost biological—like an artificial intelligence embedded in crystal logic. The five slots are empty. But once any slot would be filled it would activate. This device was designed to fit almost on any Ship. Inscribed subtly on the inner golden frame beneath the main interface you see the number 1of 9   The damage on the ship also caused damage to the ships library giving Oswald access to information that they were not able to retain before. The following data was able to be downloaded:   Classified Research Notes – Project: Eden Initiative Lead Researcher: Dr. Arnold Rushorin Imperial Clearance: Omega-Black (Psi/Tech/Ancient) Date of Initial Discovery: 300 3I Location: Cymbeline (Solomani Rim 2527) Device Codename: The Apple of Eden (ECHO Core Matrix Assembly Unit) Core Entity Type: ECHO Core (Encoded Consciousness Harmonic Operator)   A couple hours after arriving on the High Port The senior officers received an encrypted message from GeDeCo, but Vitruvius was able to ascertain that this was a Imperial message through GeDeCo channels. The crew was to fly to a hidden location known as Facility 17 Vermillion located on the North Pole. They were given strict instructions on what vector they were to approach and what they were to do once they landed. Then the procedures that were to be done to transport their first mark which was Ms. Sycca Kawavi. There a basic exchange of Cyro chambers was done and the crew was to depart as soon as the exchange was done. This exchange went off without a hitch and the crew was making its way back to the High Port when they received a message from a senior excutive of the Shadow of the Blue Rose Corporation (SBRC) to report to corporate office located at the SBRC TOWER, DOME ARAK'VAEN by 16:00 hours. Vorito has many of these domed cities located throughout this industrial planet mainly controlled by GeDeCo. The crew arrives on time and goes to its first corporate meeting. Everyone had to be in business dress attire to attend the meeting. There the Senior Excutive, and Aslan by the name of Shahraya Tlas’hyr, who addressed the auditorium of around 60 high level corporate executives that the SBRC will be aiding and supporting as much as they could King of Drinax plan of bringing back the Sindal Empire. The CEO feels that this in needed in the Trojan Reach to protect this region of charted space from the powers to be all striving for dominance in this region. She informed the 60 or so people in this room, including the crew of the Rising Shadow that they will support the need and the plan of the King Oleb of Drinax as long as it fits the corporate structure and needs set by the CEO. Many questions were asked by the members in the room to include who was this new division known as Black Thorn Division (BTD) and if they would be leading this operation. Shahraya with a cool calm voice responds with “That division’s activities are classified.” and contiues on with rest of the questions. Then the meeting was concluded and though there were many looks from the executives as they saw the Id Badges of the crew never asked any questions. and went on with their business at hand. The crew was given an note to meet Shahraya in her corporate office on the 30th Floor.