In the far distant future, humanity has taken to the stars to manifest their destiny with spectacular new technologies for taming the celestial bodies of our now terrafomred Solar System.
With each planet tamed the number of habitable worlds for us to explore and colonize are no longer lost to the annals of science fiction.
You are a planet pioneer from a long line of brave and slefless men and women who strive to tame the planets of our Solar System for the betterment of humanity. Your family has been the spear head of exploration ever since Argonaught 5 in 3201, and you are proud to press on into the vast vacuum in their name.
Thanks to icredible advances in modern medicine and cyberware in the last millenia the human lifespan has tripled, almost quadrupled! The advances even allow humans to withsatnd some atmospheres and gravities not native to earth with realitive ease, furthering humaities grasp into the stars. Not too long ago a bizzare planet-wide electric storm swept the surface of Neptune ravaging the once advanced techonlogical colonies and cities of the planet into old ruins of their former glory.
After the storm's violent rein had subsided, the lands you'd known had been sunk into the methane seas and new lands have been formed. No technology remained funtional and your progress as a planetary pioneer had been scattered to the winds leaving your colony and many others to start the march of progress again.
Man quickly adpated and are now pushing into the stages of nautical exploration, using the old and earthly ways of navigation, fairing, and survival to explore the planet once again. In hopes that one day you will be able to devise a way to call to the planets beyond for aid.
You are aboard the *[[Dream of Theseus]]* serving as the ship's [[Field Pathfinder]], and sailing the vast and impressive oceans and seas of the planet [[Neptune]].The *Dream of Theseus*, or as the Crew lovingly refers to her as just "Dot" is an impressive and incredibly reliable Ketch craft used for exploring, hauling, and all manner of tasks between.
She can withstand even the most rugged and dangerous currents and storms of the terraformed and tumultuous methane seas of Neptune.
She was the first vessel berthed after the "Storm," and is easily the most adapted and capable vessel on these known waters.
You feel [[safe and secure|Story Start]] abord this floating legend.Neptune was your first planet of choice when selecting where you wanted to deploy after academy.
You found Saturn's gravity was better built for sturdier men and required too many bodily cyberware augmentations for your liking, Mars has gotten far too political for your taste in recent centuries, and Venus was much to hot for a lunar city kid such as yourself.
So you decided that Neptune would be a nice fit. You have always admired the seas of Earth so why wouldn't you love the ones off world too.
This would be a new and mysteriously unexplored world for you to explore.
[[A New Horizon|heading]].You're charged with the responsiblity of charting and scouting islands and channels for your crew through the vast planet with meticulously cartographed maps and coordinates.
You were always well suited for this task scoring remarkably well result on you CND exam (Celestial Natigation and Direction). Being at the top of your class offered for a great selection of vessels and expeditions for you to choose from, offering ample opportunity to gain experience and put you keen sense of navigation to the test.
You are to make the important decisions in all manner of land navigation. Similar to how the Captain of the ship commands the crew at sea, you command at land.
You think it best to reamian [[respectful and helpful|Story Start]] to the Captain and not butt heads with him, thankfully, he is a good and respectful man who has no qualms with you methods.You arrive at a relatively open part of the sea that is unfamiliar to you.
Your reserve rations and drinking water are dangerously almost depleted and you require a heading, and fast.
"LAND HO!"
You watch as a spindly lookout skillfully glides down the main line and onto the deck where eveyone has gathered to hear him.
He grabs you by the shoulders and smiles a crooked fishy smile and says, "There she bloweds! A hol lands right un ze stahboord zide of ole Dot!"
As you wipe his charming spittle from you face with the back of your hand you lean over the lieway side to see the familar shape of land.
From the wheel you hear The Good Captain Aberama bellow.
"Well Master pathfinder" he says with a grin. "What say ye on our [[heading|Pelicanto]] now?"
You are vaguley familair with both islands from other sailors but have never personally been on either.
The first island, a lush tropical island still untamed by the tools of man, [[Pelicanto]]. It has a few fresh water springs on them as well as some wild game and plants to restock your suplies and reserves might be ideal for quickly and relativley safely loading up and topping off your resources.
On the second island nested in a rocky bay, a port called [[Dohl Agos]] home to all manner of reavers, marauders, and sailors of varying moral bearings. It has cheap rations and certain luxury goods, but isn't exactly a prime example of a secure place of commerce. Its vendors word, or his sword. Haggling there takes a silver tongue and a palm full of gold.
"By your leave Captain!" you yell to him.
"Haul canvas, lads! Waste not the sun nor wind!"
As you arrive within distance for the rowboats the captain asks you to head ashore, and [[scout|scout]] out possible places of resource for the crew.
You disembark the Dream of Theseus on to the soft gray sand of the island. Its about noon now and you need to start making tracks from shore to find your essential natural resources.
A small [[rocky shore]] to the west of the island looks like a nice place to investigate for some resources, but so does the [[jungle]] of alien palm trees, floara, and fascinating terrestrial amphibious creatures that could possibly yield good game meat and resources. You make your way for the rocky shore.
It winds and curves along a mysterious axis and leads to an area of 3 large springs and 2 smaller sulfuric pools acting almost as a natural filter for the springs.
You jot down the way you took from shore on a small map you've constructed and prepare to [[leave]] when...
Something feels off about the [[sulfur pools]].You make your way fairly deep into the tropical jungle with relative ease by following a forking and winding stream system.
The plant life is remarkably easy to conquer with just a simple cutlass, and the wildlife seem to keep to themselves with the occasional curious glance and chitter.
You take note of some possible game for food and pelts as well as spy a single alcove with a fresh [[spring]].
You look around the area where the pools lie and notice something you thought to just be strange rock formations in the ground. Upon further inspection the rock was looking at you with hollow eyes.
You see that there lies a great deal of picked and polished bones, some very old and some very new lying haphazardly all over the rock surface of the pools..
You deduce that whatever might call this place home would much rather prefer if you didn't infringe on its territory.
It might be best to [[leave|scout]]... [[unless|sulfur pools]]. You saunter cautiously over to the sulfur pools to [[investigate]] a strange lapping of viscous liquids and squelching you hear from the pool.
As you approach the pool you are brought to a screeching halt when a wave of dread flows over your body.
Out of sulfuric sludge a large head begins to rise from the pool.
The head of a large predatory reptile squeezes its way out of the hole. The beast opens a primary pair of eyelids, they are covered in a sticky sludge. You see it wipe the gunk from its scaly snout.
It has not seen you yet.
You hastily ponder your options as you stare at this titanic reptile:
[[Run and hide]].
[[Shoot, slash, or otherwise fight]].You start to backup slowly avoiding anything that might frustrate the animal any further then you may already have, and make your way to a nearby cluster of trees and ferns.
You escape into the thicket and make as many tracks as you can from the springs. Perhaps the [[jungle]] has a less lethal region for the crew to rehydrate themselves at.You decide that you have lived a life of meekness and charts for too long and charge the beast with a ferocious, if not a tad more soprano than baritone, battle cry with pistol and gun in hand.
You fire a shot from your pistol as you close the distance between yourself and the beast, as the projectile makes contact with the hard scales of the reptile the bullets stops entirely as if you had fired into kevlar or some kind of mesh work metal.
You toss the pistol aside and draw your sword after stumbling over a few bones you had not percieved when deciding on this plan, "there are quite a few," you think to yourself "[[too many|Ending: Sulfur Croc]] really."
The sulfuric reptile has yet to even heed your existence and you finaly get close enough to leap at the beast and attempt a powerful downward slash on its large tail.
As you leap screaming into the air the beast finally acknowledges your presence and as it turns to face you the rotation of its body turns its tail into a loose mass of crushing force.
It slams into your airborne body like a bat to a softball you are sent hurtling towards a rocky wall.
Upon impact your incredibly vast knowledge on star charts and navigation seem to fall from your memory and disappear from you head, as does most of you brain matter.
(live: 8s) [You die instantly against the rocky wall.]The spring lies in a small half covered cave.
The [[cave]] is the ideal area for you crew to take refuge from the sea for a time to rehydrate and gather some materials.
You might want to [[report back]] to the ship and inform the crew of your findings.
You decide that it might be prudent to check the cave and see what else might be in its depths before gathering the crew.
As you enter the cave you hear a soft but still detectable [[snoring]] in an off-shoot of the main cavern..You return to the crew with tidings of sweet relief for the weary crew.
As you describe the cave to the crew they begin to muster themselves with giddy delight and prepare to leave the ship.
The crew [[follows you]] to the promised cave where they hope to find sweet cool water and meat cooked on open flames.You arrive at the cave late in the evening and begin setting up a camp with your crew when from inside the cave you hear an ungodly row.
You remember, with feelings of great guilt, in your hastiness to report back to a longing crew you had failed to [[check]] the cave.
A handful of your crewmates are chased from the cave by a pack of wild alien dogs that had made the cave their den unbeknownst to you.
You panic and go into [[fight]] or [[flight]].Your knees begin to wobble and you lose all sense of logic and rationale.
You hear the screams and the feeble resistance of your crew as they are descended upon by the savage and ruthless nocturnal beasts.
Being the cowarldy guttless wretch you are, you make a break for a small crevice that is tucked away in an adjacent cave.
You take [[shelter|Ending: A Coward's End]] from the gruesome conflict as best you can in your current tizzied state.
You stand with your crew and successfully fend off the ravenous pack but lose a good deal of your crew in the bloody conflict.
The remaining crew bloodied and quite understandably angry refuse to help you tend your wounds and force you to set up the camp for them and insist, quite forcibly, that you take shelter in the cave for your [[negligence|Ending: Alive and Unwell]] in scouting.
As you lie motionless catching your breath, you hear the exertion of breath creeping ever closer to your hideout...
A bestial pant.
Emergining from the blackness of the night, a two pairs of glowing yllow eyes, one set above the other, peer in at you shivering in your weasel hole.
Another four eyes appear to the left of the first, and then another to the right...
And another, then just one more.
These are the last things you see on this cruel and vicious planet.Alone, cold, and holed up in the now empty cave you lie on the cold stone as you hear your crew make merry, as best they can with the remaining rum and sing new songs of your stupidity.
You and most of the crew are alive, but as for their well being this expedition has proven to be as pleasant as the crew's songs about your mother's foul sexual infidelity with various sea animals.
You stealthily press on crawling to keep your profile small and you movement quiet from what might be inside
Piled together in a corner of the cavern lies a bizzare contortion of scaly and feathery mass of about 7 or 8 medium sized dog-things.
You wonder if you can [[get the jump]] on the creatures and dispatch a few, or if you should just gather your crew for a [[planned attack]].You decide that with the proper planning you should be able to manage the attack yourself.
You load your pistol to its maximum magazine of four shots and hold it aloft with your left hand, balancing on top of your right forearm that is tightly holding on to your cutlass.
With a piercing ringing you fire into the mass, a splatter of light marine blood sprays out of the largest mongrel as it lets out a chittering shriek.
It crumples from the heap of mangey beasts, lifeless.
And so begins the [[slaughter]].
You decide it'd be best to head back to shore and collect the crew to clear out the cave with some expert help.
As you arrive at the Dream of Theseus you tell the crew of the cave and try to muster the men to arms to take the cave, they seem reluctant at first but The Good Captain Aberama decide it's his time to work his magic.
"What's this now? What. Is. This? do I hear grown men, sailors no less, men who have seen the depths of the sea and the nasty slimey beast that swim in 'em bellyachin and fussin' about a few weasely little troglodyte pups taking up the only good drinking pool around this god forsaken spit of land? Surely I didn't sign on a crew of lady-men did I? Did I?!"
"No captain!" yelled the crew back to him.
"Oh well tank the heavens. I coulda sworn when I'd signed you lot you had some heart in ye. Well then make ready yer rifles! make ready tha blades and harpoons! Make ready all manner of iron and steel devilry and les' get ourselves a drink, lads! Aye?"
"Aye, aye!" and as if possesed the men fell to the shore in droves and [[flew into the jungle]] like a pack of mad dogs.You spy as your crew comes trudging through the jungle lead by The Good Captain Aberama.
"By thunder, lad!" exclaims the Captain. "I never colored ye for tha killing type! What with that naught but twiggy bod 'o yours!"
You sit atop the pile of dead beasts decorated in a new collection of flesh wounds, holding on to the bleeding stump of what used to be a rather useful left hand.
You hear a collection of murmurs and whispers from the crew until you hear a man in the back holler with loud and joyous voice "[[Three cheers|Ending: Hound Slayer]] for the merciless sea-faring pathfinder of Neptune!"
The crew tends to your wounds with the utmost care and attention and plea with you that you tell them all about your fight and how you managed to kill so many wild beasts.
You indulge them with the tale, with a few embelishments that they won't soon refute, as they set up camp around the spring that you so expertly found.
They begin to sing songs and shanties about heroes and mighty sailors replacing the the legends' names with yours all while drowning you in their rations of rum.
"Oh and lad, fret not about that there lost apendage. We'll find you a right proper hook for it when we make port at some place nicer!" The captain howls with a well-meant earth shaking laugh.
Your crew is safe, refreshed, restocked and in good spirits. And you have become a legend of Neptune.
With a wink and a smile The Good Captain hands you a rifle and follows his crew into the jungle with you in the wake.
By the time you and Aberama have caught up the job had been done. The men sit around the spring taking their fill, lauging and singing and tending their wounds.
A crewman sees Aberama and breaks into an ode to the captain's valor and how his inspiring words led the men to victory. The captain makes an outrageous peacocking bow to his men and joins in on their [[revelry|Ending: The Good Captain's Reputation]].
The crew sings and drink their rum ration to the last drop and pass drunkenly into a sweet peacful sleep leaving you and the captain awake to speak.
"You did a good job here, lad. Real good. These boys needed a break and thats just what you found them." he says in a soft and sincere tone. "Hell you even let me use my speech" he laughs with a yawn.
You look over at the Good Captain one last time. He is fast asleep, along with the crew.
The crew is safe, happy, and rested and the Good Captain Aberama lives up to his name.