<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/LkpGhBK.jpg)</div><strong><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: andale mono;">Novaskur System, Stellar Khanate Territory<br/>Stardate 8.692.25<br/>This is Captain Jalyers speaking...disregard, First Mate Jalyers. By the Primals that's not a title I expected to hear in eons. I was a captive of the Star Khan just last week; apparently I was too 'talented' for execution, even though I was not one of those life forms capable of regenerating from lethal atomization. What he had in store for me cannot be repeated here, and it was through my dashing charm and knack for being in the right place at the right time that I...I mean we, escaped with an experimental vessel, two Earthlings, and a Lor Princess at that! I've been a wanted woman before, but this is something else!<br/><br/>I admit we're off to a rough start. Princess Zaburshia is unused to the 'meager' accommodations, and while indebted to the Earthling Jade is none too fond of "rogues." I cannot blame her; my career of extralegal acquisitions did not change with the transition from Republic to Khanate. The Earthlings, on the other hand, are backwater hicks. Smart and able to grok warp vessels, but hicks nonetheless. I had to talk Solar Flare (the mutant one) out of overcharging the hyperdrive with her light powers. I had to give a long talk about the differences between an anti-matter engine and a fusion one.<br/><br/>'Oh, so it's like unleaded vs premium!'<br/><br/>I'm still shocked that there are life forms which use petroleum as <em>fuel.</em><br/><br/>Right now our current mission is-JALYERS!</span></strong><br/><br/>Jalyers leaped out of her seat, her magnetized gauntlet drawing a gatling laser into her palm from across the room. Looking around her keen alien eyes spotted a wave of red hair swish past the sliding doors.<br/><br/>A tanned human adolescent waved as she floated through the air. "Good news, we're here!" she excitedly chirped.<div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/s7W015K.jpg)</div><br/>Jalyers sighed as she de-magnetized the gun back to its holding place. "Ugh, don't interrupt me when I'm mind-logging!" she responded. "It messes up the text interface."<br/><br/>The human woman squinted at the green-texted hologram. "Not even voice-activated? This Grue psitech is something else, eh? Even NASA's technicians haven't approached this level of-"<br/><br/>"What did you come in for, Solar Flare?" Jalyers interrupted. "If you don't mind, we have a mission to prepare for."<br/><br/>"That's what I'm here for!" Solar Flare answered, nodding enthusiastically. "We reached Tharsin Station!"<br/><br/><div align="center">(https://i.imgur.com/HhzLAO6.jpg)</div><br/>The lights of the mechanized planet shone like a warped star on the black backdrop of space. The energy output alone could be detected on the bioship's interface. A green-skinned alien woman clad in a layer of plantlike armor looked out from the starship's observation deck.<br/><br/>"Tharsis was once a lush ocean," she said. "But that was back when the Lor Republic was a real democracy. Now it is...this."<br/><br/>Placing a hand on the glasslike substance, she could feel the arrival of two others from the bridge. Lucy Jade of course, was piloting the ship and keeping the Princess company. That she had to do it nude and suspended in a tentacle-filled cylinder was but a necessary duty of operation.<br/><br/>"Wow, this thing's faster than I thought," Jalyers exclaimed. "Wait, where's Tharsis?"<br/><br/>"Its oceans are covered," Princess Zarbushia said with clenched fists. It will take lifetimes removing all that metal, to see them once again."<br/><br/>Solar Flare let out a chuckle as she tapped the side of Jade's cylinder. "Must be glad you're in a stealth cruiser, so that other vessels won't catch you like...well this."<br/><br/>The tentacles writhed against her body as the girl pulled on one tendril.<br/><br/>"So, what's the plan?" Jalyers asked. "Did we pick up anything useful?"<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Expertise Astronomy Automatic</div><div class="spoiler_body">Tharsis is a terrestial planet with an (original) Earth-like size and atmosphere. But the mass mechanization of its surface for energy harvesting will have surely turned it into a hotbox.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">DC 20</div><div class="spoiler_body">Its 3 moons means that the oceanic surface generates high tides on all sides. They also provide a good vantage point for monitoring by Khanate lunar bases. It is thus practically impossible to make an unauthorized landing...for one without an experimental Lor-Grue stealth-cruiser!<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">DC 25</div><div class="spoiler_body">The complicated planetwide mechanization is a very fragile interface; millions of factors must be calculated for in order to safely harvest tidal energy. An explosion which throws one of the moons out of orbit, or even an unscheduled solar eclipse, a disruption of atmospheric dispensers, or a similar global disruption, can throw the energy harvests out of whack.</div></div></div></div></div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Expertise Politics/Military/Economics/etc automatic</div><div class="spoiler_body">The sheer number of planets and asteroid belts means that galactic civilizations have a theoretically-limitless amount of resources. But tariffs, interstellar warfare, privatization of resources, preservation efforts, and indigenous aliens on many means that such resources are not always distributed fairly. Tharsin was originally a "garden world," a planet the Lor Republic agreed not to harvest due to fragile ecosystems and a uniquely beautiful terrain. But the Star Khan's regime cares little for such things, instead desiring to turn it into yet another fuel station for his innumerable legions.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Bioship Lens Array</div><div class="spoiler_body">Tharsis' surface is choked with smog and various gassed minerals from its machines, forming massive black patches in its atmosphere. Said patches can be useful for hiding or throwing off the scanners of enemy ships, as the minerals can jam most sensors. This applies to the bioship as well, making it a double-edged sword.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Technology DC 20</div><div class="spoiler_body">But this is not a long-term solution. The Star Khan's military vessels likely have backup sensory systems to switch to in the event they believe a ship is using the smog patches for cover.</div></div></div></div>