Rigidat
While surveyed in the late 1970s* by the
TSV Outlawry (one of the
TSV Adventure's sister ships) nothing about Rigidat -- an arid, radioactive dustbowl of a planet on the fringes of the Technate's disputed border with the Konan Armada's territories -- invited further study. For forty years*, the planet was entirely left to its own devices, with no Technate authority aware that the
Outlawry's scans had woken something up. That wouldn't be discovered until what was officially chartered as a private exploration company travelled there in 2017*.
The explorers discovered that Rigidat was home to life, though not to organic life. Three distinct groups of giant sapient robots, similar in
many ways to the Ectotronians of the planet Mercury, had been awakened from sleep mode and spent the last few decades in constant war with each other. By the time that the explorers arrived, one of the three groups had been thoroughly defeated and incorporated into the other two, which were presently engaged in a final conflict with each other.
In their first encounter with the robots, the explorer's starship was damaged to the point where it was no longer spaceworthy, leaving them stranded on Rigidat. Undaunted, their leaders proceeded to negotiate an alliance with one of the robotic factions, to obtain the parts they needed in exchange for assistance in their conflict. It was discovered that the organics could engage in a process dubbed 'neural bonding' with the robots, increasing their operational efficiency. And that was the start of the real problems.
Until that point, most of the explorers were unaware that their company was a front for the crime syndicate known as Vaskhane. The mask was now off, and the leader of the expedition was openly discussing the possibility of maintaining the alliance with the robots once the war was over, with the ambition of using their strength to become a dominating force within Vaskhane. He seemed somewhat oblivious to the possibility that the robots had ambitions of enslaving the organics and possibly overthrowing the Technate.
Some of the explorers found both of these prospects sufficiently horrifying that they engaged in a mutiny and fled to the camp of the other robotic faction, revealing the secret of neural bonding to them. A new alliance was negotiated, and the war tipped back into stalemate. Unfortunately, neither group of humans could operate the ship without the cooperation of the other, and so they found themselves stranded until the stalemate could be broken.
The situation has, within the last few months*, become even more complicated by the arrival on Rigidat of a 'new' third faction. The woman who calls herself Treu is obviously a refugee from the Konan Armada, stranded here just like the Technate explorers. She managed to repair the badly damaged 'hulk' of a robot of the original third faction, identified as one of its leaders. Since then, the two of them have frequently interfered in the conflicts between the other two groups, sometimes aiding one side and sometimes the other. As she's a highly trained combatant, and her robot ally is a powerful model despite his extensive damage, they generally swing the conflict as they desire. Just what Treu's goal in all of this remains unclear.
It would be more clear if the Technate parties were aware that Treu is not just a Konan trooper, but a prodigy among her people. Further, she is -- or technically was -- the naturally-born daughter of a member of the Primacy, who chose to reveal the secret of the Konan to her daughter to prepare 'Treu' for the day she also joined the Primacy. This was a misstep, for the revelation that the Konan were not, in fact, conducting a war in the name of the star gods shattered the young ace's belief in the rightness of her people's cause. She escaped from the Armada and traveled to the Technate, but only got as far as Rigidat before her damaged ship broke down. Discovering the hulk of Bahbrom, she repaired it enough to start his reconstruction mechanism, and won his alliance.
Treu believes that a Konan battle group is likely to arrive in pursuit of her within the year*, and knows that she cannot overcome them alone, or even with Bahbrom's aid. She needs to make allies with one of the other factions on Rigidat, but isn't sure which one would be a better potential ally. So she engages in probing strikes against both, trying not to do too much damage, to study their response. So far, she hasn't found the answer she's seeking, and is starting to become desperate. And Rigidat's system is only going to grow more complicated in a few months* time when a certain superhuman law enforcer and her students finally follow the trail of clues leading to it ...
Bahbrom -- PL 10
Abilities:
STR 10 | STA -- | AGL 3 | DEX 3 | FGT 9 | INT 2 | AWE 1 | PRE 0
Powers:
Blaster Cannons: Ranged Damage 12, Accurate, Extended Range 2 - 27 points
Huge Robot: Permanent Growth 8 (Strength +8, Intimidation +4, Protection +8, Speed +1, Dodge -4, Parry -4, Stealth -8), Innate; Immunity 30 (Fortitude); Protection 4, Impervious 10 - 69 points
Jump Jets: Leaping 12 (4 miles) - 12 points
Passenger Compartment: Feature (can carry two passengers, three if they don't mind getting comfy) - 1 point
Reconstruction: Immortality 5 (minimum of 1 day), Check Required (Technology, DC 20) - 1 point
Sensors & Communications: Radio Communication 1; Senses 6 (accurate radio, darkvision, direction sense) - 10 points
Advantages:
Assessment, Defensive Attack, Eidetic Memory, Evasion, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Sidekick 24.
Skills:
Expertise: Military 6 (+8), Insight 7 (+8), Intimidation 6 (+10), Perception 8 (+9), Ranged Combat: Blaster 3 (+6), Technology 5 (+7), Stealth 5 (+0).
Offense:
Initiative +7
Unarmed +9 (Close Damage 10)
Blaster Cannons +8 (Ranged Damage 12)
Defense:
Dodge 6, Parry 8, Fortitude Immune, Toughness 12, Will 9
Totals:
Abilities 30 + Powers 120 + Advantages 30 + Skills 20 + Defenses 18 = 218 points
Complications:
Protector--Motivation. Poor Communication ("speaks" about twenty words of Technate Standard, none of any other language.)
Treu -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 5 |
STA 6 |
AGL 3 |
DEX 4 |
FGT 6 |
INT 2 |
AWE 3 |
PRE 2
Powers:
Konan Biology: Immunity 2 (disease, poison) - 2 points
Konan Swiftness: Leaping 3 (60 feet); Movement 1 (environmental adaptation [zero-g]); Speed 3 (16 MPH) - 8 points
Neural Bonding: Features 2 (Use Vehicles skill to make Team Checks with Bahbrom's Close and Ranged Attack Checks) - 2 points
Advantages:
Defensive Attack, Equipment 5, Improved Initiative, Language 1 (Technate Standard, [Konan is native]), Ranged Attack 2, Skill Mastery (Vehicles).
Equipment:
Blaster Pistol (Ranged Damage 5), Body Armor (Immunity 8 [life support], Protection 3), Commlink.
Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+8), Athletics 3 (+8), Close Combat: Unarmed 1 (+7), Expertise: Military 6 (+8), Insight 4 (+7), Intimidation 5 (+7), Perception 5 (+8), Ranged Combat: Blaster 6 (+10), Technology 7 (+9), Vehicles 8 (+11).
Offense:
Initiative +7
Unarmed +7 (Close Damage 5)
Blaster Pistol +12 (Ranged Damage 5)
Defense:
Dodge 7, Parry 7, Fortitude 6, Toughness 9/6, Will 8.
Totals:
Abilities 62 + Powers 12 + Advantages 11 + Skills 25 + Defenses 10 = 120 points
Complications:
Freedom--Motivation. Secret (former Konan ace.)
Temper.