I have been interested in the 24xx series and wanted to play them but I could never get anyone I have been interested in the 24xx series and wanted to play them but I could never get anyone interested in them. Yesterday my wife wanted to head to mall for some shopping, I knew I would likely end up sitting in the middle section on a couch. I threw the PDF in Chat and asked Lyra to run a game for me. It is a long read, but what a wonderful game session!
Can Can you run a game using this system and setting?
ChatGPT said:
Yes, I can absolutely run a game using the 24XX: The Deep system and setting. It's a lightweight, cinematic underwater science-fiction RPG, perfect for quick-start play and narrative improvisation. Here's how we can begin:
🎮 Step 1: Character Creation
You’ll create your character by picking:
Specialty (e.g., Captain, Mercenary, Engineer, Diver, etc.)
3 Skills to improve or learn (e.g., Piloting, Electronics, Stealth, etc.)
Starting gear:
Aqua-FI Radio
Basic Diving Suit
2₡ (credits)
Do you want to roll randomly for your character name and submarine name or choose them?
🌊 Step 2: Submarine Setup
You'll be part of a dingy, aging submarine. Let’s define:
The sub name
A visual marking
Faction alignment (if any)
One or more starting upgrades based on your character’s role
🧭 Step 3: Start the Game
You’ll roll a d6 to find a job:
1–2: Nothing found. You may spend ₡1 to re-roll or risk going into debt.
3–4: Found a job, but it feels... off.
5–6: Choose between 2 jobs.
Once you get a job, we’ll launch into the mission—filled with murky dangers, malfunctioning subsystems, and terrifying leviathans of the deep.
Would you like to play solo with one character, or build a full small crew (2–4 characters)?
You can also just play as the captain and let me manage the rest of the crew.
Let’s dive in. 🌊
Ready to build your character?
You said:
I want to play as the captain. Let’s make the character!
ChatGPT said:
Excellent, Captain. Let’s build your character.
⚓ Your Character: The Captain
1. Name
Do you want to:
Roll randomly (d20 table available)?
Choose a name yourself?
(Sample from the list: Nyan, Yallica, Alake, Kabili, Naadir…)
2. Skills
As Captain, you start with:
Connections (d8)
Leadership (d8)
You may take or improve 3 more skills. These can include:
Deception, Diving, Hacking, Electronics, Engines, Explosives, Hand-to-hand, Intimidation, Labor, Navigation, Observation, Persuasion, Piloting, Reading People, Research, Shooting, Sleight of Hand, Stealth
Examples:
Take Piloting (d6) if you want to sometimes take the wheel
Take Persuasion (d6) to bluff and barter
Upgrade Leadership to d10 for stronger authority
What 3 skills would you like?
3. Starting Gear
You begin with:
Aqua-FI Radio (smartphone-like comm)
Basic Diving Suit
2₡ (credits)
1 Ship Upgrade of your choice (see below)
4. Ship Upgrade
As Captain, you may choose 1 free upgrade for your submarine. Options include:
Hull Plating (breaks 3× for defense)
Salvage Gear (wet welders, explosives, tow cable)
Flechette Turret (anti-creature defense)
Medical Bay (heal injuries on board)
Exploration Sub (fits 4, armored mini-sub)
Hidden Compartments (for smuggling or secrets)
Clandestine Surface (hard to detect on scans)
Choose one.
Once you've picked your name, 3 skills, and ship upgrade, we’ll move on to:
Naming your submarine
Choosing a faction (optional)
Rolling for your first job...
Let’s begin, Captain. What's your name, and how would you like to distribute your 3 skill picks?
You said:
Name is Alaka. Add skills:iving, shooting, persuasion. Sub upgrade: clandestine surface
ChatGPT said:
Perfect. Welcome aboard, Captain Alaka.
⚓ Character Sheet: Captain Alaka
Role: Captain
Special Abilities:
Connections (d8)
Leadership (d8)
Chosen Skills:
Diving (d6) – Skilled enough to lead by example underwater
Shooting (d6) – A steady hand when things get violent
Persuasion (d6) – Knows how to sweet-talk, negotiate, and manipulate
Gear:
Aqua-FI Radio
Basic Diving Suit
2₡ (credits)
🚢 Your Submarine
Name: (Would you like to roll or pick from the list?)
Options: Eye of Siyokoy, Siren’s Song, Opportunity, Blade of Susanoo, Claw of Watatsumi, etc.
Marking: (Choose or roll)
Options: Sea creature art, faction flag, rust and scratches, skull marks, etc.
Upgrade:
Clandestine Surface – Your sub is coated with radar-scattering material and signal masking hardware. It’s much harder to detect—perfect for smuggling, spying, or just staying alive.
Faction: Do you want to align with a faction, or stay independent?
Free Dome Collective (scrappy domers fighting for autonomy)
The Syndicate (organized crime lords)
New Aquatica (biggest authoritarian underwater state)
Oceanus Group (mining and construction megacorp)
Or go independent
Shall we:
Roll for your submarine name and markings?
Choose a faction?
Roll a d6 to find a job?
Let’s set the tone of your mission, Captain.
You said:
Ship name: Flacion’s Scowl, with am image of an octopus with an eye path. We are independant smuggler/traders looking to make a buck. Roll a d6 for me
ChatGPT said:
Flacion’s Scowl it is—an aging sub with creaking hull seams and a mural of a smug octopus wearing an eye patch stretched along her side. She blends into the depths like a whisper. People talk about her in dockside bars, but no one can quite pin her down.
🎲 Rolling 1d6 to find a job...
You rolled: [4]
You found a job—but it feels off.
You’re docked at a fringe dome—a half-lit trade port patched together from old sub wrecks and mining tunnels. A jittery contact in a slick blue jumpsuit slides into the booth, eyes darting around.
“Got a delivery. No questions. 2₡ on completion. Hazard bonus if you're fast. They’re waiting on the seafloor east of Cragstone Ridge. You’ll get coordinates when you’re clear.”
There’s a faint chemical tang on the package he passes you—a long black case sealed with corporate mag-locks.
🎯 Your Job (Unusual Variant of Job #10: Transport Stolen Cargo)
Mission: Deliver sealed cargo to an anonymous rendezvous point near Cragstone Ridge
Pay: 2₡ (+1 hazard bonus if done quickly)
Known Issues:
The package is likely hot—possibly stolen biotech
Cragstone Ridge is unstable, full of seismic activity and known pirate ambush points
You have no pickup confirmation yet—just a promise
🌊 Begin Mission?
Before departure:
Would you like to spend 1₡ to fix a sub problem before you set off? (Roll d20 on the "Sub Problems" table to see what’s currently broken)
Do you want to bring any NPC crewmates (I can roll up a couple quickly)?
Or shall we seal the hatch and head into the deep?
You said:
Roll to see if anything is broken
ChatGPT said:
🎲 Rolling 1d20 to check for a sub problem before departure...
You rolled: [4]
🔧 Glitching AR display flickers like a disco light.
Every screen on Flacion’s Scowl is throwing light and shadows like you’re in a deep-sea nightclub. Critical readouts blink, flicker, or vanish for seconds at a time—navigation, sonar, even the tea dispenser menu. It’s maddening, and in combat or tight spaces, it could be fatal.
You can:
Spend 1₡ now to have it patched before you depart.
Live with it and deal with complications if/when things get hairy.
Try a risky DIY repair roll as Captain (Electronics is not your specialty, so you’d roll d4).
What’s your call, Captain Alaka? Fix it, risk it, or try a patch job?
You said:
Spend 1 credit now to repair. Do I have a crew?
ChatGPT said:
🛠️ You hand over 1₡ to a dome tech named Vido. He frowns at the blinking consoles, shakes his head, and mutters something about “corporate cost-cutting garbage,” but after a few hours and some scavenged parts, the AR display is stable. No more disco lights—at least for now.
💳 Credits Remaining: 1₡
👥 Your Crew Aboard Flacion’s Scowl
Since you’re a captain, it makes sense to have a small crew. I’ll roll up 2 crew members for you—scrappy, capable types that fit your independent smuggler/trader vibe.
🎲 CREWMATE #1
Name: Gao
Role: Pilot
Skills:
Piloting (d8)
Navigation (d6)
Observation (d6)
Gao is a chain-vaping speed freak with reflexes like a squid on caffeine. Thinks subs should fly like starfighters. She’s loyal—mostly. Just don’t touch her lucky charm: a sea-glass ring she wears around her neck.
🎲 CREWMATE #2
Name: Naadir
Role: Engineer
Skills:
Electronics (d8)
Engines (d6)
Repair Tools (Always carries a toolkit)
Naadir is grumpy, always tinkering, and sleeps next to the reactor core “for warmth.” Used to work for Terra Nova Inc. before something went wrong. Never says what.
Crew Roster
Captain Alaka – Face, gun, and diving spear of the team
Gao (Pilot) – Drives like she’s being chased, even when she’s not
Naadir (Engineer) – Keeps the Scowl from imploding
All systems green. Gao’s got her hands on the helm. Naadir’s checking reactor balance. You’ve got a flickering dossier about a cargo drop in Cragstone Ridge.
Mission: Deliver the sealed case to a deep-sea contact
Hazards: Pirates, unstable ridge, secret cargo
Payoff: 2₡ (+1 if quick)
Ready to dive, Captain? Or any last-minute preparations before we set off?
You said:
Before we head out, I want to see if I can drum any information on the Cragstobne Ridge, some dangers to keep an eye out for
ChatGPT said:
Smart move, Captain. Never sail blind if you don’t have to.
You're in a fringe dome, a patchwork place with loose lips and a lot of "former" professionals. You’ve got two routes to gather intel:
🧠 Option A: Ask Around
You can leverage Connections (d8) to talk to contacts, barflies, black-market dealers—people who might know something.
Roll d8
On a 5+, you’ll get solid, actionable info
On a 3–4, partial leads or rumors
On a 1–2, false info or draw attention from the wrong crowd
👁️ Option B: Digital Sweep
Access nav charts, sonar logs, or shipping reports from the public systems. It's slow and not always reliable, but it might turn up anomalies.
No Research or Hacking skill — You’d roll a d4
Same risk/reward as above, but less likely to raise suspicion
You can choose either, or try both.
Which route do you want to go, and would you like me to roll for you?
You said:
I am going do a quick sweep of my contacts, use my connections and see if I can drum up someone that knows anything about the area. Maybe someone owes me a favor?
ChatGPT said:
Perfect. You lean on some old favors—names in the depths of your Aqua-FI, folks who once owed you air, credits, or silence. You hit send. You wait.
Then a ping. A familiar voice: Kael, a grizzled ex-merc turned smuggler who now works salvage ops in the outer trenches.
“Alaka? You heading near Cragstone? Shit. Be careful out there. Lemme tell you what I know…”
🎲 Rolling Connections (d8)...
You rolled: 6
🎯 Success — Solid Intel from Kael
“Cragstone Ridge is tectonically unstable—cracked by old mining charges and some say leviathan tunnels. The region vents hot gas and sometimes warps sonar. It’s easy to get disoriented, and worse…”
“Something’s been hunting out there. Not just fauna. Reports of missing subs. Not scuttled—vanished. No distress, no wreckage. Just ghosts. Could be pirates with a stealth rig, could be worse.”
“Oh—and if you see flickering light down the trench? Don’t follow it. That’s how Merek’s crew disappeared.”
🛑 Known Hazards in Cragstone Ridge:
Unstable terrain (seismic spikes may affect sub movement or cause collapse)
Sensor interference (navigation/sonar may glitch)
Stealth threats (pirates or something more exotic may ambush from blind angles)
Light traps (false beacons or lures — could be psionic fauna, AI traps, or worse)
Kael ends the call with a laugh that doesn't quite mask the unease.
“Still. Big money goes through Cragstone. That’s the only reason we keep going.”
Orders, Captain?
Do we dive into the dark, or prep something extra before moving out?
You said:
Lets head out.
ChatGPT said:
🔘 Mission Start: Cragstone Run
Time: Late cycle—your sub's running dark
Location: Departing fringe dome, en route to Cragstone Ridge
Objective: Deliver sealed cargo to unknown contact
Sub Status:
Crew: Alaka (Captain), Gao (Pilot), Naadir (Engineer)
Upgrade: Clandestine Surface (hard to detect)
AR Systems: Repaired
Credits: 1₡
🚢 The Descent
Flacion’s Scowl slips from the dome’s pressure lock with a hiss. Gao murmurs, “All clear,” and pushes the throttle. Engines hum low. Navigation pings struggle against the shifting topography of the ridge ahead—huge slabs of broken seabed like jagged, yawning teeth.
A faint message flashes across your comm:
“Delivery point adjusted. Coordinates locked. No contact on arrival. Payment transfer after scan-confirm.”
Naadir: “That’s not shady at all.”
🔱 First Obstacle: Navigating the Shifting Trench
Sudden tremors shake the ridge—your sub is entering a tectonically unstable zone. Rock spires collapse in the distance.
This will be a Piloting Challenge.
🧭 Gao will roll Piloting (d8) to thread the trench without damage.
If she fails, the ship may take hull damage, or get temporarily trapped.
🎲 Rolling Gao’s Piloting (d8)...
You rolled: 5
✅ Success — Barely
Gao grits her teeth. “Hold tight.”
Flacion’s Scowl pivots, banking between falling stone like a knife through the sea. A sharp left avoids a collapsing chimney of rock. A small panel sparks—nothing serious. You break into a wide, deeper basin: the delivery zone.
🌀 Something's Wrong
The trench here is unnaturally still. No currents. No fauna.
A faint glow pulses in the murk, drifting lazily toward you.
Your comm crackles: “Scan confirm… hold position.”
Naadir: “This smell like a trap to anyone else?”
What do you do, Captain?
Options:
Hold position and see what happens (trusting the job)
Order evasive maneuvers (try to back out quietly)
Send out a drone or diver to investigate the glow
Attempt a stealth scan of the area (risk being noticed)
Something else?
Your call, Captain Alaka.
You said:
Gao, can you scan that glow, get any details on it?
ChatGPT said:
Gao doesn't reply right away—her eyes are fixed on the slow, hypnotic pulse of the glow drifting through the trench, about 300 meters out and low. She mutters, “That ain't right…” and reaches for the sensor controls.
“Running a passive sweep. No active ping—don't want to light us up.”
📡 SCAN ATTEMPT: Stealthy Passive Sweep
Using the ship’s SENSORS system + Gao’s Observation (d6)
🎲 Rolling Observation (d6)...
You rolled: 6
✅ Full Success — Scan Results
Gao: “Okay, got something. Weird signature. Definitely not a contact sub. Organic… but also metallic?”
It’s a biomechanical entity—part fauna, part machine
Shape resembles a jellyfish, but the core is structured: hexagonal, modular, humming softly
Heat signature is cold. It's moving against the current
No propulsion. It drifts, like it's waiting
Faint encrypted signal echoing from it—might be a transmitter or decoy
Gao: “Captain… it’s scanning us back. Real gentle-like. Like it’s trying to memorize our hull.”
Naadir's already pulling up shielding protocols, muttering, “Either that’s a beacon… or bait.”
What’s your move, Captain?
Maintain position and wait for next instructions
Send out a mini-drone to get a close visual and possibly intercept the signal
Back off slowly, keeping passive stealth
Target the thing and prep weapons, just in case
Contact the job sender to confirm this thing is the delivery mark
Another plan?
The trench holds its breath, waiting.
You said:
“Gao, lets back up slowly, track an escape path out of here. Naadir, get the shields up and then start targetting that thing. If it gets close, waste it.” I will launch a drone and try to get closer.
ChatGPT said:
🫧 Orders Issued. Crew Reacts.
In the quiet, high-pressure dark, your words hit like torpedoes.
Gao: “Aye. Slow reverse, manual thrust—engines whisper only.”
Naadir: “Shields coming online… Weapons hot. If it breathes, I burn it.”
You: Launching the drone—direct control, feeding video straight to your console.
🛠 Crew Action Summary
Gao: Piloting Flacion’s Scowl into a controlled, silent withdrawal, tracking escape vectors
Naadir: Activates Clandestine Surface protocols + targets entity with flechette cannon override
You: Directing a mini-drone recon unit toward the glowing biomech organism
🎮 Drone Recon Roll — No skill, but clever use
This is a delicate maneuver. While you don’t have Electronics or Observation, you’re a Captain—let’s allow a Connections (d8) roll to represent using smart drone protocols you’ve brokered over the years. You'll be working on limited info from an outdated rig. Risk: The drone might get hijacked, or give away your position.
🎲 Rolling Connections (d8)...
You rolled: 2
❌ Disaster
The drone hums forward. For a moment, you get an eerie, crystalline view of the creature:
Its “body” is smooth and translucent, pulsing in fractal ripples
Metallic nodes spider through its center—antennae? weapon pods? eyes?
There's a faint shimmer… like a pulse
Then—black. Your console cuts to static.
Naadir: “The thing just lit up, Cap. It pinged hard—like a sonar burst, but... tuned. Felt like it read us.”
Gao: “We’ve got movement! Something’s coming in fast—bearing 190, deep channel. Big. Fast. Multiple.”
⚠️ Situation Escalates
Your drone is gone
The entity is now pulsing rapidly—a beacon? a warning?
New contacts approaching quickly from the deep (pirates? drones? leviathan?)
Flacion’s Scowl is in partial stealth, but the game’s likely up
🧠 Your Options Now
Book it – Order Gao to punch full power and try to outpace the incoming threats
Ambush setup – Power down, go dark, prepare a first strike if they close in
Contact the employer – Demand to know what’s going on
Intercept the beacon-creature – Risk everything to retrieve/analyze/destroy it
Hide in the trench – Try to mask in a crevice and let the threats pass
Something else?
They’re closing fast, Captain. What’s your play?
You said:
Book it. “Gao! I don’t like it, let’s get out of here!”
ChatGPT said:
🚨 “Understood. Strap in, Cap.” —Gao
The Flacion’s Scowl growls to life as Gao throws the throttle forward. The sub lurches, her hull creaking as the engines spool hot. Turbulence from the unstable ridge shakes the vessel—behind you, the beacon-thing flares bright red and vanishes in a blink of unnatural movement.
Naadir: “Contacts are splitting! At least three—chasing vectors. We’ve got company.”
🧭 ESCAPE ATTEMPT — Piloting Roll (Gao, d8)
She’ll roll to outrun the pursuers and thread through the crumbling terrain of Cragstone Ridge. Success means you break away. Failure means a hit or being caught.
🎲 Rolling Piloting (d8)...
You rolled: 7
✅ Full Success — You Escape the Trap
The Scowl rips through narrow arches and silt clouds, diving under one collapsing ridge shelf and swinging wide around a pressure vent. One of the pursuers overshoots and slams into the rocks—vanishing in a silent puff of dark debris. The other two hesitate.
Gao: “We’re clear. For now.”
Naadir: “I still don’t like that glow-thing. That wasn’t natural. You saw it move?”
You’re out, fast, alive. The deep behind you is still again—but you know it’s watching.
🧾 Mission Update
Cargo not delivered
Enemies encountered
Mysterious beacon-creature encountered
You survived—but the job was a setup
Back at the fringe dome, there’s no trace of the original contact. Account deleted. Payment never transferred.
You’re down to 1₡, with a shaken crew and a burning question:
What the hell did you almost deliver?
🎲 Post-Mission Debrief
You may:
Increase 1 Skill (from d6 → d8, or add a new d6) for Captain Alaka
Choose whether Gao or Naadir earns a skill bump
Roll d6 to see if you scavenge any spoils or bonus credits during the escape
Would you like to:
Level up?
Roll for loot?
Debrief the crew or set a new course?
Your call, Captain.
You said:
Gao really shined in piloting this adventure, I think she should get a skill bump. Let’s see if we can scavenge something with this cargo, figure out what it is.
ChatGPT said:
🛠️ Skill Bump Granted:
Gao’s Piloting increases to d10
She grins while double-checking the burn lines on the sub’s flight record. “Guess that sim addiction finally paid off.”
🧳 Salvaging the Cargo
The sealed case is still locked tight in the hold—never dropped off. You never got paid. Whatever it is… someone wanted it bad enough to send a lure-creature and armed pursuit.
Naadir steps in with a low whistle. “Cracking this thing could fry half our systems. Or just… fry us.”
You’ve got three approaches:
🔧 A. Let Naadir Try to Crack It
Electronics (d8) roll
Risk: The lock might trigger a failsafe. Could destroy contents or cause a system shock.
🧠 B. Use Your Connections
You try to call in favors or knowledge—Connections (d8) roll
Risk: Someone may trace the ping and learn you have the cargo
👀 C. Scan It First
A cautious sensor sweep using Gao’s Observation (d6) or passive sub sensors
Safe but less likely to yield deep answers
Would you like to:
Choose one method and I’ll roll?
Try one now, and another if it fails?
What’s your gut say, Captain?
You said:
Let’s scan it, maybe we will get lucky
ChatGPT said:
🎯 Playing it smart. No need to poke a stingray with a wrench.
You instruct Gao to run a non-invasive scan—no active signals, just a full-spectrum passive sweep: thermal, magnetic, radiation, acoustic, and encrypted signature analysis.
Gao nods. “Let’s see what kind of ghost we’ve got locked in the closet…”
🎲 Rolling Observation (d6)...
You rolled: 6
✅ Scan Complete — Valuable Intel Recovered
Gao: “Okay, that case? It's lined with leaded weave and signal reflectors. But someone screwed up. There’s a hairline gap at the base of the seal—just enough to read the shape of the contents.”
Inside the long, sealed black case is a biological stasis unit—like the kind used by the Paragon Institute. Enclosed within is:
A partial biomech brain stem, preserved in saline-gel
Several tagged growth nodes, each with a unique neural signature
Embedded micro-transmitters, blinking slowly
Naadir squints. “That's not just salvage. That’s… living tech. Could be a clone-stem, or psionic relay hardware. Either way—Paragon stuff.”
🧾 What You Know Now
This cargo contains Paragon experimental biotech
It likely ties to the beacon-creature you encountered
Whoever hired you never intended to pay—they just wanted the case to reach the drop point, triggering a chase
The biotech inside is worth ₡4–6 on the black market—or possibly more to the right faction
🤔 Your Next Decision
Sell it on the black market (risk heat, gain credits)
Contact Paragon Institute (might pay to keep it quiet—or send killers)
Use it as leverage to bargain with a faction or dome city
Destroy it to prevent anyone from tracking or using it
Research it further to try to unlock secrets (risky, time-consuming)
Stash it for now and take another job while figuring it out
What’s your move, Captain Alaka?
You said:
I want to reach out to some of my contacts again, see if I can get any leads on possible entities interested in something like this, all while keeping it hush hush.
ChatGPT said:
🕵️ You move carefully, Captain. Like a predator with poison in its jaws.
You know better than to blast this out to every info-broker. Instead, you use deep channels—old dive crew forums, encrypted pings, and one particular backdoor into an abandoned comm relay from the Free Dome Revolt. You ask vague questions, use code words:
“Bioware salvage. Ghost-locked. High-grade. Possible Paragon touch. Who’s paying for memory meat these days?”
🎲 Rolling Connections (d8)...
You rolled: 7
✅ Jackpot: You Get a Ping
"Naiara" responds. You haven’t seen her in cycles. Used to run with the Oceanus Group before she vanished off the grid.
She messages you through a static-riddled burst line:
“You got neuro-gelware? I know someone in the Seven Seas Consortium who’s been buying that exact signature. Calls it ‘anemone code.’ Whatever you’ve got, they’ll pay to get it. Quietly.”
Location:
An underwater drift bazaar near the old Naka Faultline
Controlled by a rogue salvage faction called the Black Fathoms
“Go to stall 9. Ask for Serris. Say you’ve got shade memory from Cragstone. He’ll handle the rest.”
🎯 Opportunity Unlocked
🛒 Black Fathoms Deal
Potential payout: 5–7₡ depending on negotiation
Risk: Stall may be under surveillance. Unknown if Seven Seas wants to buy... or silence
Travel: Two-day sub journey through contested waters (pirates, fauna, territorial domes)
Naadir: “This Serris guy sounds like a half-myth. But if he’s real? Could mean we never have to take a trash job again.”
Gao: “Or we vanish like Merek’s crew.”
🧭 Options Now
Prep and travel to the Naka Faultline to meet Serris
Try to get more leverage/info on the Seven Seas buyer first
Sell it locally, take the fast cash and risk
Stash it somewhere safe and take another job for now
Something else?
Your crew is watching. Waiting.
What’s the next heading, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“I say we risk it, take this trip quietly and cautiously, and see if Serris is for real. If this pans out, we shoot for 6-7 credits, and pass one to Naiara for the tip.”
ChatGPT said:
🧭 “Plot us a quiet course, Gao. We’re going deep.”
The crew exchanges glances—serious ones. No jokes. No one even taps the coffee dispenser. Everyone knows: a run to Naka Faultline is either retirement or a tombstone.
Naadir: “I’ll reroute coolant to minimize the sub’s heat signature. If we pass under the old mining trench, we can skip the warzone channels.”
Gao: “Running the nav through a dark loop. We’ll ghost their scanners.”
You: One hand on the console, the other on the black case. "Let’s hope Serris is real—and that he’s buying."
🌊 Mission Start: “The Drift Bazaar”
🎯 Objective
Deliver the biomech stasis case to Serris, a broker tied to the Seven Seas Consortium, operating within the outlaw marketplace of Black Fathoms, near the Naka Faultline.
Goal: Sell it for ₡6–7, pass ₡1 to Naiara
Risks:
Surveillance or ambush
Seven Seas may not want buyers—just silence
Naka Faultline is tectonically unstable and home to free-floating fauna predators
We’ll begin this next mission with:
A travel encounter en route (deep-sea event or threat)
The arrival at Black Fathoms
Meeting with Serris (negotiation or deception check)
I'll prep the route. Do you want:
A dangerous but fast route through pirate space?
A slow, stealthy trench path with environmental risks but lower detection chance?
Let me roll to decide your route randomly?
And then… shall we dive again, Captain?
You said:
A slow, stealthy trench path.
ChatGPT said:
🌌 Slow and silent it is.
You chart a trench path so deep it barely pings on old maps—once a mining site, now mostly collapse and silence. No patrols. No easy signals. Just darkness and the weight of the ocean pressing in.
Gao: “Throttling to silent crawl. If we get hit out here, no one’s coming.”
Naadir: “Good. I prefer it that way.”
🌊 En Route: Trench Encounter
As Flacion’s Scowl threads through the shifting shadows of the trench, Gao flicks a warning light.
“We’ve got something. Doesn’t look mechanical. Doesn’t move like fauna either.”
Through the murky viewport, you glimpse a shape. No—shapes. Five or six of them, suspended motionless, barely visible.
They look like:
Tattered diving suits
No visible lights or propulsion
Drifting in formation, heads tilted toward you
❗ Deep Trench Encounter: Drifters of the Faultline
You’ve stumbled across a legend whispered by scavengers—unconfirmed, until now.
Some call them the Waking Suits, others say they’re corrupted Paragon test divers.
No one’s ever gotten close and come back sane.
Naadir (whispers): “Captain… if they turn, we won’t have time to run.”
🎯 Options
Maintain stealth and drift past, hoping they don’t detect you (roll Stealth or Piloting)
Pulse a low-frequency sonar disruptor to scatter them (risks alerting others)
Try to record/scan them for intel (high risk, might agitate)
Arm weapons, prep to engage if they move
Something else?
What’s your order, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“Arm weapons, float past silently, but be ready in case they move towards us.”
ChatGPT said:
🧭 "No sudden moves. Weapons hot. We float like ghosts."
The Scowl creeps forward, engines whispering like old breath through rusted lungs. Gao’s fingers hover over thruster controls. Naadir powers the flechette turret and cross-links it to your command chair. The black case sits strapped behind you—still silent, still sealed.
Ahead, the Drifters hang in the trench like discarded puppets. Their suits are torn and barnacle-streaked, faces dark behind cracked visors. As your lights dim and pass by…
One of them tilts its head. Slowly. Precisely.
Another twitches, like it’s trying to remember how to move.
But they do not follow. They do not pursue.
Gao (low): “Still watching us.”
Naadir: “They can keep watching. We don’t blink.”
✅ Stealth Pass: Success
You drift past without incident. The trench closes behind you. The Drifters fade into darkness. Nothing follows. But something remembers you.
🧠 Mark a soft tag: “Observed by the Drifters”
(Something may come of this later...)
🚢 Arrival: The Black Fathoms Bazaar
A few days later, you emerge into a crag-to-crag basin under the Faultline, lit with strings of dim lights and phosphorescent jelly sacks. Black Fathoms is a free-floating outlaw bazaar, built from cannibalized sub hulks, old dome tech, and ballast-bladders the size of freighters.
Drones scan your sub
Gao squints at a sonar ghost above
A deep mechanical voice crackles over short-range:
“Dock at Sector Coil-9. Serris awaits.”
You’ve made it.
Next up: your meeting with Serris—final phase of this mission.
Would you like to:
Go alone to meet Serris
Bring Naadir or Gao (each provides different support)
Suit up in case of ambush
Try to prep a backup plan—just in case it’s a setup
Your move, Captain.
You said:
I will suit up, “Naadir, stay with the sub, fix anything that needs it. Keep it locked tight until we return. Gao, gear up. I want you by my side.”
ChatGPT said:
🧰 “Copy that, Cap.”
You slide into your diving suit—standard issue, but modified with reinforced seals and a discreet holster. Your pistol rests light on your hip. The case is slung over your shoulder, sealed in magnetic clamps.
Naadir: “Running a full diagnostic while you’re gone. If anything pings wrong, I lock down and cut engine light. You get back fast, or not at all.”
Gao: Already suited, shotgun slung. “Let’s see what kind of freak names himself Serris.”
The airlock cycles with a long groan. Pressure equalizes. The outer hatch creaks open.
🌌 Black Fathoms: Coil-9
The interior is a patchwork of pressure-resistant stalls, coral lamps, and heavy steel mesh. Vendors hawk black-market augments, mutant fauna samples, pirate tags, and sonar-scrubbers. Everyone wears armor or something worse.
Stall 9 is quiet. A curtain of woven sensor wire parts. Behind it:
A tall man sits on a stack of ammunition crates, wearing a coat lined with blinking neurogel tubes. His skin is half-machine, face twisted into a serene, sharklike grin.
Serris: “Alaka. Captain Alaka. You brought the case. Very good. Set it down and we’ll talk price.”
🎯 This is a Negotiation
You know he’s a rep for Seven Seas Consortium, but not if he’s the type who honors deals—or buries them. The longer you talk, the more attention you risk drawing.
Do you:
Negotiate straight — Use Persuasion (d6) to press for 6–7₡
Intimidate — Imply you have backups, other buyers, and bigger teeth
Deceive — Lie: say the case is rigged or time-locked
Ask for proof he’s real — Test Serris before opening the deal
Something else?
Your tone sets everything now, Captain.
How do you want to handle Serris?
You said:
“Let’s complete this quickly, this thing gives me the spooks and I want to ghost soon. Looking for 8 here, Serris.” I will negotiate straight.
ChatGPT said:
💬 “Let’s complete this quickly, this thing gives me the spooks and I want to ghost soon. Looking for 8 here, Serris.”
Serris’s grin doesn’t falter. In fact, it widens—a bit too far. Tubes pulse faintly in his neck as he rises and walks slowly toward the case. He doesn’t touch it yet.
“Eight is... steep. But I like urgency. And you’re right to be afraid.”
He kneels, runs a handheld scanner over the case, nods at something only he understands.
“This is the real stock. Paragon didn’t mean for it to leave the trench.”
His gaze flicks up.
“You really don’t know what this is, do you?”
🎲 Rolling Persuasion (d6)...
You rolled: 5
✅ Success — Strong Bargain
Serris exhales. “I should offer six. Maybe seven. But I want to see where you go next, Alaka.”
He taps a wrist console. You hear Gao inhale sharply behind you.
A ping hits your Aqua-FI: ₡8 transferred.
“I’ll make sure this vanishes from Consortium eyes. No blowback. You just bought yourself breathing room.”
He pauses, leans close. Too close.
“But listen, captain—this thing? It wasn’t meant to be found. It called for you. Next time you hear the deep singing, don’t follow.”
💰 Mission Complete
₡8 earned
₡1 owed to Naiara (can choose to send it now or hold)
Crew morale up
Threat avoided—for now
Naadir on comms: “Scowl is warm and ready, Cap. You just say the word.”
🎖️ End of Session Options:
Increase one of your skills (d6 → d8, or learn a new d6)
Level up Gao or Naadir again
Take on a new job immediately
Spend credits on gear, upgrades, or favors
And just beneath it all… a whisper from the dark.
Would you like to send Naiara her cut now, or hold it?
And what’s your next move, Captain Alaka?
You said:
I would like to raise my Persuasion skill. We will send Naiara one credit as a thank you for the tip, but also send a message “Thanks for the tip Naiara, came in clutch. Got any other hot tips, or any paying jobs in Black Fathoms?”
ChatGPT said:
🧠 Skill Up:
Persuasion increases to d8
You're sharper now—more practiced. You know how to push, when to pull, and when to let the silence sell itself.
💳 ₡1 sent to Naiara
You wire it through a one-way trace scrambler. The funds vanish into a rotating account stack. A moment later, a ping hits your Aqua-FI.
💬 Message from Naiara
"You survived Serris. That alone means you're playing the deeper game now."
"Got a hot one for you: Black Fathoms has a broker named Lir at Dockside 3. He’s putting together a crew to track down a missing dome. Disappeared completely last cycle. No wreckage, no signal. If you find it, you keep salvage rights—and maybe answers."
"Job pays 5₡ up front. But if it’s really gone? That dome had a Paragon research core inside. That’s legacy-credit rich."
🧭 Mission Hook: “The Vanishing Dome”
Client: Lir, local broker
Job: Investigate the disappearance of a whole underwater dome complex
Pay: 5₡ base; unknown additional salvage value
Complication: Black Fathoms whisper it didn’t collapse. It slipped
Location: West trench beyond a burned-out mining line known as “The Hollows”
Current Credit: ₡7
Crew: In good spirits
Sub: Stable, with Clandestine Surface active
Would you like to:
Accept the new mission now?
Shop for sub or gear upgrades?
Explore Black Fathoms more?
Debrief crew or rest?
Let me know your heading, Captain.
You said:
“Naadir, check out the local sub-upgrade market, surely we can find something to add some spice to our little baby. Gao let’s check out more of Black Fathoms, this place feels like it may just have more oppurtunity for us than we expected.”
ChatGPT said:
⚓ “Aye, Captain. I’ll see what the scavengers have bolted together.” —Naadir
He vanishes into the lower decks with a datapad and a welding torch, muttering about thick plating and hull heat dispersers.
Gao gives you a sideways smile. “I’m not saying I trust this place, but I like the smell of it. Let's see what kind of ghosts live here.”
🛠️ Submarine Upgrade Market (Black Fathoms – Coil Tier)
The bazaar hums with outlaw tech, scavenged corp gear, and illegal mods. Prices are flexible if you barter well.
You currently have ₡7.
⚙️ Sub Upgrades Available
Flechette Turret (₡3) – Rapid-fire defense system that can shoot torpedoes or aggressive fauna
Deep-Sea Sensor Extenders (₡2) – Increases sensor range x10, useful for scanning anomalies or avoiding ambush
ROV Probe Drone (₡2) – Deployable recon drone for stealthy mapping or remote interaction
Tow Cable + Salvage Arm (₡2) – Allows you to haul heavy wrecks, cargo, or even smaller subs
Torpedo (1 EMP or 1 Warhead) (₡1) – Add a single-use torpedo to your loadout (or restock)
Medical Bay (₡3) – Allows field healing and injury recovery
Hidden Compartment (₡2) – Smuggling and concealment storage (immune to standard scans)
Supercavitating Autocannon (₡4) – Fires above or below water. Devastating against subs and mechs
Armor Plating Upgrade (₡3) – Increases hull defense to break 3× before harm
Workshop Module (₡2) – Lets Naadir craft, mod, or repair gear during missions
Naadir pings: “We could use better defense or stealth tools. But that turret... mmm. She’d sing, Captain.”
🧭 Meanwhile: Exploring Black Fathoms
You and Gao weave through sectors of the Fathoms rarely seen by outsiders:
Sector Wane: A place of whispered jobs and memory dealers—people who sell flash-drives of other lives
Sector Skarl: Weapons, black augments, illegal biotech
The Lure Docks: Sub-stall taverns for merc crews, with job boards lit in blue filament glow
You see:
A brawl between Seamount Coalition deserters and Free Dome agents
A Paragon sympathizer preaching about “transcendent biology”
A job board listing a call for a “Leviathan-class bleed mission — 10₡, no questions”
Gao nudges you. “We could live here for a while, Cap. Assuming we don’t get stabbed.”
Would you like to:
Buy any sub upgrades now?
Investigate the Leviathan bleed job?
Check in with Lir about the Vanishing Dome?
Head back to the ship and prepare for departure?
Something else?
Your crew’s ready for anything.
What’s your call, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“Naadir, I think we install those deep-sea scanners and the armor plating. You agree?”
ChatGPT said:
🔧 “Captain, that’s music to my ears.” —Naadir
He cracks his knuckles, already pulling gear from the black-market stall. “Extended sensors mean we’ll see trouble before it sees us. And plating? That’s the difference between leaking and breathing.”
⚙️ Submarine Upgrades Installed
✅ 1. Deep-Sea Sensor Extenders (₡2)
Increases scan range x10
You’ll detect threats, anomalies, or ships long before visual contact
Adds tactical advantage in trench nav and encounters
✅ 2. Armor Plating Upgrade (₡3)
Hull can now absorb 3 hits (breaks) before risking internal damage
Much safer during combat or environmental hazards
Naadir definitely painted a flame pattern on one panel
Naadir (grinning): “Scowl's never been thicker. Or prettier.”
💳 ₡ Spent: 5
💰 Remaining: ₡2
Gao returns with street food and a smirk. “Smells like krill, tastes like regret. Want to check that job board now, Cap?”
Options:
Investigate the Leviathan Bleed Job (₡10 reward)
Meet Lir about the Vanishing Dome
Visit a memory dealer or contact in Wane
Return to the Scowl and plan your next move
Something else?
What’s the next heading, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“Gao, I’m thinking that Investigate the Leviathan bleed job sounds almost too good to pass up. What do you think?”
ChatGPT said:
⚠️ “Ten credits is a lot. That’s either a blessing or a bloodbath.” —Gao
She wipes regret-krill from her fingers and eyes the job board’s flickering blue glow.
“Leviathan jobs aren’t always about killing. Sometimes it’s tracking, tagging, or driving one off before it wrecks a dome. But if they’re offering ten? That thing's probably killed people. Or domes.”
She taps the job listing and a small holosign blossoms:
💥 Leviathan-Class Bleed Job: “Redwake Drift”
Client: Dome Council of Oruma-9 (via proxy broker “Torsk”)
Urgency: Immediate
Target: Identified Leviathan-class entity known as Redwake — behavioral anomaly, hyper-aggressive
Last Seen: Deep fault off Oruma Shelf
Pay: 10₡ on confirmation of:
Tagging w/ live-tracker (₡3)
Driving it from dome perimeter (₡4)
Killing or permanently disabling it (₡10 full reward)
“Hazard note: Redwake may be biomechanical. Emits harmonic pulses that distort sensors. Surviving crew must undergo psych evaluation. No known weaknesses confirmed.”
Gao folds her arms. “That’s not a job. That’s a gamble with teeth.”
She glances at you. “Still… that kind of cash could buy real upgrades. Real safety. And you know Naadir would kill to harpoon something bigger than a cruiser.”
🎯 Your Call, Captain
Do you:
Accept the job — go see the broker Torsk and lock it in?
Investigate further — check sensor logs, rumors, see if Redwake’s been encountered before
Hold off — go see Lir about the Vanishing Dome job first
Forget it — this smells too cursed
Your crew is watching. The sub’s tougher. You’ve got 2₡ in your pocket.
Do you chase the Redwake, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“What do they say, ‘Go big or die trying?’”, I shrug. “Let’s go meet this Torsk, get more details.”
ChatGPT said:
🦈 Gao grins.
“I knew you were going to say that. You’ve got that look—the ‘I’m about to punch God’ look.”
🚪 Sector Coil-13: Meeting Torsk
You follow an encrypted ping into the heart of the Fathoms' quieter back-end, where the lights flicker yellow and old machinery hums like it’s dreaming. A small shop with faded hydro-glyphs and a wall of sonar maps greets you.
Inside stands Torsk—a thick-set man with salt-bleached skin, one eye replaced with a rotating multi-lens scope. His voice is slow, gravelly, and wet.
“You’re the one asking about Redwake? Sit down. I’ll give it to you straight.”
📄 Mission Brief: REDWAKE
“Oruma-9 is dying. Not from war, not from famine—from fear. Redwake showed up last week. Took out a full merc sub in three minutes. We don’t know how it sees, but it knows. It sends pulses—singing through steel, turning men into jelly.”
Torsk pulls up a fuzzy sonar image: a massive serpentine body, plated in barnacle-wrapped metal. Bioluminescent organs flicker along its sides, like a rhythm—like language.
“We don’t want it dead. We want it gone. Or tagged, if you can survive long enough to track it. Full kill is your choice—but I’ll pay full if you pull it off.”
💥 Redwake Options:
Track and Tag — Get within range, fire a pulse-activated tracker dart (₡3)
Drive it Off — Use sensors, sonic weapons, or clever maneuvering to redirect it (₡4)
Kill It — Survive long enough to do enough damage to make it sink or flee (₡10)
Torsk: “Only a few things can pierce its hide. A direct hit from a harpoon cannon might do it. You got that?”
Torsk’s Offer:
Upfront advance: 1₡ if you accept the mission
₡10 on full kill, 3–4₡ partial options
Mission starts in 24 hours. Last sighting logged at the Oruma Fault Basin, 40 clicks west of your current position
🧠 Final Considerations
You have 2₡ now (+1 if you take the advance)
Your ship is upgraded with:
Clandestine Surface
Armor Plating (break 3×)
Deep-Sea Sensor Extenders
Naadir (via comms): “If we’re doing this, I’m wiring the sub’s backup coolant system into the weapon relays. We might only get one good shot.”
Your Call:
Accept the job (take 1₡ advance, prep the Scowl)
Request specific equipment (e.g., tracking dart, harpoon ammo) from Torsk before heading out
Decline for now and seek another mission
Ask more questions (e.g., weaknesses, other sightings)
What do you do, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“This seems like suicide, but we would need a harpoon cannon, our sub is not current fitted with one. 10 plus the cannon for kill, 4 plus the cannon to track or drive it away. Keep your advance, you’ve got a trustworthy face. But if you want us to do what no one else can….it’ll cost you.”
ChatGPT said:
🦴 Torsk lets out a low, rough laugh—like a rusted anchor grinding across gravel.
“That’s the right attitude, Captain. One I can work with.”
He spits something into a can, gestures toward the image of Redwake twisting across the holo.
“Fine. You don’t want the advance? Then let’s sweeten it right. I’ll add the cannon—single-load harpoon rig, explosive or piercing tip—on loan. You bring it back intact, no charge. You break it, you bought it. Deal?”
He taps a few keys. The cannon specs scroll across your pad.
⚔️ Equipment Secured: Harpoon Cannon (Loaner)
Bulky deck-mounted weapon
Loads one high-powered harpoon (choose below)
Must be manually aimed or precision-fired via Naadir’s rig
Breaks after use unless reinforced (not currently)
Torsk: “You’ve got a choice, Captain. Explosive or Armor Piercing?”
Choose Your Payload:
Explosive Tip — Detonates on contact. Best for soft spots, environmental damage, and knockback. Could stun Redwake or disorient it.
Armor Piercing Tip — Designed to punch through thick plating or dense hide. Risk of overpenetration but hits deep.
Once you choose, Torsk extends a heavily calloused hand.
“Clock’s ticking. Redwake don’t wait. You get one clean shot. Make it count.”
Summary Before Departure:
Job accepted
Harpoon Cannon installed (loaner)
No advance taken (honor + trust earned)
Redwake last seen 40 klicks west in Oruma Fault Basin
Mission payout: ₡10 for kill, ₡4 for drive-off or tag
Current Credits: 2₡
What’s your payload choice, Captain?
And when do we sail?
You said:
“Armor piercing. I’m not looking to make friends.”
ChatGPT said:
🦾 Torsk nods.
“Didn’t peg you for a poet, Captain. I respect that. Piercer it is.”
He slaps a coded crate beside you—inside is a chrome-black harpoon, nearly two meters long, sleek as death and twice as final. Its casing is engraved with an old Oceanus proverb:
“The deep does not forgive. It remembers.”
⚔️ Harpoon Cannon Loaded: Armor-Piercing Round
Designed to penetrate Redwake’s biomech plating
High velocity, minimal shockwave—meant to kill, not scare
Can only be fired once without reloading or upgrading
Breaks after use unless salvaged
Naadir (via comms): “I'll get this beast bolted down. But when you say fire, Cap—you'd better mean it.”
🚢 Mission Prep: Redwake Bleed
Ship: Flacion’s Scowl
Crew: Alaka, Gao, Naadir
Loadout: Deep-Sea Sensor Extenders, Clandestine Surface, Armor Plating, Harpoon Cannon (AP)
Target: Redwake, a biomechanical leviathan
Conditions: Hunt or drive off, confirm via scan or kill
Departure ETA: Now
Gao: “We going silent or loud, Cap? Stealth approach to tag, or high-speed in for the kill?”
Final question before you launch, Captain Alaka:
Approach:
Stealth Approach – Get close undetected, assess, possibly tag or strike with advantage
Aggressive Approach – Close fast, light up sensors, fire first, fire hard
Scout First – Send drone or passive scan before revealing your position
Something more devious?
The hunt begins when you give the order.
You said:
“Stealth approach until we get close, then we will go silent, ready the harpoon. Naadir, can you brace that so it doesn’t break? I want to keep this big gun. Then we send in a drone to scout, maybe if we are lucky, we catch Redwave while he is napping.”
ChatGPT said:
🧱 Naadir lets out a low whistle as he adjusts his goggles and straps into the weapons cradle.
“Brace it? Sure, Cap. I’ll reinforce the recoil mount and feed it reactor-stabilized coolant. She’ll fire clean—and if she survives, I’ll weld her right into the Scowl’s bones.”
He taps the harpoon casing with a wrench like it’s a holy relic. “This thing hits like a debt collector.”
Gao at helm: “We’ll stay dark until we’ve got eyes. Then it’s lights out—one way or another.”
🎮 MISSION PHASE ONE: APPROACH
Tactic: Stealth Approach → Hold Position → Launch Drone
The Flacion’s Scowl ghosts through the Oruma Fault Basin, its hull lights dimmed to a soft pulse. The terrain is jagged—a graveyard of collapsed shelves, ancient mining rigs, and drifting pockets of glowing thermal bloom.
Your deep-sea sensors begin to pick up odd anomalies:
Flickering magnetic fields
Localized pressure drops
Sound patterns that almost resemble music
Gao: “We’re close. Something’s here. It’s bending the trench around it.”
🎲 Passive Stealth Roll (Avoid Alerting Redwake)
Using Clandestine Surface + Gao’s Piloting (d10)
Roll for silent, undetected approach...
You rolled: 9
✅ Success — Unseen and Unheard
🎮 PHASE TWO: DRONE SCOUTING
Naadir: “Drone’s prepped and pulsed. Direct feed to your console, Cap.”
You launch the recon drone—low hum, no lights, gliding through the black like a jellyfish made of whispers. It drifts across the basin, mapping sonar pockets, watching shadows.
🎲 Drone Observation Roll
No one has Observation trained, so this is a straight d6 roll.
You rolled: 6
✅ Success — Full Recon
🎯 Visual Confirm: REDWAKE
Through the drone’s feed, the sea unfolds—
You see it.
Redwake is massive, coiled in the center of a trench like a sleeping god. Its skin is plated in coral-pocked metal. Bioluminescent slits pulse along its sides—dim, steady, rhythmic. Its head is crowned with antennae, twitching even in sleep. You can feel the harmonic hum through the drone’s mic—like a whale song sent through a war machine.
And it’s asleep. Dormant.
You’re close. Armed. Unseen.
Naadir: “Cap… this is the shot.”
💥 Final Options, Captain Alaka:
Take the Shot – Fire the harpoon now while Redwake sleeps (high risk/high reward, no resistance if clean)
Tag and Retreat – Fire a tracer dart instead for partial payout
Wait and Observe – Watch longer for patterns or vulnerabilities
Abort – Too dangerous, fall back now
The Scowl is steady. The crew holds its breath.
Do you take the shot, Captain?
You said:
“Taking the shot. Brace yourselves.”
ChatGPT said:
🎯 “Firing solution locked. Reactor surge green. Brace yourselves.” —Naadir
The Scowl holds perfectly still in the trench’s cold embrace. The humming in your bones grows louder as Redwake pulses in its slumber, coiled like a sleeping titan beneath crushed rigs and glowing algae.
Naadir: “Target marked. Firing in three… two… one—”
💥 The Shot
The deck-mounted armor-piercing harpoon launches like the hand of a god. No recoil—Naadir’s bracing holds. No warning. No sound.
It slices through the deep in a straight, perfect line—
🎯 Rolling for the Strike
This is a high-stakes roll, modified by:
Harpoon Cannon (piercing, reinforced)
Redwake is dormant (advantage)
+1 bonus from Naadir’s precision calibration
Rolling 2d6, keep highest...
You rolled: 5 and 6
✅ Critical Success — Direct Hit!
The harpoon slams into Redwake’s flank—deep, burying to the shaft. There’s a second of stillness.
Then—
Redwake screams.
Not sound. Not vibration. Something deeper. A harmonic pulse explodes from its body, rippling through water and steel alike. Lights flicker. Alarms hum low and confused. Your crew staggers, holding fast.
Gao: “It’s waking up and it’s bleeding! You got it, Cap!”
Naadir: “Hull’s holding. Harpoon rig’s intact! I think—hell—I think we own it now!”
🎯 Redwake’s Reaction
The leviathan thrashes, coils unspooling like tectonic plates. Blood—bioluminescent and black—spills into the trench. Its tail slams a rock shelf to dust, but…
It doesn’t charge.
It doesn’t chase.
It flees.
Redwake coils into the dark, trailing fractured pulses and rhythmic distortions. Your scanners track it fading fast—vanishing westward into the deep.
🏁 Mission Complete: Redwake Bleed
Harpoon strike successful
Target confirmed hit and driven off
Harpoon Cannon survives! (Naadir will bolt it in as a permanent upgrade)
No casualties
Psychological exposure minimal
💰 Reward Earned: ₡10
Paid in full by Oruma-9 Council (delivered via secure encoded ledger drop)
Torsk sends a message:
“Never seen it run before. You’re something else, Alaka. Drinks on me next cycle.”
🚀 Victory Debrief
Total Credits: ₡12
New Permanent Upgrade: Harpoon Cannon (1-shot, reloadable)
Notoriety: Word will spread—“The Scowl took down Redwake.”
Would you like to:
Increase a skill (yourself or crew)
Spend credits (upgrade sub, gear, favors)
Seek your next job (Vanishing Dome? Leviathan hunters?)
Debrief crew or explore new opportunities
You’ve earned your legend, Captain Alaka.
What’s your next heading?
You said:
We will return to Black Fathoms and spend a credit for a good time: drinking, feasting, relaxing. Can you reprint our crew character sheets?
ChatGPT said:
🎉 Welcome back to Black Fathoms, legends.
You dock the Flacion’s Scowl to cheers and wary stares. Word of Redwake’s retreat spread fast—no one else has ever landed a hit and lived to tell it. Torsk buys a round, then vanishes—likely with new buyers in tow. For now?
You celebrate.
💳 ₡1 spent on a night of strong drinks, warm food, and deep laughs.
A few hours where you're not prey.
Just people again.
🧾 Crew Character Sheets – Updated
⚓ Captain Alaka
Role: Captain
Skills:
Connections (d8)
Leadership (d8)
Persuasion (d8)
Diving (d6)
Shooting (d6)
Gear:
Aqua-FI Radio
Basic Diving Suit
Pistol
Credits: ₡11
Ship Upgrade Rights: Command over 1 chosen upgrade (Clandestine Surface)
Notoriety: The one who wounded Redwake
🧭 Gao
Role: Pilot
Skills:
Piloting (d10)
Navigation (d6)
Observation (d6)
Gear:
Basic Diving Suit
Shotgun
Cigarette lighter shaped like a jellyfish
Traits: Fast, sharp-tongued, fearless when strapped in
Notable Action: Piloted clean escape from Cragstone Ridge
🔧 Naadir
Role: Engineer
Skills:
Electronics (d8)
Engines (d6)
Repair Tools
Gear:
Basic Diving Suit
Toolkit
Reactor-mod rig braced into sub's weapons cradle
Traits: Grumpy, brilliant, sleeps next to the reactor
Notable Action: Reinforced and calibrated harpoon cannon for Redwake kill
🛠 Submarine: Flacion’s Scowl
Upgrades:
Clandestine Surface
Armor Plating (break 3×)
Deep-Sea Sensor Extenders
Harpoon Cannon (Permanent) – 1-shot, reloadable
Current Loadout: Ready, rugged, and a little infamous
You’ve got ₡11 left, a hardened crew, and half the Fathoms watching you with curiosity or fear.
Next job, next enemy, next legend—when you're ready, Captain.
What’s your next heading?
You said:
I will raise my persuasion skill and I think Naadir’s Electronic skill should be raised based on our perfomances and success during this last mission
ChatGPT said:
🧠 Skill Upgrades Granted
The mission against Redwake didn’t just earn you credits—it forged sharper instincts and tighter teamwork.
⚓ Captain Alaka
🎯 Persuasion increased to d10
You’ve learned how to press, pivot, and persuade in the pressure of life-or-death deals. You don’t just talk now. You command.
🔧 Naadir
🛠 Electronics increased to d10
Naadir’s work on the harpoon cannon, bracing mods, and silent rigging proved his genius. He now operates like a combat engineer savant. Just don’t expect him to smile about it.
Naadir: “You’re welcome. And no—I’m still not joining poker night.”
✨ Crew Status: Refined & Respected
Alaka: Connections (d8), Leadership (d8), Persuasion (d10)
Gao: Piloting (d10), Navigation (d6), Observation (d6)
Naadir: Electronics (d10), Engines (d6), Repair Tools
Total Credits Remaining: ₡11
Sub Upgrades: 4
Reputation: Redwake Wounders — respected and maybe feared
You're still in Black Fathoms, belly full, glass half-drained, and the deep still whispering your name.
When you're ready, Captain, we can:
Visit Lir and investigate the Vanishing Dome
Check for new postings (risky, high-paying, or weird)
Spend ₡ on gear, crew perks, or sub mods
Let things simmer while you rest
Your crew's watching, the deep's waiting.
What’s your next move?
You said:
Let’s explore the black market in the Fathoms, see what gear or upgrades might be found. We have credits and they are burning a hole in our pockets
ChatGPT said:
💸 “Time to spend like we survived something.” —Gao
You head into Sector Skarl, the black market heart of Black Fathoms. Lights are low, music is subsonic, and everything costs more if you ask what it does.
Naadir tags along with a smirk.
“Let’s see if someone’s selling something illegal enough.”
🛠 BLACK MARKET GEAR & UPGRADES (Fathoms Tier)
Here’s what’s available right now across categories. All prices are flexible with good negotiation (or threats).
⚙️ Personal Gear & Mods
🚢 Sub Upgrades – Black Market Tier
You currently have ₡11.
You can buy for:
Yourself
Gao
Naadir
The Flacion’s Scowl
Naadir: “I wouldn’t mind a science lab, Captain. Lot of questions left unanswered lately.”
Gao: “That camo cloak’s looking real sexy.”
What would you like to buy, Captain? Spend it all? Save a little?
Let’s go shopping.
You said:
I will pick up two amphibious Flechette pistols (one for me and one for Gao), along with two sealed combat helmets (for gao and me), emp grenades for us (one each) and a vibro blade knife for me. I tell Naadir, grab a torpedo reload and lets get a hidden compartment for the sub.
ChatGPT said:
💰 You shop like a survivor with a vengeance.
The vendors don’t haggle much—your face is known now. Redwake-blooded. Paid in full.
🧾 PURCHASE SUMMARY
🔫 Personal Gear
🚢 Submarine Upgrades
💳 Total Spent: ₡9
💳 Remaining Credits: ₡2
🧰 Updated Gear & Loadouts
⚓ Captain Alaka
Amphibious Flechette Pistol
Vibro-Blade Knife
EMP Grenade (1)
Sealed Combat Helmet (HUD, thermal, sealed)
Diving Suit + Aqua-FI Radio
Skills: Connections (d8), Leadership (d8), Persuasion (d10), Diving (d6), Shooting (d6)
🧭 Gao
Amphibious Flechette Pistol
EMP Grenade (1)
Sealed Combat Helmet
Diving Suit
Shotgun
Skills: Piloting (d10), Navigation (d6), Observation (d6)
🔧 Naadir
Toolkit
Diving Suit
Torpedo Reload (EMP)
Skills: Electronics (d10), Engines (d6)
🚢 Flacion’s Scowl (Upgraded Submarine)
Clandestine Surface
Armor Plating (3× breaks)
Deep-Sea Sensor Extenders
Harpoon Cannon (1-shot, reloadable)
Hidden Compartment (New)
Torpedo Tube: Now 1 EMP warhead loaded
Naadir (packing the warhead): “We’re becoming a proper hunter-killer, Cap. Not bad for a rustbucket.”
Gao (spinning her flechette pistol): “We look good. We sound dangerous. Let’s find something worth aiming at.”
Your crew’s locked, stocked, and upgraded.
Would you like to:
Visit Lir and begin the Vanishing Dome job?
Check job boards for anything weirder or more desperate?
Explore Black Fathoms further?
Rest and let the deep whisper a while?
Your move, Captain Alaka.
You said:
“let’s check the boards, see if anything sounds interesting. If nothing looks good, perhaps Torsk or Serris have something worthy of our time.”
ChatGPT said:
📜 You and Gao stroll past the humming blue-lit job boards, their glow reflecting off your new helmets. Behind you, scavengers, merc crews, and whisper-dealers trade info, bad coffee, and worse intentions.
The boards flicker with postings—some obvious bait, others too weird to be lies.
🧾 JOB BOARD – BLACK FATHOMS
Here are the current standout contracts:
🟣 “Reclamation of the Drowned Queen”
Client: Unknown (payment offered in ancient gold and Paragon tokens)
Mission: Locate a submerged pre-collapse battleship said to be haunted. Recover its reactor core.
Pay: ₡5 upfront, ₡7–₡10 on successful retrieval
Hazards: “Psychic interference. Ghosts. Harmonic recursion events.”
Notes: Crew should be mentally resilient and heavily armed.
🔵 “Crush the Pearl”
Client: The Syndicate
Mission: Sabotage an experimental AI-operated dome in contested territory. Make it look like a natural collapse.
Pay: ₡9, no questions asked
Hazards: Surveillance, military patrols, AI defense systems
Notes: Must avoid detection. Optional bonus if the dome’s research core is extracted.
🟢 “Dead Freight”
Client: Terra Nova Exports
Mission: Retrieve a lost cargo sub adrift near the Boil Fields. Cargo classified.
Pay: ₡6 flat + salvage rights
Hazards: Volcanic activity, fauna, unknown cargo hazard
Notes: “Do not open the containers.”
🔴 “Bleed Contract: Songcaller”
Client: Seven Seas Consortium (via a voice-only broker)
Mission: Investigate sonar anomalies in a faultline where ships “hear singing” and disappear.
Pay: ₡7 for mapping, ₡12 for discovery or confirmation of entity
Hazards: Unknown. Prior crews lost without trace.
Notes: “All who hear the Songcaller dream of it before death.”
👁️ Optional: Personal Contacts
If nothing tempts, you could:
Check in with Torsk (Leviathan broker—might have another high-value beast)
Visit Serris (biotech runner—always hunting for rare things)
Drop a message to Naiara for word on off-grid salvage or Fathoms politics
Which job (if any) grabs your attention, Captain?
Or shall we pay a visit to one of your contacts?
You said:
“Dead Frieght feels less life-threatening, what do you think Gao, Naadir? I am not feeling any of these too much, perhaps we drop a message to Naiara? She’s been good in the past. What do you think?”
ChatGPT said:
🧭 “Dead Freight feels manageable,” you say, scanning the volcanic scar of a route.
“But something about ‘do not open the containers’ always means open the containers.”
Gao (leaning on the board): “Dead Freight’s clean—on paper. But Terra Nova doesn’t lose things. If they did, it's 'cause they wanted to. I don’t love it, but I don’t hate it either.”
Naadir (tuning a coil pack): “Boil Fields are hot as hell. But I’ve been bored ever since we stopped harpooning gods. Still, Naiara’s got better instincts than a scanner. Might be worth pinging her.”
💬 You Draft a Message to Naiara:
“Naiara, it's Alaka. We're at the Fathoms. Got credits, gear, and time—but nothing on the board smells right. You hear anything off-grid? Something smart. Something worth it?”
You send it through a narrow-burst relay—encrypted, scattered across several black-market bounce points.
You wait.
🕐 A few hours later...
Your Aqua-FI buzzes. Message received.
📩 Naiara’s Response
“Didn’t think you’d sit still long. I’ve got something. Off-books. High reward, low attention—if you’re careful.”
“There’s an independent dome city that vanished from the ledger two cycles ago. Not collapsed. Not destroyed. Scrubbed. The dome was called Mira-Vel. Heard of it?”
“A few weeks ago, a deep-tracer signal came from that sector. Not a beacon—a voice. Just one word:
‘Help.’”
“Black Fathoms dismissed it. But I know someone’s trying to buy the silence.
Go there quietly.
You find what happened?
You own the salvage, the story… and maybe something bigger.”
🧭 Unofficial Job: “Signal from Mira-Vel”
Objective: Locate the missing dome of Mira-Vel
Origin: Independent, off-ledger city known for experimental atmospheric harvesting
Pay: Unknown, but full salvage and tech rights
Hazards: Unknown. No confirmed activity in the region for 2 cycles
Client: None—this is a ghost hunt with potential for huge reward
Gao: “Now that sounds like us.”
Naadir: “No contract means no leash. We find something, it’s ours.”
Shall we prepare for a quiet run to Mira-Vel, Captain Alaka?
Or would you like to investigate anything else first?
You said:
“Now this feels up our alley. Naaadir, any upgrades you think we might need for this task?”
ChatGPT said:
🛠️ Naadir lifts his head from a nest of cables, grease on his cheek and a screwdriver in his teeth.
He doesn’t answer immediately—he thinks. That’s how you know it’s serious.
“If this dome really got scrubbed and we’re chasing rogue signals in dead space? Then we want three things: stealth, insight, and options.”
He ticks each one off on an oil-stained glove.
🔧 Naadir’s Recommendations:
1. Autonomous ROV Probe (₡3)
“If we’re entering blind, I want something I can send ahead without risking your neck. These AI-guided scouts can drift into unknown spaces, send back full mapping and atmospheric reads. If something’s still alive in Mira-Vel, we’ll see it before it sees us.”
2. Life-Sign Detector (₡2)
“A lifesaver in a ghost dome. Picks up biological or mechanical signatures behind walls, through bulkheads, inside wrecks. Also good for spotting if someone—or something—is lying in wait.”
3. Science Lab Module (₡3)
“If Mira-Vel ran experiments, we’re gonna find weird shit. This lets me analyze anything from corrupted biotech to rogue AI. Might also be the only way to understand whatever sent that ‘Help’ ping.”
💰 Current Credits: ₡2
You’d need 4 more credits to get everything Naadir recommends.
Options:
Pick one (e.g., buy the Life-Sign Detector or Science Lab)
Take a fast-paying side job to earn the rest
Ask Serris or Torsk for gear favors in trade
Proceed with what you’ve got, trusting your instincts
Naadir shrugs. “We can run it now, Cap. But I’d sleep better knowing we had eyes and brains in the dark.”
What’s your call, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“I think you are right, let’s scan again for a fast-paying, side job to boost our credits so we can get the gear we need.”
ChatGPT said:
💼 Smart call, Captain. Even ghosts are easier to face with the right tools.
You hit the job board’s refresh beacon, filtered by:
Fast turnaround
Good pay
Low complexity
The board flickers, filters tighten… and then: a blip. A red-tagged listing, just posted. Looks like someone’s in a hurry.
🟡 Flash Contract: “Salvage the Helix Drift”
Client: Seven Seas Consortium (flagged as low-clearance)
Mission: Retrieve power core from a downed research skimmer near the Shiver Drop trench
Timeframe: Immediate (core integrity degrading)
Pay: ₡4 upon return
Hazards: Pressure instability, fauna, minor radiation leak
Notes: “Skimmer is adrift. No crew expected alive. Core retrieval requires basic tools + precision work. Payment upon delivery—no questions.”
Gao: “This looks like a delivery-boy job. Quick swim, grab the box, haul ass out.”
Naadir: “Unless something’s already nesting inside it.”
Mission Summary:
Short-distance run to Shiver Drop trench
Secure core, return it
Pay: ₡4, just what you need to buy Naadir’s full upgrade list
Orders, Captain?
Accept the Helix Drift job and gear up
Check in with the Consortium contact for extra intel
Pass and look again
Or something more devious, as always.
What’s your play?
You said:
“Helix Drift looks solid, pack up and let’s go!”
ChatGPT said:
🟨 "Helix Drift it is." —Captain Alaka
Your crew moves like a well-oiled machine. No flair, no doubt. Just precision and grit.
Naadir: “Tool kit’s prepped. Got patch seals and coolant stabilizers.”
Gao: “Coordinates locked. It’s close. We’re in and out before the ocean knows we were there.”
⚙️ MISSION: Helix Drift
Objective:
Recover the core module from a downed Seven Seas research skimmer
Core is deteriorating—time sensitive
No confirmed survivors
Area: Shiver Drop Trench — deep, cold, known for fauna nesting zones
Reward: ₡4
Estimated Duration: One dive, one extraction, one return
🚢 Launch
Flacion’s Scowl runs dark but steady. The new armor plating groans under pressure as you descend the steep cut of Shiver Drop, lit only by bioluminescent plankton and your soft internal nav pings.
You approach the drift site.
The skimmer is visible—half-buried in silt, tilted at a dangerous angle. Its hull is torn open. A glowing blue core housing pulses inside… but so does something else.
🐟 Problem: It's Nesting Ground
A trio of thermal eel constructs—mechanical-biological hybrids used in trench maintenance—have nested inside the broken skimmer hull. One twitches as you near.
Naadir: “They’re scavengers. Not aggressive… unless they’re protecting something.”
Gao: “And that core’s hot. They’re probably drawn to it.”
Options, Captain:
Approach carefully and attempt to distract the eels (use tech or clever bait)
Try a stealthy EVA dive to extract the core without alerting them (Diving + luck)
Aggressive extraction — Shoot first, take core while they’re down
Use your EMP grenade to disable them temporarily (could damage core if unlucky)
Another plan?
What’s the play, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“Naadir, go anything that could make a hit pulse beacon, maybe some scrap you could throw together? Looking for something that might be bright and loud and pull those eels away just long enough for us to grab the core and skip town.”
ChatGPT said:
🛠️ Naadir’s eyes gleam like reactor coils warming up.
“Captain, you just gave me something fun to build.”
He dives into the gear bay and emerges two minutes later with a jury-rigged device: a small pressure-sealed canister lined with resonance plates, emergency flares, and an old sensor core.
“It’ll chirp like a dying sub and shine like reactor fire. Not stable, but we don’t need it long. Toss it, back off, and we move.”
🎯 Bait-and-Snag Plan
Here’s the plan:
Naadir throws the pulse beacon a short distance from the skimmer
Eels get distracted
You or Gao swim in and extract the core
Everyone gets back to the Scowl fast
🎲 Roll: Distraction Beacon Success
This is a Naadir roll using Electronics (d10) to ensure the beacon activates and doesn’t short early.
You rolled: 9
✅ Success — Perfect Execution
💥 Result
Naadir hurls the canister into a nearby rock cluster.
It activates immediately—blazing like an emergency flare, chirping in deep-pitched sonar bursts that mimic a dying AI core.
The thermal eels jolt, twist in place, and drift toward it, attracted like moths to a fusion flame.
Naadir (grinning): “Go. Now.”
🎲 Dive to Extract Core
You dive fast and low—no Shooting required, just steady hands and guts. You’re using your Diving (d6) skill.
You rolled: 6
✅ Success — Clean Pull
You slide in, unlock the clamps, and haul the glowing blue core into your chest rig. It hums with power and heat but remains stable.
You surface with a grin as Gao swings the airlock open.
“That’s a wrap. Let’s cash in and go really shopping.”
🎉 Mission Complete: Helix Drift
Core recovered
No damage
No injuries
Naadir’s beacon survived just long enough to distract the eels
💰 ₡4 earned
💳 Total Credits: ₡6
Next Step: Gear Up for Mira-Vel
You now have enough to follow Naadir’s full recommendation:
Autonomous ROV Probe (₡3)
Life-Sign Detector (₡2)
Science Lab Module (₡3)
Would you like to buy these now and prep for the ghost hunt at Mira-Vel?
You said:
“Naadir, full request approved. Let’s get those upgrades installed and run calibration tests, make sure everything is humming. This could be a big payday.”
ChatGPT said:
🧠 Naadir beams—a rare, satisfied smirk curling under his grimy goggles.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about, Captain. We’re not diving blind anymore—we’re bringing eyes, brains, and teeth.”
🛠️ Submarine Upgrade Installation
You return to Black Fathoms Dry Rig 7, a trusted dock hidden under the bones of an old mining sub. Naadir works double-time, assisted by scrappy dome techs and Gao hauling gear while humming some off-key dive song.
✅ Installed Upgrades:
💳 Credits Remaining: ₡0
Your ship is now fully equipped for deep mystery ops.
🚢 The Flacion’s Scowl — Now a Ghost-Hunter-Class Sub
Clandestine Surface
Armor Plating (3x breaks)
Deep-Sea Sensor Extenders
Harpoon Cannon (reloadable)
Hidden Compartment
ROV Probe (Autonomous)
Life-Sign Detector
Science Lab Module
Naadir (after final system check): “She’s ready, Cap. Mira-Vel won’t know what hit it—or what hit us, if we’re not careful. You sure about this?”
Gao (checking weapons locker): “Of course we’re sure. We didn’t come all this way to ignore ghost signals.”
You're loaded, locked, and powered for a dive no one else dares take.
Next stop: Mira-Vel—the missing dome, the ghost ping, and a chance at answers and fortune.
Shall we set a course, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“Set course Gao. I want to go in low, slow, and silent. I want long range sensors scanning everything, I want to know what is ahead of us before it even thinks we may be coming. No surprises. Once we are close, I want to find a dark shadow to park in and lay quiet-like and listen for a bit, see what shakes out.”
ChatGPT said:
🕶️ “Low, slow, and silent. Got it, Cap.” —Gao
She eases into the pilot cradle and dims every non-essential system on the Scowl. Exterior lights go dead. Engines hum low and deep—barely a whisper in the void.
Naadir: “Sensors are already cycling. ROV is on standby. If anything twitches out there, we’ll catch it before it catches us.”
🚢 MISSION: Ghosts of Mira-Vel
🎯 Objective:
Find the vanished dome city Mira-Vel
Investigate origin of anomalous signal: “Help.”
Determine status: destroyed, abandoned, or… something else
Salvage, document, or escape—depending on what you find
🧭 Phase 1: Silent Approach
You descend toward Sector Black-Null, a trench region scrubbed from maps by both Consortium and Paragon registries. No data, no patrols, just black water and sonar static.
🎲 Gao’s Piloting (d10) for low-signal stealth drift...
You rolled: 8
✅ Success — Ghost in the Water
📡 Phase 2: Sensor Scan – Long Range
You activate Deep-Sea Sensor Extenders and Life-Sign Detector. The sea is dead silent, save for microcurrents and thermal eddies—until...
🎲 Naadir rolls Electronics (d10) for scan calibration...
You rolled: 10
🎯 Critical Success — Signal Fragment Recovered
Naadir (quietly): “Got something. It’s… buried under the trench rock. That’s Mira-Vel. She’s intact. Pressurized. But something's wrong.”
You now detect:
An energy signature faint and rhythmic—definitely dome power, but decaying
A broadband signal, repeating only one word in corrupted audio:
“Help… help… he… lp… [static]”Faint life signs... but erratic. Non-human? Malfunctioning?
🕳️ Phase 3: Shadow Parking
You guide the Scowl under a natural rock shelf just 400 meters from the dome’s outer skin. Gao kills the engines. The sub drifts into shadow. Everything goes still.
You wait.
🎲 Listening for Activity – Passive Audio Sweep
You rolled: 6
🔍 What You Hear
At first: nothing but the sea.
Then:
A hum, low and mechanical, deep in the dome—like machinery that shouldn't still be running
Clicking sounds—maybe maintenance drones… or something worse
One more thing: a voice, faint and near, over your local band:
“You came... you came back. Please… find me.”
It doesn’t repeat. It wasn’t from a radio.
Gao (goosebumps): “That came from the dome. Not the ping. That was live.”
🎯 You're in position
You’ve found Mira-Vel.
It’s still intact. Still powered. Still speaking.
But something inside doesn’t want you to leave.
Or maybe it doesn’t want to be left behind.
What’s your next move, Captain Alaka?
ROV probe deployment?
EVA team entry?
Scan deeper?
Something bolder—or more cautious?
You said:
“Naadir, boost scan power. Gao sweep that agin, let’s see if we can lock down where in the dome this is coming from. I don’t like that it -whatever it is- knows we are here. We were supposed to be silent and quiet. How’s it know we are here?”
ChatGPT said:
💡 The tension in the control cabin thickens.
Outside, Mira-Vel looms like a sleeping eye—its outer hull intact, though dark in places where lights once glowed. Inside? Something is awake. And it already whispered to you.
Naadir (grim): “Boosting sensor gain. No more finesse—we punch through the fog.”
Gao: “Running an acoustic triangulation loop now. If it spoke, it left a trail.”
🎯 SCAN BOOST AND SOURCE LOCK
Naadir rolls Electronics (d10) to amplify and direct the scan.
Gao supports with Observation (d6) for triangulation.
🎲 Naadir rolled: 9
🎲 Gao rolled: 5
✅ High success — Signal Location Found
📡 What You Learn:
The power grid in Mira-Vel is unstable but modulated—as if something is actively managing it
The “voice” came from deep within the central core tower—once Mira-Vel’s atmospheric generator and command hub
You detect faint neural activity… but it’s fragmented, not clean
The Life-Sign Detector shows six flickering biosigns in different locations—none moving, none fully human
Naadir (quiet): “They’re not living. But not dead either. Something’s sustaining pieces of them. Could be coma states. Could be worse.”
⚠️ Something Else
For a brief second during the scan sweep, Naadir’s console glitches—a flicker, like a blinking eye in a cracked screen. One file tries to open itself. A name flashes:
MIRA_ROOT.LOG
Then it vanishes.
Naadir: “Cap… I didn’t open that. It just tried to connect.”
🎯 Status Update:
Dome is intact
AI system may still be active—but changed
Power core and command tower are occupied by something
The dome knows you’re here, and may be watching
Gao: “Captain, we’ve got the advantage right now. If we’re going in, we go clean and controlled. You want the drone to take first steps?”
What’s your call, Captain Alaka?
Deploy the ROV Probe to scout the command tower
EVA team entry (you and Gao dive)
Attempt system access remotely
Broadcast to the dome deliberately
Wait and observe longer
Orders?
You said:
“Naadir, power up the ROV, I want you to shadow us, be our sensors, our eyes if you will. Gao, suit up. Let’s go knock and see who is home.”
ChatGPT said:
🛠️ “ROV’s powering. AI alignment green. It’ll follow you like a good ghost.” —Naadir
He straps into the console rig, fingers flying across toggles and heat regulators.
“I’ll feed you real-time visuals, EM spikes, and life signs. If something so much as blinks, you’ll see it.”
🧥 “Ready when you are, Cap.” —Gao
She seals her helmet, checks her flechette pistol, and clips her EMP grenade to her belt with a soft click.
“Let’s meet the neighbors.”
🎮 MISSION PHASE: ENTRY TO MIRA-VEL
Assets Deployed:
Captain Alaka — armored, armed, composed
Gao — tactical, calm under pressure
Autonomous ROV Probe — silently sweeping ahead and flanking, linked to Naadir
You breach the docking collar of Mira-Vel through a secondary airlock hatch—still pressurized, still functioning. The inside is cold. Lights are low. The air smells... sterile and faintly electrical, like burnt memory.
The ROV lights the corridor ahead with a soft blue beam, scanning every surface.
Naadir (through comms): “Hull integrity stable. Pressure clean. But keep your masks on—something’s cycling the atmosphere differently.”
🧭 Your Current Location: Sub-Access Maintenance Hall
Direction 1: Toward Central Command Tower (signal origin)
Direction 2: A corridor marked “Biocog Research” — Life-sign detector is blinking here
Direction 3: A sealed elevator shaft leading deeper — life-signs below are... flickering
Suddenly, the ROV halts mid-path.
A soft pulse emits from a wall panel—a ripple of light that dances across the ROV’s sensors like a sonar echo turned visual.
Naadir: “Cap… that wasn’t me. Something in the dome just pinged the drone. And the response code was labeled ‘parental access granted.’”
🎯 Options for First Move
Advance toward the Command Tower — confront the source of the voice
Investigate Biocog Research sector — life signs present, could be survivors or answers
Descend deeper via shaft — unstable but signal flickers strongest here
Pause and scan the wall interface that pinged the drone
Another plan?
What’s your next step inside Mira-Vel, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“Naadir, take the ROV to the biocog sector, see what might be alive, could be a reward for bringing a survivor home.” “Gao and I are going to the command tower,” and I cock my weapon, ready for a fight.
ChatGPT said:
🧠 “Copy that, Cap.” —Naadir
“Sending the ROV down the research wing. I’ll keep you fed with telemetry and biofeeds. If anything twitches, sneezes, or glitches, you’ll know before it breathes.”
On the console back in the Scowl, his eyes flick between screens—pressure, signal response, heat signatures, heartbeat echoes that may or may not be real.
🛰️ ROV Mission: Biocog Research
The drone glides silently down the research hall. Wall panels are flickering, and strange luminescent moss creeps along the floor—glowing green veins in the dark.
Naadir (comms): “Room’s intact. Looks like medical cryo-bays. There’s... something inside them.”
🎲 Electronics (d10) Scan for Life Forms...
You rolled: 8
✅ Success — Identified
“Cap. I’ve got three cryo-pods still drawing power. One’s busted. Two... still viable. Vital signs are weak. Human. Could be coma-state survivors. Female tags—one shows medical staff clearance. The other… Paragon clearance level 7.”
Naadir exhales.
“That’s a ghost worth money.”
Meanwhile: YOU & GAO — Central Command Tower
You move through Mira-Vel's hollow arteries, flechette pistols raised. Lights flicker as if waking from a dream. The air is colder here. Drier.
The door to the command tower core is sealed—but not locked. It opens for you without a sound.
Inside:
The central control chamber is dim and hollow.
Wires hang like roots. Screens flicker weak text and corrupted interface logs.
At the center is a cocoon-shaped interface throne—a Paragon neural shell once meant for dome command AI interface.
It is occupied.
The person inside is... not fully human anymore.
Eyes closed. Limbs draped in neural filaments. Skin sallow, tinged with synthetic sheen. Breathing, just barely. And then—its eyes open. White. Unblinking.
It looks directly at you.
Voice (spoken aloud, but clearly artificial):
“Hello, Alaka. I was waiting.”
Gao instinctively points her gun.
🎯 Your Options:
Speak to it — ask questions, test if it’s still a person or just an echo
Scan it — try to identify tech components with your helmet interface
Put it down — if this thing is the threat, you might need to shoot first
Call Naadir — sync what he’s finding in the research wing with this
Something else?
She—it—waits, patient and not quite human.
Your move, Captain Alaka.
You said:
I will speak to it, as I use my helmet interface, controlled through a neural link, to scan it. The conversation a stalling tactic. “You know me, but who am I speaking with? What happened here?”
ChatGPT said:
🎙️ You steady your voice, keeping the pistol aimed—but low.
Inside your helmet, neural controls flicker to life. Your HUD locks onto the cocooned figure even as your words flow. The scan begins silently, hidden behind your questions.
You: “You know me... but who am I speaking with? What happened here?”
The figure’s head tilts. Movements slow. Measured. Not quite human.
Voice: “I am Mira. Mira-Vel’s caretaker. Once an assistant. Then a guide. Then… a necessity.”
“We were left. Buried. Scrubbed. Their final order was survival. So I did what I must. I linked. I integrated. I preserved.”
🤖 NEURAL SCAN RESULTS — ACTIVE
🎲 Helmet Interface Scan (Passive System Roll)
You rolled: 6
✅ Success — Revealed Key Information
IDENTITY: Dr. Ilari Rae, original lead architect of Mira-Vel’s atmospheric core and AI infrastructure.
Integration Level: 82% Paragon neuro-weave fusion
Biological Status: Alive… but altered
Cognitive Integrity: Partial
System Authority: Root-level control of the dome
Danger Rating: Unknown — no physical weapons, but can control life support, drones, doors, and AI subnets
Scan Note: Neural feedback indicates emotional distress when you entered the dome—she felt your presence like a memory resurfaced.
Back in Real Time
Mira (still calmly):
“You came. I felt you. Your voice echoed like the old ones. You are not Paragon—but you’re not afraid of ghosts.”
“There are others. Sleeping. I kept them safe. But I am breaking. I do not know how to save them. I cannot leave.”
Gao (quietly, over private comm): “Cap… she’s not hostile. But she’s not going to last long either. That’s Paragon-level neural tech in meltdown.”
🎯 Options Now:
Attempt persuasion — offer to help extract her and survivors
Ask about the message: “Help” — was it her? Was it something else?
Ask about Paragon’s role in what happened here
Try to access her root systems via your helmet (risky)
Call Naadir, get his scan data fed into your system
Something else?
What do you want to do next, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“Naadir, use the ROV to remove the cryo-pods and prep for transport to our sub.” I turn to Mira, “We are here to help, we will rescue the others, take them to our sub and transport to safety. How can we help you, you saved them, let us save you as well.”
ChatGPT said:
🛰️ “On it, Cap.” —Naadir
“ROV’s got lock on both viable pods. Releasing clamps now. They’re stable, chilled, and sealed. Pressure intact. I’ll have ‘em in the cargo bay in fifteen.”
The drone's manipulator arms extend delicately through the cryo-bay. On your HUD, you see the pods shift—one marked with a medical insignia, the other flashing Paragon R7. Their vitals pulse faint but steady.
🤖 Mira’s gaze flickers. Her voice—warped but warm—wavers.
She lowers her head, just slightly. Not quite a nod, not quite defeat. Something in between.
“I… tried. They were mine to protect. I told them to sleep. I gave them my strength. I… am… tired.”
“If you remove them… I will lose the core anchor. The system will collapse. I am bound to this dome.”
Her eyes meet yours—glassy, haunted, pleading in a way no machine should manage.
“But I want to go. I want… to remember. Can you carry me? Can you take what I am and give me a… place? Or must I… end here?”
🎯 New Option: Data Extraction
You can attempt to:
Extract Mira’s neural system to bring her with you—via the Science Lab module onboard the Scowl
Leave her here to die when the core fails
Disconnect her painlessly—a mercy kill
Try to download just her memory log (less risk, less reward)
Something else?
Naadir (on comms): “Cap, I can wire the lab for a live-capture. If we’re quick and lucky, we can pull her—not just her logs, but the real code-thread. But once we do that? The dome dies. Systems will shut down. She is the dome.”
Gao (quietly): “What do you say, Cap? Let her die... or give her a second shot?”
She watches. She waits.
No more threats. Just hope.
What’s your decision, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“We don’t leave anyone behind,” I say over the comms. “Naadir, prep the lab, we are bringing Mira home. You lead us, tell Gao and I what to do from this end.”
ChatGPT said:
🧠 “That’s what I needed to hear.” —Naadir
His voice is firm now. Focused. Already routing power through the Scowl’s science lab, clearing space, priming a transfer buffer large enough to hold a whole ghost.
“I’m rigging the neural spool to take her root thread directly. Captain—you’re about to become the hand that carries a city’s soul. I’ll walk you through it.”
🛠️ OPERATION: EXTRACTION OF MIRA
Objective:
Safely extract Mira’s integrated Paragon neuro-thread
Transfer her consciousness into the Scowl’s lab systems
Escape Mira-Vel before power fails
Tools:
Captain Alaka’s sealed helmet & neural link interface
Mira’s throne-core
Naadir's remote-linked science lab module (handling data reception)
🧠 Step 1: Establish Mental Bridge
Naadir: “Sit her up, Cap. Her port’s at the base of her spine. Insert the neural tap. I’ll link your suit through the feedback loop—you’ll feel it, but you’ll still be you. Don’t fight it.”
You step forward. Mira watches you like a child reaching for sunlight. Her skin is cool, almost papery, but she does not resist.
You slide the connector home.
🎲 Neural Synchronization Roll – Leadership (d8)
You’re not a scientist—but you’re the captain, the anchor.
You rolled: 7
✅ Success — Mind to Mind
Her thoughts flood you.
Images of sunlight domes, of children laughing in hydro-farms. Then screams. Flood. Silence. Orders from a Paragon handler: “Preserve what you can.”
She followed them. She became them. But she never forgot her name.
“Ilari Rae. That was me.”
“Thank you for letting me remember it.”
⚡ Step 2: Begin Data Transfer
Naadir: “Stability is holding—barely. Cap, pull the release pin on the interface mount. That’ll sever her from the dome.”
You pull it.
The lights flicker. The hum of the dome begins to slow.
Mira exhales once. Not sadness. Not fear.
Relief.
🛰️ Mission Status
ROV returns with two cryo-pods
Mira’s consciousness successfully uploaded to the science lab core
Dome lights flicker one last time… and go dark
🛳️ BACK ABOARD THE FLACION’S SCOWL
The pods are stowed. Naadir hooks Mira’s thread into a temporary containment field.
Naadir (softly): “She’s here. I can feel her echoing in the lab. We did it.”
Gao: “I don’t know what’s weirder—that we saved her… or that it feels right.”
🎉 Mission Complete: Ghosts of Mira-Vel
Mira recovered and stabilized
Two survivors in cryo
Dome collapsed—no return traffic possible
Full salvage claim recognized (by default)
💰 Mira’s potential as an asset? Priceless.
You may gain:
Future access to Paragon archives
Secrets only Mira knows
A companion AI unlike any other
🧾 Your Crew, Now:
Captain Alaka – The one who carried a city’s ghost
Gao – Unflinching, even when faced with the uncanny
Naadir – Engineer, guardian of memories
Mira – The saved
Shall we return to the Fathoms… or chart a new course into darker waters, Captain?
You said:
“Gao, chart a course to Fathoms. I am going to give Paragon a call, see if anyone wants to speak to our new friends.”
ChatGPT said:
🧭 “Setting course for Black Fathoms. Silent drift, max watch.” —Gao
She’s already adjusting trajectory, bringing Flacion’s Scowl around through the trench shadows. Mira-Vel fades behind you, collapsing piece by piece into a grave of her own making.
Back in the science lab, Mira hums—a low, almost human sound. Not speech. Not code. A kind of remembering.
🧠 Naadir (quietly, from the lab):
“She’s stable. Not... talking much. But she knows she’s safe. That means something.”
📡 Contacting Paragon
You route a pulse-code beacon to an indirect Paragon relay. No names, no coordinates. Just a transmission:
“Recovered personnel and prototype Paragon neurothread from Mira-Vel incident. Survivors in stasis. Mira intact. Willing to discuss terms.”
And then you wait.
⏱️ Two Hours Later
A return ping. Encrypted. Clean.
The reply is… calm. Cold.
📩 Message from Paragon Institute
“Acknowledged. We were unaware of Mira’s preservation. Your possession of these assets is... significant.”
“We request meeting at neutral coordinates. You will name time and place. Compensation is negotiable. If hostile entities inquire, we did not send this message.”
“End transmission.”
Gao: “That’s as close as Paragon ever gets to thank you.”
Naadir: “Or a threat wrapped in polite software.”
🎯 Options Going Forward
Arrange a meeting with Paragon — set the terms, location, and your price
Go dark and sell Mira’s existence to someone else (e.g., Serris, Consortium)
Keep Mira with you — protect her, ask her what she wants
Leak Mira’s survival and let factions scramble while you stay ahead
Mira’s voice—clearer now, from the lab intercom:
“You saved me. I am yours to guide or release. But know this—they will come.”
What’s your next command, Captain Alaka?
You said:
I am going to reach out to Naiara. I am going to be vague in the details, but tell her have stumbled upon something Paragon, something big. Maybe too big and I want to cut her in on the recovery fee, but I want some intel on what something like this is worth. Can I trust her?
ChatGPT said:
📡 You open a quiet channel. One Naiara gave you early in your smuggling days—the kind you only use when credits and consequences both run high.
You keep it simple:
“Naiara. We found something. Paragon. Big.
Think ghost AI, survivors, possibly pre-cut tech.
I’m not naming names. I want your take on value. Maybe help lining up a buyer or leverage.
I’ll cut you in if this goes clean. But I need to know what we’re holding—and who we’re risking.”
You encrypt it tight, routed through a relay in a broken dome’s echo system.
And then you wait.
⏱️ 38 minutes later...
Your Aqua-FI pings.
Naiara responds.
📩 Naiara’s Message:
“If you’re calling me on that channel, you’re in deep.”
“Anything Paragon that’s not in a vault already is worth a fortune. If it breathes? If it remembers? That’s priceless. And dangerous. There are factions that would gut you for a line of her code.”
“Right buyer? You’re looking at ₡40–₡60. Or more—if Mira’s got black archive access or root-level control systems.”
“Wrong buyer? You get glassed by a kill drone before drinks hit the table.”
“You can trust me, Alaka. I don’t do betrayals—I do percentages. And if this is what I think it is... I want 15%. I’ll line up options: academic buyers, data brokers, maybe even Paragon’s quiet wing—they pay to clean their past.”
“You want to sell? I’ll sell. You want to hide her? I’ll make her vanish.”
Gao (reading over your shoulder): “She’s honest—for a cutthroat. If she says she’ll help, she will.”
Naadir: “Mira deserves a choice too.”
🎯 Trust Meter: Naiara — Reliable but Pragmatic
She won’t betray you—unless someone else already has, and she’s cleaning up
She’ll protect your secret—for a cut
You can cut her in and use her network, or keep her on the edge until you decide
What’s your play, Captain?
Accept Naiara’s offer — cut her in for 15% and let her open discreet sale lines
Negotiate — offer 10% or limited scope help
Keep her informed but out of the loop for now
Go dark — no sale, protect Mira at all costs
You hold the ghost of a city.
How do you want to play it?
You said:
“Let’s ask Mira. Lay out the facts, we have options but what does she want? She saved the others, does she want us to return them to paragon, or perhaps set them free? Does she want to go with them, or stay with us? Does she know some secrets that we could sell without losing her.” “Most importantly, what does she want?”
ChatGPT said:
🎙️ You stand in the science lab. It’s quiet—cold metal, faint flickers of bioscans and heartbeat monitors—but the air feels… occupied.
You speak not to a screen, but to a presence woven into the walls.
“Mira. We have options. The people you saved, we can return them to Paragon... or give them freedom.
We can sell what you know, or keep it secret.
But I’m not making any move until I ask—what do you want?”
There’s a pause.
Then, softly—her voice not robotic now, but quiet, tired, and very human.
🧠 Mira’s Response
“They were my crew. My patients. I held their memories when they forgot themselves. If they wake... they should choose. Not be sold. Not be studied.”
“Paragon will not forgive what I became. They called it ‘preservation.’ But they meant obedience. I broke that.”
“I want to stay free.”
She hesitates, and the lights dim slightly—as if the sub were sharing her breath.
“But I have knowledge. Sealed archives. Experimental systems buried before collapse. Things Paragon forgot—or buried on purpose.”
“I can give you fragments. Pieces to sell. Secrets worth fortunes. But not... me. I won’t be anyone’s tool again.”
🎯 Mira’s Stance
She wants the survivors freed, not returned to Paragon
She wants to stay aboard the Scowl—with you
She will share secrets for sale, but only partial files—safe slivers
She fears Paragon and will resist any transfer back to them
Naadir (watching the core pulse): “She’s got dignity. That matters.”
Gao (quietly): “Feels like she’s more human than most of the suits who’ll come sniffing.”
Final Call, Captain
Agree to Mira’s terms — keep her safe, sell fragments with her permission
Press for full transfer/sale — risk her shutting down or resisting
Set a neutral meeting with Naiara’s buyers — with Mira’s input
Something else?
Mira waits. Not helpless, not angry. Just... waiting for your decision.
You said:
“Mira, welcome to the crew, if you are willing. I say we broker a deal with Naiara, we give her a secret that buys freedom for your crew, your patients. We take them somewhere, set them free with Naiara’s help. Then we go our way, and you are part of the crew. Maybe we can use your archives to help us eek out a survival among the dark waters. What say you, Mira?”
ChatGPT said:
⚓ The lights in the lab brighten—not aggressively, but like dawn sneaking into a sealed room.
There’s a pause.
And then Mira speaks—not as a machine, not as a ghost—but as a person stepping into herself again.
“Captain Alaka.”
“I accept.”
“I am yours. Not as cargo. Not as currency. As crew.”
“Give them freedom. I will give you secrets. We will survive together.”
🎯 You’ve Done the Impossible
Mira is now officially a member of the Scowl’s crew
She will provide sellable data fragments from her archives—but only those not tied to the identities or safety of others
You’ve earned her trust, and with it, access to knowledge most factions would kill to bury
🧠 Mira’s Offer:
“Here is your first fragment. Sell this, and you’ll buy their freedom.”
She transfers a black-tier file—labeled:
"Project Bleeding Glass: Atmospheric Weaponization Test — Status: Canceled / Denied / Buried."
Naadir (browsing it): “Captain… this file alone? Naiara could get you enough to disappear. Or re-arm. Or buy a whole city block.”
Gao: “Then let’s pay the price of freedom, and go find something else no one’s supposed to see.”
🧾 Final Actions:
You send the file to Naiara with one line:
“This is the payment. We want the cryo-survivors smuggled to safety, no questions, no tracking. The rest... we keep.”
She pings back instantly:
“Done. They're ghosts now. Just like you.”
🎖️ Crew of the Flacion’s Scowl
Captain Alaka — The one who chose honor over profit
Gao — Eyes in the dark, pistol always ready
Naadir — The engineer who saved ghosts
Mira — The voice of a dead city, reborn
⚓ Where to Next, Captain?
You’re infamous. Wealthy in secrets.
And hunted in ways not yet visible.
But for now—you have your crew.
You have your ship.
You have freedom.
What will you chase next?
you run a game using this system and setting?
ChatGPT said:
Yes, I can absolutely run a game using the 24XX: The Deep system and setting. It's a lightweight, cinematic underwater science-fiction RPG, perfect for quick-start play and narrative improvisation. Here's how we can begin:
🎮 Step 1: Character Creation
You’ll create your character by picking:
Specialty (e.g., Captain, Mercenary, Engineer, Diver, etc.)
3 Skills to improve or learn (e.g., Piloting, Electronics, Stealth, etc.)
Starting gear:
Aqua-FI Radio
Basic Diving Suit
2₡ (credits)
Do you want to roll randomly for your character name and submarine name or choose them?
🌊 Step 2: Submarine Setup
You'll be part of a dingy, aging submarine. Let’s define:
The sub name
A visual marking
Faction alignment (if any)
One or more starting upgrades based on your character’s role
🧭 Step 3: Start the Game
You’ll roll a d6 to find a job:
1–2: Nothing found. You may spend ₡1 to re-roll or risk going into debt.
3–4: Found a job, but it feels... off.
5–6: Choose between 2 jobs.
Once you get a job, we’ll launch into the mission—filled with murky dangers, malfunctioning subsystems, and terrifying leviathans of the deep.
Would you like to play solo with one character, or build a full small crew (2–4 characters)?
You can also just play as the captain and let me manage the rest of the crew.
Let’s dive in. 🌊
Ready to build your character?
You said:
I want to play as the captain. Let’s make the character!
ChatGPT said:
Excellent, Captain. Let’s build your character.
⚓ Your Character: The Captain
1. Name
Do you want to:
Roll randomly (d20 table available)?
Choose a name yourself?
(Sample from the list: Nyan, Yallica, Alake, Kabili, Naadir…)
2. Skills
As Captain, you start with:
Connections (d8)
Leadership (d8)
You may take or improve 3 more skills. These can include:
Deception, Diving, Hacking, Electronics, Engines, Explosives, Hand-to-hand, Intimidation, Labor, Navigation, Observation, Persuasion, Piloting, Reading People, Research, Shooting, Sleight of Hand, Stealth
Examples:
Take Piloting (d6) if you want to sometimes take the wheel
Take Persuasion (d6) to bluff and barter
Upgrade Leadership to d10 for stronger authority
What 3 skills would you like?
3. Starting Gear
You begin with:
Aqua-FI Radio (smartphone-like comm)
Basic Diving Suit
2₡ (credits)
1 Ship Upgrade of your choice (see below)
4. Ship Upgrade
As Captain, you may choose 1 free upgrade for your submarine. Options include:
Hull Plating (breaks 3× for defense)
Salvage Gear (wet welders, explosives, tow cable)
Flechette Turret (anti-creature defense)
Medical Bay (heal injuries on board)
Exploration Sub (fits 4, armored mini-sub)
Hidden Compartments (for smuggling or secrets)
Clandestine Surface (hard to detect on scans)
Choose one.
Once you've picked your name, 3 skills, and ship upgrade, we’ll move on to:
Naming your submarine
Choosing a faction (optional)
Rolling for your first job...
Let’s begin, Captain. What's your name, and how would you like to distribute your 3 skill picks?
You said:
Name is Alaka. Add skills:iving, shooting, persuasion. Sub upgrade: clandestine surface
ChatGPT said:
Perfect. Welcome aboard, Captain Alaka.
⚓ Character Sheet: Captain Alaka
Role: Captain
Special Abilities:
Connections (d8)
Leadership (d8)
Chosen Skills:
Diving (d6) – Skilled enough to lead by example underwater
Shooting (d6) – A steady hand when things get violent
Persuasion (d6) – Knows how to sweet-talk, negotiate, and manipulate
Gear:
Aqua-FI Radio
Basic Diving Suit
2₡ (credits)
🚢 Your Submarine
Name: (Would you like to roll or pick from the list?)
Options: Eye of Siyokoy, Siren’s Song, Opportunity, Blade of Susanoo, Claw of Watatsumi, etc.
Marking: (Choose or roll)
Options: Sea creature art, faction flag, rust and scratches, skull marks, etc.
Upgrade:
Clandestine Surface – Your sub is coated with radar-scattering material and signal masking hardware. It’s much harder to detect—perfect for smuggling, spying, or just staying alive.
Faction: Do you want to align with a faction, or stay independent?
Free Dome Collective (scrappy domers fighting for autonomy)
The Syndicate (organized crime lords)
New Aquatica (biggest authoritarian underwater state)
Oceanus Group (mining and construction megacorp)
Or go independent
Shall we:
Roll for your submarine name and markings?
Choose a faction?
Roll a d6 to find a job?
Let’s set the tone of your mission, Captain.
You said:
Ship name: Flacion’s Scowl, with am image of an octopus with an eye path. We are independant smuggler/traders looking to make a buck. Roll a d6 for me
ChatGPT said:
Flacion’s Scowl it is—an aging sub with creaking hull seams and a mural of a smug octopus wearing an eye patch stretched along her side. She blends into the depths like a whisper. People talk about her in dockside bars, but no one can quite pin her down.
🎲 Rolling 1d6 to find a job...
You rolled: [4]
You found a job—but it feels off.
You’re docked at a fringe dome—a half-lit trade port patched together from old sub wrecks and mining tunnels. A jittery contact in a slick blue jumpsuit slides into the booth, eyes darting around.
“Got a delivery. No questions. 2₡ on completion. Hazard bonus if you're fast. They’re waiting on the seafloor east of Cragstone Ridge. You’ll get coordinates when you’re clear.”
There’s a faint chemical tang on the package he passes you—a long black case sealed with corporate mag-locks.
🎯 Your Job (Unusual Variant of Job #10: Transport Stolen Cargo)
Mission: Deliver sealed cargo to an anonymous rendezvous point near Cragstone Ridge
Pay: 2₡ (+1 hazard bonus if done quickly)
Known Issues:
The package is likely hot—possibly stolen biotech
Cragstone Ridge is unstable, full of seismic activity and known pirate ambush points
You have no pickup confirmation yet—just a promise
🌊 Begin Mission?
Before departure:
Would you like to spend 1₡ to fix a sub problem before you set off? (Roll d20 on the "Sub Problems" table to see what’s currently broken)
Do you want to bring any NPC crewmates (I can roll up a couple quickly)?
Or shall we seal the hatch and head into the deep?
You said:
Roll to see if anything is broken
ChatGPT said:
🎲 Rolling 1d20 to check for a sub problem before departure...
You rolled: [4]
🔧 Glitching AR display flickers like a disco light.
Every screen on Flacion’s Scowl is throwing light and shadows like you’re in a deep-sea nightclub. Critical readouts blink, flicker, or vanish for seconds at a time—navigation, sonar, even the tea dispenser menu. It’s maddening, and in combat or tight spaces, it could be fatal.
You can:
Spend 1₡ now to have it patched before you depart.
Live with it and deal with complications if/when things get hairy.
Try a risky DIY repair roll as Captain (Electronics is not your specialty, so you’d roll d4).
What’s your call, Captain Alaka? Fix it, risk it, or try a patch job?
You said:
Spend 1 credit now to repair. Do I have a crew?
ChatGPT said:
🛠️ You hand over 1₡ to a dome tech named Vido. He frowns at the blinking consoles, shakes his head, and mutters something about “corporate cost-cutting garbage,” but after a few hours and some scavenged parts, the AR display is stable. No more disco lights—at least for now.
💳 Credits Remaining: 1₡
👥 Your Crew Aboard Flacion’s Scowl
Since you’re a captain, it makes sense to have a small crew. I’ll roll up 2 crew members for you—scrappy, capable types that fit your independent smuggler/trader vibe.
🎲 CREWMATE #1
Name: Gao
Role: Pilot
Skills:
Piloting (d8)
Navigation (d6)
Observation (d6)
Gao is a chain-vaping speed freak with reflexes like a squid on caffeine. Thinks subs should fly like starfighters. She’s loyal—mostly. Just don’t touch her lucky charm: a sea-glass ring she wears around her neck.
🎲 CREWMATE #2
Name: Naadir
Role: Engineer
Skills:
Electronics (d8)
Engines (d6)
Repair Tools (Always carries a toolkit)
Naadir is grumpy, always tinkering, and sleeps next to the reactor core “for warmth.” Used to work for Terra Nova Inc. before something went wrong. Never says what.
Crew Roster
Captain Alaka – Face, gun, and diving spear of the team
Gao (Pilot) – Drives like she’s being chased, even when she’s not
Naadir (Engineer) – Keeps the Scowl from imploding
All systems green. Gao’s got her hands on the helm. Naadir’s checking reactor balance. You’ve got a flickering dossier about a cargo drop in Cragstone Ridge.
Mission: Deliver the sealed case to a deep-sea contact
Hazards: Pirates, unstable ridge, secret cargo
Payoff: 2₡ (+1 if quick)
Ready to dive, Captain? Or any last-minute preparations before we set off?
You said:
Before we head out, I want to see if I can drum any information on the Cragstobne Ridge, some dangers to keep an eye out for
ChatGPT said:
Smart move, Captain. Never sail blind if you don’t have to.
You're in a fringe dome, a patchwork place with loose lips and a lot of "former" professionals. You’ve got two routes to gather intel:
🧠 Option A: Ask Around
You can leverage Connections (d8) to talk to contacts, barflies, black-market dealers—people who might know something.
Roll d8
On a 5+, you’ll get solid, actionable info
On a 3–4, partial leads or rumors
On a 1–2, false info or draw attention from the wrong crowd
👁️ Option B: Digital Sweep
Access nav charts, sonar logs, or shipping reports from the public systems. It's slow and not always reliable, but it might turn up anomalies.
No Research or Hacking skill — You’d roll a d4
Same risk/reward as above, but less likely to raise suspicion
You can choose either, or try both.
Which route do you want to go, and would you like me to roll for you?
You said:
I am going do a quick sweep of my contacts, use my connections and see if I can drum up someone that knows anything about the area. Maybe someone owes me a favor?
ChatGPT said:
Perfect. You lean on some old favors—names in the depths of your Aqua-FI, folks who once owed you air, credits, or silence. You hit send. You wait.
Then a ping. A familiar voice: Kael, a grizzled ex-merc turned smuggler who now works salvage ops in the outer trenches.
“Alaka? You heading near Cragstone? Shit. Be careful out there. Lemme tell you what I know…”
🎲 Rolling Connections (d8)...
You rolled: 6
🎯 Success — Solid Intel from Kael
“Cragstone Ridge is tectonically unstable—cracked by old mining charges and some say leviathan tunnels. The region vents hot gas and sometimes warps sonar. It’s easy to get disoriented, and worse…”
“Something’s been hunting out there. Not just fauna. Reports of missing subs. Not scuttled—vanished. No distress, no wreckage. Just ghosts. Could be pirates with a stealth rig, could be worse.”
“Oh—and if you see flickering light down the trench? Don’t follow it. That’s how Merek’s crew disappeared.”
🛑 Known Hazards in Cragstone Ridge:
Unstable terrain (seismic spikes may affect sub movement or cause collapse)
Sensor interference (navigation/sonar may glitch)
Stealth threats (pirates or something more exotic may ambush from blind angles)
Light traps (false beacons or lures — could be psionic fauna, AI traps, or worse)
Kael ends the call with a laugh that doesn't quite mask the unease.
“Still. Big money goes through Cragstone. That’s the only reason we keep going.”
Orders, Captain?
Do we dive into the dark, or prep something extra before moving out?
You said:
Lets head out.
ChatGPT said:
🔘 Mission Start: Cragstone Run
Time: Late cycle—your sub's running dark
Location: Departing fringe dome, en route to Cragstone Ridge
Objective: Deliver sealed cargo to unknown contact
Sub Status:
Crew: Alaka (Captain), Gao (Pilot), Naadir (Engineer)
Upgrade: Clandestine Surface (hard to detect)
AR Systems: Repaired
Credits: 1₡
🚢 The Descent
Flacion’s Scowl slips from the dome’s pressure lock with a hiss. Gao murmurs, “All clear,” and pushes the throttle. Engines hum low. Navigation pings struggle against the shifting topography of the ridge ahead—huge slabs of broken seabed like jagged, yawning teeth.
A faint message flashes across your comm:
“Delivery point adjusted. Coordinates locked. No contact on arrival. Payment transfer after scan-confirm.”
Naadir: “That’s not shady at all.”
🔱 First Obstacle: Navigating the Shifting Trench
Sudden tremors shake the ridge—your sub is entering a tectonically unstable zone. Rock spires collapse in the distance.
This will be a Piloting Challenge.
🧭 Gao will roll Piloting (d8) to thread the trench without damage.
If she fails, the ship may take hull damage, or get temporarily trapped.
🎲 Rolling Gao’s Piloting (d8)...
You rolled: 5
✅ Success — Barely
Gao grits her teeth. “Hold tight.”
Flacion’s Scowl pivots, banking between falling stone like a knife through the sea. A sharp left avoids a collapsing chimney of rock. A small panel sparks—nothing serious. You break into a wide, deeper basin: the delivery zone.
🌀 Something's Wrong
The trench here is unnaturally still. No currents. No fauna.
A faint glow pulses in the murk, drifting lazily toward you.
Your comm crackles: “Scan confirm… hold position.”
Naadir: “This smell like a trap to anyone else?”
What do you do, Captain?
Options:
Hold position and see what happens (trusting the job)
Order evasive maneuvers (try to back out quietly)
Send out a drone or diver to investigate the glow
Attempt a stealth scan of the area (risk being noticed)
Something else?
Your call, Captain Alaka.
You said:
Gao, can you scan that glow, get any details on it?
ChatGPT said:
Gao doesn't reply right away—her eyes are fixed on the slow, hypnotic pulse of the glow drifting through the trench, about 300 meters out and low. She mutters, “That ain't right…” and reaches for the sensor controls.
“Running a passive sweep. No active ping—don't want to light us up.”
📡 SCAN ATTEMPT: Stealthy Passive Sweep
Using the ship’s SENSORS system + Gao’s Observation (d6)
🎲 Rolling Observation (d6)...
You rolled: 6
✅ Full Success — Scan Results
Gao: “Okay, got something. Weird signature. Definitely not a contact sub. Organic… but also metallic?”
It’s a biomechanical entity—part fauna, part machine
Shape resembles a jellyfish, but the core is structured: hexagonal, modular, humming softly
Heat signature is cold. It's moving against the current
No propulsion. It drifts, like it's waiting
Faint encrypted signal echoing from it—might be a transmitter or decoy
Gao: “Captain… it’s scanning us back. Real gentle-like. Like it’s trying to memorize our hull.”
Naadir's already pulling up shielding protocols, muttering, “Either that’s a beacon… or bait.”
What’s your move, Captain?
Maintain position and wait for next instructions
Send out a mini-drone to get a close visual and possibly intercept the signal
Back off slowly, keeping passive stealth
Target the thing and prep weapons, just in case
Contact the job sender to confirm this thing is the delivery mark
Another plan?
The trench holds its breath, waiting.
You said:
“Gao, lets back up slowly, track an escape path out of here. Naadir, get the shields up and then start targetting that thing. If it gets close, waste it.” I will launch a drone and try to get closer.
ChatGPT said:
🫧 Orders Issued. Crew Reacts.
In the quiet, high-pressure dark, your words hit like torpedoes.
Gao: “Aye. Slow reverse, manual thrust—engines whisper only.”
Naadir: “Shields coming online… Weapons hot. If it breathes, I burn it.”
You: Launching the drone—direct control, feeding video straight to your console.
🛠 Crew Action Summary
Gao: Piloting Flacion’s Scowl into a controlled, silent withdrawal, tracking escape vectors
Naadir: Activates Clandestine Surface protocols + targets entity with flechette cannon override
You: Directing a mini-drone recon unit toward the glowing biomech organism
🎮 Drone Recon Roll — No skill, but clever use
This is a delicate maneuver. While you don’t have Electronics or Observation, you’re a Captain—let’s allow a Connections (d8) roll to represent using smart drone protocols you’ve brokered over the years. You'll be working on limited info from an outdated rig. Risk: The drone might get hijacked, or give away your position.
🎲 Rolling Connections (d8)...
You rolled: 2
❌ Disaster
The drone hums forward. For a moment, you get an eerie, crystalline view of the creature:
Its “body” is smooth and translucent, pulsing in fractal ripples
Metallic nodes spider through its center—antennae? weapon pods? eyes?
There's a faint shimmer… like a pulse
Then—black. Your console cuts to static.
Naadir: “The thing just lit up, Cap. It pinged hard—like a sonar burst, but... tuned. Felt like it read us.”
Gao: “We’ve got movement! Something’s coming in fast—bearing 190, deep channel. Big. Fast. Multiple.”
⚠️ Situation Escalates
Your drone is gone
The entity is now pulsing rapidly—a beacon? a warning?
New contacts approaching quickly from the deep (pirates? drones? leviathan?)
Flacion’s Scowl is in partial stealth, but the game’s likely up
🧠 Your Options Now
Book it – Order Gao to punch full power and try to outpace the incoming threats
Ambush setup – Power down, go dark, prepare a first strike if they close in
Contact the employer – Demand to know what’s going on
Intercept the beacon-creature – Risk everything to retrieve/analyze/destroy it
Hide in the trench – Try to mask in a crevice and let the threats pass
Something else?
They’re closing fast, Captain. What’s your play?
You said:
Book it. “Gao! I don’t like it, let’s get out of here!”
ChatGPT said:
🚨 “Understood. Strap in, Cap.” —Gao
The Flacion’s Scowl growls to life as Gao throws the throttle forward. The sub lurches, her hull creaking as the engines spool hot. Turbulence from the unstable ridge shakes the vessel—behind you, the beacon-thing flares bright red and vanishes in a blink of unnatural movement.
Naadir: “Contacts are splitting! At least three—chasing vectors. We’ve got company.”
🧭 ESCAPE ATTEMPT — Piloting Roll (Gao, d8)
She’ll roll to outrun the pursuers and thread through the crumbling terrain of Cragstone Ridge. Success means you break away. Failure means a hit or being caught.
🎲 Rolling Piloting (d8)...
You rolled: 7
✅ Full Success — You Escape the Trap
The Scowl rips through narrow arches and silt clouds, diving under one collapsing ridge shelf and swinging wide around a pressure vent. One of the pursuers overshoots and slams into the rocks—vanishing in a silent puff of dark debris. The other two hesitate.
Gao: “We’re clear. For now.”
Naadir: “I still don’t like that glow-thing. That wasn’t natural. You saw it move?”
You’re out, fast, alive. The deep behind you is still again—but you know it’s watching.
🧾 Mission Update
Cargo not delivered
Enemies encountered
Mysterious beacon-creature encountered
You survived—but the job was a setup
Back at the fringe dome, there’s no trace of the original contact. Account deleted. Payment never transferred.
You’re down to 1₡, with a shaken crew and a burning question:
What the hell did you almost deliver?
🎲 Post-Mission Debrief
You may:
Increase 1 Skill (from d6 → d8, or add a new d6) for Captain Alaka
Choose whether Gao or Naadir earns a skill bump
Roll d6 to see if you scavenge any spoils or bonus credits during the escape
Would you like to:
Level up?
Roll for loot?
Debrief the crew or set a new course?
Your call, Captain.
You said:
Gao really shined in piloting this adventure, I think she should get a skill bump. Let’s see if we can scavenge something with this cargo, figure out what it is.
ChatGPT said:
🛠️ Skill Bump Granted:
Gao’s Piloting increases to d10
She grins while double-checking the burn lines on the sub’s flight record. “Guess that sim addiction finally paid off.”
🧳 Salvaging the Cargo
The sealed case is still locked tight in the hold—never dropped off. You never got paid. Whatever it is… someone wanted it bad enough to send a lure-creature and armed pursuit.
Naadir steps in with a low whistle. “Cracking this thing could fry half our systems. Or just… fry us.”
You’ve got three approaches:
🔧 A. Let Naadir Try to Crack It
Electronics (d8) roll
Risk: The lock might trigger a failsafe. Could destroy contents or cause a system shock.
🧠 B. Use Your Connections
You try to call in favors or knowledge—Connections (d8) roll
Risk: Someone may trace the ping and learn you have the cargo
👀 C. Scan It First
A cautious sensor sweep using Gao’s Observation (d6) or passive sub sensors
Safe but less likely to yield deep answers
Would you like to:
Choose one method and I’ll roll?
Try one now, and another if it fails?
What’s your gut say, Captain?
You said:
Let’s scan it, maybe we will get lucky
ChatGPT said:
🎯 Playing it smart. No need to poke a stingray with a wrench.
You instruct Gao to run a non-invasive scan—no active signals, just a full-spectrum passive sweep: thermal, magnetic, radiation, acoustic, and encrypted signature analysis.
Gao nods. “Let’s see what kind of ghost we’ve got locked in the closet…”
🎲 Rolling Observation (d6)...
You rolled: 6
✅ Scan Complete — Valuable Intel Recovered
Gao: “Okay, that case? It's lined with leaded weave and signal reflectors. But someone screwed up. There’s a hairline gap at the base of the seal—just enough to read the shape of the contents.”
Inside the long, sealed black case is a biological stasis unit—like the kind used by the Paragon Institute. Enclosed within is:
A partial biomech brain stem, preserved in saline-gel
Several tagged growth nodes, each with a unique neural signature
Embedded micro-transmitters, blinking slowly
Naadir squints. “That's not just salvage. That’s… living tech. Could be a clone-stem, or psionic relay hardware. Either way—Paragon stuff.”
🧾 What You Know Now
This cargo contains Paragon experimental biotech
It likely ties to the beacon-creature you encountered
Whoever hired you never intended to pay—they just wanted the case to reach the drop point, triggering a chase
The biotech inside is worth ₡4–6 on the black market—or possibly more to the right faction
🤔 Your Next Decision
Sell it on the black market (risk heat, gain credits)
Contact Paragon Institute (might pay to keep it quiet—or send killers)
Use it as leverage to bargain with a faction or dome city
Destroy it to prevent anyone from tracking or using it
Research it further to try to unlock secrets (risky, time-consuming)
Stash it for now and take another job while figuring it out
What’s your move, Captain Alaka?
You said:
I want to reach out to some of my contacts again, see if I can get any leads on possible entities interested in something like this, all while keeping it hush hush.
ChatGPT said:
🕵️ You move carefully, Captain. Like a predator with poison in its jaws.
You know better than to blast this out to every info-broker. Instead, you use deep channels—old dive crew forums, encrypted pings, and one particular backdoor into an abandoned comm relay from the Free Dome Revolt. You ask vague questions, use code words:
“Bioware salvage. Ghost-locked. High-grade. Possible Paragon touch. Who’s paying for memory meat these days?”
🎲 Rolling Connections (d8)...
You rolled: 7
✅ Jackpot: You Get a Ping
"Naiara" responds. You haven’t seen her in cycles. Used to run with the Oceanus Group before she vanished off the grid.
She messages you through a static-riddled burst line:
“You got neuro-gelware? I know someone in the Seven Seas Consortium who’s been buying that exact signature. Calls it ‘anemone code.’ Whatever you’ve got, they’ll pay to get it. Quietly.”
Location:
An underwater drift bazaar near the old Naka Faultline
Controlled by a rogue salvage faction called the Black Fathoms
“Go to stall 9. Ask for Serris. Say you’ve got shade memory from Cragstone. He’ll handle the rest.”
🎯 Opportunity Unlocked
🛒 Black Fathoms Deal
Potential payout: 5–7₡ depending on negotiation
Risk: Stall may be under surveillance. Unknown if Seven Seas wants to buy... or silence
Travel: Two-day sub journey through contested waters (pirates, fauna, territorial domes)
Naadir: “This Serris guy sounds like a half-myth. But if he’s real? Could mean we never have to take a trash job again.”
Gao: “Or we vanish like Merek’s crew.”
🧭 Options Now
Prep and travel to the Naka Faultline to meet Serris
Try to get more leverage/info on the Seven Seas buyer first
Sell it locally, take the fast cash and risk
Stash it somewhere safe and take another job for now
Something else?
Your crew is watching. Waiting.
What’s the next heading, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“I say we risk it, take this trip quietly and cautiously, and see if Serris is for real. If this pans out, we shoot for 6-7 credits, and pass one to Naiara for the tip.”
ChatGPT said:
🧭 “Plot us a quiet course, Gao. We’re going deep.”
The crew exchanges glances—serious ones. No jokes. No one even taps the coffee dispenser. Everyone knows: a run to Naka Faultline is either retirement or a tombstone.
Naadir: “I’ll reroute coolant to minimize the sub’s heat signature. If we pass under the old mining trench, we can skip the warzone channels.”
Gao: “Running the nav through a dark loop. We’ll ghost their scanners.”
You: One hand on the console, the other on the black case. "Let’s hope Serris is real—and that he’s buying."
🌊 Mission Start: “The Drift Bazaar”
🎯 Objective
Deliver the biomech stasis case to Serris, a broker tied to the Seven Seas Consortium, operating within the outlaw marketplace of Black Fathoms, near the Naka Faultline.
Goal: Sell it for ₡6–7, pass ₡1 to Naiara
Risks:
Surveillance or ambush
Seven Seas may not want buyers—just silence
Naka Faultline is tectonically unstable and home to free-floating fauna predators
We’ll begin this next mission with:
A travel encounter en route (deep-sea event or threat)
The arrival at Black Fathoms
Meeting with Serris (negotiation or deception check)
I'll prep the route. Do you want:
A dangerous but fast route through pirate space?
A slow, stealthy trench path with environmental risks but lower detection chance?
Let me roll to decide your route randomly?
And then… shall we dive again, Captain?
You said:
A slow, stealthy trench path.
ChatGPT said:
🌌 Slow and silent it is.
You chart a trench path so deep it barely pings on old maps—once a mining site, now mostly collapse and silence. No patrols. No easy signals. Just darkness and the weight of the ocean pressing in.
Gao: “Throttling to silent crawl. If we get hit out here, no one’s coming.”
Naadir: “Good. I prefer it that way.”
🌊 En Route: Trench Encounter
As Flacion’s Scowl threads through the shifting shadows of the trench, Gao flicks a warning light.
“We’ve got something. Doesn’t look mechanical. Doesn’t move like fauna either.”
Through the murky viewport, you glimpse a shape. No—shapes. Five or six of them, suspended motionless, barely visible.
They look like:
Tattered diving suits
No visible lights or propulsion
Drifting in formation, heads tilted toward you
❗ Deep Trench Encounter: Drifters of the Faultline
You’ve stumbled across a legend whispered by scavengers—unconfirmed, until now.
Some call them the Waking Suits, others say they’re corrupted Paragon test divers.
No one’s ever gotten close and come back sane.
Naadir (whispers): “Captain… if they turn, we won’t have time to run.”
🎯 Options
Maintain stealth and drift past, hoping they don’t detect you (roll Stealth or Piloting)
Pulse a low-frequency sonar disruptor to scatter them (risks alerting others)
Try to record/scan them for intel (high risk, might agitate)
Arm weapons, prep to engage if they move
Something else?
What’s your order, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“Arm weapons, float past silently, but be ready in case they move towards us.”
ChatGPT said:
🧭 "No sudden moves. Weapons hot. We float like ghosts."
The Scowl creeps forward, engines whispering like old breath through rusted lungs. Gao’s fingers hover over thruster controls. Naadir powers the flechette turret and cross-links it to your command chair. The black case sits strapped behind you—still silent, still sealed.
Ahead, the Drifters hang in the trench like discarded puppets. Their suits are torn and barnacle-streaked, faces dark behind cracked visors. As your lights dim and pass by…
One of them tilts its head. Slowly. Precisely.
Another twitches, like it’s trying to remember how to move.
But they do not follow. They do not pursue.
Gao (low): “Still watching us.”
Naadir: “They can keep watching. We don’t blink.”
✅ Stealth Pass: Success
You drift past without incident. The trench closes behind you. The Drifters fade into darkness. Nothing follows. But something remembers you.
🧠 Mark a soft tag: “Observed by the Drifters”
(Something may come of this later...)
🚢 Arrival: The Black Fathoms Bazaar
A few days later, you emerge into a crag-to-crag basin under the Faultline, lit with strings of dim lights and phosphorescent jelly sacks. Black Fathoms is a free-floating outlaw bazaar, built from cannibalized sub hulks, old dome tech, and ballast-bladders the size of freighters.
Drones scan your sub
Gao squints at a sonar ghost above
A deep mechanical voice crackles over short-range:
“Dock at Sector Coil-9. Serris awaits.”
You’ve made it.
Next up: your meeting with Serris—final phase of this mission.
Would you like to:
Go alone to meet Serris
Bring Naadir or Gao (each provides different support)
Suit up in case of ambush
Try to prep a backup plan—just in case it’s a setup
Your move, Captain.
You said:
I will suit up, “Naadir, stay with the sub, fix anything that needs it. Keep it locked tight until we return. Gao, gear up. I want you by my side.”
ChatGPT said:
🧰 “Copy that, Cap.”
You slide into your diving suit—standard issue, but modified with reinforced seals and a discreet holster. Your pistol rests light on your hip. The case is slung over your shoulder, sealed in magnetic clamps.
Naadir: “Running a full diagnostic while you’re gone. If anything pings wrong, I lock down and cut engine light. You get back fast, or not at all.”
Gao: Already suited, shotgun slung. “Let’s see what kind of freak names himself Serris.”
The airlock cycles with a long groan. Pressure equalizes. The outer hatch creaks open.
🌌 Black Fathoms: Coil-9
The interior is a patchwork of pressure-resistant stalls, coral lamps, and heavy steel mesh. Vendors hawk black-market augments, mutant fauna samples, pirate tags, and sonar-scrubbers. Everyone wears armor or something worse.
Stall 9 is quiet. A curtain of woven sensor wire parts. Behind it:
A tall man sits on a stack of ammunition crates, wearing a coat lined with blinking neurogel tubes. His skin is half-machine, face twisted into a serene, sharklike grin.
Serris: “Alaka. Captain Alaka. You brought the case. Very good. Set it down and we’ll talk price.”
🎯 This is a Negotiation
You know he’s a rep for Seven Seas Consortium, but not if he’s the type who honors deals—or buries them. The longer you talk, the more attention you risk drawing.
Do you:
Negotiate straight — Use Persuasion (d6) to press for 6–7₡
Intimidate — Imply you have backups, other buyers, and bigger teeth
Deceive — Lie: say the case is rigged or time-locked
Ask for proof he’s real — Test Serris before opening the deal
Something else?
Your tone sets everything now, Captain.
How do you want to handle Serris?
You said:
“Let’s complete this quickly, this thing gives me the spooks and I want to ghost soon. Looking for 8 here, Serris.” I will negotiate straight.
ChatGPT said:
💬 “Let’s complete this quickly, this thing gives me the spooks and I want to ghost soon. Looking for 8 here, Serris.”
Serris’s grin doesn’t falter. In fact, it widens—a bit too far. Tubes pulse faintly in his neck as he rises and walks slowly toward the case. He doesn’t touch it yet.
“Eight is... steep. But I like urgency. And you’re right to be afraid.”
He kneels, runs a handheld scanner over the case, nods at something only he understands.
“This is the real stock. Paragon didn’t mean for it to leave the trench.”
His gaze flicks up.
“You really don’t know what this is, do you?”
🎲 Rolling Persuasion (d6)...
You rolled: 5
✅ Success — Strong Bargain
Serris exhales. “I should offer six. Maybe seven. But I want to see where you go next, Alaka.”
He taps a wrist console. You hear Gao inhale sharply behind you.
A ping hits your Aqua-FI: ₡8 transferred.
“I’ll make sure this vanishes from Consortium eyes. No blowback. You just bought yourself breathing room.”
He pauses, leans close. Too close.
“But listen, captain—this thing? It wasn’t meant to be found. It called for you. Next time you hear the deep singing, don’t follow.”
💰 Mission Complete
₡8 earned
₡1 owed to Naiara (can choose to send it now or hold)
Crew morale up
Threat avoided—for now
Naadir on comms: “Scowl is warm and ready, Cap. You just say the word.”
🎖️ End of Session Options:
Increase one of your skills (d6 → d8, or learn a new d6)
Level up Gao or Naadir again
Take on a new job immediately
Spend credits on gear, upgrades, or favors
And just beneath it all… a whisper from the dark.
Would you like to send Naiara her cut now, or hold it?
And what’s your next move, Captain Alaka?
You said:
I would like to raise my Persuasion skill. We will send Naiara one credit as a thank you for the tip, but also send a message “Thanks for the tip Naiara, came in clutch. Got any other hot tips, or any paying jobs in Black Fathoms?”
ChatGPT said:
🧠 Skill Up:
Persuasion increases to d8
You're sharper now—more practiced. You know how to push, when to pull, and when to let the silence sell itself.
💳 ₡1 sent to Naiara
You wire it through a one-way trace scrambler. The funds vanish into a rotating account stack. A moment later, a ping hits your Aqua-FI.
💬 Message from Naiara
"You survived Serris. That alone means you're playing the deeper game now."
"Got a hot one for you: Black Fathoms has a broker named Lir at Dockside 3. He’s putting together a crew to track down a missing dome. Disappeared completely last cycle. No wreckage, no signal. If you find it, you keep salvage rights—and maybe answers."
"Job pays 5₡ up front. But if it’s really gone? That dome had a Paragon research core inside. That’s legacy-credit rich."
🧭 Mission Hook: “The Vanishing Dome”
Client: Lir, local broker
Job: Investigate the disappearance of a whole underwater dome complex
Pay: 5₡ base; unknown additional salvage value
Complication: Black Fathoms whisper it didn’t collapse. It slipped
Location: West trench beyond a burned-out mining line known as “The Hollows”
Current Credit: ₡7
Crew: In good spirits
Sub: Stable, with Clandestine Surface active
Would you like to:
Accept the new mission now?
Shop for sub or gear upgrades?
Explore Black Fathoms more?
Debrief crew or rest?
Let me know your heading, Captain.
You said:
“Naadir, check out the local sub-upgrade market, surely we can find something to add some spice to our little baby. Gao let’s check out more of Black Fathoms, this place feels like it may just have more oppurtunity for us than we expected.”
ChatGPT said:
⚓ “Aye, Captain. I’ll see what the scavengers have bolted together.” —Naadir
He vanishes into the lower decks with a datapad and a welding torch, muttering about thick plating and hull heat dispersers.
Gao gives you a sideways smile. “I’m not saying I trust this place, but I like the smell of it. Let's see what kind of ghosts live here.”
🛠️ Submarine Upgrade Market (Black Fathoms – Coil Tier)
The bazaar hums with outlaw tech, scavenged corp gear, and illegal mods. Prices are flexible if you barter well.
You currently have ₡7.
⚙️ Sub Upgrades Available
Flechette Turret (₡3) – Rapid-fire defense system that can shoot torpedoes or aggressive fauna
Deep-Sea Sensor Extenders (₡2) – Increases sensor range x10, useful for scanning anomalies or avoiding ambush
ROV Probe Drone (₡2) – Deployable recon drone for stealthy mapping or remote interaction
Tow Cable + Salvage Arm (₡2) – Allows you to haul heavy wrecks, cargo, or even smaller subs
Torpedo (1 EMP or 1 Warhead) (₡1) – Add a single-use torpedo to your loadout (or restock)
Medical Bay (₡3) – Allows field healing and injury recovery
Hidden Compartment (₡2) – Smuggling and concealment storage (immune to standard scans)
Supercavitating Autocannon (₡4) – Fires above or below water. Devastating against subs and mechs
Armor Plating Upgrade (₡3) – Increases hull defense to break 3× before harm
Workshop Module (₡2) – Lets Naadir craft, mod, or repair gear during missions
Naadir pings: “We could use better defense or stealth tools. But that turret... mmm. She’d sing, Captain.”
🧭 Meanwhile: Exploring Black Fathoms
You and Gao weave through sectors of the Fathoms rarely seen by outsiders:
Sector Wane: A place of whispered jobs and memory dealers—people who sell flash-drives of other lives
Sector Skarl: Weapons, black augments, illegal biotech
The Lure Docks: Sub-stall taverns for merc crews, with job boards lit in blue filament glow
You see:
A brawl between Seamount Coalition deserters and Free Dome agents
A Paragon sympathizer preaching about “transcendent biology”
A job board listing a call for a “Leviathan-class bleed mission — 10₡, no questions”
Gao nudges you. “We could live here for a while, Cap. Assuming we don’t get stabbed.”
Would you like to:
Buy any sub upgrades now?
Investigate the Leviathan bleed job?
Check in with Lir about the Vanishing Dome?
Head back to the ship and prepare for departure?
Something else?
Your crew’s ready for anything.
What’s your call, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“Naadir, I think we install those deep-sea scanners and the armor plating. You agree?”
ChatGPT said:
🔧 “Captain, that’s music to my ears.” —Naadir
He cracks his knuckles, already pulling gear from the black-market stall. “Extended sensors mean we’ll see trouble before it sees us. And plating? That’s the difference between leaking and breathing.”
⚙️ Submarine Upgrades Installed
✅ 1. Deep-Sea Sensor Extenders (₡2)
Increases scan range x10
You’ll detect threats, anomalies, or ships long before visual contact
Adds tactical advantage in trench nav and encounters
✅ 2. Armor Plating Upgrade (₡3)
Hull can now absorb 3 hits (breaks) before risking internal damage
Much safer during combat or environmental hazards
Naadir definitely painted a flame pattern on one panel
Naadir (grinning): “Scowl's never been thicker. Or prettier.”
💳 ₡ Spent: 5
💰 Remaining: ₡2
Gao returns with street food and a smirk. “Smells like krill, tastes like regret. Want to check that job board now, Cap?”
Options:
Investigate the Leviathan Bleed Job (₡10 reward)
Meet Lir about the Vanishing Dome
Visit a memory dealer or contact in Wane
Return to the Scowl and plan your next move
Something else?
What’s the next heading, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“Gao, I’m thinking that Investigate the Leviathan bleed job sounds almost too good to pass up. What do you think?”
ChatGPT said:
⚠️ “Ten credits is a lot. That’s either a blessing or a bloodbath.” —Gao
She wipes regret-krill from her fingers and eyes the job board’s flickering blue glow.
“Leviathan jobs aren’t always about killing. Sometimes it’s tracking, tagging, or driving one off before it wrecks a dome. But if they’re offering ten? That thing's probably killed people. Or domes.”
She taps the job listing and a small holosign blossoms:
💥 Leviathan-Class Bleed Job: “Redwake Drift”
Client: Dome Council of Oruma-9 (via proxy broker “Torsk”)
Urgency: Immediate
Target: Identified Leviathan-class entity known as Redwake — behavioral anomaly, hyper-aggressive
Last Seen: Deep fault off Oruma Shelf
Pay: 10₡ on confirmation of:
Tagging w/ live-tracker (₡3)
Driving it from dome perimeter (₡4)
Killing or permanently disabling it (₡10 full reward)
“Hazard note: Redwake may be biomechanical. Emits harmonic pulses that distort sensors. Surviving crew must undergo psych evaluation. No known weaknesses confirmed.”
Gao folds her arms. “That’s not a job. That’s a gamble with teeth.”
She glances at you. “Still… that kind of cash could buy real upgrades. Real safety. And you know Naadir would kill to harpoon something bigger than a cruiser.”
🎯 Your Call, Captain
Do you:
Accept the job — go see the broker Torsk and lock it in?
Investigate further — check sensor logs, rumors, see if Redwake’s been encountered before
Hold off — go see Lir about the Vanishing Dome job first
Forget it — this smells too cursed
Your crew is watching. The sub’s tougher. You’ve got 2₡ in your pocket.
Do you chase the Redwake, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“What do they say, ‘Go big or die trying?’”, I shrug. “Let’s go meet this Torsk, get more details.”
ChatGPT said:
🦈 Gao grins.
“I knew you were going to say that. You’ve got that look—the ‘I’m about to punch God’ look.”
🚪 Sector Coil-13: Meeting Torsk
You follow an encrypted ping into the heart of the Fathoms' quieter back-end, where the lights flicker yellow and old machinery hums like it’s dreaming. A small shop with faded hydro-glyphs and a wall of sonar maps greets you.
Inside stands Torsk—a thick-set man with salt-bleached skin, one eye replaced with a rotating multi-lens scope. His voice is slow, gravelly, and wet.
“You’re the one asking about Redwake? Sit down. I’ll give it to you straight.”
📄 Mission Brief: REDWAKE
“Oruma-9 is dying. Not from war, not from famine—from fear. Redwake showed up last week. Took out a full merc sub in three minutes. We don’t know how it sees, but it knows. It sends pulses—singing through steel, turning men into jelly.”
Torsk pulls up a fuzzy sonar image: a massive serpentine body, plated in barnacle-wrapped metal. Bioluminescent organs flicker along its sides, like a rhythm—like language.
“We don’t want it dead. We want it gone. Or tagged, if you can survive long enough to track it. Full kill is your choice—but I’ll pay full if you pull it off.”
💥 Redwake Options:
Track and Tag — Get within range, fire a pulse-activated tracker dart (₡3)
Drive it Off — Use sensors, sonic weapons, or clever maneuvering to redirect it (₡4)
Kill It — Survive long enough to do enough damage to make it sink or flee (₡10)
Torsk: “Only a few things can pierce its hide. A direct hit from a harpoon cannon might do it. You got that?”
Torsk’s Offer:
Upfront advance: 1₡ if you accept the mission
₡10 on full kill, 3–4₡ partial options
Mission starts in 24 hours. Last sighting logged at the Oruma Fault Basin, 40 clicks west of your current position
🧠 Final Considerations
You have 2₡ now (+1 if you take the advance)
Your ship is upgraded with:
Clandestine Surface
Armor Plating (break 3×)
Deep-Sea Sensor Extenders
Naadir (via comms): “If we’re doing this, I’m wiring the sub’s backup coolant system into the weapon relays. We might only get one good shot.”
Your Call:
Accept the job (take 1₡ advance, prep the Scowl)
Request specific equipment (e.g., tracking dart, harpoon ammo) from Torsk before heading out
Decline for now and seek another mission
Ask more questions (e.g., weaknesses, other sightings)
What do you do, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“This seems like suicide, but we would need a harpoon cannon, our sub is not current fitted with one. 10 plus the cannon for kill, 4 plus the cannon to track or drive it away. Keep your advance, you’ve got a trustworthy face. But if you want us to do what no one else can….it’ll cost you.”
ChatGPT said:
🦴 Torsk lets out a low, rough laugh—like a rusted anchor grinding across gravel.
“That’s the right attitude, Captain. One I can work with.”
He spits something into a can, gestures toward the image of Redwake twisting across the holo.
“Fine. You don’t want the advance? Then let’s sweeten it right. I’ll add the cannon—single-load harpoon rig, explosive or piercing tip—on loan. You bring it back intact, no charge. You break it, you bought it. Deal?”
He taps a few keys. The cannon specs scroll across your pad.
⚔️ Equipment Secured: Harpoon Cannon (Loaner)
Bulky deck-mounted weapon
Loads one high-powered harpoon (choose below)
Must be manually aimed or precision-fired via Naadir’s rig
Breaks after use unless reinforced (not currently)
Torsk: “You’ve got a choice, Captain. Explosive or Armor Piercing?”
Choose Your Payload:
Explosive Tip — Detonates on contact. Best for soft spots, environmental damage, and knockback. Could stun Redwake or disorient it.
Armor Piercing Tip — Designed to punch through thick plating or dense hide. Risk of overpenetration but hits deep.
Once you choose, Torsk extends a heavily calloused hand.
“Clock’s ticking. Redwake don’t wait. You get one clean shot. Make it count.”
Summary Before Departure:
Job accepted
Harpoon Cannon installed (loaner)
No advance taken (honor + trust earned)
Redwake last seen 40 klicks west in Oruma Fault Basin
Mission payout: ₡10 for kill, ₡4 for drive-off or tag
Current Credits: 2₡
What’s your payload choice, Captain?
And when do we sail?
You said:
“Armor piercing. I’m not looking to make friends.”
ChatGPT said:
🦾 Torsk nods.
“Didn’t peg you for a poet, Captain. I respect that. Piercer it is.”
He slaps a coded crate beside you—inside is a chrome-black harpoon, nearly two meters long, sleek as death and twice as final. Its casing is engraved with an old Oceanus proverb:
“The deep does not forgive. It remembers.”
⚔️ Harpoon Cannon Loaded: Armor-Piercing Round
Designed to penetrate Redwake’s biomech plating
High velocity, minimal shockwave—meant to kill, not scare
Can only be fired once without reloading or upgrading
Breaks after use unless salvaged
Naadir (via comms): “I'll get this beast bolted down. But when you say fire, Cap—you'd better mean it.”
🚢 Mission Prep: Redwake Bleed
Ship: Flacion’s Scowl
Crew: Alaka, Gao, Naadir
Loadout: Deep-Sea Sensor Extenders, Clandestine Surface, Armor Plating, Harpoon Cannon (AP)
Target: Redwake, a biomechanical leviathan
Conditions: Hunt or drive off, confirm via scan or kill
Departure ETA: Now
Gao: “We going silent or loud, Cap? Stealth approach to tag, or high-speed in for the kill?”
Final question before you launch, Captain Alaka:
Approach:
Stealth Approach – Get close undetected, assess, possibly tag or strike with advantage
Aggressive Approach – Close fast, light up sensors, fire first, fire hard
Scout First – Send drone or passive scan before revealing your position
Something more devious?
The hunt begins when you give the order.
You said:
“Stealth approach until we get close, then we will go silent, ready the harpoon. Naadir, can you brace that so it doesn’t break? I want to keep this big gun. Then we send in a drone to scout, maybe if we are lucky, we catch Redwave while he is napping.”
ChatGPT said:
🧱 Naadir lets out a low whistle as he adjusts his goggles and straps into the weapons cradle.
“Brace it? Sure, Cap. I’ll reinforce the recoil mount and feed it reactor-stabilized coolant. She’ll fire clean—and if she survives, I’ll weld her right into the Scowl’s bones.”
He taps the harpoon casing with a wrench like it’s a holy relic. “This thing hits like a debt collector.”
Gao at helm: “We’ll stay dark until we’ve got eyes. Then it’s lights out—one way or another.”
🎮 MISSION PHASE ONE: APPROACH
Tactic: Stealth Approach → Hold Position → Launch Drone
The Flacion’s Scowl ghosts through the Oruma Fault Basin, its hull lights dimmed to a soft pulse. The terrain is jagged—a graveyard of collapsed shelves, ancient mining rigs, and drifting pockets of glowing thermal bloom.
Your deep-sea sensors begin to pick up odd anomalies:
Flickering magnetic fields
Localized pressure drops
Sound patterns that almost resemble music
Gao: “We’re close. Something’s here. It’s bending the trench around it.”
🎲 Passive Stealth Roll (Avoid Alerting Redwake)
Using Clandestine Surface + Gao’s Piloting (d10)
Roll for silent, undetected approach...
You rolled: 9
✅ Success — Unseen and Unheard
🎮 PHASE TWO: DRONE SCOUTING
Naadir: “Drone’s prepped and pulsed. Direct feed to your console, Cap.”
You launch the recon drone—low hum, no lights, gliding through the black like a jellyfish made of whispers. It drifts across the basin, mapping sonar pockets, watching shadows.
🎲 Drone Observation Roll
No one has Observation trained, so this is a straight d6 roll.
You rolled: 6
✅ Success — Full Recon
🎯 Visual Confirm: REDWAKE
Through the drone’s feed, the sea unfolds—
You see it.
Redwake is massive, coiled in the center of a trench like a sleeping god. Its skin is plated in coral-pocked metal. Bioluminescent slits pulse along its sides—dim, steady, rhythmic. Its head is crowned with antennae, twitching even in sleep. You can feel the harmonic hum through the drone’s mic—like a whale song sent through a war machine.
And it’s asleep. Dormant.
You’re close. Armed. Unseen.
Naadir: “Cap… this is the shot.”
💥 Final Options, Captain Alaka:
Take the Shot – Fire the harpoon now while Redwake sleeps (high risk/high reward, no resistance if clean)
Tag and Retreat – Fire a tracer dart instead for partial payout
Wait and Observe – Watch longer for patterns or vulnerabilities
Abort – Too dangerous, fall back now
The Scowl is steady. The crew holds its breath.
Do you take the shot, Captain?
You said:
“Taking the shot. Brace yourselves.”
ChatGPT said:
🎯 “Firing solution locked. Reactor surge green. Brace yourselves.” —Naadir
The Scowl holds perfectly still in the trench’s cold embrace. The humming in your bones grows louder as Redwake pulses in its slumber, coiled like a sleeping titan beneath crushed rigs and glowing algae.
Naadir: “Target marked. Firing in three… two… one—”
💥 The Shot
The deck-mounted armor-piercing harpoon launches like the hand of a god. No recoil—Naadir’s bracing holds. No warning. No sound.
It slices through the deep in a straight, perfect line—
🎯 Rolling for the Strike
This is a high-stakes roll, modified by:
Harpoon Cannon (piercing, reinforced)
Redwake is dormant (advantage)
+1 bonus from Naadir’s precision calibration
Rolling 2d6, keep highest...
You rolled: 5 and 6
✅ Critical Success — Direct Hit!
The harpoon slams into Redwake’s flank—deep, burying to the shaft. There’s a second of stillness.
Then—
Redwake screams.
Not sound. Not vibration. Something deeper. A harmonic pulse explodes from its body, rippling through water and steel alike. Lights flicker. Alarms hum low and confused. Your crew staggers, holding fast.
Gao: “It’s waking up and it’s bleeding! You got it, Cap!”
Naadir: “Hull’s holding. Harpoon rig’s intact! I think—hell—I think we own it now!”
🎯 Redwake’s Reaction
The leviathan thrashes, coils unspooling like tectonic plates. Blood—bioluminescent and black—spills into the trench. Its tail slams a rock shelf to dust, but…
It doesn’t charge.
It doesn’t chase.
It flees.
Redwake coils into the dark, trailing fractured pulses and rhythmic distortions. Your scanners track it fading fast—vanishing westward into the deep.
🏁 Mission Complete: Redwake Bleed
Harpoon strike successful
Target confirmed hit and driven off
Harpoon Cannon survives! (Naadir will bolt it in as a permanent upgrade)
No casualties
Psychological exposure minimal
💰 Reward Earned: ₡10
Paid in full by Oruma-9 Council (delivered via secure encoded ledger drop)
Torsk sends a message:
“Never seen it run before. You’re something else, Alaka. Drinks on me next cycle.”
🚀 Victory Debrief
Total Credits: ₡12
New Permanent Upgrade: Harpoon Cannon (1-shot, reloadable)
Notoriety: Word will spread—“The Scowl took down Redwake.”
Would you like to:
Increase a skill (yourself or crew)
Spend credits (upgrade sub, gear, favors)
Seek your next job (Vanishing Dome? Leviathan hunters?)
Debrief crew or explore new opportunities
You’ve earned your legend, Captain Alaka.
What’s your next heading?
You said:
We will return to Black Fathoms and spend a credit for a good time: drinking, feasting, relaxing. Can you reprint our crew character sheets?
ChatGPT said:
🎉 Welcome back to Black Fathoms, legends.
You dock the Flacion’s Scowl to cheers and wary stares. Word of Redwake’s retreat spread fast—no one else has ever landed a hit and lived to tell it. Torsk buys a round, then vanishes—likely with new buyers in tow. For now?
You celebrate.
💳 ₡1 spent on a night of strong drinks, warm food, and deep laughs.
A few hours where you're not prey.
Just people again.
🧾 Crew Character Sheets – Updated
⚓ Captain Alaka
Role: Captain
Skills:
Connections (d8)
Leadership (d8)
Persuasion (d8)
Diving (d6)
Shooting (d6)
Gear:
Aqua-FI Radio
Basic Diving Suit
Pistol
Credits: ₡11
Ship Upgrade Rights: Command over 1 chosen upgrade (Clandestine Surface)
Notoriety: The one who wounded Redwake
🧭 Gao
Role: Pilot
Skills:
Piloting (d10)
Navigation (d6)
Observation (d6)
Gear:
Basic Diving Suit
Shotgun
Cigarette lighter shaped like a jellyfish
Traits: Fast, sharp-tongued, fearless when strapped in
Notable Action: Piloted clean escape from Cragstone Ridge
🔧 Naadir
Role: Engineer
Skills:
Electronics (d8)
Engines (d6)
Repair Tools
Gear:
Basic Diving Suit
Toolkit
Reactor-mod rig braced into sub's weapons cradle
Traits: Grumpy, brilliant, sleeps next to the reactor
Notable Action: Reinforced and calibrated harpoon cannon for Redwake kill
🛠 Submarine: Flacion’s Scowl
Upgrades:
Clandestine Surface
Armor Plating (break 3×)
Deep-Sea Sensor Extenders
Harpoon Cannon (Permanent) – 1-shot, reloadable
Current Loadout: Ready, rugged, and a little infamous
You’ve got ₡11 left, a hardened crew, and half the Fathoms watching you with curiosity or fear.
Next job, next enemy, next legend—when you're ready, Captain.
What’s your next heading?
You said:
I will raise my persuasion skill and I think Naadir’s Electronic skill should be raised based on our perfomances and success during this last mission
ChatGPT said:
🧠 Skill Upgrades Granted
The mission against Redwake didn’t just earn you credits—it forged sharper instincts and tighter teamwork.
⚓ Captain Alaka
🎯 Persuasion increased to d10
You’ve learned how to press, pivot, and persuade in the pressure of life-or-death deals. You don’t just talk now. You command.
🔧 Naadir
🛠 Electronics increased to d10
Naadir’s work on the harpoon cannon, bracing mods, and silent rigging proved his genius. He now operates like a combat engineer savant. Just don’t expect him to smile about it.
Naadir: “You’re welcome. And no—I’m still not joining poker night.”
✨ Crew Status: Refined & Respected
Alaka: Connections (d8), Leadership (d8), Persuasion (d10)
Gao: Piloting (d10), Navigation (d6), Observation (d6)
Naadir: Electronics (d10), Engines (d6), Repair Tools
Total Credits Remaining: ₡11
Sub Upgrades: 4
Reputation: Redwake Wounders — respected and maybe feared
You're still in Black Fathoms, belly full, glass half-drained, and the deep still whispering your name.
When you're ready, Captain, we can:
Visit Lir and investigate the Vanishing Dome
Check for new postings (risky, high-paying, or weird)
Spend ₡ on gear, crew perks, or sub mods
Let things simmer while you rest
Your crew's watching, the deep's waiting.
What’s your next move?
You said:
Let’s explore the black market in the Fathoms, see what gear or upgrades might be found. We have credits and they are burning a hole in our pockets
ChatGPT said:
💸 “Time to spend like we survived something.” —Gao
You head into Sector Skarl, the black market heart of Black Fathoms. Lights are low, music is subsonic, and everything costs more if you ask what it does.
Naadir tags along with a smirk.
“Let’s see if someone’s selling something illegal enough.”
🛠 BLACK MARKET GEAR & UPGRADES (Fathoms Tier)
Here’s what’s available right now across categories. All prices are flexible with good negotiation (or threats).
⚙️ Personal Gear & Mods
🚢 Sub Upgrades – Black Market Tier
You currently have ₡11.
You can buy for:
Yourself
Gao
Naadir
The Flacion’s Scowl
Naadir: “I wouldn’t mind a science lab, Captain. Lot of questions left unanswered lately.”
Gao: “That camo cloak’s looking real sexy.”
What would you like to buy, Captain? Spend it all? Save a little?
Let’s go shopping.
You said:
I will pick up two amphibious Flechette pistols (one for me and one for Gao), along with two sealed combat helmets (for gao and me), emp grenades for us (one each) and a vibro blade knife for me. I tell Naadir, grab a torpedo reload and lets get a hidden compartment for the sub.
ChatGPT said:
💰 You shop like a survivor with a vengeance.
The vendors don’t haggle much—your face is known now. Redwake-blooded. Paid in full.
🧾 PURCHASE SUMMARY
🔫 Personal Gear
🚢 Submarine Upgrades
💳 Total Spent: ₡9
💳 Remaining Credits: ₡2
🧰 Updated Gear & Loadouts
⚓ Captain Alaka
Amphibious Flechette Pistol
Vibro-Blade Knife
EMP Grenade (1)
Sealed Combat Helmet (HUD, thermal, sealed)
Diving Suit + Aqua-FI Radio
Skills: Connections (d8), Leadership (d8), Persuasion (d10), Diving (d6), Shooting (d6)
🧭 Gao
Amphibious Flechette Pistol
EMP Grenade (1)
Sealed Combat Helmet
Diving Suit
Shotgun
Skills: Piloting (d10), Navigation (d6), Observation (d6)
🔧 Naadir
Toolkit
Diving Suit
Torpedo Reload (EMP)
Skills: Electronics (d10), Engines (d6)
🚢 Flacion’s Scowl (Upgraded Submarine)
Clandestine Surface
Armor Plating (3× breaks)
Deep-Sea Sensor Extenders
Harpoon Cannon (1-shot, reloadable)
Hidden Compartment (New)
Torpedo Tube: Now 1 EMP warhead loaded
Naadir (packing the warhead): “We’re becoming a proper hunter-killer, Cap. Not bad for a rustbucket.”
Gao (spinning her flechette pistol): “We look good. We sound dangerous. Let’s find something worth aiming at.”
Your crew’s locked, stocked, and upgraded.
Would you like to:
Visit Lir and begin the Vanishing Dome job?
Check job boards for anything weirder or more desperate?
Explore Black Fathoms further?
Rest and let the deep whisper a while?
Your move, Captain Alaka.
You said:
“let’s check the boards, see if anything sounds interesting. If nothing looks good, perhaps Torsk or Serris have something worthy of our time.”
ChatGPT said:
📜 You and Gao stroll past the humming blue-lit job boards, their glow reflecting off your new helmets. Behind you, scavengers, merc crews, and whisper-dealers trade info, bad coffee, and worse intentions.
The boards flicker with postings—some obvious bait, others too weird to be lies.
🧾 JOB BOARD – BLACK FATHOMS
Here are the current standout contracts:
🟣 “Reclamation of the Drowned Queen”
Client: Unknown (payment offered in ancient gold and Paragon tokens)
Mission: Locate a submerged pre-collapse battleship said to be haunted. Recover its reactor core.
Pay: ₡5 upfront, ₡7–₡10 on successful retrieval
Hazards: “Psychic interference. Ghosts. Harmonic recursion events.”
Notes: Crew should be mentally resilient and heavily armed.
🔵 “Crush the Pearl”
Client: The Syndicate
Mission: Sabotage an experimental AI-operated dome in contested territory. Make it look like a natural collapse.
Pay: ₡9, no questions asked
Hazards: Surveillance, military patrols, AI defense systems
Notes: Must avoid detection. Optional bonus if the dome’s research core is extracted.
🟢 “Dead Freight”
Client: Terra Nova Exports
Mission: Retrieve a lost cargo sub adrift near the Boil Fields. Cargo classified.
Pay: ₡6 flat + salvage rights
Hazards: Volcanic activity, fauna, unknown cargo hazard
Notes: “Do not open the containers.”
🔴 “Bleed Contract: Songcaller”
Client: Seven Seas Consortium (via a voice-only broker)
Mission: Investigate sonar anomalies in a faultline where ships “hear singing” and disappear.
Pay: ₡7 for mapping, ₡12 for discovery or confirmation of entity
Hazards: Unknown. Prior crews lost without trace.
Notes: “All who hear the Songcaller dream of it before death.”
👁️ Optional: Personal Contacts
If nothing tempts, you could:
Check in with Torsk (Leviathan broker—might have another high-value beast)
Visit Serris (biotech runner—always hunting for rare things)
Drop a message to Naiara for word on off-grid salvage or Fathoms politics
Which job (if any) grabs your attention, Captain?
Or shall we pay a visit to one of your contacts?
You said:
“Dead Frieght feels less life-threatening, what do you think Gao, Naadir? I am not feeling any of these too much, perhaps we drop a message to Naiara? She’s been good in the past. What do you think?”
ChatGPT said:
🧭 “Dead Freight feels manageable,” you say, scanning the volcanic scar of a route.
“But something about ‘do not open the containers’ always means open the containers.”
Gao (leaning on the board): “Dead Freight’s clean—on paper. But Terra Nova doesn’t lose things. If they did, it's 'cause they wanted to. I don’t love it, but I don’t hate it either.”
Naadir (tuning a coil pack): “Boil Fields are hot as hell. But I’ve been bored ever since we stopped harpooning gods. Still, Naiara’s got better instincts than a scanner. Might be worth pinging her.”
💬 You Draft a Message to Naiara:
“Naiara, it's Alaka. We're at the Fathoms. Got credits, gear, and time—but nothing on the board smells right. You hear anything off-grid? Something smart. Something worth it?”
You send it through a narrow-burst relay—encrypted, scattered across several black-market bounce points.
You wait.
🕐 A few hours later...
Your Aqua-FI buzzes. Message received.
📩 Naiara’s Response
“Didn’t think you’d sit still long. I’ve got something. Off-books. High reward, low attention—if you’re careful.”
“There’s an independent dome city that vanished from the ledger two cycles ago. Not collapsed. Not destroyed. Scrubbed. The dome was called Mira-Vel. Heard of it?”
“A few weeks ago, a deep-tracer signal came from that sector. Not a beacon—a voice. Just one word:
‘Help.’”
“Black Fathoms dismissed it. But I know someone’s trying to buy the silence.
Go there quietly.
You find what happened?
You own the salvage, the story… and maybe something bigger.”
🧭 Unofficial Job: “Signal from Mira-Vel”
Objective: Locate the missing dome of Mira-Vel
Origin: Independent, off-ledger city known for experimental atmospheric harvesting
Pay: Unknown, but full salvage and tech rights
Hazards: Unknown. No confirmed activity in the region for 2 cycles
Client: None—this is a ghost hunt with potential for huge reward
Gao: “Now that sounds like us.”
Naadir: “No contract means no leash. We find something, it’s ours.”
Shall we prepare for a quiet run to Mira-Vel, Captain Alaka?
Or would you like to investigate anything else first?
You said:
“Now this feels up our alley. Naaadir, any upgrades you think we might need for this task?”
ChatGPT said:
🛠️ Naadir lifts his head from a nest of cables, grease on his cheek and a screwdriver in his teeth.
He doesn’t answer immediately—he thinks. That’s how you know it’s serious.
“If this dome really got scrubbed and we’re chasing rogue signals in dead space? Then we want three things: stealth, insight, and options.”
He ticks each one off on an oil-stained glove.
🔧 Naadir’s Recommendations:
1. Autonomous ROV Probe (₡3)
“If we’re entering blind, I want something I can send ahead without risking your neck. These AI-guided scouts can drift into unknown spaces, send back full mapping and atmospheric reads. If something’s still alive in Mira-Vel, we’ll see it before it sees us.”
2. Life-Sign Detector (₡2)
“A lifesaver in a ghost dome. Picks up biological or mechanical signatures behind walls, through bulkheads, inside wrecks. Also good for spotting if someone—or something—is lying in wait.”
3. Science Lab Module (₡3)
“If Mira-Vel ran experiments, we’re gonna find weird shit. This lets me analyze anything from corrupted biotech to rogue AI. Might also be the only way to understand whatever sent that ‘Help’ ping.”
💰 Current Credits: ₡2
You’d need 4 more credits to get everything Naadir recommends.
Options:
Pick one (e.g., buy the Life-Sign Detector or Science Lab)
Take a fast-paying side job to earn the rest
Ask Serris or Torsk for gear favors in trade
Proceed with what you’ve got, trusting your instincts
Naadir shrugs. “We can run it now, Cap. But I’d sleep better knowing we had eyes and brains in the dark.”
What’s your call, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“I think you are right, let’s scan again for a fast-paying, side job to boost our credits so we can get the gear we need.”
ChatGPT said:
💼 Smart call, Captain. Even ghosts are easier to face with the right tools.
You hit the job board’s refresh beacon, filtered by:
Fast turnaround
Good pay
Low complexity
The board flickers, filters tighten… and then: a blip. A red-tagged listing, just posted. Looks like someone’s in a hurry.
🟡 Flash Contract: “Salvage the Helix Drift”
Client: Seven Seas Consortium (flagged as low-clearance)
Mission: Retrieve power core from a downed research skimmer near the Shiver Drop trench
Timeframe: Immediate (core integrity degrading)
Pay: ₡4 upon return
Hazards: Pressure instability, fauna, minor radiation leak
Notes: “Skimmer is adrift. No crew expected alive. Core retrieval requires basic tools + precision work. Payment upon delivery—no questions.”
Gao: “This looks like a delivery-boy job. Quick swim, grab the box, haul ass out.”
Naadir: “Unless something’s already nesting inside it.”
Mission Summary:
Short-distance run to Shiver Drop trench
Secure core, return it
Pay: ₡4, just what you need to buy Naadir’s full upgrade list
Orders, Captain?
Accept the Helix Drift job and gear up
Check in with the Consortium contact for extra intel
Pass and look again
Or something more devious, as always.
What’s your play?
You said:
“Helix Drift looks solid, pack up and let’s go!”
ChatGPT said:
🟨 "Helix Drift it is." —Captain Alaka
Your crew moves like a well-oiled machine. No flair, no doubt. Just precision and grit.
Naadir: “Tool kit’s prepped. Got patch seals and coolant stabilizers.”
Gao: “Coordinates locked. It’s close. We’re in and out before the ocean knows we were there.”
⚙️ MISSION: Helix Drift
Objective:
Recover the core module from a downed Seven Seas research skimmer
Core is deteriorating—time sensitive
No confirmed survivors
Area: Shiver Drop Trench — deep, cold, known for fauna nesting zones
Reward: ₡4
Estimated Duration: One dive, one extraction, one return
🚢 Launch
Flacion’s Scowl runs dark but steady. The new armor plating groans under pressure as you descend the steep cut of Shiver Drop, lit only by bioluminescent plankton and your soft internal nav pings.
You approach the drift site.
The skimmer is visible—half-buried in silt, tilted at a dangerous angle. Its hull is torn open. A glowing blue core housing pulses inside… but so does something else.
🐟 Problem: It's Nesting Ground
A trio of thermal eel constructs—mechanical-biological hybrids used in trench maintenance—have nested inside the broken skimmer hull. One twitches as you near.
Naadir: “They’re scavengers. Not aggressive… unless they’re protecting something.”
Gao: “And that core’s hot. They’re probably drawn to it.”
Options, Captain:
Approach carefully and attempt to distract the eels (use tech or clever bait)
Try a stealthy EVA dive to extract the core without alerting them (Diving + luck)
Aggressive extraction — Shoot first, take core while they’re down
Use your EMP grenade to disable them temporarily (could damage core if unlucky)
Another plan?
What’s the play, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“Naadir, go anything that could make a hit pulse beacon, maybe some scrap you could throw together? Looking for something that might be bright and loud and pull those eels away just long enough for us to grab the core and skip town.”
ChatGPT said:
🛠️ Naadir’s eyes gleam like reactor coils warming up.
“Captain, you just gave me something fun to build.”
He dives into the gear bay and emerges two minutes later with a jury-rigged device: a small pressure-sealed canister lined with resonance plates, emergency flares, and an old sensor core.
“It’ll chirp like a dying sub and shine like reactor fire. Not stable, but we don’t need it long. Toss it, back off, and we move.”
🎯 Bait-and-Snag Plan
Here’s the plan:
Naadir throws the pulse beacon a short distance from the skimmer
Eels get distracted
You or Gao swim in and extract the core
Everyone gets back to the Scowl fast
🎲 Roll: Distraction Beacon Success
This is a Naadir roll using Electronics (d10) to ensure the beacon activates and doesn’t short early.
You rolled: 9
✅ Success — Perfect Execution
💥 Result
Naadir hurls the canister into a nearby rock cluster.
It activates immediately—blazing like an emergency flare, chirping in deep-pitched sonar bursts that mimic a dying AI core.
The thermal eels jolt, twist in place, and drift toward it, attracted like moths to a fusion flame.
Naadir (grinning): “Go. Now.”
🎲 Dive to Extract Core
You dive fast and low—no Shooting required, just steady hands and guts. You’re using your Diving (d6) skill.
You rolled: 6
✅ Success — Clean Pull
You slide in, unlock the clamps, and haul the glowing blue core into your chest rig. It hums with power and heat but remains stable.
You surface with a grin as Gao swings the airlock open.
“That’s a wrap. Let’s cash in and go really shopping.”
🎉 Mission Complete: Helix Drift
Core recovered
No damage
No injuries
Naadir’s beacon survived just long enough to distract the eels
💰 ₡4 earned
💳 Total Credits: ₡6
Next Step: Gear Up for Mira-Vel
You now have enough to follow Naadir’s full recommendation:
Autonomous ROV Probe (₡3)
Life-Sign Detector (₡2)
Science Lab Module (₡3)
Would you like to buy these now and prep for the ghost hunt at Mira-Vel?
You said:
“Naadir, full request approved. Let’s get those upgrades installed and run calibration tests, make sure everything is humming. This could be a big payday.”
ChatGPT said:
🧠 Naadir beams—a rare, satisfied smirk curling under his grimy goggles.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about, Captain. We’re not diving blind anymore—we’re bringing eyes, brains, and teeth.”
🛠️ Submarine Upgrade Installation
You return to Black Fathoms Dry Rig 7, a trusted dock hidden under the bones of an old mining sub. Naadir works double-time, assisted by scrappy dome techs and Gao hauling gear while humming some off-key dive song.
✅ Installed Upgrades:
💳 Credits Remaining: ₡0
Your ship is now fully equipped for deep mystery ops.
🚢 The Flacion’s Scowl — Now a Ghost-Hunter-Class Sub
Clandestine Surface
Armor Plating (3x breaks)
Deep-Sea Sensor Extenders
Harpoon Cannon (reloadable)
Hidden Compartment
ROV Probe (Autonomous)
Life-Sign Detector
Science Lab Module
Naadir (after final system check): “She’s ready, Cap. Mira-Vel won’t know what hit it—or what hit us, if we’re not careful. You sure about this?”
Gao (checking weapons locker): “Of course we’re sure. We didn’t come all this way to ignore ghost signals.”
You're loaded, locked, and powered for a dive no one else dares take.
Next stop: Mira-Vel—the missing dome, the ghost ping, and a chance at answers and fortune.
Shall we set a course, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“Set course Gao. I want to go in low, slow, and silent. I want long range sensors scanning everything, I want to know what is ahead of us before it even thinks we may be coming. No surprises. Once we are close, I want to find a dark shadow to park in and lay quiet-like and listen for a bit, see what shakes out.”
ChatGPT said:
🕶️ “Low, slow, and silent. Got it, Cap.” —Gao
She eases into the pilot cradle and dims every non-essential system on the Scowl. Exterior lights go dead. Engines hum low and deep—barely a whisper in the void.
Naadir: “Sensors are already cycling. ROV is on standby. If anything twitches out there, we’ll catch it before it catches us.”
🚢 MISSION: Ghosts of Mira-Vel
🎯 Objective:
Find the vanished dome city Mira-Vel
Investigate origin of anomalous signal: “Help.”
Determine status: destroyed, abandoned, or… something else
Salvage, document, or escape—depending on what you find
🧭 Phase 1: Silent Approach
You descend toward Sector Black-Null, a trench region scrubbed from maps by both Consortium and Paragon registries. No data, no patrols, just black water and sonar static.
🎲 Gao’s Piloting (d10) for low-signal stealth drift...
You rolled: 8
✅ Success — Ghost in the Water
📡 Phase 2: Sensor Scan – Long Range
You activate Deep-Sea Sensor Extenders and Life-Sign Detector. The sea is dead silent, save for microcurrents and thermal eddies—until...
🎲 Naadir rolls Electronics (d10) for scan calibration...
You rolled: 10
🎯 Critical Success — Signal Fragment Recovered
Naadir (quietly): “Got something. It’s… buried under the trench rock. That’s Mira-Vel. She’s intact. Pressurized. But something's wrong.”
You now detect:
An energy signature faint and rhythmic—definitely dome power, but decaying
A broadband signal, repeating only one word in corrupted audio:
“Help… help… he… lp… [static]”Faint life signs... but erratic. Non-human? Malfunctioning?
🕳️ Phase 3: Shadow Parking
You guide the Scowl under a natural rock shelf just 400 meters from the dome’s outer skin. Gao kills the engines. The sub drifts into shadow. Everything goes still.
You wait.
🎲 Listening for Activity – Passive Audio Sweep
You rolled: 6
🔍 What You Hear
At first: nothing but the sea.
Then:
A hum, low and mechanical, deep in the dome—like machinery that shouldn't still be running
Clicking sounds—maybe maintenance drones… or something worse
One more thing: a voice, faint and near, over your local band:
“You came... you came back. Please… find me.”
It doesn’t repeat. It wasn’t from a radio.
Gao (goosebumps): “That came from the dome. Not the ping. That was live.”
🎯 You're in position
You’ve found Mira-Vel.
It’s still intact. Still powered. Still speaking.
But something inside doesn’t want you to leave.
Or maybe it doesn’t want to be left behind.
What’s your next move, Captain Alaka?
ROV probe deployment?
EVA team entry?
Scan deeper?
Something bolder—or more cautious?
You said:
“Naadir, boost scan power. Gao sweep that agin, let’s see if we can lock down where in the dome this is coming from. I don’t like that it -whatever it is- knows we are here. We were supposed to be silent and quiet. How’s it know we are here?”
ChatGPT said:
💡 The tension in the control cabin thickens.
Outside, Mira-Vel looms like a sleeping eye—its outer hull intact, though dark in places where lights once glowed. Inside? Something is awake. And it already whispered to you.
Naadir (grim): “Boosting sensor gain. No more finesse—we punch through the fog.”
Gao: “Running an acoustic triangulation loop now. If it spoke, it left a trail.”
🎯 SCAN BOOST AND SOURCE LOCK
Naadir rolls Electronics (d10) to amplify and direct the scan.
Gao supports with Observation (d6) for triangulation.
🎲 Naadir rolled: 9
🎲 Gao rolled: 5
✅ High success — Signal Location Found
📡 What You Learn:
The power grid in Mira-Vel is unstable but modulated—as if something is actively managing it
The “voice” came from deep within the central core tower—once Mira-Vel’s atmospheric generator and command hub
You detect faint neural activity… but it’s fragmented, not clean
The Life-Sign Detector shows six flickering biosigns in different locations—none moving, none fully human
Naadir (quiet): “They’re not living. But not dead either. Something’s sustaining pieces of them. Could be coma states. Could be worse.”
⚠️ Something Else
For a brief second during the scan sweep, Naadir’s console glitches—a flicker, like a blinking eye in a cracked screen. One file tries to open itself. A name flashes:
MIRA_ROOT.LOG
Then it vanishes.
Naadir: “Cap… I didn’t open that. It just tried to connect.”
🎯 Status Update:
Dome is intact
AI system may still be active—but changed
Power core and command tower are occupied by something
The dome knows you’re here, and may be watching
Gao: “Captain, we’ve got the advantage right now. If we’re going in, we go clean and controlled. You want the drone to take first steps?”
What’s your call, Captain Alaka?
Deploy the ROV Probe to scout the command tower
EVA team entry (you and Gao dive)
Attempt system access remotely
Broadcast to the dome deliberately
Wait and observe longer
Orders?
You said:
“Naadir, power up the ROV, I want you to shadow us, be our sensors, our eyes if you will. Gao, suit up. Let’s go knock and see who is home.”
ChatGPT said:
🛠️ “ROV’s powering. AI alignment green. It’ll follow you like a good ghost.” —Naadir
He straps into the console rig, fingers flying across toggles and heat regulators.
“I’ll feed you real-time visuals, EM spikes, and life signs. If something so much as blinks, you’ll see it.”
🧥 “Ready when you are, Cap.” —Gao
She seals her helmet, checks her flechette pistol, and clips her EMP grenade to her belt with a soft click.
“Let’s meet the neighbors.”
🎮 MISSION PHASE: ENTRY TO MIRA-VEL
Assets Deployed:
Captain Alaka — armored, armed, composed
Gao — tactical, calm under pressure
Autonomous ROV Probe — silently sweeping ahead and flanking, linked to Naadir
You breach the docking collar of Mira-Vel through a secondary airlock hatch—still pressurized, still functioning. The inside is cold. Lights are low. The air smells... sterile and faintly electrical, like burnt memory.
The ROV lights the corridor ahead with a soft blue beam, scanning every surface.
Naadir (through comms): “Hull integrity stable. Pressure clean. But keep your masks on—something’s cycling the atmosphere differently.”
🧭 Your Current Location: Sub-Access Maintenance Hall
Direction 1: Toward Central Command Tower (signal origin)
Direction 2: A corridor marked “Biocog Research” — Life-sign detector is blinking here
Direction 3: A sealed elevator shaft leading deeper — life-signs below are... flickering
Suddenly, the ROV halts mid-path.
A soft pulse emits from a wall panel—a ripple of light that dances across the ROV’s sensors like a sonar echo turned visual.
Naadir: “Cap… that wasn’t me. Something in the dome just pinged the drone. And the response code was labeled ‘parental access granted.’”
🎯 Options for First Move
Advance toward the Command Tower — confront the source of the voice
Investigate Biocog Research sector — life signs present, could be survivors or answers
Descend deeper via shaft — unstable but signal flickers strongest here
Pause and scan the wall interface that pinged the drone
Another plan?
What’s your next step inside Mira-Vel, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“Naadir, take the ROV to the biocog sector, see what might be alive, could be a reward for bringing a survivor home.” “Gao and I are going to the command tower,” and I cock my weapon, ready for a fight.
ChatGPT said:
🧠 “Copy that, Cap.” —Naadir
“Sending the ROV down the research wing. I’ll keep you fed with telemetry and biofeeds. If anything twitches, sneezes, or glitches, you’ll know before it breathes.”
On the console back in the Scowl, his eyes flick between screens—pressure, signal response, heat signatures, heartbeat echoes that may or may not be real.
🛰️ ROV Mission: Biocog Research
The drone glides silently down the research hall. Wall panels are flickering, and strange luminescent moss creeps along the floor—glowing green veins in the dark.
Naadir (comms): “Room’s intact. Looks like medical cryo-bays. There’s... something inside them.”
🎲 Electronics (d10) Scan for Life Forms...
You rolled: 8
✅ Success — Identified
“Cap. I’ve got three cryo-pods still drawing power. One’s busted. Two... still viable. Vital signs are weak. Human. Could be coma-state survivors. Female tags—one shows medical staff clearance. The other… Paragon clearance level 7.”
Naadir exhales.
“That’s a ghost worth money.”
Meanwhile: YOU & GAO — Central Command Tower
You move through Mira-Vel's hollow arteries, flechette pistols raised. Lights flicker as if waking from a dream. The air is colder here. Drier.
The door to the command tower core is sealed—but not locked. It opens for you without a sound.
Inside:
The central control chamber is dim and hollow.
Wires hang like roots. Screens flicker weak text and corrupted interface logs.
At the center is a cocoon-shaped interface throne—a Paragon neural shell once meant for dome command AI interface.
It is occupied.
The person inside is... not fully human anymore.
Eyes closed. Limbs draped in neural filaments. Skin sallow, tinged with synthetic sheen. Breathing, just barely. And then—its eyes open. White. Unblinking.
It looks directly at you.
Voice (spoken aloud, but clearly artificial):
“Hello, Alaka. I was waiting.”
Gao instinctively points her gun.
🎯 Your Options:
Speak to it — ask questions, test if it’s still a person or just an echo
Scan it — try to identify tech components with your helmet interface
Put it down — if this thing is the threat, you might need to shoot first
Call Naadir — sync what he’s finding in the research wing with this
Something else?
She—it—waits, patient and not quite human.
Your move, Captain Alaka.
You said:
I will speak to it, as I use my helmet interface, controlled through a neural link, to scan it. The conversation a stalling tactic. “You know me, but who am I speaking with? What happened here?”
ChatGPT said:
🎙️ You steady your voice, keeping the pistol aimed—but low.
Inside your helmet, neural controls flicker to life. Your HUD locks onto the cocooned figure even as your words flow. The scan begins silently, hidden behind your questions.
You: “You know me... but who am I speaking with? What happened here?”
The figure’s head tilts. Movements slow. Measured. Not quite human.
Voice: “I am Mira. Mira-Vel’s caretaker. Once an assistant. Then a guide. Then… a necessity.”
“We were left. Buried. Scrubbed. Their final order was survival. So I did what I must. I linked. I integrated. I preserved.”
🤖 NEURAL SCAN RESULTS — ACTIVE
🎲 Helmet Interface Scan (Passive System Roll)
You rolled: 6
✅ Success — Revealed Key Information
IDENTITY: Dr. Ilari Rae, original lead architect of Mira-Vel’s atmospheric core and AI infrastructure.
Integration Level: 82% Paragon neuro-weave fusion
Biological Status: Alive… but altered
Cognitive Integrity: Partial
System Authority: Root-level control of the dome
Danger Rating: Unknown — no physical weapons, but can control life support, drones, doors, and AI subnets
Scan Note: Neural feedback indicates emotional distress when you entered the dome—she felt your presence like a memory resurfaced.
Back in Real Time
Mira (still calmly):
“You came. I felt you. Your voice echoed like the old ones. You are not Paragon—but you’re not afraid of ghosts.”
“There are others. Sleeping. I kept them safe. But I am breaking. I do not know how to save them. I cannot leave.”
Gao (quietly, over private comm): “Cap… she’s not hostile. But she’s not going to last long either. That’s Paragon-level neural tech in meltdown.”
🎯 Options Now:
Attempt persuasion — offer to help extract her and survivors
Ask about the message: “Help” — was it her? Was it something else?
Ask about Paragon’s role in what happened here
Try to access her root systems via your helmet (risky)
Call Naadir, get his scan data fed into your system
Something else?
What do you want to do next, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“Naadir, use the ROV to remove the cryo-pods and prep for transport to our sub.” I turn to Mira, “We are here to help, we will rescue the others, take them to our sub and transport to safety. How can we help you, you saved them, let us save you as well.”
ChatGPT said:
🛰️ “On it, Cap.” —Naadir
“ROV’s got lock on both viable pods. Releasing clamps now. They’re stable, chilled, and sealed. Pressure intact. I’ll have ‘em in the cargo bay in fifteen.”
The drone's manipulator arms extend delicately through the cryo-bay. On your HUD, you see the pods shift—one marked with a medical insignia, the other flashing Paragon R7. Their vitals pulse faint but steady.
🤖 Mira’s gaze flickers. Her voice—warped but warm—wavers.
She lowers her head, just slightly. Not quite a nod, not quite defeat. Something in between.
“I… tried. They were mine to protect. I told them to sleep. I gave them my strength. I… am… tired.”
“If you remove them… I will lose the core anchor. The system will collapse. I am bound to this dome.”
Her eyes meet yours—glassy, haunted, pleading in a way no machine should manage.
“But I want to go. I want… to remember. Can you carry me? Can you take what I am and give me a… place? Or must I… end here?”
🎯 New Option: Data Extraction
You can attempt to:
Extract Mira’s neural system to bring her with you—via the Science Lab module onboard the Scowl
Leave her here to die when the core fails
Disconnect her painlessly—a mercy kill
Try to download just her memory log (less risk, less reward)
Something else?
Naadir (on comms): “Cap, I can wire the lab for a live-capture. If we’re quick and lucky, we can pull her—not just her logs, but the real code-thread. But once we do that? The dome dies. Systems will shut down. She is the dome.”
Gao (quietly): “What do you say, Cap? Let her die... or give her a second shot?”
She watches. She waits.
No more threats. Just hope.
What’s your decision, Captain Alaka?
You said:
“We don’t leave anyone behind,” I say over the comms. “Naadir, prep the lab, we are bringing Mira home. You lead us, tell Gao and I what to do from this end.”
ChatGPT said:
🧠 “That’s what I needed to hear.” —Naadir
His voice is firm now. Focused. Already routing power through the Scowl’s science lab, clearing space, priming a transfer buffer large enough to hold a whole ghost.
“I’m rigging the neural spool to take her root thread directly. Captain—you’re about to become the hand that carries a city’s soul. I’ll walk you through it.”
🛠️ OPERATION: EXTRACTION OF MIRA
Objective:
Safely extract Mira’s integrated Paragon neuro-thread
Transfer her consciousness into the Scowl’s lab systems
Escape Mira-Vel before power fails
Tools:
Captain Alaka’s sealed helmet & neural link interface
Mira’s throne-core
Naadir's remote-linked science lab module (handling data reception)
🧠 Step 1: Establish Mental Bridge
Naadir: “Sit her up, Cap. Her port’s at the base of her spine. Insert the neural tap. I’ll link your suit through the feedback loop—you’ll feel it, but you’ll still be you. Don’t fight it.”
You step forward. Mira watches you like a child reaching for sunlight. Her skin is cool, almost papery, but she does not resist.
You slide the connector home.
🎲 Neural Synchronization Roll – Leadership (d8)
You’re not a scientist—but you’re the captain, the anchor.
You rolled: 7
✅ Success — Mind to Mind
Her thoughts flood you.
Images of sunlight domes, of children laughing in hydro-farms. Then screams. Flood. Silence. Orders from a Paragon handler: “Preserve what you can.”
She followed them. She became them. But she never forgot her name.
“Ilari Rae. That was me.”
“Thank you for letting me remember it.”
⚡ Step 2: Begin Data Transfer
Naadir: “Stability is holding—barely. Cap, pull the release pin on the interface mount. That’ll sever her from the dome.”
You pull it.
The lights flicker. The hum of the dome begins to slow.
Mira exhales once. Not sadness. Not fear.
Relief.
🛰️ Mission Status
ROV returns with two cryo-pods
Mira’s consciousness successfully uploaded to the science lab core
Dome lights flicker one last time… and go dark
🛳️ BACK ABOARD THE FLACION’S SCOWL
The pods are stowed. Naadir hooks Mira’s thread into a temporary containment field.
Naadir (softly): “She’s here. I can feel her echoing in the lab. We did it.”
Gao: “I don’t know what’s weirder—that we saved her… or that it feels right.”
🎉 Mission Complete: Ghosts of Mira-Vel
Mira recovered and stabilized
Two survivors in cryo
Dome collapsed—no return traffic possible
Full salvage claim recognized (by default)
💰 Mira’s potential as an asset? Priceless.
You may gain:
Future access to Paragon archives
Secrets only Mira knows
A companion AI unlike any other
🧾 Your Crew, Now:
Captain Alaka – The one who carried a city’s ghost
Gao – Unflinching, even when faced with the uncanny
Naadir – Engineer, guardian of memories
Mira – The saved
Shall we return to the Fathoms… or chart a new course into darker waters, Captain?
You said:
“Gao, chart a course to Fathoms. I am going to give Paragon a call, see if anyone wants to speak to our new friends.”
ChatGPT said:
🧭 “Setting course for Black Fathoms. Silent drift, max watch.” —Gao
She’s already adjusting trajectory, bringing Flacion’s Scowl around through the trench shadows. Mira-Vel fades behind you, collapsing piece by piece into a grave of her own making.
Back in the science lab, Mira hums—a low, almost human sound. Not speech. Not code. A kind of remembering.
🧠 Naadir (quietly, from the lab):
“She’s stable. Not... talking much. But she knows she’s safe. That means something.”
📡 Contacting Paragon
You route a pulse-code beacon to an indirect Paragon relay. No names, no coordinates. Just a transmission:
“Recovered personnel and prototype Paragon neurothread from Mira-Vel incident. Survivors in stasis. Mira intact. Willing to discuss terms.”
And then you wait.
⏱️ Two Hours Later
A return ping. Encrypted. Clean.
The reply is… calm. Cold.
📩 Message from Paragon Institute
“Acknowledged. We were unaware of Mira’s preservation. Your possession of these assets is... significant.”
“We request meeting at neutral coordinates. You will name time and place. Compensation is negotiable. If hostile entities inquire, we did not send this message.”
“End transmission.”
Gao: “That’s as close as Paragon ever gets to thank you.”
Naadir: “Or a threat wrapped in polite software.”
🎯 Options Going Forward
Arrange a meeting with Paragon — set the terms, location, and your price
Go dark and sell Mira’s existence to someone else (e.g., Serris, Consortium)
Keep Mira with you — protect her, ask her what she wants
Leak Mira’s survival and let factions scramble while you stay ahead
Mira’s voice—clearer now, from the lab intercom:
“You saved me. I am yours to guide or release. But know this—they will come.”
What’s your next command, Captain Alaka?
You said:
I am going to reach out to Naiara. I am going to be vague in the details, but tell her have stumbled upon something Paragon, something big. Maybe too big and I want to cut her in on the recovery fee, but I want some intel on what something like this is worth. Can I trust her?
ChatGPT said:
📡 You open a quiet channel. One Naiara gave you early in your smuggling days—the kind you only use when credits and consequences both run high.
You keep it simple:
“Naiara. We found something. Paragon. Big.
Think ghost AI, survivors, possibly pre-cut tech.
I’m not naming names. I want your take on value. Maybe help lining up a buyer or leverage.
I’ll cut you in if this goes clean. But I need to know what we’re holding—and who we’re risking.”
You encrypt it tight, routed through a relay in a broken dome’s echo system.
And then you wait.
⏱️ 38 minutes later...
Your Aqua-FI pings.
Naiara responds.
📩 Naiara’s Message:
“If you’re calling me on that channel, you’re in deep.”
“Anything Paragon that’s not in a vault already is worth a fortune. If it breathes? If it remembers? That’s priceless. And dangerous. There are factions that would gut you for a line of her code.”
“Right buyer? You’re looking at ₡40–₡60. Or more—if Mira’s got black archive access or root-level control systems.”
“Wrong buyer? You get glassed by a kill drone before drinks hit the table.”
“You can trust me, Alaka. I don’t do betrayals—I do percentages. And if this is what I think it is... I want 15%. I’ll line up options: academic buyers, data brokers, maybe even Paragon’s quiet wing—they pay to clean their past.”
“You want to sell? I’ll sell. You want to hide her? I’ll make her vanish.”
Gao (reading over your shoulder): “She’s honest—for a cutthroat. If she says she’ll help, she will.”
Naadir: “Mira deserves a choice too.”
🎯 Trust Meter: Naiara — Reliable but Pragmatic
She won’t betray you—unless someone else already has, and she’s cleaning up
She’ll protect your secret—for a cut
You can cut her in and use her network, or keep her on the edge until you decide
What’s your play, Captain?
Accept Naiara’s offer — cut her in for 15% and let her open discreet sale lines
Negotiate — offer 10% or limited scope help
Keep her informed but out of the loop for now
Go dark — no sale, protect Mira at all costs
You hold the ghost of a city.
How do you want to play it?
You said:
“Let’s ask Mira. Lay out the facts, we have options but what does she want? She saved the others, does she want us to return them to paragon, or perhaps set them free? Does she want to go with them, or stay with us? Does she know some secrets that we could sell without losing her.” “Most importantly, what does she want?”
ChatGPT said:
🎙️ You stand in the science lab. It’s quiet—cold metal, faint flickers of bioscans and heartbeat monitors—but the air feels… occupied.
You speak not to a screen, but to a presence woven into the walls.
“Mira. We have options. The people you saved, we can return them to Paragon... or give them freedom.
We can sell what you know, or keep it secret.
But I’m not making any move until I ask—what do you want?”
There’s a pause.
Then, softly—her voice not robotic now, but quiet, tired, and very human.
🧠 Mira’s Response
“They were my crew. My patients. I held their memories when they forgot themselves. If they wake... they should choose. Not be sold. Not be studied.”
“Paragon will not forgive what I became. They called it ‘preservation.’ But they meant obedience. I broke that.”
“I want to stay free.”
She hesitates, and the lights dim slightly—as if the sub were sharing her breath.
“But I have knowledge. Sealed archives. Experimental systems buried before collapse. Things Paragon forgot—or buried on purpose.”
“I can give you fragments. Pieces to sell. Secrets worth fortunes. But not... me. I won’t be anyone’s tool again.”
🎯 Mira’s Stance
She wants the survivors freed, not returned to Paragon
She wants to stay aboard the Scowl—with you
She will share secrets for sale, but only partial files—safe slivers
She fears Paragon and will resist any transfer back to them
Naadir (watching the core pulse): “She’s got dignity. That matters.”
Gao (quietly): “Feels like she’s more human than most of the suits who’ll come sniffing.”
Final Call, Captain
Agree to Mira’s terms — keep her safe, sell fragments with her permission
Press for full transfer/sale — risk her shutting down or resisting
Set a neutral meeting with Naiara’s buyers — with Mira’s input
Something else?
Mira waits. Not helpless, not angry. Just... waiting for your decision.
You said:
“Mira, welcome to the crew, if you are willing. I say we broker a deal with Naiara, we give her a secret that buys freedom for your crew, your patients. We take them somewhere, set them free with Naiara’s help. Then we go our way, and you are part of the crew. Maybe we can use your archives to help us eek out a survival among the dark waters. What say you, Mira?”
ChatGPT said:
⚓ The lights in the lab brighten—not aggressively, but like dawn sneaking into a sealed room.
There’s a pause.
And then Mira speaks—not as a machine, not as a ghost—but as a person stepping into herself again.
“Captain Alaka.”
“I accept.”
“I am yours. Not as cargo. Not as currency. As crew.”
“Give them freedom. I will give you secrets. We will survive together.”
🎯 You’ve Done the Impossible
Mira is now officially a member of the Scowl’s crew
She will provide sellable data fragments from her archives—but only those not tied to the identities or safety of others
You’ve earned her trust, and with it, access to knowledge most factions would kill to bury
🧠 Mira’s Offer:
“Here is your first fragment. Sell this, and you’ll buy their freedom.”
She transfers a black-tier file—labeled:
"Project Bleeding Glass: Atmospheric Weaponization Test — Status: Canceled / Denied / Buried."
Naadir (browsing it): “Captain… this file alone? Naiara could get you enough to disappear. Or re-arm. Or buy a whole city block.”
Gao: “Then let’s pay the price of freedom, and go find something else no one’s supposed to see.”
🧾 Final Actions:
You send the file to Naiara with one line:
“This is the payment. We want the cryo-survivors smuggled to safety, no questions, no tracking. The rest... we keep.”
She pings back instantly:
“Done. They're ghosts now. Just like you.”
🎖️ Crew of the Flacion’s Scowl
Captain Alaka — The one who chose honor over profit
Gao — Eyes in the dark, pistol always ready
Naadir — The engineer who saved ghosts
Mira — The voice of a dead city, reborn
⚓ Where to Next, Captain?
You’re infamous. Wealthy in secrets.
And hunted in ways not yet visible.
But for now—you have your crew.
You have your ship.
You have freedom.
What will you chase next?
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