What’s today’s mission? Fight the Xenos? Mine a few rocks? Trade some cargo? Anything is possible, but you’re feeling somewhat indecisive today. As you scan the local nav beacon and let your fuel scoop fill up your tank, your ship radio crackles to life:
INCOMING BROADCAST.... GALACTIC RADIO7 ....
DJ Squatz
DJ SQUATZ: 'Welcome back listeners, this is DJ Squatz and you are listening to Radio7.
That last tune was Touchdown, by ToCoSo and featuring Heli. It’s a real head banger; but remember not to bang your head against the canopy when rocking out. You might just get sucked out into space and that… is not really a problem thanks to Rebuy! Rock on Commanders!
Now before we get on with some more of the galaxy’s hottest tunes, I was just handed a crumpled up napkin by an ugly green-haired commander who dashed in here and asked me to read this on the air… let me see… it says… Calling all Pilot’s Federation CMDRs. Dangus Investigations needs your help in the Balones system with an urgent galactic mystery. Visit Morris by the bar in Tiedemann Orbital for more information.
Sounds like a real waste of time if you ask me. Oh well, how about a little tune from our pal Klint Westwood - and if the rumours are true, he’s about to launch his 76th Buckyball Run to Sag A… good luck with that Klint, I hope you don’t get… Space Madness… again…
You turn off the radio as the fuel scoop closes up - your tank is full and it's time to plot your course.
You lean back in your chair and decide that the mystery in Balones might be worth checking out. After all, you didn’t have any other plans today. What could go wrong?
GO TO TIEDEMANN DOCK IN BALONES AND MEET MORRIS AT THE BAR... IF YOU DARE...
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TAKING THE CASE
You arrive in Balones and locate Tiedemann.
As you enter the concourse you smell an unpleasant mix of tobacco, beer and… biowaste?
Anarchy systems are sometimes a disorganized mess, but despite the Brabenburger wrappers on the floor, things seem fairly welcoming here.
You ask around and you are told that Morris is by the bar. Look for the Yellow Loafers.
Sure enough, you encounter Morris and tell him you heard the message on the radio.
MORRIS: That actually worked? I didn’t think anyone was going to come. But it’s a good thing you did because we have a big problem here. There’s a guy calling himself “The Black Prince” who has been sending us death threats over the comms. He’s now threatened to destroy the Balones system... As if we didn’t have enough existential threats already…
We don’t know who he is, or why he wants to destroy Balones. I’m sure it’s probably something we did, actually. Yes, he probably has a good reason to be honest, we’ve botched quite a few operations, it’s so disorganized here, Anarchy systems, am I right?
But this system is my home and I’d rather not see it destroyed by some random crazy person. Usually we’d solve this kind of case ourselves but our head detective has been busy pretending he’s a secret agent and making holo films, so we’re really hoping you can help us.
Will you help us?
You find your head nodding in agreement despite the doubts you have about whether or not Dangus Investigations is a trustworthy employer. A whole system is in danger and you can’t turn your back. But where to begin?
The Black Prince… there’s something familiar about this… YES!
There was an old movie you used to watch when growing up. A classic from the 2990’s, about a daring space pirate who flew in a fleet of black Anacondas and gave the Feds a run for their money, until he disappeared… The Black Prince! And it was based on a true story. Or so the rumours say.
And the rumours are often true. In the movie, The Black Prince operated in Zelada… so maybe that’s as good a place as any to start your search. If this “Black Prince” is taking his inspiration from history then maybe knowing more about it can reveal a clue to his identity or his location.
You tell Morris you’re on the case and run back to your ship. Zelada is only a few jumps away, so you pop the radio on for the journey and set a course…
DJ SQUATZ: This next little song goes out to all those Commanders out there who take the time to help the little guy out. You know who you are. Now here’s some Pig Floaters!
GO TO THE ZELADA SYSTEM.
Once the step is completed, proceed to the next step
ANCIENT HISTORY
You arrive in Zelada, humming to the music. This is turning into an interesting day. But lives are at stake, so you must focus.
You scan the system and discover two beacons. The nearest is close to a planet called New Africa… wait, isn’t New Africa in Epsilon Indi? Where is Mitterand Hollow?
Zelada must not have signed the galactic unique naming act. So there are two New Africas in the bubble, that’s interesting…
Well ACTUALLY, there's also a New Africa system as well! Maybe it's worth a visit one day... but that’s not important right now. Focus!
You head to the beacon near New Africa first.
In 2867, disappearances of several traders near Zelada prompted a Federal Navy response under the new President Olaf Smith. The task force soon found itself with more to do when further ships disappeared in Ququve and Aymiay in the same year, totalling thirteen ships in three months. In response, the Federation bolstered forces on Laedla rapidly and militarized the system as a base in response to this alien threat. It has never been determined that these disappearances could be attributed to the Thargoids and little documentation has emerged about the Federal battlegroup's activities in this sector in this period. Nevertheless, Smith made much of his show of strength 'driving away the alien threat' and was popular as a result, further enhancing naval forces and drawing a line under the Gellan incident and the taint it had delivered to the Presidential office.
Not unlike how Denethor, steward of Gondor tainted the valor and honor of Gondor by sending his son Faramir on a suicide mission into a hopeless battle in Osgiliath against the dark forces of Mordor.
So back in the 2860s a bunch of ships went missing in this region. Was it really Thargoids? That long ago? And what does Mordor have to do with this? There are more questions here than answers...
You had better check out the other Tourist Beacon to find out more…
BONUS: This Earth-like world here could be a great photo opportunity! Get a screenshot!
Many decades later the infamous cinematic biography of the pirate calling himself 'The Black Prince' claimed responsibility for all these attacks, using what grew to a highly mobile small fleet of well-equipped matte black Anacondas acting together, each carrying a small, nimble one-man fighter. The attacks stopped not because of the Federal fleet, but because the Black Prince and his brothers in piracy retired to the outer systems on the wealth they had acquired. Many doubt his story as most of the facts do not check out - but others claimed he had simply exaggerated what was a basically true but far more seedy story.
It reminds me of the Black Numenoreans from the island of Numenor, who later aligned with Sauron and were known as the Corsairs of Umbar. Defeated by Aaragorn, son of Arathorn during the war of the ring, utilizing an army of ghosts.
Not so sure about that last bit, but moving on...
You think of your childhood memories; watching the old Black Prince movie and playing “pirate” with the other kids. But it wasn’t just a movie, was it?
It really happened, here in Zelada!
But how much of it was true?
And what does it have to do with the threat in Balones?
This supposedly happened over 400 years ago - the Black Prince would have died centuries ago. But on the contrary - Salvation was 500 years old before he blew himself up in that Proteus Wave disaster. Could it actually be that the Black Prince is still alive? Why would he suddenly turn up now and threaten Balones?
Your comms panel lights up - an incoming message from Morris!
MORRIS: Ahoy there Commander. I hope you still remember us little folks here in Balones. We had a bit of a breakthrough that might help your investigation. Our data scientists have determined where the Black Prince has been sending his death threats from - it’s an unregistered comms beacon in the Novas system. Do you think you might be able to head there and check it out?
You pull up your galactic map and plot a course to the Novas system. It’s over 200ly away, so you flip on the radio. Music will make this little journey more fun!
DJ SQUATZ: I just want to thank all you lovely listeners out there for tuning in. We here at Radio7 like to think we have the best music in the galaxy. So the fact that you’re here listening means that you have impeccable taste. Good on you, commander. Now here’s Jefferson Interstellar, All In the Name of Science!
Here's some more RADIO7 music for your journey if you like:
Raxxla's On Your Mind:
Speed Kills:
GO TO THE NOVAS SYSTEM
Once the step is completed, proceed to the next step
AN OLD PUZZLE
You arrive in Novas - an unremarkable system at first glance, but there must be an Unregistered Comms Beacon somewhere here… and it’s up to you to find it.
You remember an old trick a smuggler friend taught you and tweak the settings on your discovery scanner. A subspace frequency stands out from the rest - and it’s originating from somewhere... above planet A 6.
FIND THE UNREGISTERED COMMS BEACON
As you approach the Beacon you grow curious… you’ve seen beacons like these before. They usually send signals every hour on the hour.
You set your sensors to record any transmissions from the beacon and drift off to sleep while you wait.
ZZzzzzz...... zzzzzz....
You open your eyes and see a light blinking on the comms - there’s a recording!
Oh wait, that’s your snoring. You should probably see a doctor about that, that’s pretty loud. But wait - there’s a second recording.
05 11 33 02 1605 9 18 5 22 15 12 20
That’s a short signal, but it must mean something… Maybe there’s a code in there that will unlock the secret of this beacon?
You realize that if you can crack this code you might be able to hack into the comms relay and extract more information. There's got to be a password in this transmission somewhere.
It looks like the first set of numbers are a little different from the second set somehow...
The first numbers look like a date format… Maybe that isn’t what I am looking for. I should focus on the bottom numbers.
The second set of numbers are all under 26… the same as the alphabet. Maybe a simple substitution? 1 = A, 2 = B, 3 = C, etc, etc?
You cracked it, but it's not inputting you say?
All Caps, no spaces probably. That’s the galactic password format.
Try that and if that doesn't work, turn it off and on and clear your cookies... uh.. yeah
Oh, OK... it’s... IREVOLT
That's the password. What an edgy password...lol
Password:
You put IREVOLT into the computer and the Comms light up - another transmission is coming through…
Suddenly it clicks. The first part of the code:
5. 11. 3302… a stardate! And... then 1605? Another year?…
The 5th of November... Remember the 5th of November.
Why do you remember that?
Something from ancient history class???
No wait - it's another movie! V for Vendetta! The Guy Fawkes Mask!
Yes, that’s it - Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot from the year 1605… they were planning to blow up the king!
Of course!
Now the edgy password makes more sense... But then why 3302? What's the connection there?
Oh… um… Ok, now you just have to solve all of that. No problem at all. You can just tell your computer to just substitute the numbers for letter in the alphabet.
Computer? Uh...
Of course, the computer screens fizzle in rebellion - it's being stubborn today.
Type FRIEND and enter
Oh great. You know your ship computer has the entire works of J.R.R. Tolkien programmed into it because... well...
You got the computer firmware upgrade at an auction last week while checking out a new station. It was dirt-cheap and supposed to help optimize the fuel and enhance the pilot experience. But this 'budget model' was also given an obnoxious personality to encourage pilots to purchase sub-routine upgrades as downloadable-content. You simply cannot turn off it's Tolkien prerogatives.
This 'LOTR NERD' sub-routine must be satisfied to continue.
Just type 'FRIEND' in the box below, ok?
Password:
Thank you for obliging...
Decoding Text....
IREVOLT SBEOCJGSCUGJERGEF JM CFFA WBAMNGJAGY KCFADCB GEXHRKOADABEJAKC GNCYWAFFSHYLEBWLHGGNCYKAK
There’s that IREVOLT again… but then it looks like someone’s cat walked over the keyboard.
Is that a clue?
Could the Church of the Space Cat be mixed up in all this?
Maybe the computer is broken?
It has been quoting Lord of the Rings FAR too often lately...
Your brain begins to boil as you stare at the gibberish. You slam your first in frustration on the armchair and it lands on a button:
Oh, that was easy. So, some kind of Pirate CG in Elli? But there’s something else - a time stamp…from 3302. This message is from years ago!
You better report to Morris with your findings.
MORRIS: Thanks for the report, Commander. So The Black Prince is using an old pirate comms beacon from 3302 to bounce his signal. There must be some significance to it. A connection between The Black Prince and this… Project Pest control. If I were you, I’d head to the Elli system and see if you can find out what happened there in 3302.
You plot a course for the Elli system. It’ll be a few jumps so you pop that radio back on.
DJ SQUATZ: That last track was a little number called “Bagel Moon” by none other than Bobby Baguette… the leader of the Croissanteers, a space pirate outfit that specifically only steals bread-based cargo. But this next track is all about making bread… by mining… on my own!
SONG: MINING ON MY OWN
PROCEED TO NEXT STEP WHEN YOU ARRIVE IN ELLI
Once the step is completed, proceed to the next step
AN OLD CG, BUT IT CHECKS OUT
You arrive in Elli and scan the system - there’s a suspicious tourist beacon not far out, so you decided to plot a course and head there.
You scan the beacon and receive a message:
On November 10th 3302 Wright City in the Elli system fell prey to a chemical-weapon attack. The attack was believed to have been executed by the anarchist organization Revolution Incorporated, which recently placed orders for a quantity of Toxandji Virocide, a rare pesticide. It was understood the group used the pesticide as the basis for a potent chemical weapon.
The impact on the starport has been catastrophic. Over a dozen individuals have lost their lives, and hundreds more are in critical condition. As a result, the starport was closed until further notice.
Such a tragedy had not been seen in this system since the fall of Gondolin, for when Hurin would not succumb to the whistling whips of flame used by the Balrog Lungothin, but Morgoth was ultimately able to convince Maeglin to betray the location of the city by promising to allow him to marry his cousin.
Wait, that last part is just the computer pushing it's Lord Of The Rings lore again. Ignore that.
So... in 3302 there was a secret community goal to deliver a chemical weapon which ended up shutting down a whole station. Perhaps The Black Prince is planning a repeat of history in Balones?
If that’s the case, then there’s only one place you can buy Toxandji Virocide…in Toxandji.
That's got to be your next destination...
HEAD TO THE NEXT SYSTEM AND FIND THE STATION THAT SELLS THE VIROCIDE.
Once the step is completed, proceed to the next step
HOT ON THE HEELS
You arrive in Toxandji and head to the largest starport you can find.
You dock at Tsunenaga Orbital and head to the local commodity market.
The Toxandji Virocide is for sale there in limited quantities.
You speak with the rare goods vendor and casually ask if there’s been any large orders for Virocide recently and the vendor looks at you funny. You assure them you’re not a system security officer. They look around suspiciously and then lean in and whisper.
MERCHANT: 'Normally I wouldn’t discuss my business dealings with anyone, but there was a man recently, who wanted to place a rather large order. I told him I didn't have the supply but he kept asking where he could get more. Really persistent. Kind of creepy. Bald, too. I didn’t get his name, but I saw him getting carted out of the bar by security forces, hollering that after Balones, we’d be next on his list. Aside from me, the only place you could get the Virocide would be… well, those jerks at Revolution Incorporated.
But why would anyone want to deal with them?'
You thank the vendor and return to your ship. That must have been the Black Prince!
You decide to call up Morris and fill him in on what you have discovered.
MORRIS We’ve been following your progress, Commander. We looked up security records for bald, creepy people that were asking about chemical weapons and we found something. Only you’re not going to like this. A man was arrested in the Toxandji system and transferred to the local prison barge fitting that description.
If that’s the case, then perhaps the Black Prince might not be a problem anymore, but we need to be absolutely certain.
That’s where you come in, Commander. We need you to infiltrate that prison, make contact with the Black Prince and confirm if he’s no longer a threat. And in order to do that… Well, I’m going to have to ask you to create a little… public disturbance in that station.
Loitering might not be enough I’m afraid. How you do it is up to you, just get the local authority to send you to prison and then let us know what you find out!
You realize what he’s asking. You knew Dangus Investigations was going to be trouble when you got into this.
GET IN YOUR SHIP, GET WANTED AND LET THEM SEND YOU TO PRISON.
You can be creative here... unleashing some weapons fire inside the station would be the quickest way to prison. Or you could take a pot shot at security and then turn yourself in if you're one of those 'peaceful' sort of people. Or just... have a little fun...
...
...
... Did you do it yet?
GALCOMM SYSTEM REQUEST SENT:
APPLICATION FOR ONE PILOT'S FEDERATION INSURANCE VOUCHER...
YOUR REBUY ORDER IS BEING PROCESSED....
As the Security Officers pull you from your pod and inject you with a sedative, you hear them tell you which prison you are headed to.
'The Champion of.... ugggghhh'... the sedatives just kicked in... what was that last word? The Champion of WHAT? Where are they taking me?
You've clearly been to this prison before. Maybe you were there doing time for all that dirty cheating & looking up the answers, as you are known to do. I mean, if you REALLY just blew yourself up and got sent to prison, you could just check the map or the rebuy screen, right? But noooooo, you just want the answers don't you...
Well... your prison memories all come flooding back - the drunken fist fights, the stale prison food, the comfy toilet seats... The Champion of... Piety! That's got to be it!
You are at The Champion of _____:
Password:
Once the step is completed, proceed to the next step
PRISON
The sedatives wear off.
You're on The Champion of Piety in the Crucis Sector EQ-Y B4.
You explain to the guards that you're on a secret mission and they laugh at you and point you into a cell for processing. This particular Prison Barge has a notorious reputation for unpleasant food - hopefully you won't be here long enough to experience the culinary wonders of space prison.
You hear a knock on the wall. The prisoner in the next cell is trying to get your attention.
You move close to the wall and can hear him through a small vent. You exchange pleasantries about the weather and good mining spots for Void Opals but when you ask him if he’s ever heard of the Black Prince he suddenly changes his tone.
PRISONER: Oh boy, I’ve really screwed up this time. So… I’m actually the Black Prince… or at least, I was pretending to be. My real name is Steve Venus. I’m a security officer from Balones National Energy Partners.
STEVE AKA 'THE BLACK PRINCE': A couple weeks ago, the Bartender in Balones refused to serve me. I got mad and decided to get my revenge. It was supposed to be harmless threats. Then I was going to use a modified Toxandji Virucide to taint their liquor supply and turn everything into Graphene… but I was having trouble purchasing enough of it on the commodities market… so I went to the… well, the black market… and ended up making a deal with these people called Revolution Incorporated.
Only, those guys are the real deal… so I needed to create a character that they would respect in order to get their help… and it worked - only a bit too well… they didn’t think that spoiling the liquor was 'hardcore' enough, they wanted to actually kill people. I was going to warn Balones, but then I got arrested for speeding out the mail slot.
STEVE AKA 'THE BLACK PRINCE': Well... Apparently my great-great-great-great-grand-daddy was an actor and starred in a movie about the Black Prince. I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but we have a family secret that goes way back - apparently there was never a real Black Prince at all - it was all a big cover up by the Feds.
You see... They were illegally testing some chemicals on pilots and a bunch of people died. A rare pesticide from the Toxandji system, of all places, if you catch my drift. They tried to blame it on aliens, but back then we didn’t have Titans and danger daisies all over the place so people weren’t buying the Thargoid angle.
They paid my great-great-great-great-grand-daddy a lot of money to fake some pirate threats and then make a movie to cover the whole thing up… and people bought it!
It turns out, there's not much of a difference between a bunch of anarchist jerk-offs and the Feds, am I right?
They still think the Black Prince was a real pirate to this day. But no, it’s all just a big fake.
You’re overwhelmed with this new information - the legend of the Black Prince was a cover up for illegal Federal weapon tests on people. The whole revenge plot was meant to be a harmless prank by some idiot security officer but is now being carried out by actual anarchists with a more deadly agenda!
A small ding indicates your pilot’s federation insurance has cleared the prison system- you’re now free to leave your cell.
You hurry back to your ship and engage the comms. But before you can dial M for Morris, you receive an incoming hail:
SPATULA: Why hello there Commander. I’m Spatula, head of Dangus Investigations. I’m sure you’ve probably heard of me. Anyway, Morris filled me in on the good work you’ve been doing to track down this Black Prince. Thanks to you, I’ve got all the evidence I need to solve the case.
So let’s see - Ancient Federal conspiracy to conduct illegal experiments on humans… check. Typical. Disgruntled idiot pretending to be a legendary pirate… check. Random terrorist faction taking things far too seriously… check.
Yeah all of this checks out. The only thing left to do is one last small little thing… to stop Revolution Incorporated from unleashing their deadly virus in Balones and killing everyone… Normally I’d be all over this, but I literally just ate a Triple Thargoid combo from Brabenburger and I’m kind of glued to the toilet right now so I need one last favour from you.
You’ll need to head to the home system of Revolution Incorporated and tell them The Black Prince is a fake. Once they know that, they’ll definitely lose interest and abort the whole thing. Simple, right? Appreciate you Commander! Spatula out!
In order to stop the terrorist plot against Balones, you’ve got to find the home system of Revolution Incorporated and spread the news.
Good luck Commander… and please hurry!
FIND THE REVOLUTION INCORPORATED HOME SYSTEM AND TYPE:
OK you’re lazy, I get it. People’s lives are at stake so I don’t have time to convince you - they’re in the Luyten 145-141 system. Now hurry!
Type the Revolution Incorporated home system in the box below to reveal the final step:
Password:
Once the step is completed, proceed to the next step
CASE CLOSED
You arrive in Luyten 145-141 and type 'The Black Prince is fake' in the local chat. Did it work? You sit by the Nav beacon waiting and pop on the radio once more.
DJ SQUATZ: This just in… we’ve got a message here from an anarchist outfit called Revolution Incorporated - they’re issuing a galactic apology to the Balones system for some confusion over some recent death threats. They want the galaxy to know that they are respectable anarchists just looking for a revolution and that they were issuing death threats based on false information, but that they wish their anarchist brethren in Balones all the best.
Well this Holodisc Jockey also has it on good authority that a major tragedy was prevented here because of the work of one very impressive and awesome Commander… Detective Spatula007, who single-handedly solved the mystery, with no help whatsoever from anyone else. Good work, Spatula. You saved a lot of lives out there today. I’m going to dedicate the next song to you, good kitchen utensil!
This is… Living in the 80s!
---
---
---
IF YOU HAVE TYPED IN THE LOCAL CHAT, YOU CAN COMPLETE THE MISSION!
YOU SAVED BALONES!!!
THANK YOU COMMANDER!!! HOPE YOU ENJOYED YOUR ADVENTURE!
Spatula007 as... Himself/DJ Squatz/Merchant/Black Prince
