Welcome to another exciting installment of Spacemon, the tale of a Pokemon TRPG campaign! This is a spinoff of the sci-fi space epic played using the Pokemon Tabletop United (PTU) system, this time GMed by yours truly. You can get caught up on the entire Spacemon saga here!
The UAS Maverick sat docked on Paso as the ship’s crew planned their next move. “Well, boys,” Captain Cyrus Drake addressed his crew. “I think the time has finally come for us to make our move against Rooker. It’s high time we get a little payback.”
“I agree,” Axel said, punching his right fist into the open palm of his left hand. “I’m ready to roast that bastard.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here,” Cyrus said. “We need to come up with a plan. And we’re definitely going to need some help.”
“What if we try getting in contact with those mercenaries again?” Taraka suggested. “They really helped us out last time.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Cyrus replied. “Let’s give ‘em a call.”
Cyrus sent out the call, and it was answered rather quickly. The familiar face of the one-eyed mercenary leader appeared on the screen. “Hello again,” he greeted the Maverick crew. “I was wondering when I was going to hear from you again. What can I do for ya?”
“We were hoping you could help us with an assault on Rooker’s base,” Cyrus explained.
The mercenary leader chuckled. “That’s funny,” he said. “I was thinking of contacting you for the same reason. I was really impressed with your performance during that raid.”
“I take it that means you’re in,” Axel said.
“Course it does,” the mercenary leader replied. “We managed to get one of Rooker’s men to spill the beans on the specific location of his secret mountain base on Crion and we’ve been working on putting together a plan.”
“Alright,” Cyrus said. “Let’s hear this plan of yours.”
Captain Cyrus Drake sat in the Maverick’s cockpit on high alert. His ship was parked in a secluded valley between the mountains of Crion, waiting for the signal from the mercenaries. The plan was simple; the mercs would draw Rooker’s men out with a direct assault on the smuggler’s mountain base, opening up a window for the Maverick to slip into the hangar so the ship’s crew could infiltrate the base and capture Rooker.
Despite the simplicity of the plan, the assault was going to be a little more difficult than Cyrus originally thought. His new mercenary allies had it on good authority that Rooker had hired on a group of mercenaries of his own for added security after his ships were raided. After seeing his crew in action over the past few weeks, Maverick’s captain had a good feeling they would be able to handle whatever Rooker and his new hired goons threw at them.
“You ready to kick Rooker’s ass, Captain?”
Cyrus turned to see Axel walking up behind him, a grin on his face. “You bet your ass I am,” the captain said. “This has been a long time coming.”
“Damn right.”
Suddenly, the sounds of explosions in the distance came echoing down from the mountains. “Sounds like they’ve begun the assault,” Cyrus said. He then reached for the comms. “Alright, get ready everyone,” he announced. “You can expect that signal any moment now.”
As if on cue, the console lit up, signaling an incoming call. Cyrus quickly answered, and the mercenary leader’s face flashed on screen. “We’ve begun our attack,” he informed the Maverick crew. “Now’s your chance.”
“You heard the man,” Cyrus said, turning to Anya. “Fire her up!”
“You got it, Captain,” Anya said, pressing a few buttons on the console.
The Maverick’s engines flared to life and the ship lifted into the air. Anya pushed the throttle forward, rocketing the ship forward. The Maverick ascended up over the mountains and past the mercenary ships firing on the base. Anya dove the ship down toward the mountainside hangar of Rooker’s base, and slipped it in, maneuvering past the smuggler ships that were flying out.
As the ship ground to a halt, Cyrus aimed the guns at the men closing in around it and lit them up. Any of the men who didn’t immediately dive for cover met with a swift end.
“Axel, Ace, Taraka, on me!” Cyrus shouted as he leapt to his feet. As he was joined by his crew at the loading ramp at the back of the ship, the captain slammed the open button with his fist, and the ramp descended.
Stepping down the ramp, gun drawn, Cyrus could see the handful of remaining mercenaries and smugglers moving in. A smirk appeared on his face as he turned to his crew. “Well, this’ll be fun.”
The sound of gunfire echoed through the hangar as the Maverick crew squared off with Rooker’s mercs. Using their ship as cover, they had been able to stay relatively safe while taking down quite a few of their enemies. Taraka took a deep breath as he surveyed the room and watched his crewmates trade shots with Rooker’s men. It was a tense firefight, but only three mercenaries remained.
“Ritsu, use Ember!” Axel shouted as he poked his head out of cover. “Hit that Koffing!” The Alliance mercenary’s Pokemon spit out a lick of flames at one of the enemy mercenaries’ Pokemon, setting it ablaze. The Koffing paid in kind by spitting a ball of toxic sludge at the Charmander, its corrosive toxins burning her hide.
“Flare, Flame Wheel!” Ace followed up with a command of his own. Shrouded in fire, the android’s Ponyta ran up to the burning Koffing, and slammed into it, dealing a hefty blow.
“Arctos, hit that other Koffing!” Taraka ordered his Beartic as he threw up another protective psionic barrier. “Fury Swipes!” The large Pokemon rushed forward, claw bared. Swiping at the floating poison gas Pokemon with his large paws, Arctos landed four solid hits that did a real number on it. Much like the other Koffing, this one too fought back with a blast of sludge, but the Beartic stood up to the attack.
Taraka watched as Cyrus peeked out of cover to take a shot at the opening his Beartic provided, landing a direct shot on the Koffing’s exposed flank.
“Deal with that one!” Taraka suddenly heard one of the mercenaries shout. “Use Bite!” The merc’s Pokemon, a Mightyena, rushed forward and leapt at the captain, sinking its sharp teeth into his arm. Seizing the opening her Pokemon provided, the mercenary took aim at Cyrus as he shoved it off of him.
As the mercenary pulled the trigger, Ace stepped in front of the shot, deflecting it with his energy shield. Between the shield and Taraka’s psionic barrier, the power of the laser blast was mostly mitigated.
Seeing that the captain was alright, Taraka’s attention shifted back to his own safety. The monk was not a moment too soon. He dove to the floor as a laser shot sailed over his head. Looking up, Taraka could see a few shots hitting Axel, but they deflected off the armor that Erik had built for him.
“Ritsu, use Ember!” Axel commanded his Charmander, directing it after the merc shooting at him. Ritsu unleashed a massive surge of flames as she came to her trainer’s aid. Axel’s assailant wailed in pain as the flames melted through his armor plating. Axel followed up with a burst of flames of his own, bringing the burning mercenary down.
“Flare, Flame Wheel!” Ace ordered his Ponyta. Coating himself over in flames once more, Flare rushed at the Koffing he had been attacking, finishing it off.
“Now for the other one,” Taraka said as he picked himself back up. “Arctos, Brine!” As the monk moved for cover and put up another psionic barrier, his Beartic spit out a huge blast of water, bringing down the other Koffing.
“Target that Beartic!” the female mercenary commanded her Mightyena. The Pokemon leapt at Arctos, teeth bared, but Taraka’s psionic barrier kept him safe. However, focusing his attention on protecting his Pokemon left Taraka’s guard down, and the mercenary took advantage of that, landing a hit on his shoulder. Pain shot through the monk’s arm, but it was fortunately only a glancing blow.
“Stay in cover!” Cyrus shouted to Taraka. “We’ll keep you covered!” The captain let loose a few shots at the mercenary, landing a hit, and then Ace rushed her with his laser sword, cutting a gash through the chest plate of her armor.
“Now Ritsu, finish her off!” Axel yelled. “Use Ember!” With another lick of fire, the Charmander brought the mercenary down, leaving only her Mightyena and one more merc to deal with.
As Axel and Ace focused on the Mightyena, Taraka ran forward and bashed the remaining mercenary in the head with his staff. Dazed, the mercenary stumbled forward, right into the captain’s sights. The man was quickly dispatched with a well placed shot right to the forehead.
“Should’ve worn a helmet,” Cyrus quipped as he stepped out of cover.
Looking back to his crewmates, Taraka saw Ace bash the Mightyena with his shield, bringing it down. “We did it,” the monk said, breathing a sigh of relief.
“This was just one fight,” Cyrus said. “We’re just getting started.”
After a brief respite to patch their injuries and heal their Pokemon, the Maverick crew approached the door on the far side of the hangar. “We’re not burning through this one,” Axel said as he observed the big, thick steel blast door.
“Maybe we don’t have to,” Ace said, approaching the door console. The android pressed the button, but nothing happened. “Seems to be locked with a passcode,” he informed his crewmates.
“Come on, damn door, just open!” Axel yelled at the door. Nothing happened. “Well, that didn’t work.”
“Really?” Cyrus asked, shaking his head at the Alliance mercenary. “Did you honestly think that would work?”
Axel shrugged. “It was worth a try.”
Glancing back to Ace, Axel saw that the android had pried the console panel off the wall and was now fiddling with the wires. After a few moments, a spark shot out from the open panel, then the door began sliding open. “Yes!” Ace cheered triumphantly.
“Nice work,” Axel said as he stepped through the door.
Taking point, the Alliance mercenary led his crewmates down a winding corridor, up a few flights of stairs, and down yet another corridor. This corridor eventually opened up into a larger room with three more corridors branching off of it. In the middle stood Anton Rooker, surrounded by quite a few of his men.
“Cyrus Drake!” Rooker shouted upon seeing the crew enter. “I should’ve known you were involved in this!”
“I’ve come for you, Rooker!” Cyrus shot back. “You can come quietly, or we can do this the hard way! The choice is yours!”
“I don’t have to waste my time with the likes of you, Drake!” the smuggler shouted. He then turned to the mercenary standing next to him. “Take care of them,” he ordered the armored man before running through the corridor directly across from the Maverick crew, accompanied by two of his men.
Axel took note of the mercenary’s armor as he stepped forward. The design was not dissimilar from that of his own armor: a full suit of heavy plating that was durable but allowed for mobility. It was painted grey and blue and had a helmet with some sort of breathing apparatus and a bright blue visor. The suit also had a pair of arm-mounted cannons of some sort.
“You’re not going any further today,” the mercenary said as he pulled a Pokeball off his belt and released a Squirtle.
“And who are you supposed to be?” Axel asked.
“The name’s Dane Lory, leader of Maelstrom, the toughest band of mercenaries this side of the Rim!”
“Never heard of ‘em,” Axel replied. “Must not be that tough, then.”
“You’ll certainly remember the name after today. Get ‘em boys!” The two other mercenaries accompanying Lory moved up, weapons drawn.
“Ryner, use Ice Beam!” Axel commanded, turning to his Alakazam. The Crion-native psychic Pokemon unleashed a beam of cold energy at one of the two grunts, completely encasing him in ice.
“Now you’ve done it!” Lory shouted. “Shellshock, use Water Pulse!” the armored mercenary leader’s Squirtle fired off a jet of water at Axel, knocking him back a bit and leaving him dazed. Lory then aimed one of his arm cannons at Cyrus and unleashed his own jet of highly pressurized water.
As his captain dodged out of the way of the attack, Axel regained his bearings, and aimed his flamethrower at Lory and squeezed the trigger, unleashing a torrent of flames. Unlike his enemy, Axel’s attack found its mark.
“Arctos, Icy Wind!” Taraka followed up with a command to his Pokemon. The monk’s Beartic roared as he summoned a blast of freezing air at Lory. Taraka himself then put up another protective barrier to keep his crewmates and their Pokemon safe.
Cyrus, meanwhile, lined up a shot on Lory’s remaining grunt and landed a glancing shot to his arm. The mercenary returned fire, landing a shot of his own. The captain, however, seemed relatively unfazed.
“Blade, Magical Leaf!”
“Ryner, Psybeam!”
“Pull back into your shell!” Lory commanded his Squirtle as Ace’s Kirlia and Axel’s Alakazam fired off a combined assault.
Axel then shifted his focus to Lory himself, firing off another lick of flames and burning through his armor. In response, the mercenary leader pressed a button on his armor and it began to glow as it surrounded itself with a protective shroud of water. Damn it, Axel thought as the water put out the flames.
“Arctos, Fury Swipes!” Taraka commanded his Beartic as he threw up yet another psionic barrier. Claws bared, Arctos rushed Lory and swiped at him, but only landed a glancing blow that did little more than bounce off his armor.
All the while, Cyrus continued to trade shots with the grunt, both of them landing hits against each other. “I’ve got you covered, Captain!” Ace shouted as he moved up to protect Cyrus with his shield.
“Ryner, Psybeam again!” Axel barked as he glanced back at the Squirtle. His Pokemon obliged and blasted the squirtle, still hiding in its shell, with psychic energy.
“Now Shellshock, Skull Bash!” Lory commanded in response. Popping out of its shell, the Squirtle sprang forward, slamming into Axel’s Alakazam. Axel’s Pokemon stumbled backwards as it was struck with the full force of the Squirtle’s attack.
“Blade, Magical Leaf!” Ace then commanded his Kirlia. His Pokemon summoned two leaves made of pure energy and launched them at the Squirtle, bringing it down.
“Damn you!” Lory shouted angrily as he recalled his Pokemon. He then aimed his cannon at Ace’s Kirlia and fired another jet of water. Luckily for Blade, the mercenary missed once again. Cyrus, however, was perfectly accurate, and brought down Lory’s remaining grunt with a well-placed shot.
“Arctos, Brine!”
“Ryner, use Ice Beam!”
“Blade, Confusion!”
Heeding the commands of their trainers, the Maverick crew’s Pokemon unleashed their attacks on Lory, doing quite a number on him. Ace then followed up by charging the merc leader, laser sword raised to strike. Ace struck hard and true, severing the hose connected to one of Lory’s arm cannons.
“Rooker ain’t payin’ me enough to deal with this shit!” Lory swore before bolting toward one of the corridors that led back down to the lower part of the base.
“I’ll go after him!” Cyrus shouted as he took off in pursuit. “You guys go after Rooker!”
“But Captain, you’re hurt!” Axel called after him.
“Don’t worry about me!” Cyrus shouted back as he released his Braviary. “I’ll be fine!”
After reaching the end of the corridor Rooker went through, the Maverick crew arrived at another heavy steel blast door. “Alright Ace,” Axel said, eyeing the door. “Get this door open.”
Ace approached the door console and hit the button. The door slid open in response. “That was easy,” the android commented as he stepped through the now-open door.
Quickly analyzing the room, Ace noted there was a large window along the back wall that overlooked the hangar where they first entered the base. Anton Rooker stood in the center of the room waiting, flanked by two of his men.
“This is the end of the line for you,” Rooker sneered. The rasp of his voice made the words all the more menacing. “Lory may have failed to stop you, but I won’t.”
“Oh yeah?” Axel shot back. “I’m gonna burn you to a crisp!”
Rooker’s eyes narrowed. “I’d like to see you try.” The smuggler leader grabbed two Pokeballs off his belt and threw out a Weavile and a Scrafty.
Ace ignited his laser sword. He was ready to finally bring down the man who had caused him and his friends so much trouble. The android’s two crewmates moved up behind him and readied themselves for the inevitable fight, Axel hefting up his flamethrower and Taraka sending out his Tangrowth.
“Frost, Ice Punch!” Rooker commanded, pointing at Taraka’s Pokemon. The smuggler’s Weavile sprinted at the Tangrowth, fist raised, and struck the giant mass of vines. Ice radiated out where it made contact, slowly surrounding Roma until she was completely encased.
“Ryner, use Icy Wind!” Axel ordered his Alakazam in response. The icy psychic Pokemon summoned a gust of freezing air at Rooker’s Weavile and the grunt standing behind it, but it didn’t seem to affect them at all.
While Axel focused on the action on the right, Ace focused on the left. “Blade, Confusion!” the android commanded, directing the Pokemon after the other grunt. His Kirlia unleashed a blast of psychic energy at the man. Fighting through the pain of the mental assault, the grunt fired a few shots at Blade, several finding their mark. Ace then recalled his Pokemon and sent out his Ponyta. Flare was much better suited to this fight.
Taraka followed Ace’s example, recalling his frozen Tangrowth and sending out his own Ponyta. “Blaze, Flame Wheel!” the monk commanded as the Ponyta emerged from his ball. “Get that Weavile!” Blaze galloped at Rooker’s Pokemon, coated over in flames, and collided with it, dealing a significant blow. The Ponyta now next to him, the other grunt took a few shots, landing a hit on the Pokemon.
Following the lead of his two companions, Axel recalled his Alakazam and sent out a fire Pokemon of his own, his trusty Charmander. “Brick, use Swagger,” Rooker ordered his Scrafty. “Put that Charmander out of commission!” The smuggler’s Pokemon moved in, making taunting gestures at Ritsu, sending her into a confused rage.
Rooker himself then glared menacingly at Taraka’s Ponyta, causing it to freeze in fear. “Now, Frost, use Night Slash!” the smuggler commanded his Weavile. “Finish it off!” His Pokemon leapt at the vulnerable Ponyta and swiped at him with its razor-sharp claws, bringing him down.
Taraka recalled his fainted Pokemon, then sent out his Togetic and threw up a psionic barrier. “Sirius, use Growl,” the monk ordered his newly released Pokemon, directing it toward the Weavile and the nearby grunt. Sirius flew down at the two and let out an earsplitting wail that left both wincing in pain. The grunt desperately tried to shoot down the Togetic, but in his current state, he was unable to hit her.
“Ritsu, use Ember!” Axel commanded his Charmander. “Take out that Weavile!” Unfortunately, in her confused state, Ritsu tripped and hurt herself. “Damn it!” Axel cursed, aiming at the Weavile himself. He squeezed the trigger of his flamethrower, dousing the area in flames, but the swift little Pokemon dodged out of the way.
“Flare, Stomp that guy!” Ace ordered his Ponyta, directing him after the other grunt. His Pokemon galloped at the smuggler and delivered a swift kick, knocking him back. The grunt fired back with his pistol, landing a shot. “Hang on, Flare!” Ace shouted as he ran to his Pokemon’s aid. Swinging his sword with all his might, the android cut a huge gash through the smuggler’s midsection, bringing him down.
“Brick, take that one out!” Rooker commanded his Scrafty in response, pointing at Ace. “High Jump Kick!” He then fired a few shots at Axel with his hand cannon, landing a few good hits. They would have likely brought the mercenary down if not for his armor.
Seeing the Scrafty sprinting at him, Ace readied his shield. The android ducked down as the powerful Pokemon jumped up into the air and lined his shield up to protect himself. Even though the shield absorbed what would have most certainly been a knockout blow, he could still feel the force of the impact rippling through his arm as the Scrafty’s foot slammed down.
Pushing back against the Pokemon, Ace forced it off of himself. “Flare, Flame Wheel!” the android then commanded his own Pokemon. A glowing fireball, his Ponyta came rushing to his aid, slamming into the Scrafty and driving it back.
Getting his bearings again, Ace surveyed the battlefield. Rooker’s Weavile pursued Taraka’s Togetic, attempting to strike it out of the air. While unable to land a hit, the Weavile managed to dive under a fireball from Axel, and then leap over Taraka’s staff as the monk swung at it.
“Ritsu, get that Weavile!” Axel commanded his Charmander as Rooker’s Pokemon shot past her. “Ember!” Once again, the mercenary’s Pokemon tripped in her dazed state, allowing the Weavile to escape.
“Sirius, Metronome!” Taraka called out to his Pokemon. The Togetic flew up and turned to face her pursuer. She began to glow, summoning rocks as if from nowhere, then dropped them on the Weavile. While Sirius was holding position, the grunt below fired a few shots at her, managing to land one.
“Brick, use Brick Break!” Rooker ordered his Scrafty, pulling Ace’s attention back to where it needed to be. He looked over just in time to see the smuggler leader aiming his pistol at him and quickly raised his shield to deflect the shots. His Ponyta wasn’t so lucky. A strong punch from the Scrafty took the fire horse Pokemon down.
“Frost, Ice Shard!” Rooker followed up with another command. “Take out that damn Togetic!” His Weavile leapt up and lobbed a shard of ice at Sirius, doing a real number on her. However, before Rooker’s Pokemon even hit the ground, it was consumed by a rush of flames from Axel’s flamethrower, bringing it down.
“Sirius, Fairy Wind!” Taraka directed his Pokemon after the remaining grunt now that she was safe from the Weavile. The Togetic blasted the smuggler with a rush of air, then the monk ran up and bashed him in the gut with his staff. The grunt quickly aimed his gun at Taraka and took a shot before the monk clobbered him over the head, knocking him out cold.
Ace, meanwhile, kept his focus on the Scrafty, running up to it and slashing it with his sword. “Brick, Payback!” Rooker commanded the Pokemon in response. As the Scrafty took a swing at him, Ace parried the attack with his shield, keeping himself safe.
Rooker then took a few shots at Axel, but the mercenary dodged out of the way. “Ritsu, Ember!” Axel shouted to his Pokemon. Still dazed, the Charmander once again failed to attack. Axel then fired his flamethrower at Rooker’s Scrafty, setting it alight.
Taking advantage of the window his crewmate had given him, Ace ran up and slashed at the Scrafty again as it moved to go after Taraka. He landed one hit, then swung the sword back for another as the Scrafty leapt into the air. It still wasn’t enough to save Taraka from the attack. The Scrafty’s foot struck Taraka dead on, smashing through the monk’s psionic barrier and launching him across the room.
“Enough of this!” Axel shouted in frustration and anger. “Ritsu, use Ember! Burn that son of a bitch!” Hearing the desperate call of her master, Ritsu snapped to attention and began to glow white hot. She spewed flames from her mouth, completely engulfing Rooker. As the fire raged, Ritsu’s glow grew more intense and she began to grow in size, evolving into a Charmeleon.
“Sirius, Metronome!” Taraka called out from across the room as he picked himself back up. His Pokemon began to glow with power, summoning a future attack.
Suddenly, Rooker came running out from the flames, and Axel fired his flamethrower at him. The smuggler moved to avoid the hit, but left himself exposed, or so Ace thought. The android ran up behind Rooker, sword raised, but the smuggler quickly spun around, using his leg to sweep Ace’s feet out from under him.
“Ritsu, use Ember!” Axel commanded his newly evolved Charmeleon as Ace got back on his feet. His Pokemon obliged and spewed more flames at Rooker, setting his coat on fire.
Just then, the attack Sirius had summoned arrived, engulfing the Scrafty in a blinding light. When the light cleared, the Pokemon lay unconscious on the ground. Thinking quickly, Ace rushed Rooker while he was still dazed from the light and struck him with his sword, knocking him to the floor.
“Take that, you bastard!” Axel shouted at the smuggler, delivering a fierce kick to his head that knocked him unconscious.
“We did it!” Ace exclaimed with relief. He was glad it was over and that he and his friends had made it out mostly intact.
“Let’s not do that again,” Taraka said as he walked over to his crewmates, leaning on his staff for support.
“I agree,” Axel said, patting the monk on the back. “Let’s get you back to the ship.”
“I gotta say, hun, I’m impressed with how quickly you brought Rooker down. The Federation has been after him for years.”
“Well, clearly they weren’t trying very hard,” Cyrus said, smirking back at Darlene. “And we also had a little help.” The Maverick’s captain glanced over at the leader of the band of mercenaries who made their assault on Rooker’s base possible.
“You sure we can trust ‘em with this base?” the Sector 32 gym leader asked, eyeing the one-eyed man.
“We couldn’t have done this without his help,” Cyrus said. “And besides, he said he’s planning on moving Rooker’s resources toward more legitimate ventures.”
“I sure hope yer right, hun.”
“When am I ever wrong, Darlene.”
The captain’s comment got a laugh out of his old friend. “Fair point. At least Rooker’s goin’ away for a long time.” The two of them watched as the handcuffed Rooker was loaded into the Federation frigate that had shown up to collect him by a pair of marines.
“It’s just a shame that Lory guy got away,” Cyrus said.
“Aw, don’t worry ‘bout him, hun,” Darlene said, patting Cyrus on the back. “Maelstrom are small fries. They’re little more than a nuisance out here.”
“Whatever you say, Darlene.”
“Well, I’ll see you around, hun,” Darlene said before following the marines aboard. “Take care of yerself.”
“You too.”
Cyrus then walked over to the mercenary leader before heading back to the Maverick to give his crew their share of the thirty-thousand credit reward they had earned for taking down Rooker. “Well, Drake, it’s been a pleasure doing business with you,” the one-eyed mercenary said, extending his hand out.
“Likewise,” Cyrus said as he gave the man’s hand a firm shake. “Good luck with your new operation.”
“And good luck to you and your crew in your future ventures.”
“Until we meet again, then.”
Cyrus turned and began walking back to his ship. The Maverick’s captain was more than ready to get back to business as usual.
Notes: Oh man, I’m so glad this one is done. It took me a while to get through since it pulls content from three different sessions! It just made sense to put it all in one chapter. It wasn’t too bad going through the sessions, but it did leave me a long outline to work on and that wasn’t particularly motivating. The stuff from session 9 wasn’t much; we just had a bit of time left over at the end of the session so I just gave the party a tease of the mission to come and let them make a plan so we could jump right into the action the following session. I actually only decided the base was on the planet Crion at the end of Session 9, but since I started work on the writing so far after, I was able to tease this fact in the writing during the crew’s earlier visit to the planet.
Session 9 material ends right after the ship flies into the hangar. I said I would prep a map for the mission for the following session, but ended up not having the time, so I just winged it as we went along and it all turned out fine. Session 10 covered the first two encounters. It was another shorter session because we ended up starting late for various reasons, and Novi needed to leave a little early. Luckily the fight with Dane Lory ended right when he had to go, so it was a good stopping point. Dane Lory was a character I introduced to be a foil to Axel, his equivalent, but with water instead of fire. You certainly haven’t seen the last of him. Looking back, I wish I had built him stronger than I anticipated him needing to be, because the party made short work of him.
Then it was on to session 11, which was another session that started late. We still had enough time to get to everything I wanted to, though. And this session also marked a huge leap forward in terms of making my job of writing easier. This was the first session we had after the Spacemon sequel campaign began, and I finally took the time to figure out how to start recording video as well as audio for that campaign. Being able to reference what was happening in Roll20 visually was a huge help. I played around with more ways to streamline combat in this session. I actually didn’t track HP at all on the grunts, I just gave them a set number of hits until they went down, and it worked great for this particular encounter, but it wasn’t something I made a habit of doing after this. I sent Cyrus after Lory at the end of the previous session for balancing purposes for the boss fight, and that also worked very well. We got to have some fun with Metronome too. For the second instance, Novi rolled Doom Desire, Jirachi’s signature move, which was quite useful. The dice really hated Axel in this session. He missed several times, and he must have failed like 6 confusion checks in a row for Charmander. I totally shut him down with that Swagger. Charmander actually evolved after the encounter was over, but for the writing I thought it made sense to happen in the fight. I also ended up cutting down some parts of the fight, shifting the initiative order around, and changing a few details to make things flow better and not be a tedious read. I’m very happy with how it all turned out. The final scene was not taken from the session recording itself, but I wrote it based on the information I gave the party at the end of the session and made sure to include all of that info in the scene.
And so we have reached the end of the first arc of Frontier. It was just in time for Thanksgiving too. If it needed to go to another session to finish the mission, we would’ve had to wait two weeks since we didn’t meet on the holiday weekend. Since we wrapped up the arc just before our break, I decided to have a two week time skip in game to match the two week gap in real life. And that’s where we will pick up in the next chapter as we begin the next phase of the Spacemon: Frontier story.
That does it for this chapter. As always the Spacemon gang and I will be monitoring the comments to foster discussion and answer any questions. Feel free to give feedback and critiques of the writing so I can improve it for the future, or just leave a comment with what you think about what went down in this chapter or what you think might happen next! You can also revisit past chapters, check out the rest of the Spacemon saga, join the Spacemon Discord server, or like our Facebook page to stay updated on all things Spacemon! Click here for the next exciting installment of Spacemon: Frontier!
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