Last Night Under the Stars

RPG system: Savage Worlds

By

Cael O’Toole

Description

The planet of Nausicaa VII is an odd place to grow up. Orbiting the stable Red Supergiant of the same name, and a longstanding Forgeworld of the Sol Imperium, it’s the one planet in the system large and warm enough to support life easily, although “warm” is a bit of a misnomer. With an average temperature band between -15 and 10 Celcius, you tend to get used to the cold.

Maybe your parents were one of the thousands of miners that swarmed over the ore-rich planets I through VI, hauling back material to be pressed into the mighty orbital forges of your homeworld. Maybe they were engineers, floating in zero gee and welding plates onto the great leviathan framework of the ships produced here, fitted up and then sent with skeleton crews about the galaxy. Except, of course, for the Bi-Centennial Muster Every 50 years, a portion of the military would board a Jormungandr class Superdreadnought, pushing through cheering crowds and falling confetti to roam the stars. It was an honor to be picked, and indeed, for some folks, a way out that they could not otherwise readily afford. But traveling at the speed of C is a blessing and a curse, the hand of relativity twisting the clock in damnable ways. By the time a soldier retires, it could be decades or centuries on their homeworld.

It’s time for the Muster. You, and your unit, the 34th Nausicaan Guard, have been selected as one of those assigned to the latest Jormungandr class ship, The Spear of Terra . Time passed quickly, and now you sit in the barracks with your squad. At 9 AM tomorrow, you report to the shuttle docks to head into orbit and board the ship. You have been given the evening off, to celebrate as you will. Most of the city is certainly doing so, with various parties around the city of Empyrean taking place tonight. One of the older soldiers suggested that rather than just get wasted or try to hook up, tonight would be a good time to settle matters before you leave your homeworld behind. Now you sit in your bunks, a list in front of you, as your squad decides how best to spend your last night under the stars.

Content warnings: Potential Alcoholic Consumption, Violence, Vague themes of Imperialism

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