Last Voyage of the Ghazali, a North Star Con 2021 Play Report

An extended session of  The Last Voyage of the Ghazali, this is a Coriolis game.  Coriolis is a science-fiction role-playing game set in a remote cluster of star systems called The Third Horizon, its from Fria Ligan, designed by Tomas Härenstam, Nils Karlén, Kosta Kostulas, and Christian Granath. Often Coriolis is referred to as Arabian Knights in space. 

This game was run over three sessions at North Star con 8-9/May.  Thanks to Graham and Dom for organising.

Thanks to the incredible GM, Simon and the fantastic players - Remi, Tom and Andy.

Technically this game was run using the Foundry VTT for maps, character sheets, die rolls and handouts and the Jitsi module for voice and video.

...Here Be Spoilers...

The Tsurabi gas mine colony...

...has sent out an urgent distress signal. In response, the Colonial Agency assembles a rescue fleet to evacuate the colony, centred around a decommissioned luxury liner called The Ghazali which has been hastily retrofitted with several hundred stasis pods. We are part of the rescue crew, and we have just come out of stasis...

Last Voyage of the Ghazali

... there are four of us, myself, Zareb Abdullah, Soldier (Mercenary), Jabril Hassan (Scientist - Technician), Shakir Nour (Data Spider - Data Djinn) and Aram Mir (Pilot - Freighter Pilot).

NEVER AS TIRED AS WHEN I'M WAKING UP

Stasis Pods

I give thanks to the Judge as I stretch and lean out of my stasis pod, though I am also alert, something is wrong, emergency lights are on and there is the smell of burning, aside from my rescue team it is deathly quiet.  We nod briefly to each other and immediately get to work, we are well drilled, the more technical minded try to reach the computer.

I am trying to shake off my dreams, backticks, Web 4.0, Bash... a sign from The Judge perhaps, I cannot determine the meaning, I need to consult with a priest at the earliest.

Our Data Djinn Shakir is struggling with access to the network, he stares at the terminal and puts in a new request but the blue screen only flickers, there is no response.

We travel further up the ship, we were in the lowest stasis pod berths, we find a serviceable terminal.  This access point is not much better than before, but we gain some information, something, maybe a solar flare, ripped through the ship, there has been a massive explosion, perhaps this emanated from the propulsion drive.

There is a cry from Aram, "Jabril, you are needed, quick my friend."  Jabril our resident tech and medic shuffle across but it is clear from the readings that many of the stasis pods in this area have failed, all within are dead.  We pray quietly to our various Icons as Jabril confirms the worst.

"Here!", I shout, there is a locker with Exo Suits, "We had best suit up, could be there are areas in the ship that are breached." 

We keep heading up the ship, we will head to engineering to ascertain the damage.  As we walk through some areas, there is a ping from the Exo suits.  This denotes radiation exposure, it does not seem lethal, at least not in the locations we have moved through.

RIP HER TO SHREDS

Searching the Ghazali

The corridor ahead of us is dim, but we stop as we see a  body on the floor, it looks to be another contractor, the person is covered in blood, much of its insides are on the outside.  We mutter various asks of our Icons.  Aram points to the teeth marks in the flesh and paw prints leading away from the blood.  I feel a cold chill, I mention the Nekatra, a bioengineered creature that supports various military campaigns.  The corpse is fresh just a few hours old.  

A change of plan, we turn and head to the bridge, there is a weapons locker with armaments, we are going to need them.  I extend the blade of his Mercurium Sword.  Everyone turns to look - weapons were to be confiscated until they reached their destination.  I shrug, "The blade is part of me, I will not surrender it to anyone."  The rest of the group nod, they are glad at least one of their party is armed.

HELLO COMPUTER

Contacting Suleiman

As we move off we hear more radiation pings, more urgent.  Further down the corridor, we see an interface panel, fairly untouched.  Jabril manages to hook into the computer, a holographic avatar appears.  This is Suleiman, the representative of Ghazali's consciousness, we get a status update;

Propulsion has failed, much of the ship is damaged.

Power is draining...

...many systems in flux, the bridge is not functional.  

Cause of Damage: Portal malfunction as the ship jumped, radiation burst through the ship, radiation extensive in the aft section.  

Maps to all decks will be provided.  

No life forms that cannot be accounted for in the ship's roster, no animals were on board.  

47 known lifeforms, but locations vary and sensors are incomplete … mainly in Medical Labs.  

Cannot supply passenger manifest, this is accessible only to the Captain and first officer.

UNDER PRESSURE

Explosive decompression

We extend our plan, get to the bridge, get the weapons, and rescue the Medical Lab survivors.  I draw my sword and lead the way, the others follow with makeshift clubs.

As we move on we hear more groans from the structure and an external panel explodes, air vents out into the void.   Aram and I are furthest ahead and dive towards the closing doors of the next section.  Shakir and Jabril attempt to grab on to where they are to stop themselves from being sucked out as the bulkhead explosively decompresses.

Aram is frantically trying to override the bulkhead door, so they can rescue their comrades, but much of the system is malfunctioning.  I uselessly swipe at the door with my sword.  Shakir calls on his Icon, the Faceless One.  Embolden, Shakir, manages to search for and deploy a compression kit, it flies up to the breach and a green goo-like material spreads across the opening, hardening as it does so.  Alarms subside and the door separating the group opens.

BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE

Trouble on the bridge

Eventually reaching the Ghazali's bridge, the team are warned that there is a problem inside, a major problem.  They double-check their Exo Suits and enter into a scene of devastation.  Barely recognisable as the command centre of the Ghazali, bodies and debris drift across their vision, some figures are strapped in but also clearly dead.  The whole of the front of the bridge is open to space, ripped apart by a catastrophic explosion.

The group pause and scan the room, but there is no sign of life.  Shakir approaches one body, crossing himself as he does.  He searches and then holds up the captain's key.  Shakir turns and floats towards the weapons locker.  Inside we find an assortment of Vulcan Carbines and Shock Sticks, we arm up and load the sticks into a bag.  Shakir finds a working terminal insets the Captain's pass and then moves back to a console near the captain, he pries open a panel and pulls out an Emerald Disk, the ship's black box recorder.

Leaving the bridge, the team start to make their way to Medical.  As they pass another terminal, Shakir halts and tries to get more information using the Captain's card.  We find out we are in the Hamura system, one jump from our destination, but the ship is drifting towards the sun, we will burn up in about 18 hours.  We also see a portal station, Hamurabi.  We should be able to reach Hamurabi within a day if we can find a ship, but the Ghazali is going nowhere.

We look into repairing the long-range communications, but the systems are fried and beyond our expertise.  Digging more into the computer systems and with the enhanced Captain's security clearance we find a warning about a detachment of twenty Nekatra (A canine lifeform, sentient werewolves) from the military, these are used as scouts/trackers.  Likely this explains the half-eaten body found earlier.  The Nekatra handlers are unfortunately on the Ghazali's sister ship.

After some more time, Shakir grins and turns to us, "I've found us a ride out of here, three trading ships are in the docking bay, plus there are a plentiful number of escape pods."  There looks to be space for eighty or so people across the ships.

MY IRON LUNG

Medical Labs

We bag up some shock sticks and head to the med lab.  We find access to another panel that links us into the communications system and we hack into the external cameras, we see at least one functioning ship in the dock but cameras on the med lab are damaged.  We noticed there are now an additional three life signs on the ship, bringing the total survivors to fifty.

We announce ourselves as we enter the Medical Lab, there are large groups of people in various states of distress.  A man, Yusuf, comes up to us, he is a contracted engineer, he starts to give us the lowdown;

• Dr Hassani is sort of in charge but she is young and inexperienced.
• Khomina a mystic has created a large following she is providing spiritual support for many, she's very charismatic and people have been drawn to her.
• There have been howls and the sounds of snuffling at the doors, people are on the verge of panic.

Aram also decides to pray, he heads towards Khomina, she is chewing Arrash (drug) and spits on a globe as she tells the apt listeners, "The Icons have spoken we must follow the path they have set out.  Into the sun!  To be reborn!" She stands and points out of the viewing portal at the vast, glowing sphere that is Haruma.

I consider setting up an opposing religious group, the Church of the Holy Shock Stick, "Speak softly and carry a shock stick, you will go far."  I instead keep quiet and listens= to Aram try and convince Khomina to journey down a more positive route, getting to the ships in the docking bay.  Khomina rejects this and turns from Aram.

A woman is speaking to Shakir and Jabril, she is the only other person here armed with ranged weapons.  I and Aram join the group.  The woman introduces herself as Sabetha Pour, she suggests they form a reconnaissance party to check out the state of the ships in the docking bay and then report back.  In theory, if the ships are in a good state, they could be launched and dock at the Medical Lab airlock.

As the group all nod in agreement, Shakir leaves them to try and organise the survivors into groups, giving them tasks to prepare for the evacuation and to be on guard should the Nekatra try and attack.

THE CONTAINER DRIVERS

Fatima's Bounty

Sabetha leads us towards the docking bay but quickly shifts the conversation to a business proposition, she has around twenty cargo containers and she needs them to get to Harumbi offering each os us 5000 Birr.  The group step away from Sabetha to discuss and agree in principle to take up this offer, depending on space on the ship for survivors and the contents of the containers. 

Reaching the docking bay, they see that Sabetha’s ship is badly damaged, but there is one ship that looks to be serviceable, Fatima’s Bounty.

Aram the pilot looks over Fatima's bounty, it is basically spaceworthy.  Jabril and Shakir go over the computer and technical systems there is some minor damage on the hull but they believe it will get us out of here.  They do some work to get the manual systems up to allow the ship to leave, but bringing up all the computer systems would require a full shutdown and restore, this is deemed too risky.

I head to Sabetha’s ship, there are about twenty cases sealed, they are larger than we expected.  I call the others to discuss, we can’t evacuate all the people AND take Sabetha’s cargo.  Sabetha offers more Birr.  

Eventually, we decide to load the cargo on to Fatima's but are clear with Sabetha, we will jettison the cargo if any passengers will be left behind.  The ship is secure, but given the manual operation, it is thought that it would be safer to bring the passengers here rather than fly to the Medical Lab airlocks.

Heading back to the Medical Lab, the team divert via the cargo hold.  We pass a large array of escape pods, many are damaged but about 20 are in working order.  There is an impassioned discussion, it is clear that a combination of the escape pods and Fatima's Bounty would be enough to get all of the survivors and Sabetha's cargo off of the Ghazali before she dives into the sun.  

Jabril implores them that his Icon would prioritise the saving of life, all life is sacred, the risk is too high.  The rest of the group are more pragmatic 5000 Birr is a life-changing amount and the tools are within their reach to take this and save everyone.

WOLF LIKE ME

Nekatra are loose

As we head across the floor of the cargo bay, looking for anything to help us, we hear a soft growl and see a pair of reflective eyes in the dark.  Soon these are joined by a number of other shapes, we are surrounded.

Shakir fires his carbine and hears a howl from the dark.  I charge towards the sound, as a large, hairy wolf-like being towers above me, I slice at it with my blade and it roars back in pain.

Aram fires a spray of bullets against his target one hits but the rest fly into the air above the beast.  Jabril also auto fires into another pack, one falls to the floor, holding its stomach as blood pours out.

The nekatra bound forward, Shakir barely dodges a claw whilst I deflect another with my sword.  Sabetha fires point-blank into a Nekatra face as its jaws widen, it flies backwards landing in a heap.

Jabril and Aram get off more shots, their bullets hit but only succeed in slowing down rather than stopping them.

Shakir aims carefully as more of the creatures appear, again he hits but the beast continues to bound towards him.  I attempt to slam my sword down on the charging animal but it hits out at me, knocking my hand and the sword to one side, the sword flies into the air and is heard clattering away into the dark of the cargo hangar.

Aram shouts out at the enemy to stand back, one of them does appear to hesitate, but not for long as Jabril shoots it three times in succession and it falls to the floor, dead.

There is one nekatra left, it howls into the air and then turns and lopes off.  Sabetha, Jabril and Aram all fire, Jabril and Aram hit it a total of five times, it stumbles and falls, starting to crawl away.  Shakir and the rest of the group approach, Shakir points his gun at the back of its head and pulls the trigger.

We all look around, we are barely scratched and the bodies of the nekatra lie scattered, we breathe again as if we've been holding our breath when I notice a much larger shape pad around from behind a container.  At the same time, more shapes appear, it seems more nekatra have answered the call.

These nekatra close in fast, Shakir takes down one of the creatures but it slams into his shoulder, knocking him to the floor.  I face up to the leader, a blue-furred monster full of teeth and talons, something from my worst nightmares.  As the nekatra leader leaps on to me, my cybernetic hand extends punching into its chest, grasping its heart and crushing the life out of it.

Aram again shouts at them to stand down, especially now their leader has been dispatched in such a brutal manner.  Jabril does not wait for a response, his carbine taking down another nekatra.

Shakir is bitten and shaken like a rag doll as a nekatra comes from behind, he is thrown to one side, lying broken and bloody, he will need urgent attention if he is to survive.  I try to fight back at another nekatra leaping at me but only succeed in defending myself, managing to push the brute off me.   Out of nowhere, a wild shot from Aram takes out the creature attacking me, only one remains.

As Jabril rushes to attend to Shakir, it is left to our temporary member, Sabetha to take out the remaining nekatra.  Sabetha aims as the beast readies itself to pounce, her finger is on the trigger as the beast flies through the air.  There is an explosion of noise as Sabetha ducks and lets the bloodied creature land in a heap behind her, it is still and quiet.

We patch up Shakir and then another explosion rocks the ship, we hear a loud alarm start-up that reverberates around the hangar.

THE GREAT ESCAPE

Destination Hamurabi Portal Station

As the alarm blares around us, we make our way to the nearest computer terminal.  Suleiman updates us;

...Catastrophic failure.

Ghazali will lose power in 57 minutes... and counting.

We decide to get back to Fatima and take off, heading around to the Med lab airlock.  There is no time for any other plan!

Back in the docking bay, Aram is in control of Fatima's Bounty, he takes us out of the bay.  We see the full extent of the damage to the Ghazali, the ship obviously unrepairable.  Aram manoeuvres the ship around the hulk to the airlock on the top side, the connection is not clean and there is the sound of the hull scraping.  Aram looks back at the rest of the crew, "Should be okay, but for how long, I don't know.  Let's move fast."

There is an intense activity as people are moved into the ship, it is becoming clear that not all will be able to board.  Eight people will need to be left behind according to the calculations.  Afte an impassioned plea, Sakhir has convinced Kohmina and her followers to leave.  He starts to contact Aram to eject the cargo, when he feels a presence next to him, it is Sabetha.  "Look.  Let me make an offer of Birr to eight people, if they accept, you keep my cargo onboard.  Okay?"  Sakhir is nervous, looking at Jabril, eventually, they agree, but Sakhir and Jabril will accompany the eight to the escape pods rather than boarding Fatima's Bounty.

Jabril and Sakhir lead eight nervous but much richer passengers down through the Ghazali and secure them and themselves into two functioning escape pods.

Aram blasts away from the Ghazali.  As he does, there is an explosion and looking behind he sees debris and venting oxygen trailing out behind Fatima's Bounty.  At this, the lights on the Ghazali blink and then go out, the ship is dead.

Aram turns Fatima's Bounty in a tight arc, he sees the two escape pods jettison out and fall away from the Ghazali.  He comes in fast behind them, deploying scoops to gently engage and secure the pods one after another.  Aram breathes out a sigh of relief and I clap a hand on his shoulder, "You have someone looking out for you Aram, your handed was guided by the very Icons."  Aram nods his thanks, and with the pods trailing behind them he makes the calculations to head slowly to Hamurabi Portal Station.  

Once this is done, Aram turns to me, "Friend, let's say we relax awhile at Hamurabi, there is no rush for any more jobs.  We have done a good thing today and, well, my nerves are shredded like shawarma."

MONEY CHANGES EVERYTHING

Hamurabi portal station

Arriving at Hamurabi, there are many people clamouring around the ship looking for news, loved ones or an opportunity.  

The chaos slowly subsides and Jabril heads down to the cargo area, it is empty, all twenty boxes are gone.  Jabril radios Aram, "Where is Sabetha?".  Aram responds, "She is not here, but she has handed over the Birr.  She gave us a bonus, all told we are 6000 Birr richer."  Shakir is on the same wavelength, he pipes up, "We have another bonus too, that Emerald Disk, the Ghazali's black box recorder, the Port Authority gave us Birr for it."  

Later on, I join the party as they relax in Brahani's cantina, "We have a message from the Port Authority.  The Emerald Disk, something in it is very, very wrong.  They need a team to look into it... are we busy?  There is Birr in it for us and no doubt glory."  I look across at a horrified Aram, I smile and shrug back at him.