Learning Starforged: The Search Begins

Right now Spider had one solid piece of information. Kaisa had been taken by raiders from Wellspring so either she was there, or someone there would know where she was. Hopefully some of the Paxton locals would be able to clue her in on what she was likely to find there.

Gather information: roll +wits
Weak hit
New insight but a complication. +1 momentum

Random rolled stuff for the Wellspring settlement:

• Lawless
• Built within terrain or asteroid
• Prominant emblems or signage
• Medical, environmentalism
• Mounting debt

It was easy enough to get people talking in the bar. Getting them to tell her useful things was more of a challenge, but soon she was starting to put together a coherent picture of Wellspring. Folks out in the rim didn't like being told what to do but this lot took it to extremes. They were a collective who'd declared independence not just from the Alliance but from their own planet. Their compound was inside a set of natural caves, surrounded by signposts warning visitors that they were about to step outside planetary jurisdiction.

Not that they were fully independent, of course. They still traded with the rest of the world, mostly pharmaceuticals from their underground mushroom farms. And that was the source of their ongoing conflict with Evenfall. Failure to meet the terms of their trading agreement.

And there Spider saw one small ray of hope. What if there was no ransom demand because the Wellspring raiders had mistaken Kaisa for someone from Evenfall and sent it to the wrong town? Maybe she could negotiage something with them?

That would mean getting into the place first though. Spider's bounty hunter license granted her access to a lot of places, but there was no way Wellspring was going to respect that. The barflies were quick to tell her what kind of people they were: paranoid, violent, off their heads on their own pharmaceuticals.

The Manta was far too conspicuous to take anywhere near the place. Spider mounted her hoverbike. Within an hour she was close enough to get the lie of the land. After that she'd have to continue on foot, but first she wanted to take a look at the place.

Check your gear: roll +supply
Strong hit
Spider has the long range scope she needs to check out this place from a distance.
+1 momentum

Secure an advantage: roll +wits
Miss
Pay the price

Spider watched the entrance through her scope. There seemed to be a lot of coming and going. No sign of Kaisa, but then she'd hardly expected that. She'd be locked up somewhere deep in the caves, most likely. Spider watched for a pattern in movement that would give her an opportunity to get inside unnoticed. She didn't notice the quiet footsteps behind her until it was too late, and the stun gun shocked her into unconciousness.

Endure harm: lose 1 health and roll +health
Strong hit
Take 1 health

When Spider woke up she was in near darkness, stripped of armour and weapons. What little light there was came through a makeshift set of bars that had been used to turn a small part of the cave into a cell. When her eyes adjusted to the gloom she realised she wasn't alone. Someone was lying close to her on a heap of straw.

"Kaisa?" It was hard to make out the woman's face in the dim light, but who else was it going to be?

"No...leave me alone...wait. You're not one of them. But I know your voice."

"It's Spider. We met in a bar..." But she didn't have to explain any further, as Kaisa had already thrown her arms around her.

"Oh thank god. Mother sent you, didn't she? I'm going to be OK! We're getting out of here and..." Then it seemed like reality was catching up with her and she stepped back again. "Except you're in here with me and I don't see any guns, which means they caught you too."

Kaisa sat back down on the straw and began quietly to cry. Spider sat down beside her.

"Kaisa, listen to me. I promised your mother I'd bring you home, and that's what I'm going to do. I know it looks bad right now, but I need you to trust me. Can you do that?"

Make a connection: roll +heart
Weak hit
Create a connection but it comes with a complication or cost.
Rank troublesome.

Kaisa shook her head. "That's not good enough! You could be working for Wellspring for all I know. Swear to me! Promise me you'll bring me home."

All her other gear was gone, but the poker chip in its hidden pocket was still there. Spider wrapped her fingers around it. "Kaisa, I swear I will bring you back to your mother."

Swear an iron vow: roll +heart +1 because she's swearing to a connection.
Weak hit. Right now there are more questions than answers. +1 Momentum
Not sure how to rank this as it's really just the same vow sworn to a different person.

[Mark Progress: Rescue Kaisa :2 boxes]