There is no known origin point for the Vok (translated to the common tongue: Voidforged). The earliest mention of them in the United Planetary Archives is from ancient Sulvu writings. A tribe of Sulvu in the pre-Nevaa period made cave paintings of a shape in the sky that historians now believe was a Vok scout ship. There was no subsequent encounter with the Vok until after the Sulvu became an FTL-level civilization, and those were minor skirmishes. For millennia, no one knew the extent of the Vok, how they were organized, or their ultimate goals.
After the United Planetary Alliance was formed, there were exploratory expeditions along the border of the Sulvu system and the Vrekan Empire, which led to the recovery of Vok ships and soldiers’ remains left behind after a battle. UPA scientists learned that the Vok are linked through a hyperspace communications network, meaning they operate as a hive species. Their reproductive organs were necrotic even before death, which led to the discovery that Vok grew in number by processing other humanoids they encountered and joining them to the Hive. Other variants have been observed: Crushers are enhanced for their destructive capabilities, engineers can go from bipedal to serpentine to better move about the labyrinth engines of Vok ships, and nursemaids who have been augmented to provide nutrients to those going through processing.
Direct confrontation between the Vok and UPA forces has been relatively rare & brief until today…
Klaxons sound as Borges Station’s AI speaks calmly over the intercom system, telling everyone onboard to get to designated safety stations as they are under attack. Kae & Abram are running through the observation deck, headed for the lifts to the command bridge. They can see the tentacled technoprobes landing on the station through the large reinforced glass window and beginning to splice into it.
“I need my sword,” Abram insists. Kae is confused. “I don’t think you can fight those with your sword, sir. We need to get the command bridge. Can you hear what they are saying?”
Secure an Advantage w/Heart – [Weak Hit: 2 + 3 + 0 = 5 vs 9 | 4]
Abram stops and closes his eyes, concentrating. “They speak a language I do not know but can feel the intent. They are not attacking…yet. They are assessing the station’s systems and defenses.”
“I guess that means we have some time,” Kae replies, trying to find the positive. He touches her shoulder gently.
“Please, help me get my sword from your armory,” he pleads. Kae decides to go for it.
[Kae vows to retrieve Abram’s sword – Dangerous]
[Mark Progress: Bond with Abram: 1 boxes]
Undertake an Expedition w/Wits – [Strong Hit: 6 + 2 + 0 = 8 vs 2 | 1]
[Mark Progress: I vow to retrieve Abram’s sword:2 boxes]
Kae & Abram run across Lt. Com. Ennis, chief engineer, after taking a lift to the security deck. He tells Kae that the probes outside the station are Vok. Kae gets chills, and Abram asks what the Vok are. She briefly explains that they are an ancient species that had plagued the Sulvu & Renkat for millennia. Techno-organic, they process biological material to reproduce. Vok is Sulvu for “Voidforged,” implying they came from the depth of uncharted space.
Undertake an Expedition w/Wits – Burn momentum – [Strong Hit: 3 + 2 + 0 = 7 vs 6 | 2]
[Mark Progress: I vow to retrieve Abram’s sword:4 boxes]
Kae & Abram reach the armory. She tells the ensigns on duty that she needs access and that this is an emergency. They quickly move aside.
Fulfill Your Vow – Weak Hit – Take one tick lower XP
Kae searches the manifest and finds an item that matches Abram’s UPA-assigned registration number. It’s a metallic cylinder, about the size of an engineer’s omni-tool. “This it?” she asks.
Abram nods and puts it in a loop on his belt. Kae says they have to get to the command bridge now.
[Mark Progress: Bond with Abram:2 boxes]
[Kae vows to protect the station from the Vok – Formidable]
Kae finds a frenzy of energy on the command bridge. She orders a power surge to fry these probes and stop their information collection.
Secure an Advantage w/Heart -[Weak Hit: 1 + 3 + 0 = 4 vs 1 | 9]
The station unleashes a burst of energy, and the Kae can see the probes spark and unlock, moving away.
“Fire all weapons on those probes!” Kae orders.
[Mark Progress: I vow to protect the station from the Vok :1 boxes]
Face Danger w/Heart – [Miss: 2 + 3 + 0 = 5 vs 10 | 7]
[Pay the Price: Something of value is lost or destroyed]
One of the probes is not entirely out of commission, and pivots to the strange Enclave vessel docked with the station. Kae is very worried; there’s no record of Vok interacting with this tech. Captain Ehab speaks up over the comms; he’s undocking the Cassandra to engage directly with the Vok probe. Kae says she will head down to the Linnaeus envoy and see what they suggest for their ship.
Kae asks Abram if he can hear what the probe is saying/communicating.
Secure an Advantage w/Heart – [Miss: 2 + 2 + 0 = 4 vs 9 | 8]
[Pay the Price: You are delayed or put at a disadvantage]
Abram looks at Kae and says, “It’s too late.”
A lieutenant at the tactical station shouts out, “Two…no six…no ten Vok ships have just dropped out of light jump. How did we not detect this?”
On the view screen, Kae can see the strange capsule-like ships of the Vok, which had been images & videos in her classes at the Academy until now.
“Red alert! All station defenses. Target and fire on those ships. I’m going to the Concordia.”
Abram follows as Kae takes a lift to the spaceport, hoping her diplomat-class ship will be able to help out Cassandra.
Secure an Advantage w/Edge – [Weak Hit: 2 + 2 + 0 = 4 vs 6 | 3]
The Concordia’s crew is preparing the ship for flight. Lt. Comm. Ennis is there, asking to come on board and help. Kae accepts. Ennis asks her privately about Abram, and she says the old man can somehow hear the Vok, so they need that advantage as much as possible.
Face Danger w/Heart – [Strong Hit: 6 + 3 + 0 = 9 vs 7 | 1]
[Mark Progress: I vow to protect the station from the Vok:2 boxes]
The Cassandra exits the spaceport and joins the Cassandra in opening fire on whatever Vok ships they can. By targeting together, they destroy one.
Kae asks Abram if he can hear their tactics or what they are doing next.
Secure an Advantage w/Shadow – [Weak Hit: 4 + 1 + 0 = 5 vs 6 | 2]
Oracle: Withdraw Strategy
“They are…moving toward the other ship…that one.” Abram points at the Enclave ship. Kae asks the officer at Tactical, “Is there any record of Vok contact with Enclave technology?”
Oracle question, Odds: Unlikely. Result – [Ask the Oracle: No]
Kae contacts the Cassandra, telling Captain Ehab they must fire on Vok ships and draw them away from the Enclave vessel. She reasons they have Essence on board, and there is no telling how that will be processed by the Vok.
Secure an Advantage w/Heart – [Strong Hit: 6 + 3 + 0 = 9 vs 8 | 4]
Captain Ehab responds that they have the lead Vok ship targeted. Kae orders her helmsman to open fire.
Face Danger w/Edge – Burn Momentum – [Strong Hit: 2 + 2 + 0 = 10 vs 2 | 5]
The concentrated fire of both ships on the lead Vok causes the movement to hesitate. Kae checks with Abram. “They are focused on you two now. The Enclave ship has been de-prioritized.”
[Mark Progress: I vow to protect the station from the Vok :3 boxes]
Kae tells Ehab they should start moving away from the station to draw the Vok away as well & then split apart to force the same for the Vok.
Secure an Advantage w/Shadow – [Strong Hit: 5 + 1 + 0 = 6 vs 3 | 3]
[Mark Progress: I vow to protect the station from the Vok:4 boxes]
Kae has the Concordia make a short jump to a nearby asteroid field. The Vok follows. She has Tactical target a series of asteroids, calculating they will fragment and collide with the Vok ships, destroying them.
[Miss: 2 + 4 + 0 = 6 vs 9 | 7]
[All progress erased, challenge ranked up to Extreme]
The sound of distortion is followed by the teleportation of four Vok soldiers onto the Concordia bridge. Kae pulls out her laser pistol and opens fire.
Enter the Fray w/Edge – [Miss: 2 + 2 + 0 = 4 vs 5 | 9]
The Vok looks at Kae and fires a blast from a hand weapon, and Kae starts feeling disoriented. Her EVPs begin malfunctioning.
Clash w/Edge – [Miss: 1 + 2 + 0 = 3 vs 10 | 8] [Pay the Price: You are harmed]
Searing pain shoots through Kae’s body, the Vok injected something into her with that weapon. How? The EVPs flicker, and she catches glimpses of the Concordia’s crew doing battle with the Vok and not doing well.
Kae tries to reach the command chair to see if she can lock on teleporters and jettison these soldiers into the void.
React Under Fire – [Strong Hit: 6 + 2 + 0 = 8 vs 7 | 7]
[Mark Progress: Vok soldiers:2 boxes]
She slams her hand down on the panel, and the Vok vanishes from the bridge in a blink. A helmsman checks his screen. “They’re dead, commander.”
“Fire at those asteroids! Now!” Kae orders
Take Decisive Action – [Miss: 1 + 2 + 0 = 3 vs 8 | 8]
[Take Decisive Action: It gets complicated: The true nature of a foe or objective is revealed]
Concordia’s onboard scanners start blaring an alert. “Some of us are triggering the alarm.” She looks over in time to see the Science officer contort as bio-mechanical protrusions emerge. He is Vok now. The weapon. It must have fired some type of nanobots that internally assimilate the host. Kae can see through her EVPs that they are attempting to push back her own infection. The Science officer lunges at Kae.
Strike w/Edge – [Miss: 4 + 2 + 0 = 6 vs 9 | 6]
[Pay the Price: Your equipment or vehicle malfunctions]
The laser pistol fails to fire; it’s being disrupted by the Vok. The Science officer pushes Kae to the floor, extending a hand with needles emerging from the fingertips.
Kae sees Abram backed against a wall. He looks confused, overwhelmed with the thoughts of the Vok. He locks eyes with her. She says in her mind that she needs his help.
Compel w/Heart – [Strong Hit: 5 + 3 + 0 = 8 vs 2 | 4]
Abram produces the object he called his sword earlier. He flicks a switch, and a beam of emerald crackling light emerges. A beam sword. Kae has heard of these. That means Abram must be one of those…Calugar, the mystic knights of the Old Imperium.
React Under Fire w/Heart – [Strong Hit: 5 + 3 + 1 = 9 vs 4 | 2]
[Mark Progress: Vok soldiers:4 boxes]
Abram’s beam sword cleaves the Science officer’s needle hand off. It looks at the Calugar, scanning and sizing him up. This gives Kae a chance. She clicks her laser pistol on and prepares to fire.
Strike w/Edge – [Miss: 2 + 2 + 0 = 4 vs 6 | 7]
[Pay the Price: Your action causes collateral damage or has an unintended effect]
Kae’s blast through the torso of the Vok damages it deeply. The Vok stumbles back & eyes a helmsman, grabs them, and utters something in the Vok language, and they both vanish in a teleportation beam.
Kae jumps to the helm and starts powering up the lightspeed engines. They have to get out of here now before more Vok beam in.
Take Decisive Action – [Weak Hit: 4 + 4 + 0 = 8 vs 1 | 10]
[Take Decisive Action: It gets complicated: The true nature of a foe or objective is revealed]
Everything starts to become distorted in her EVPs. The last thing Kae sees before she blacks out is Vok teleporting onto the bridge. Abram slashes away with his beam sword but becomes overwhelmed as they dog-pile him.
[Mark Progress: Bond with Abram :3 boxes]
Oracle: Preserved People
Kae wakes up onboard the Vok lead ship. She’s attached to a series of tubes and wires. Others around her, a vast battery of humans and Vok, are being processed or repaired. A Vok unlike the others approaches, still a cyborg but many of those features are muted. He smiles at her. He explains he is a particular type of Vok, a Partially Autonomous Unit, still connected to the Hive but able to develop a unique personality and mannerisms. She can call him Paul.
The Vok came here because of the one named Abram. Paul gestures to the old Calugar, hooked up to the same machines as Kae across from her but unconscious. The neural mapping is quite unique. The Hivemind wishes to study it and incorporate it into the Vok. However, their curiosity has been sparked by something even more potent. That strange vessel that came to your station. Its power source is quite unique. What is it?
Kae attempts to lie, saying their sensors must be off; it runs on callium crystals like every other ship in the Alliance.
Compel w/Shadow – [Weak Hit: 5 + 1 + 0 = 6 vs 5 | 6]
Paul contemplates this statement. Possibly, but very unlikely. We have some of the best sensor arrays in the known universe. Perhaps, he suggests, you are teleported on board this strange ship with one of our sensor units. I will accompany you, of course, and you can show me the Callium engine.
Kae knows this gives her a slight chance at escaping, but the Vok will likely keep a teleportation lock on her the whole time, snatching her back the minute things go south. Kae suggests they have the station transfer the blueprints of the Enclave ship over to the Vok in exchange for the Concordia crew that have not been transformed yet.
Compel w/Heart – [Weak Hit: 3 + 3 + 0 = 6 vs 1 | 10]
Oracle: Finish Memory
All this talk of what you humans call a “field trip” sounds delightful, but I think you have forgotten the Vok’s talent at directly extracting the memory of our captives. It does cause the individual’s life support functions to cease, but there is a cost to everything, yes? I shall return shortly, and we will bring you to the operating chamber.
[I vow to teleport back to the Concordia – Dangerous]
Kae attempts to awaken Abram, hoping he can use his abilities to free them both.
Face Danger w/Heart – [Strong Hit: 3 + 3 + 0 = 6 vs 5 | 1]
Abram comes to, a bit groggy, but still possesses his faculties. Kae points out the spots he should focus on to get himself free. He does, falling to the floor, legs a bit unsteady. He notes they’ve taken his beam sword. Abram undoes the wires and tubes connected to Kae, and they begin making their way through the Vok ship.
[Mark Progress: I vow to protect the station from the Vok :0 boxes]
[Mark Progress: I vow to reach teleport back to the Concordia:2 boxes]
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