Firefly Airsoft LARP

POSTED BY: Duelist
UPDATED: Thursday, August 9, 2007 14:51
VIEWED: 12943
PAGE 1 of 1

DUELIST

Friday, January 19, 2007 9:10 PM (P)

Last May or thereabouts, some of us were discussing the possibility of running a Firefly-theme airsoft game/LARP hybrid. I drew up a rules set called "Big Sky" and posted it for comment. Since then, I've hooked up with an online airsoft equipment retailer, www.airsoftbattlezone.com, and have run three airsoft scenario games with them as sponsors. "Big Sky" was overly rough and tumble, but this experience has given me a much better feel for what might work in creating an action-oriented Fireflyesque scenario event. (player reviews and summaries of these events, Operation Nostromo, Operation Nostromo II, and Another One Bites the Sawdust may be found on the Wisconsin Airsoft Association Discussion Forum at www.wiairsoft.com - I'm known as "Gryphon" there)

To get to the point, we're ready to schedule, organize and host an annual 'Verse Airsoft LARP in central Wisconsin. Weekend-long immersion event, 400fps limit, food & overnight camping onsite, probably late summer/early fall. I know we can draw 40 to 100 airsoft players to such an event without too much trouble, but I'd really like to pull a number of cosplay Firefly Larpers as well. Airsoft rental gear would be readily available (provided free to NPC roleplayers.)

So, I guess this is a preliminary casting call. Is anybody interested in a game involving mock violence, or is this the wrong crowd?

MIRAMEL

Friday, January 19, 2007 10:53 PM (P)

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!! i even live in central wisconsin! that sounds like a really excellent idea, please please keep us posted!

~~~~
98% of teens have smoked pot, if you are one of the 2% that haven't, copy this into your signature
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Fear is the Mind Killer
~~~~

DUELIST

Tuesday, February 13, 2007 2:37 PM (P)

OK, we are tentatively looking at the weekend of July 28 for our first annual Firefly Airsoft LARP. Location will be Airsoft Battle Zone's field north of Fairchild, WI. The setting is a Border World mining town having serious "local color" problems. Game would begin on 10am Saturday and run continuously until around 2pm Sunday. NPCs play free, the fee for unrestricted players will probably be $25 for Saturday only, $40 for the entire event. Food, water, camping and rental equipment will be available onsite. The field is a nice, half-wooded area with lots of trails and a good cluster of buildings, with other delightful features to be revealed (hehheh.)

What I reallyREALLY need are Browncoat NPCs who can "walk the walk and talk the talk", who have the garb, and who can stay IN CHARACTER for the entire event. The NPCs would be helping me create that "Firefly" flavor, and acting as referees in a pinch. These folk would be portraying key characters in the game, such as the town sheriff, town doctor, mine boss, trading post proprietor, fanatical preacher, Alliance Fed commander, etc. I can supply airsoft weaponry where necessary and appropriate. I would be open to incorporating a particular NPC into the game if there's a role you are dying to play (no characters directly from the series, please.)

The rules for the event will be posted on the Airsoft Battle Zone website as soon as we are ready to begin accepting preregistration.

I will be attending the Wisconsin Airsoft Expo in Madison, WI, on March 31, and would be delighted to discuss particulars with anyone. Find the Airsoft Battle Zone booth and ask for Todd (or Gryphon.)

BROWNCOAT1

Wednesday, February 14, 2007 12:10 PM (P)

Gorram it! I have never LARPed, but I would like to try a Firefly LARP, especially if there will be airsoft. Unfortunately Wisconsin is just too far away for me.

__________________________________________
Holding the line since December '02!

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Richmond, VA & surrounding area Firefly Fans:

http://www.richmondbrowncoats.org

Color Sergeant

[img] [/img]

http://76thbattalion.homestead.com/index.html

DUELIST

Thursday, February 15, 2007 2:13 PM (P)

I'm sorry to hear that, Browncoat1, but I understand completely - skiff's in the shop, ship's crew like as to mutiny, that sorta thing. I'll post a report after the event.

The Firefly 'Verse is an almost ideal setting for LARP, especially airsoft LARP, I reckon. If you got the itch, maybe you Virginia Independents oughta look inta throwing your own LARP shootout & shindig. It would be immensely shiny to see this kind of event catch on around the country. There's a lot of airsofters out East. I'd be happy to help with contacts, if you're interested.

I've found a local bunch of Old West reenactors that I'm thinking of drafting for my miners, but I'm still in the market for NPCs. Do you know of any Midwestern Browncoat groups I should contact directly?

KERRIK13

Friday, July 6, 2007 3:19 AM (P)

Hey everyone!

My name is Ryan and I am working alongside Duelist (aka Gryphon, the guy behind the Firefly airsoft game) with the pre-registration and the website for the event.

This event is on July 28th and 29th in Fairchild, WI (directions and address on the event website) and is panning out to be a lot of fun!

Check it out at www.freefallgame.com

My airsoft team, Wolf Recon ( www.wolf-recon.com) will be playing some of the Alliance Federal Task Group 7 Troopers. Really looking forward to playing in this event, interacting, and playing in a Firefly themed airsoft game.

DUELIST

Tuesday, July 24, 2007 9:32 PM (P)

OK, guys, Freefall is this coming weekend!

Go to www.freefallgame.com for details.

We will be accepting preregistrations until the end of the day Thursday, so save yourself a few bucks and get booked. This is probably going to be unlike any airsoft game you've ever played.

We're gonna have camping onsite, two armored vehicles, rules for body armor and degrees of wounding, rules for brawling, multiple mission arcs guided by experienced actor NPCs, scheming and skulduggery, game cash that can be used to purchase sponsor-donated items at the Trading Post, a Shindig pig roast with Sahaja (sahajadance.com) as the featured entertainment, prizes for the Best-Dressed Big Damn Heroes, and a nighttime Reaver attack!

Here are the rules:

Freefall Scenario Game Rules of Play
1. GOGGLES MUST BE WORN AT ALL TIMES ON THE FIELD AND TARGET RANGE. At no time during the game will a player be allowed to break the seal of the goggle from around their eyes.
Only goggles / eyewear that meet the following requirements will be allowed:
• the impact standard for goggles is ANSI z.87.1.
• they must fully encompass the eyes, with no gaps.
• they must be fitted with a head strap to keep them from falling off during a game.
• the lens frame must be sturdy enough to keep the lens in place during play.
• Mesh goggles will be allowed with safety glasses or eyeglasses worn underneath.

In addition, when entering the CQB area a player’s ears, nose and mouth must be covered / blocked with something preventing penetration of BBs, such as a paintball mask, balaclava, bandana (any color but red,) shemagh etc. All minors under the age of 18 years old will be required to wear full-face masks covering the mouth, ears, nose and other soft tissue. No exceptions.

2. BARREL BLOCKING DEVICES ARE REQUIRED OFF-FIELD. Barrel blocking devices such as the red barrel caps that come with most AEGs, paintball approved barrel socks/condoms, or holsters for sidearms are required to be secured over player’s gun barrels at all times. The only exception is at the target range or on a playing field after the game starts. Violators will be asked to leave the park with no refund issued.

3. ALL GUNS MUST BE MAGAZINE FREE OFF-FIELD. All handheld or slung guns must be loading magazine free (“Mag Free”) in the staging and parking lot areas. Sidearms are not required to be mag free as long as they are holstered. Before leaving the field and entering the Safe Zone around the Trading Post, a player must remove the magazine from his gun, fire 2-3 clearing shots in a safe direction, and cap his gun barrel with his barrel-blocking device.

4. ALL GUNS MUST BE SAFELY TRANSPORTED. All guests must transport their guns in a safe manner. Specifically, all guns must be carried in their original packing boxes, or a soft or hard shell case suitable for real firearms, until you are in the Safe Zone. All guns must have a factory-installed trigger guard.

5. FPS LIMITS WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED. All guns must be chronographed prior to game time. Players may also be chosen at random for handheld chronograph spot-checks.
FPS Limits are:
AEGs & GBBs: 400 FPS w/ .20 gram BBs.
Single-Shot or Bolt Action Sniper Rifles: 500 FPS with .20 gram BBs.
All guns will be chronographed prior to the beginning of the game using .20 gram BBs. You will be given 2 attempts, consisting of no more than 3 shots each, in which to chronograph at the appropriate FPS. If your gun is unable to chronograph legal after 2 attempts, you will not be able to use that weapon in the game.

Once your gun passes the chronograph test, it will have a colored zip tie attached to it classifying it as either a Standard or a Sniper class weapon. No weapons without zip ties will be allowed on the field of play.
All guns are subject to a chronograph test at any time deemed necessary by the event organizer or referees. Any modifications made to your gun after being chronographed found to increase your FPS will result in your immediate and permanent removal from the game. No refunds will be

GRIZWALD

Wednesday, July 25, 2007 12:37 AM (P)

Have a great time, everybody! It sounds like wonderful fun.

___________________________________________________
High Priestess of Pork and Ag-Related Activities of the MYTHICAL LAND OF IOWA

Click on my profile for my Annoyingly Long List of Firefly Links.

DUELIST

Thursday, July 26, 2007 1:20 PM (P)

Thanks, Grizwald! Wish you could join us. Miramel, you out there? Think you can make it? Kerrick should have event pics up in a week or so.

Anyway, preregistration for Freefall ends at midnight tonight, so save yourself a few bucks today if you are tempted to join us. You can also register at the gate the day of for just a little bit more. The weather looks like it's going to be perfect, light clouds with temps in the low 80s and low humidity during the day, and clear with a full moon at night - perfect Reaver weather.

Hope to see you this weekend!

DUELIST

Tuesday, July 31, 2007 5:04 AM (P)

For anyone who's interested, we have an after-action discussion of the game (with pics starting to trickle in) going at:

http://wiairsoft.com/forums/showthread.php?p=59236&posted=1#post59236

I've posted all the character sheets there as well.

LOSTEARTHMOTHER

Tuesday, July 31, 2007 6:43 AM (P)

Alas, the site appears to be inaccessable to me.

"IP address banned".

DUELIST

Tuesday, July 31, 2007 11:50 AM (P)

LostEarthMother, here you go - the character sheets. (It's kinda a long post, hope I'm not violating any rules by posting here instead in the Blue Sun Room....)

Anyway, the characters:

After Action Report Introduction: Freefall, 28-29 July, 2007

‘The captain of the Waxwing was nervous as his Angel Class C Light Transport settled into a berth next to the Freefall Trading Post on the Border Moon Ataraxiain the early morning hours of 28 July planetside. He had a holdful of guns to be smuggled past the Magistrate’s prods, and an Alliance dropship following him in on the glide-path down to the mining town of Freefall from high orbit, and not cargo nor passengers booked for the return trip to the Core Planets. To add to the uncomfortableness, he’d just received a wave from his contact on the ground tellin’ him that the miner’s revolt had spread to Freefall Mine as well, which meant that his quiet little gunrunning spot was bound to be crawlin’ with lawmen lookin’ for Browncoat Resisters, and mercenaries nosing around for easy pickin’s. “Captain,” said Crash, the pilot, over the pop and creak of the shutdown atmo turbofans cooling, “You might want to take a look out the window. I think we have company.” The Captain stepped up to the cockpit glass and looked down. Three heavily-armed thugs stood in the glare of the Waxwing’s landing lights. “Hope they brought their jimmies,” said the Captain, “’cause we ain’t open for business ‘til sunup. You don’t crack the seals for no one ‘til I give the word, you hear me?” Crash nodded, looking a little spooked; this was his first run to Freefall. The Captain said, “Good. I’ll be in my bunk.” “Oh, yeah,” he thought to himself as he made his way aft to the engine room to round up his wife, “Yeah, this is gonna be just Shiny….” ’

Ladies, Gentlemen, and Others, you all are gonna have to help me out here. So much went on at this game that there is no way I could report on it all by my lonesome. So here’s what I’m gonna do. I’m posting here all the character sheets I issued to various players and NPCs, and I’m gonna ask you all to write a reply in character summarizing your activities over the fateful weekend of July 28-29 in the town of Freefall on the Border Moon Ataraxia.

Kerrick, you already sent me your Alliance report, and I ask you to post it here. To the rest of you Freefallers, I’m as eager as everyone else to hear the stories, so get writing!

Next post: The character sheets!

Sheriff - Jason Doerr
Trading Post Proprietor - Judy Doerr
You are the Sheriff of the mining port town of Freefall, on the Border Moon Ataraxia. You came here as a colonist with your wife, the Trading Post Proprietor, from your homeworld of Bellerophon almost eleven years ago. After a heartbreaking go as a farmsteader, you sold your stake and moved into town to set up shop. It was a good move. Freefall is one of the few places on Ataraxia that the Magistrate doesn’t own outright, and you were soon elected Sheriff by the townspeople.
Most of your town’s residents either work in the mine or cater to the miners’ needs. You feel for these indentured drudges; the Magistrate treats them as little more than slaves. When the Magistrate’s wife, Lady Syra was alive, she would sometimes visit and help lighten the miners’ burdens. She’d see to it that the worse neglects were addressed, anyway. Since her death during a tour of Freefall Mine, however, things have slid downhill so badly that some of the miners have actually taken up arms in revolt. That one’s always been a dangerous mine, but the last straw for them was the big cave-in of the Freefall Minehead which killed almost an entire shift of miners.
You see your town as a haven from the depredations of the Magistrate and his kind, but you are also pragmatic enough to understand that you must at least appear to cooperate with the powers that be. You have an uneasy truce with the Local Crime Boss, a ruthless young gangleader from Ataraxia’s capital city who controls shipping for the Magistrate and shakes down locals for protection money. You wo

GRIZWALD

Tuesday, July 31, 2007 12:35 PM (P)

*floor*

This is amazing. I want to see it on TV!! You've got story arc for at least a half a season right here!

___________________________________________________
High Priestess of Pork and Ag-Related Activities of the MYTHICAL LAND OF IOWA

Click on my profile for my Annoyingly Long List of Firefly Links.

DUELIST

Tuesday, July 31, 2007 12:46 PM (P)

You all ain't seen nothin' yet - just wait until the character replies start coming in. The crew of the Waxwing were particularly outstanding players, as were the Alliance squad. We should have video in a week or two (or three,) Kerrick is working on it.

DUELIST

Thursday, August 2, 2007 4:08 PM (P)

So far, two mercs, the Alliance Commander, and the smuggler pilot have reported in. Good stuff! To read their reports:

http://wiairsoft.com/forums/showthread.php?p=59236&posted=1#post59236

I can also post their reports here, if anyone's interested. If so, speak up....

GRIZWALD

Thursday, August 2, 2007 4:30 PM (P)

But of course.

Keep it all on this thread and that way those who are not interested don't have to see it.

___________________________________________________
High Priestess of Pork and Ag-Related Activities of the MYTHICAL LAND OF IOWA

Click on my profile for my Annoyingly Long List of Firefly Links.

DUELIST

Friday, August 3, 2007 1:11 PM (P)

You can see event pics at http://www.airsoftbattlezone.com/operationfreefallphotos.html

A HUGE THANKS needs to go out to our game hosts and primary sponsors, Jason & Judy Doerr of www.airsoftbattlezone.com. They worked their pigus off to get this event up and running, donated stacks of prizes and Trading Post items, recruited refs, provided the food, and just did everything within their power to make this a wonderful time for everyone. They are an event organizer's dream hosts, and I want to give them my personal thanks. Freefall is the game I've always wanted to run - thanks for taking the chance and letting me run it.

Thanks also to Ryan of Lupine Productions for website design, videography and Trading Post items; and Jonathan of Wisconsin Airsoft Wars for prizes.

DUELIST

Thursday, August 9, 2007 2:59 AM (P)

One Merc's Confession

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My Associate and I were just minding our own business, which was nothing at the time, when a dusty, nervous miner approached us with a business proposal. He stated that the miner's revolt had begun on ataraxia and the "revolution" if you could call it that needed some help holding one of their mineheads. I volunteered our services for 4 gems, plus one per kill. We set up our ambush by the mine and waited. Before too long, that nervous miner sent some of his buddies after us to make sure we didn't take off on them. some people just don't know how to trust. I could tell these miners had never held a gun, except maybe for some squirrel hunting. Before too long we found out why they hired us and not the other wannabe shooters around town. They had an alliance patrol after them. They came in with their typical alliance fanfare, oh so predictable. Making so much noise you could shoot them in the dark. we popped the first one that came within 20 yards of us. While he was on the ground moaning and groaning, his team leader asked us to hold fire. clearly a master tactician. we "agreed" and let them come closer, and wouldn't you know it they were all practically holding hands when we lit them up again. There was one trooper left and he took some cover, he was obviously the one that should've been the team lead, but after some maneuvering, there he was laying on the ground, bolt open, bleeding. and with that, we walked over and had a laugh at their misfortune and went to collect payment. We brought one of the scared miners with us to verify our headcount of 5.. well after he was finished cleaning his shorts out. neither him or the other two miners with us fired a shot. I don't blame them, this kind of business should be handled by pros like us. Now the lead miner was a little reluctant to pay us as he was uncertain that his mine would stay secure.. not our problem, we did what we were paid to and that was that. on our way back to town to spend our loot, some of that alliance patrol had gotten patched up.. probably by one of the miners that hired us. well since they was looking for us and I had a pocketfull of gems, i took off into the woods.. my partner, pockets empty, stalled the troopers long enough for me to get around their flank. He hit one of them, and so did I. about that time i realised they wouldn't let me out of the woods if they thought it was me who shot them, so i let off a few rounds in the air and gave a pretty convincing death cry.. convincing enough for the alliance goofballs anyway. They even thanked me for taking out their harrasser.. hahaha..

So we went on our way to change some of those gems into folding money. We figured our best bet to be that starship that had just landed. I talked to the captain and he just couldn't afford it. oh well.. I headed into the store to try and find another job, and there sits the magistrate. I figured it would be a good time to buy some strawberries, but he wasn't hungry, so i ate them right in front of him.. I putzed around town to find a hiding spot for my loot until i could move it, and once it was hidden, i felt a little social, so i approached the magistrate again, and one of his goody goody guards hit me with a stunner. I didn't appreciate it much, but right at that moment, it wasn't the time to settle the score. I worked the crowd over a little.. managed to palm 30 ataraxs off the companions table and headed back into the store to spend it when i spotted the magistrate taking a nap. his other guard was off somewhere skirt chasing and he left his apprentice there to mind the boss. he wasn't minding him too well because the magistrate had a crisp alliance credit just hanging out of his pocket. I positioned myself behind him and snatched it, and while doing so, noticed a hefty lump of cash down in his pocket. my partner new what i was up to already and asked the guard to assist him with his gear. I snatched a handful of cash and walked over to my hiding spot.. aft

DUELIST

Thursday, August 9, 2007 3:00 AM (P)

For the money, for the glory, and for the fun, mostly for the money

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Here I find myself on backwater moon thats way to hot, my last credit spend on the trip here and not a familier face around. I've spend most of the morning in town trying to find work while watching the Magistrate hire the bigger groups of mercs. It's a little after noon when an alliance squad comes marching into town. The last thing I needed was for the alliance to show up and smooth things over befor I can get a peice of the action. Luckly while in the trading post I overheard they are here to set up some bank. The Alliance moves on while I cool off in the shade of the trading post were I find my frist job. A merc (I think) wants me to ask the Magistrate some questions about some murder. His money is good and whats the worst that could happen, one of the Magistrates goons could stun me. While waiting for the Mag to be alone
(Well just him and his two goons that are always close by) I hear it's the Mags Wife Who was murder in the Mines. With this new info my new Associate
informs me he has been offered a large reward if he can find out who killed her and if I help out it's worth half. We head down to the mines to ask some questions and stumble on a fire fight between the alliance squad and what must be the miners (hopefully they all aren't so trigger happy). We move around the fight(no sents getting wounded in fight with no pay in it) and have a talk with the miners but they seem to know nothing and it was the same way with the rest on the port. We spend most of the day walking and talkinng and no one knows nothing. A few small jobs picking up wounded and dilivering goods for the Doc, but no leads on the murder. Finally we get something some miners coming up to town say they heard something. It takes a some shiny green gem I got for the Doc to pray the info from them.
Two Ex crime boss thugs told them the ships crew was invalved. With the day growing short we took the info back to the Companion's bodygurad (my Associate's emplyer). We gave what info we had and he swiffly turned around and punch the Miner boss in the face(I gess he was spending alot of time with the ships crew). The ships Engineer jumped the bodyguard from behind and quickly brought him down(That girls go a mean right hook). Soon Everyone was up and after a talk with the Companion's, the bodygurad, the engineer and the Miner boss we came to the relization that we must have been misinformed. We decided to return to the mines with the miner boss to point out which Miner was respossable for his punch to the face(And get my gem back). When we got there we found the alliance had set some gizmo up over the mine. I don't think the miner boss like it much because when there were no troopers around he had one of his miners take out the alliance tech. The ships engineer started messing around with the gizmo when an alliance trooper stumbled back over. After a quick burst and one downed engineer followed by alot of quick talking by the miner boss they all picked up the wounded and headed back of the port leaving us to watch the gizmo(paying us of corse).
Soon the Commander of the alliance troop came over with anther merc and hired us to make sure no one got close the the gizmo(nothing like getting paid twice for the same job). We fanned out around the gizmo thing and prepard to defend it. Maybe it was the lack of action or may heat stroke starting in but I grab a few z's under the shade of some trees as we spent the rest of the day on gurad duty. Never did find out who Murdered the Mags wife though darn it. I could have use tht money.The next day my Associate informs me some of his pals came in over night and he was going to hook up with them and see what trouble he could get into. So once again I find myself alone looking for work in the port. It's not long till I see the Magistrate armored car start up and he's heading out with alot mercs in tow. Best I can figure is they were heading down to mines to take

DUELIST

Thursday, August 9, 2007 3:01 AM (P)

Local Gunsmith/Hired Gun

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I was approached by the local store owner, who was concerned for the safety of her store. Being a member of the Guild of War Harbingers, I was more than happy to provide weapons, support, and intelligence to all sides. I accepted the store owner's request to provide security for her store and assisted the Sheriff with in-town duties while he was away.

The local Crime boss attempted to bribe me with her worthless money, not knowing that my sheer love for destruction and mayhem would be all the payment she needed to secure my services. The concept of money, bribery, and greed sickens me. The embrace of destruction and death is my salvation.

I provided weapons to all sides right underneath the nose of the Federation. My one hope was to get off that greedy backwater world to spread wanton destruction across the galaxy. But I was viciously maimed by roving thugs and left to die in the hot sun while the sheriff crawled away.

DUELIST

Thursday, August 9, 2007 3:02 AM (P)

Alliance Status Report

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Alliance Federal Task Group 7
Entry Log 7582

MISSION:
Quell hostilities in the Freefall area by separating the violent striking miners called the Browncoat Resisters from the forces of the Magistrate of Ataraxia.
STATUS:
MISSION SUCCESSFUL. Most of the browncoats are dead, left planet, or have been working with Federation troops on planet. The magistrate’s authority has crumbled and his jurisdiction replaced by Task Group 7. Both sides may cause more trouble in the future, but for now have been reduced in strength and fighting power.

MISSION:
Control traffic into and out of the mine head area to prevent tampering with the investigation site.
STATUS:
MISSION SUCCESSFUL. Although delayed due to forces trying to stop us, all three sensors were successfully completed and the automatic excavator was created and ran smoothly without interruption.

MISSION:
Cooperate with local authorities in re-establishing order in the community. Provide needed services to locals as the situation warrants. The Freefall Safe Area is the jurisdiction of the Sheriff, while the Free-fire Area is within the Magistrate of Ataraxia's jurisdiction. Your Commanding Officer is authorized to override these jurisdictions in the event of a breakdown in order.
STATUS:
MISSION IN PROGRESS. Worked with locals to provide bolster to economy, medical supplies to the doctor, and help when needed. Due to corruption and anti-Federation activities, the Magistrate's authority over the mines was removed during the second day. The magistrate was also going to be brought in for questioning but chaos ensued and people revolted against the magistrate. If the Magistrate is still on world, he will be apprehended and formally questioned. Proof of the magistrate's wife's murder was found and documented, pointing all information back to the local crime boss. Local Sheriff and Deputy aware of this information. Currently working with local law enforcement, the Sheriff, on restoring order to Freefall. Crime boss’s removal deemed critical in establishing order on planet; probably more-so than the Magistrate.

MISSION:
Monitor all air traffic in the environs, and call in intercepts of any unauthorized vessels entering or leaving the airspace of the Freefall investigation site.
MISSION IN PROGRESS. One unidentified vessel landed but no information available. Transport ship, Waxwing, was allowed to take off under my command. Some local trade goods, a few local passengers, an ambassador friendly to the indentured miners, a local doctor, and a Shepherd were all allowed to leave the planet of Ataraxia. Mercenaries attempting to take over the ship were delayed by Alliance troopers long enough for the Waxwing to take off.

MISSION:
Enforce the judgment of the Federal Terraforming Investigator, should she require that any person or persons in the Freefall area be voluntarily interrogated, and/or Bound by Law.
MISSION SUCCESSFUL. Any and all information requested by the investigator was obtained, analyzed, and properly reported. Inspector survived the battle, Ataraxite gems were collected in bulk quantities and stored for safekeeping, and topographical sensors mapping the mines were successful in revealing the un-safe nature of the mines. Proper documentation of the condition of the mines sent to command. Automatic excavation of the site was also successful.

MISSION:
After learning of the nature of the mines and the importance of the Ataraxite gem, Federal Task Group 7 is to no longer concern themselves with the populace of Ataraxia. You now have a high priority mission to secure mine head #2 and set up automatic excavating equipment that will mine the gem slowly over time. Do everything necessary to protect the operable excavator and maintain control over the mine. You have been cleared to use any means reasonably necessary to do so and funds have been wired to you on planet.
STATUS:
MISSION SUCCESSFUL:
Task Group 7 continued to maintain relati

DUELIST

Thursday, August 9, 2007 3:04 AM (P)

A Smuggler's Life For Me, part 1

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It’s never easy, is it? My business partner – a former geologist name of Christopher Dennett – and I take an excursion out to our trash heap of a ship, intending nothing more than to stash a certain piece of less-than-legal artillery onboard and come straight back. Easy, right?

Wrong. And the real galling thing about it? It weren’t even the Alliance that nabbed us on the way back. Apparently, that young gun longshoreman had made a bid for the position of Crime Lord and subsequently decided that holding his sometime-coworker at gunpoint would be a good idea. We end up getting frog-marched the rest of the way into Freefall by a trio of brainless thugs. They’re lucky they weren’t stupid enough to try and loot me (not that I had anything but medipacks, a year on this rock had used up every penny we had on our persons, but it’s a matter of principal) or I’d have taken a special care to shoot them on some later date.

Now that little encounter led me to believe that a change of employer was in order. Not that I hadn’t been thinking it before, but this time we managed to be overheard by a slightly strange fellow with no shoes. Apparently, he’s the pilot (named Crash – I do hope that isn’t any sort of indication of his flying skills) for the Waxwing and considers my fondness for irritating the Feds to be a job qualification worth hiring. Got us onto his ship faster than you could blink, I was almost a bit concerned that it was a trap. But optimism paid off this time – turns out he was just an exuberant sort.

Captain wasn’t quite so enthusiastic, though. Something about wanting to stay off the Alliance radar. His mind started to change a bit when I told him about that stash of ataraxite the crime boss owed me, and how I’d be willing to steal it to pay my way off this rock.

Jao dao mei, when we raid the former boss’ warehouse there ain’t nothing there but a couple of black market guns and the three brainless thugs sitting shot and bleeding just outside the door. Now there’s all manner of ways those gems could have left their theoretical home, but they don’t really matter as things were starting to heat up in a projectile-laden way right quick.

I manage to get through the back airlock just fine, but Dennett got himself shot (the boy’s got a bit of a talent for that, I’m afraid). Feel a bit guilty for just leaving him outside the ship, but there weren’t no way I could see if the coast was clear or not and I wasn’t too sure that the Captain would trust me to leave the ship again quite so soon.

Now, it does appear that I was underestimating him, as before too long me and Dennett (who’d gotten himself patched up by a good Samaritan of some sort) were practically crew.

We laid low for much of the rest of the day, but that did put us in a position of awareness for more shady deals than a bookie in a basement. The sunniest one of these deals involved a companion (might I say, a refreshing touch of civilization that I ain’t seen since I left Sihnon), her apprentice, and their bodyguard all seeking to go the same place I was headed – Anywhere But Here. I say all, but the apprentice (that’s the Magistrate’s daughter) was convinced that her momma’s death wasn’t an accident and intended to stick around long enough to eviscerate whomever was responsible.

The other, more dimly-lit deal was one we had on with the Browncoats. Some wanted to buy their way out of indenture, some wanted just to get off-planet, and all of them wanted to sell the ataraxite they’d broke their backs for down in the mines to do it. Trouble was, there wasn’t near enough cash on the Waxwing to pay for more than a handful of the gems, and the Captain had a powerful need to stay on planet instead of taking off to deal with his fence.

Never one to despair (grumble, curse, and shoot things for amusement, but not despair), he called the crew together and told us all that we needed to look for the pilot of the little two-man planet-ho

DUELIST

Thursday, August 9, 2007 3:05 AM (P)

An exerpt from Christopher Dennett's private log, 7/30 Ataraxia
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We came to that out of way moon because of the promises of a large quantity of Ataraxite gems. By we, I should say my partner Margaret Blake and I. She is a good skiff pilot, and really enjoys blowing things up with her rpg launcher when she gets a chance. The gems are hugely valuable on our home world of Shinon; about 400 or 500 alliance credits for gold ataraxite, around 1200 for the green, and 2000 or more for the white. The crime lord who set up shop near the free port of Freefall promised us almost a chest full of the gems. However, that was almost a year ago already. She kept asking us to do odd jobs, and promising us that we'd earn the gems after the next one, and the one after that. Until it came to a few nights ago, when the Freighter Waxwing landed. It's appearance didn't really affect us until the next day, when the alliance dropship landed. The two-man ship we came to Ataraxia in, was tagged for some crime or another over by Persephone, and if we launched off the ground our ship would trip the dropship's sensors. Then, the alliance would, very politely, blow us out of the sky. So even if we got the gems, we would be stuck on that gorram moon.

After Margaret placed her one true love and some party favors in our ship, we came back to town, we got “pinched” by the crime boss thugs. Apparently the Crime Boss wasn't around at that moment. After explaining who we were, and why we were there at least three times, they finally escort us to town. Now, I don't know much about escorting, but they hardly looked away from us, and didn't check their surroundings. It was basically an open invitation to get shot in the back, and I'm glad there weren't any other mercs around dumb enough to try it.

Well we got back to town and a man wearing yellow goggles, and no shoes, came up to us and asked us if we were friends with the alliance. Margaret never really has been a supporter of the Alliance, and normally I'm apathetic towards them, but since they have an embargo on our profit line, I wouldn't mind causing some disruptions. As long as Margaret and I were able to get off world with the gems.

The man turned out to be called Crash, and he was the pilot of the Waxwing, and I am hoping his name is just a sad attempt at irony. However, his captain seemed to think that pestering the Alliance wouldn't bring his crew any good. I'd say I'd have to agree. It would be easier to get off world without the Alliance prods on our backs. Margaret, on the other hand, looked deflated at the thought. I'm sure she was hoping to be able to cause mayhem, and get paid for it.

We discuss payment for getting off world. The Captain said it was 400 or 500 credits depending on how many people were already on board, and if we help defend the ship, or do other work for the crew, the prices drop. About this time, Margaret and I realized we should tell the captain about the stash of gems that the Crime Lord has. Well, really Margaret realized, and I just stood back and watched, adding some details about how valuable the gems could be.

This peaked the Captain's interest, but about this time we hear yells coming form outside the ship. Turns out our brilliant thug friends are trying to scream down some mercs coming from the town. Eventually someone shoots, and a whole firefight erupts. To our luck, we see that all the thugs got themselves shot.

Around that time, we realized we no longer needed the crime boss, and decided to look around the, now deserted, warehouse for the gems. The gems were naturally not there, but after checking around, we found three illegal firearms just waiting to be taken.

On our way back to the Waxwing, Margaret gets inside the secondary entrance, but I'm still stuck outside when a few “shoot first, ask questions later” types come around the north side of the ship. I'm hiding next to the entrance, and one is creeping along the ship, while one is in the bushes nearby. I

DUELIST

Thursday, August 9, 2007 3:06 AM (P)

Crash's Private Log

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I can’t say I was pleased with the Captain’s decision to land us on Ataraxia. I mean, I’m all for doing work in the Core – things there are lawful, and there’s always someplace worthwhile to spend your credits when you earn ‘em. Work on the rim just makes me nervous – everyone out there is looking out for nobody but themselves. Not nice places to be.
I was pretty jumpy after we landed. To tell the truth, I didn’t want to leave the Waxwing, and felt like it was in our best interest to just land, dump or cargo, get our credits, and get flying again. But everything went downhill real fast.
In the first place, there wasn’t going to be a clean exchange of goods. With the local Magistrate and the crime boss both showing a keen interest in our business, we had little choice but to hire one of the local mercs to help us move goods. Since every one of them seemed less trustworthy than the last, it fell to me and my people skills to find one that would work. And I felt none too good about my choice.
We sent him off to do an exchange, and waited, tense, in the Waxwing. It was a long while before he returned, bearing a small gem and telling us some story about getting it exchanged for soft currency.
Surprisingly, he was good to his word, and he stayed with the ship for the next two days, serving exceptionally as a guard at the door and making occasional runs, as well as serving as escort when we had to trek out to the mines or go talk to the Alliance.
The Alliance folk sure surprised me. I was used to their slightly abusive practices in the Core, but here, among this untidy mess of desperate and ill-kept humanity, they proved themselves much like the old warriors of ancient times – honor before personal concerns. I was especially impressed by the commander, who more than once got us out of scrapes that would probably have landed us all in the grave. It’s my greatest regret that I betrayed that trust and if I’m ever found out, I’ll likely be running from the Alliance until I’m an old man.
It wasn’t the firefight. That was an accident. We were trying to reach the larger of the two mineheads, and when we got near, my companions sent me ahead to see if there were friendlies or mercs up there (like I said, I can usually talk my way out of bad situations). Well, I heard the people coming down out of the woods, so I put my hands above my head and waited. Out they came, far down the trail but with a clean line of sight. As soon as they saw me they got real aggressive, shouting at me to get my hands up (they already were!) I wasn’t too nervous, because I knew all my friends were hiding behind me – including Mirage, the sniper we had hired on. But these people were advancing rapidly, guns leveled, and I my calm started to leave me, because they were still yelling at me to get my hands up!
It was too much. They were still shouting at me, and I was just standing there, and I just knew they were going to shoot me. So I turned, ducked, and ran.
That’s when I noticed that they weren’t yelling at me. They were yelling at my companions, who weren’t hiding after all, but were just standing next to the small transport ship at the head of the trail. Great.
A moment later I was hunkered down, returning fire as that poor ship took all the damage for us.
We had little choice but to run. We made it about thirty yards into the woods before we found the relative shelter of a fallen tree and decided to make our stand.
Everything after that is a blur. Bullets whizzing everywhere. Mirage taking a hit and me taking over his sniper rifle. The sharp searing pain as a bullet grazed the edge of my ear, taking out a good chunk of flesh. And our relief as we discovered we had surrendered to the Alliance commander and his men.
There were much apologies for the misunderstanding, and he was good enough to escort us all back to the Waxwing where the doctor told me I could get a real nice piece of jewelry for my new piercing.
Yes, we got off Ataraxia.

DUELIST

Thursday, August 9, 2007 3:07 AM (P)

Freedom, such a thing.

Ruled only by the law, and I'll probably incriminate myself right here.

Last thing I want to do is go back through that "Social re-insertion" program.. Didn't help.
Hell, after I got back I headed up a strike, shot four, slashed two necks, and helped smuggle heaps of contraband? What more proof to do you need? (Speaking of proof, you don't have any on the above!)

Irrelevant. Still, I'd rather commit another 100 crimes than go back to those mines. Rocks ain't my cup of tea. Even if those rocks are worth a small fortune. We never saw a penny of it, anyway. Until recently.

Let me tell you, that revolt wasn't a spur-of-the-moment deal. That had been planned out.. but plans almost never go over perfectly. Ours sure didn't.

The arrival of the Alliance was a mishap. Apparently we were not the only ones aware of the Magistrate's crooked deals. Truth be, those Alliance boys wern't too bad. Even helped us out in a pinch!

The words are the same, but we don't speak the same language. Total of four firefights over mis-communication.
I got another battle scar because of it. Add to the collection.

Anyway, The mine heads were given up almost as soon as we took them. We didn't need them.. it was a red-herring. We had already been taking a cut of what we mined, and reporting that the mines were getting dangerous. An excuse for our low-productivity.

You have to watch what you say, though. No sooner as that was enscribed on the mining-report, it became the scapegoat for an "Industrial accident". Meh.

I'll have to take a short break here.. Weapons don't clean themselves.

This next planet? Yeah, even I'm worried about it. (Infact, I'm going to start cleaning 'em right now.)

Finish later,
-Mirage

DUELIST

Thursday, August 9, 2007 3:08 AM (P)

To: General Li Zhaolin, Ariel High Command, Union of Allied Planets
From: Victor Draken, Magistrate of Ataraxia
Re: Recent Discovery of Ataraxite

Dear General Li:
It is my pleasure to inform you of the recent discovery of a very rich vein of Ataraxite which will bring much income to the already wealthy and powerful Alliance . None could be more pleased than I when one of your scientists was able to overcome many adversities and locate this rich deposit on my humble and distant moon.
I regret that not all of my news is of such a cheerful mood. There are many small issues which have surfaced to cast a pall over the exuberance that this discovery would otherwise cause in me.
First of all, there is the location of this very rich deposit. It is, unfortunately, located near a remote region which is not legally within my jurisdiction. The town of Freefall is technically a free port of call and as such, I am legally limited in what I am allowed to do to ensure that the mining of the Ataraxite is conducted safely and without trouble. To be sure, the area of the mines is clearly within my jurisdiction but, with this free port operating outside of my guiding hand, certain rogue elements have taken the opportunity to try and interfere with the lawful operations of both myself and the Alliance .
Secondly, there is the issue of the mine itself, for which there have been concerns brought to light about their safety. I, myself, have a personal stake in this since it was the untimely death of my wife inside of one of these mines that alerted me to the seriousness of the concerns. (Thank you for the condolences that were sent over by your secretary, I had hoped to hear from you, but I am sure that you are very busy)
I attempted to investigate the concerns over the safety of the mines, but found that the local miners had become impossible to reason with, or even to safely approach. I sent out representatives to speak with them, but could not secure a peaceful meeting with their leader. I attempted to go to them myself at one point and found that the lawlessness of the Freefall port had spread out from that town to threaten my escorts, my shuttle and myself. All of which brings me to my third issue, which is that of the Alliance Commander with Task Group 7 in the area.
When I arrived in Freefall, I had concerns about what I could do with these lawless and backwards people, but upon seeing the arrival of an Alliance dropship, I felt my hopes rise. I felt sure that with the Alliance present and with my own considerable authority, all things would be straightened out quickly. I would be able to speak with the miners peacefully and perhaps show these folk how civilized people conduct themselves. At the very least, I felt confident that myself and my beloved daughter would be as safe here as on Ariel itself.
Alas, how wrong I was! The Commander refused to take my advice and heed my knowledge of the miners resorting to violence. I graciously offered the use of my own hired help to strengthen his numbers so that any wayward miscreants would quickly realize that a peaceful meeting was the only real solution. But, he refused me flatly. He marched off with his brave (but few) soldiers and foolishly (in my opinion) and succeeded in only encouraging the rebels elements to attack them. Had he listened to me, I think things would have gotten better, not worse. As I understand it, the Commander believes that he has done a good thing by defeating the ‘brown coats’, but what this young man fails to understand is that they were the workforce for the mines (which will now have to be replaced) and that I held contracts with all these miners who have now either been killed, driven off or are working for the Alliance directly (in violation of their lawful duties to me).
Furthermore, as things progressed, the Commander was forced to deploy forces outside of the port of Freefall which resulted in a rise of criminal activity and general confusion within the town. I refer to a daylight robbery in the town, I refer to myself being arrested by the local

KOILA

Thursday, August 9, 2007 1:21 PM (P)

I so wish we had something like that here - Canada

Does anyone know how I can start one?

DUELIST

Thursday, August 9, 2007 2:51 PM (P)

Kerrick and I are working on that right now, a way that people can use the website to sanction, organize, and host their own Freefall-style games. Keep an eye on www.freefallgame.com over the next couple of months....