Spacemon: Frontier – Chapter 99: The Matriarch

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!

“That should do it. How does it feel, Captain?”

Ace took a step back and watched as Cyrus sat up on the medical table and swung his legs over the edge. Cyrus extended out his new cybernetic limb, then retracted it again.

After repeating this motion several times, he looked over at Ace and said, “Weird.”

“It will take a bit to get used to, I think,” Ace explained. “I just want to make sure everything is calibrated properly.”

“I get you,” Cyrus said as he pushed himself up off the table and rose to his feet. He took a few steps forward to test his new leg out. “Well it definitely feels different, but it seems to be functioning properly.”

“Good,” Ace said.

“Thanks for the leg,” Cyrus said.

“Of course,” Ace replied. “I mean, it was the least I could do considering I’m the one who cut it off in the first place.”

The captain placed a firm yet comforting hand on Ace’s shoulder. “You did what you had to do,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, you saved my life. I won’t forget that.”

“Thanks, Captain.”

Cyrus clapped Ace on the shoulder and smiled. “Come on,” he said. “We should be arriving at Provskaya soon so we’d better get ready to kick some Xiannu ass.”

Ace punched a closed fist into his palm. “I’m more than ready,” he told the captain.

Cyrus nodded. “Good.”

As the Vermilion dropped out of warp space at the Sector 15 warp gate, Anya steered the ship deeper into the system toward the sector capital world of Provskaya, the seat of Xiannu political power in the Romanov union. While she brought the ship in for approach, Cyrus made contact with Gordon and the Paladins Simon had sent. Moments later, he received a response.

“Rendezvous at these coordinates,” he said, punching the information into the nav computer.  A refueling station halfway into the system from the gate popped up on the display.

“Take us in,” Lars nodded.

“You got it,” said Anya, altering course slightly.

A short time later, they had docked at the station and the Maverick crew and their allies had assembled aboard the Vermilion to plan their next move. Ace and Gaster were given the floor to share the plan they had hatched together.

“Not a bad plan,” Gordon complimented them when they had finished.

“Well it worked for us on Troyva, it should work for us here,” said Gaster.

“Once we iron out the details, at least,” Ace added.

“The big question is who we approach,” said Cyrus. “I doubt we can just land on the moon and speak with Mira directly.”

“Certainly not,” Jonas, the Paladin knight Simon had put in charge, spoke up. “It’s privately owned. No one is allowed to land without permission.”

“Well then we get permission,” said Gaster. “Present our information to someone lower on the food chain and make our case for a meeting.”

“But who?” Lars asked.

“Well on Troyva we just walked into the capitol and talked our way in,” said Gaster. “I don’t see why we can’t just try that again.”

“Last time we had a specific person we wanted to meet with,” Ace pointed out. “I’m not sure this will work without that.”

“Hmm, that’s true,” Gaster said, scratching his facial scruff. “Anyone got suggestions?”

“What you need is an in,” said Gordon. “We’ve all got contacts,” he continued, looking around at everyone in the room. “Y’all know any Xiannus?”

“Actually, I might know someone,” said Jonas. “I ran a job on Provskaya a while back, investigating a shady business with Xiannu ties,” the Paladin explained. “There was this government official in Tetrynka. Low ranking as far as the family goes, but he was involved in some serious gangster shit. Dumb bastard, but ambitious. If he thought setting up a meeting for you would help him rise up the ranks, he probably wouldn’t ask too many questions.”

“Perfect,” said Gaster. “Sounds like just what we need. Send us the contact info.”

Jonas nodded. “Will do, but, uh … probably don’t mention where you got it from.”

“I take it you’re not on friendly terms,” Lars chuckled.

“We never managed to nail him, but he definitely knew we were onto him. He might get suspicious if you mention the Paladins, but if you don’t … Like I said, I don’t think he will ask too many questions.”

“Good,” said Gaster. “Let’s set up a meeting.”

---

Light raindrops fell from the overcast sky as Gaster stepped off the Vermilion into the Tetrynka spaceport. He was soon joined by Ace, Sikari, Taraka, and the Red Riders.

“Shall we?” Lars asked as he closed the cargo ramp behind him.

Gaster nodded. “Let’s go.”

The group departed from the spaceport and into the heart of Provskaya’s capital city. The industrial area directly surrounding Tetrynka’s port quickly gave way to bustling commercial zones. They passed throngs of people hurrying to escape the worsening rain as they navigated cramped streets lined with various shops and restaurants.

They were headed to meet with a man named Stefan Xiannu. As Jonas had said, he had been eager to set up a meeting when he heard they had information regarding the Yongs and hadn’t asked too many questions. Deciding it was a good idea to not send too many people to the meeting, Gordon and Cyrus stayed behind with Anya on the Sunrise. Depending on how things played out, Anya would be able to drop the pair off in a hurry if they needed some backup. Jonas and the other Paladins, meanwhile, were remaining on standby for if and when things went really bad.

By the time they reached the government district, the light drizzle had grown to a steady downpour. Fortunately the government offices where Stefan worked weren’t much further. A few minutes later, they arrived at their destination and headed inside.

“Let me do the talking,” Gaster told the others as they shook off the rain and approached the front desk.

“Sure,” said Ace. “It worked last time, after all.”

Gaster nodded back, then stepped up to the desk. “Hi,” he addressed the woman sitting behind it. “We’re here to see Stefan Xiannu.”

After a few minutes, the group found themselves being ushered into an office. Gaster stepped inside and the others filed in behind him. The office wasn’t particularly large, containing little more than a desk and a few chairs. The small window on the back wall offered a less than interesting view of the street below. A thin man with dark blond hair who wore frameless glasses and an expensive-looking suit sat behind the desk.

“Ah, so you are the ones with information on the Yongs,” the man, presumably Stefan, said, rising to meet them. His English was quite impeccable, but he still spoke with the faint hint of a Romanov accent.

“We are,” Gaster replied.

“Excellent,” said Stefan. “Please, have a seat.” He sat back down in his chair and motioned for them to sit, but Gaster remained standing for now, as did the others. There weren’t enough chairs for all of them anyway.

Stefan looked at them expectantly, but when it became clear that they had no intention of sitting, he began to show signs of discomfort. He leaned back in his seat and feigned a cough, then asked, “So … what is the nature of this information?”

Gaster placed both hands on the desk and leaned it. “Let’s cut straight to the chase here, pal,” he said. “My friends here and I work for the Yongs,” he continued, motioning at the others. “The thing is, we don’t really like the idea of being on the losing side of this little conflict and it looks like you guys are gonna be on the winning side, so we’d like to jump ship over to your side, if that’s okay with you. If you’re interested in coming to some sort of arrangement, we would like to provide some relevant information on your rivals.”

Stefan raised an eyebrow. “I’m listening.”

“Oh, you think I’m gonna tell you?” Gaster scoffed. Based on what Jonas had said, it was likely that this man just wanted them to tell him what they knew so he could take all the credit for himself.

“You think you’re gonna get an audience with anyone bigger?” Stefan countered.

The man was obviously a really low ranking family member— some fourth cousin at best. He was just the sort of person that could be easily pushed around. He would be their ticket in, whether he liked it or not.

“As a matter of fact, I do,” Gaster said. “Because you …” He trailed off as he pointedly jabbed his finger at Stefan. “Are going to set one up for us. This information is above your pay grade, so we’re gonna need you to take us to someone more relevant, what was your name again? Steve? I’m gonna call you Steve.”

“My name,” said an exasperated Stefan, pausing to take in a breath, “is Stefan, and I would thank you show a little resp—”

“That’s nice, Steve,” Gaster cut him off. “Now look, if you don’t want what we have to offer, we can take it elsewhere. We could’ve brought this to someone else in your family, but we came to you. Are you going to set up a meeting with someone more important or not?”

Stefan looked back at Gaster for several seconds, a contemplative expression on his face. “Alright, fine,” he eventually agreed. “But …” He stood up and leaned in close, looking Gaster directly in the eye. “Credit fifty-fifty split, yeah?”

Gaster shrugged and said, “Sure.” Whatever Stefan needed to hear to get the ball rolling.

“Then you’ve got yourself a deal,” Stefan said, holding out his hand.

Gaster gave it a firm shake. “See, that wasn’t so hard.”

Stefan ignored the patronizing comment and simply said, “I will set up a meeting.”

---

“Here we are,” Stefan said as he led the group out onto the private landing pad. “This shuttle will take us up to the moon to meet with Mira Xiannu. To be honest, I’m surprised the matriarch herself wanted to meet with you. Whatever you’ve got must be big.”

“That’s what I was saying, Steve,” Gaster said, clapping the man hard on the back as they approached the waiting shuttle.

Taraka just smirked and followed along with the others.

The plan was proceeding smoothly. Stefan had managed to get them a meeting with the head of the Xiannu family and they were going to be taken up to the family’s private estate on Provskaya’s moon to speak with her directly. As they were headed deep into enemy territory, they had sent an update to the captain. If things went south, Cyrus, Gordon, and the Paladins would be standing by to pull them out.

One of the guards waiting outside the shuttle waved them through as they approached. “This way,” he said, motioning toward the shuttle. However, he put up his hand to stop Stefan. “Not you.”

“Excuse me?” Stefan asked, sounding surprised.

“The boss wants to speak to them, not you,” the guard stated.

“But I set up this meeting,” Stefan protested.

“Your contribution has been noted,” said the guard as he pushed him aside.

“See you around, Steve,” Gaster said, flashing a smirk before leading the way to the shuttle.

“Wait,” Ace suddenly spoke up. He stopped and looked at the rest of the group. “Where’s Sikari?”

Taraka looked around as well. Sure enough, Sikari was nowhere to be seen. She must have cloaked and slinked off at some point. Taraka shook his head. “Of course.”

“We really should keep her on a literal leash,” said Gaster.

In response to that comment, they received a ping on their comms. “Trust me, you want me to sneak in with you so that they don’t know I’m here,” Sikari’s voice sounded in Taraka’s earpiece.

“Fair enough,” Taraka replied. That said, he wasn’t sure what Sikari was actually planning on doing once she got in.

“Just stay out of trouble,” Gaster added.

Sikari cheekily replied, “No promises.”

“She’s probably gonna go steal some shit or something,” Taraka commented under his breath to Gaster.

“You know I can still hear you, right?” Sikari teased over the comms.

Before Taraka could say anything, the guard from before got into the shuttle with them and closed the door behind him. “We are departing now,” he said. Then, turning to Floyd, “You, put a shirt on.”

“What?” Floyd asked nonchalantly.

The guard frowned. “You are to be meeting with Miss Xiannu,” he said, showing visible disgust at Floyd’s redneck ways. “Show some respect.”

With that, the guard rapped his fist against the metal wall separating the shuttle’s cockpit from the rest of the vehicle, signaling the pilot to take off.

---

Taraka took in a breath of fresh, clear air as he stepped out onto the landing pad. It was a definite step up from the dirty city air of Tetrynka. Looking up, he could see the stars and Provskaya itself suspended in the pale lavender sky of Shanhu, the planet’s moon. The scene looked almost like a painting above the alien, pink-hued foliage. Taraka would have paused to admire the natural beauty of this world if not for the circumstances that had brought him and his companions here.

“This way,” said the guard, waving for the group to follow.

The guard led them from the landing pad along a walkway lined with imported cherry blossom trees toward the main estate. The building was an opulent and sprawling palace-like mansion with ornate traditional hip-and-gable rooftops typical of Provskayan architecture.

“Someone’s compensating for something,” Taraka heard Floyd mutter as they approached the mansion.

“Quiet,” Lars responded, jabbing Floyd with his elbow. “We don’t want to piss our hosts off yet.”

“Ow,” Floyd grumbled, but he fell silent all the same.

They were soon led inside and ushered into a room decked out in expensive upholstery. On the table lay trays of hot tea, alcoholic beverages, and other amenities.

“Wait here,” the guard instructed them.

“And all this?” Gaster asked, thumbing toward the table.

“Help yourselves,” he said before leaving the room, shutting the door behind him.

“How fancy,” Taraka commented once the guard had gone.

Floyd grinned and poured himself a glass of expensive-looking alcohol. “Don’t mind if I do,” he said before shotgunning the glass. A look of disgust formed on his face as he put the glass down on the table.

“Too strong?” Taraka asked him.

“Too weak,” Floyd said disdainfully, picking up the bottle to read it. “This ain’t real liquor. If it doesn’t almost kill you, then what’s even the point? I thought Romanov liquor was supposed to be good.”

“I bet these fancy-pants Xiannus are too sophisticated for the good stuff,” said Gaster.

“Good point,” Floyd said, grabbing the bottle. He plopped down on one of the fancy couches and continued to drink. “Just one more reason I hate the bastards.”

---

After what seemed like an uncomfortably long time, the door finally opened. Ace looked over to see two guards step into the room. Both had dark hair, but one had a beard and the other was clean shaven.

“Miss Xiannu will see you now,” said the one with the beard. “Come with us.”

“It’s about time,” said Ace as he rose to his feet. The others followed suit and filed out of the room behind him.

The guards led them up two flights of stairs and through several hallways adorned with paintings, vases, and statues that probably were each worth more money than Ace had ever seen. Eventually, they arrived at a set of large doors that were at least twice the height of an average man, if not taller. The guards pushed the doors open and directed them all inside.

This room was the most extravagant thing that Ace had ever seen. A long purple and gold rug ran the length of the pale pink tiled floor, lined on either side by five white columns that extended all the way up to the vaulted ceiling from which hung three pink crystal chandeliers. Huge windows along the walls provided an impressive view out over Shanhu’s beautiful landscape. A large, round meeting table with a lavender-blue hue stood at the center of the room, surrounded by ornate white-upholstered wooden chairs. On the far side of the room, hanging on the wall opposite of the doors, was an impressively large painting of a man in a suit of Dominion-era armor. There were four more guards in the room, two on each side of the table, standing back by the columns. A woman with long, black hair who was garbed in elegant pink silk Hanfu robes stood in the open space on the opposite side of the table. Her back was turned toward them as she gazed up at the painting.

The doors closed behind the group with a loud thud and the guards motioned them toward the table. Taraka walked up and took a seat in the middle chair on their side off the table. Ace followed his lead and took a seat on the monk’s right, while Gaster sat to his left. Floyd and Lars stood behind them, looking over Taraka’s shoulders.

After keeping them waiting for a few moments long, the woman finally turned and approached the table. “So you must be the Yongs’ mercenaries that I have heard so much about,” said Mira Xiannu. Her voice was calm and soothing, but Ace felt a cold, commanding ferocity behind it. “You have been causing quite a bit of trouble for us.”

“Oh, you noticed that?” Gaster asked rather dryly.

“How could I not?” she asked in kind.

“Well good,” said Gaster. “Glad we made a good first impression.”

Ace nodded in agreement, allowing Gaster to do most of the talking.

“It seems that we have as well,” said Mira. “Otherwise you would not be here.”

“Yeah, well I was telling your buddy Steve that we like to be on the winning side of these sorts of conflicts,” Gaster explained.

Mira frowned. “Who?”

“Steve,” Gaster repeated. “You know Steve. Everyone knows Steve.”

“Oh, do you mean Stefan?” one of the guards asked.

“Yeah, Steve,” said Gaster.

Mira continued to stare blankly back at them from across the table. “Who?”

“Steve?” said Gaster. “The guy who set this meeting up? You know, it doesn’t matter. The point is we like to be on the winning team, and right now that’s you.”

“Hmm, how interesting,” said Mira, looking at them with a stone-faced expression. Ace found it all but impossible to read her reaction.

A calm, but tense silence filled the room as Mira paused to consider Gaster’s words. Just as it was beginning to feel uncomfortable, she spoke again and asked, “So what is this information I am told you are here to share?”

Ace felt himself unable to keep up the charade much longer. Seeing the woman responsible for Erik’s death just calmly standing there like nothing had happened was making him angrier by the second. “The Yongs know that you’re responsible for the recent attacks against them and so do we,” he blurted out.

“And?” Mira asked. “You’ll need to do better than that.”

“Let’s get to the real point here,” said Gaster, placing his hands down on the table. “We have a message from Jim Bob Thorton, Bobbie Jo Hartman, and a good friend of ours Erik Virtanen.”

“Who?”

Ace couldn’t take it any longer. He rose from his seat and released his Aegislash into his hands. “They’re our friends that you killed and now you’re going to pay for it!” he shouted, pointing the blade across the table at Mira.

Suddenly, every guard in the room had their gun pointed at Ace, but Mira seemed unfazed. “So be it,” she said calmly as a Pokeball appeared in her hand.

She tossed the ball into the center of the table and out popped a Pokemon Ace had never seen before. It was a small, gray Pokemon, vaguely humanoid in appearance, with two small arms and a roughly conical rock for a lower body with a pink diamond embedded in the side. Its upper body was shrouded in a white material resembling a dress, and its head was adorned with a pink crystal headdress with four spike-like crystals on top and two larger ones hanging down. As the Pokemon levitated up, above the center of the table, three glowing pink orbs of light formed around it, floating in a circle surrounding it.

A faint smirk crept onto Mira’s expressionless face as she witnessed their surprise. “Rozovyy,” she addressed the Pokemon. “Deal with them.”

---

Notes: This chapter has been sitting done for over a year. I finished writing it last June and was working on the final chapter while waiting to proofread this one and write up these notes until closer to when it would be posted as I usually keep a backlog of finished chapters, or at least I try to. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, I wasn’t able to bring myself to continue work on this series for the past year. I’m back now, though, and I’m ready to see this thing through.

This chapter covers the next chunk of the final session, and from this point on DragonStorm was basically co-GMing with me, which was a fun experience. He helped with some of the RP moments, handling the dialogue for Stefan and Mira. At the time of writing, I really liked how this chapter turned out, and coming back to it after a year, I found myself impressed with how good it was, and I’m usually very critical of my own work. There’s just a lot of great descriptions and details I added that really set the mood and the scene. The reference image I used to help inspire the vibe of the city description happened to be a scene where it was raining, so I incorporated that into the chapter, and I felt particularly inspired when describing the moon and the Xiannu estate. There was also some great RP during the session. unknown in particular was on point, making for some great interactions between Gaster and Stefan, and later with Mira. There were some fun interactions between others as well. The first two scenes are original ones I wrote for the chapter just to expand on events mentioned in the session. I felt Ace giving the captain his new leg would be a good way to open the chapter, and having a nice planning scene based on the ideas the players decided to go with in game helped make things flow nicely. I introduced a Paladin character for this chapter just to give a face to the Paladins Simon sent to help and tied that into how they got their intel on Stefan. Other than those scenes, the rest was just adding heaps of polish to what was already a solid foundation of in game interactions. Of course I had to end on a dramatic cliffhanger before the final boss. Who’s that Pokemon, I wonder? Find out next time in the final chapter!

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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!