Notorious: Outsiders (Always Checkers Publishing)
Written and designed by Jason Price
Art by Torben Bokemeye
You can purchase Outsiders here
Read the first chapter in Korris’s trilogy here
The Nomads have let Korris know they are not happy with his performance on Oceron. Too much attention drawn to his activities makes the Guild vulnerable. As a result, Korris finds himself limited in contracts he can pick up, but he also gets a few more messages from other Nomads telling him they’re impressed he took down a Dreng warrior.
Despite the boost this gives him, Korris is filled with dread when the only contract he manages to pick up will send him to Katuun, the infamous prison planet on the edges of Imperium space. The prison has been abandoned recently as the Imperium pulled its resources closer to the Haven Worlds. Huska’s Corsairs have filled that vacuum, space pirates working for a distant member of the Yonn Cartel who have found a lucrative business in raiding freight ships. Katuun has become home to Huska’s Rumbledrome. Korris has heard many rumors about the Rumbledrome, where those who anger Huska go to die for his entertainment. He’ll be happy to stay away from it.
Korris sets the autopilot on his ship and then administers his sedative. Flying is still something that causes terror in the poor Kyono. While he sleeps, the ship makes its way across Imperium space and enters the smog-filled landscape of Katuun, landing in the scavenged wreckage of an enormous Imperium walker, a remnant of the last great battle fought on the planet’s surface. The stim is injected, and when Korris’s eyelids flutter open, he’s looking out the cockpit at a fragment of the cloud cover through a hole in the side of the walker.
His target is Rick Ferran, who is wanted by the Imperium for leaving their custody after his involvement in a failed scientific experiment. Korris doesn’t know many details; the Imperium was terse in the contract’s wording. Ferran is a human scientist, and he’s hiding somewhere on Katuun. Beyond that, the target is a mystery. Korris has vowed to stay focused and not create unnecessary trouble. He needs to get back into the good favor of the Guild.
Exploration
Korris heads out on foot, ensuring his quick-draw pistol is ready and his Valkian armor is strapped under his shirt. About an hour later, he crests a hill and spots a mining quarry. With his binocs, Korris notices the workers are all Kyono like him. He’d heard a large population was left behind when the prison collapsed. Huska’s corsairs sling whips and shout curses as the miners haul rock up from below the surface.
A guard in one of the towers shouts something that draws Korris’s attention. He thinks he hears something about a “fresh set of rags” and realizes they have spotted him and his lucky jacket. Somehow, Huska had been informed that a Nomad was coming? He doesn’t have much time to think as the tower guard opens fire.
(Korris: 3+1 = 4 vs. Guard: 2+1 = 3 – Korris hits, guard’s armor takes the ding (-1 def))
(Korris: 1+6 = 7 vs. Guard: 2+4 = 6 – Korris hits, guard tumbles from his tower with a Wilhelm Scream)
Korris high-tails it out of there, knowing he needs to complete this contract before he’s caught.
Destination: Rigido, a remote outpost run by the Kuda Gang
Speak with a local – 1+6 = 7 vs. 6 – Korris succeeds, gain +1 Favour.
Besnik (pig-like), talkative
They feel that Huska treats Katuun as just another thing to plunder. All he does is use the locals for slave labor without ever ensuring their continued survival. The Besnik says he knows the people of Katuun are doomed. The Kuda aren’t saints, but they aren’t destroying the place at the same rate and they pay for the work you do for ‘em. Korris has heard about the alliance between the Kuda and The Red Moon Syndicate forming. If they push out Huska, he doesn’t expect things to improve for the Katuun locals.
Event: Korris enters one of the large buildings in the outpost, Sounds of a roaring, cheering crowd draw him in. It’s a small arena. Before Korris can react, two pairs of meaty hands grab him by each shoulder and toss the Kyono into the pit. A slobbering Cherrin brute stomps forward, roaring and ready for a fight. With a quick glance, Korris notices a Besnik with an eyepatch and an artificial right arm watching intently from a seat of honor.
(Korris: 1+3 = 4 vs. Cherrin: 3+3 = 6 – Korris lets the back of his thick jacket take the blow (-1 def))
(Korris: 2+3 = 5 vs. Cherrin: 3+3 = 6 – Korris feels the Cherrin’s fist strike the chest plate hidden beneath his shirt (-1 def))
(Korris: 2+3 = 5 vs. Cherrin: 3+4 = 7 – The Cherrin strikes Korris in the chest, sending him flying back against a wall)
Failure: Flee & lose 1 Favour – Korris pulls himself up and spots the corridor from the arena to what he assumes is where the fighters prepare. He dashes past the Cherrin as the crowd boos. They didn’t get their blood. The eyepatch-wearing Besnik leans over and whispers something to a Bot standing dutifully beside him. The Bot gestures at a pair of armed guards, and they head off.
Exploration
Korris hides out in the wilderness for the night, making sure the lights of Rigidio fade in the distance. From his bedroll, he looks up and watches as ships from Admiral Frane’s fleet attempt to breach the atmosphere, only for the violent electrical storms in the dense clouds to cause explosions until they retreat back into orbit. It seems larger ships with more extensive systems can’t handle the surges caused by these strikes. The safe pockets for working your way to the surface aren’t wide enough for them.
Destination: PR-V Fleet Storage
Korris learns why the Admiral was trying to land ships here. It’s not too far from one of the primary storage sites for remnants of the Imperium fleet. It seems a prominent city of scavengers has built up, and they are disassembling the old flagships and starfighters. It makes sense that Frane would want to add these to his arsenal, as the Imperium isn’t sending much more for the foreseeable future.
Korris is approached by a sincere Besnik. She introduces herself – Varr-Gok. She tells Korris he will need her help exploring this location, and he knows what she wants. He tosses her a few credits. Varr leads him to a rather mundane-looking building. There’s a hidden door in the floor and he follows her where she shows him an underground factory in disuse beneath the fleet storage. Varr seems to have spent time learning how to use the Imperium computer systems left behind, pulling up files that show this was one of the sites where components of the fabled Starbreaker were being constructed. Labor from the prison was being used. Korris remembers hearing rumors about the Starbreaker. The story goes that one of the Nomad’s actually killed the man engineering the whole thing but they claim that’s a lie. Korris thanks Varr for showing him this. She says she wants people to understand that sooner or later, the Imperium will be back on Katuun to reclaim this and finish what they started. (Lose -1 Motivation)
Exploration
The following day, Korris heads across one of the barren wastelands known as the Greron Sea. Not long into his trek, he feels the ground shake like giant machines crossing the landscape. A swarm of locals hurries across the edge of the wasteland in absolute terror. Local wildlife is mixed in, and predator & prey seem less concerned with each other than whatever is coming.
Korris finds a hiding spot on the other side of a scrub-covered hill (Gain +1 Favour). A massive hoverplat moves across the land, flanked by small zip fighters. Loudspeakers on the hoverplat announce they are Huska’s people and that those in their way can surrender and serve in the work camps or be destroyed. Korris feels a panic sweat as he remembers his youth being forced to labor in the mines controlled by the Yonn Cartel. Never again.
Destination – Drippe, a small town of mostly Kyono
Korris feels odd walking into a town where most of the population are his own people. He’s never seen so many Kyono in one place at the same time. They eye him with suspicion. He can hear the sniffs behind his back as they are trying to suss out where on Katuun he comes from.
Korris seeks out a local armorer/blacksmith to get repairs to his Valkian chest plate. He meets Warro, who is focused on fashioning knee & shoulder pads with scrap from the downed ships nearby.
(Speak: 1+6 = 7 vs. 2 – Korris succeeds)
Warro is curious about the intergalactic war happening closer to the Haven Worlds. He asks many questions while hammering away at the dents the Cherrin fighter left in the plate. Korris tells him about the refugee flights. He’d heard about the death of galactic celebrity Feldar Werda on Murn while they were filming for The Gauntlet. Once Warro is finished, Korris thanks him with words & credits before moving on.
Exploration
(Gain +1 Motivation)
Korris notices flowers in the middle of a patch of wasteland. Following them, he discovers Besnik pilgrims going to an oasis in a desert valley. He asks one of them, and they explain that once every ten years, it flowers in this place, and they come to collect fruit that is a central part of their religion. Korris observes in awe.
Destination – PR-X Fleet Mustering Zone
(Gain +1 Notoriety)
Korris feels his blood run slightly cold as he approaches one of the Admiral’s few outposts on Katuun. The old mustering Zone where the Imperium’s lethal PR-X fleet would launch from. Imperium commandos patrol the perimeter while locals operate businesses. Frane had sent down small groups of his soldiers, and they retook the Zone over time. Now he fully controls it but has difficulty expanding as he can’t get his larger ships past the violent cloud cover.
Korris feels starstruck. As he walks the streets of the Zone, he finds an Imperium official taking Lownika Graow on a tour. Graow is a local celebrity on Katuun, one of the great Kyono pit fighters from back in the days of the prison. Since Huska’s Corsairs have taken over, Frane’s people have attempted to woo the locals by associating themselves with their idols. Graow is one such person. Despite being well into her fifties, she still looks as buff as Korris remembers from watching archived fights as a kid.
Korris attempts to Speak to Graow.
(Speak: 1+1 = 2 vs. 6 – Failure)
Graow blows Korris off so hard he won’t ever forget this. Damn.
Exploration
Asking around the Zone did pay off, though. A loose-lipped Besnik told Korris he’d seen a man matching Ferrin’s description when he was scavenging. He parked his ship, a small Andino corvette in a cave just outside of town. Ferrin’s probably long gone, but Korris figures he could search the ship for clues about where his Target could have been headed.
The ship isn’t empty, but it isn’t Ferrin. It’s another Nomad.
Chi’loka The Brute (On’ciet – many-eyed)
Rapid-fire laser rifle (+1 first, then +2) | Power hammer, natural strength (+4)
Chest bandolier, ill-fitting jumpsuit (+1 def)
Raised on a homeworld lost to war
Crescent-shaped bite on his torso from a fight with a wulfna
Publicly lost a duel to another Nomad, shame drives him
(Korris: 3+1 = 4 vs. Chi’loka: 1+3 = 4 – spend 1 Motivation, Korris: 3+2 = 5 – Success)
Korris’s pistol fire strikes Chi’loka’s bandolier, causing it to snap and fall off.
(Korris: 1+5 = 6 vs. Chi’loka: 2+6 = 8 – Korris dodge rolls, his jacket taking the laser blast (-1 def))
(Korris: 1+1 = 2, spend 1 Motivation – 1+5 = 6 vs. Chi’loka: 2+5 = 7 – thank the gods for the Valkian chest plate (-1 def))
(Korris: 1+3 = 4 vs. Cherrin: 2+5 = 7 – Failure) – The sound of engines roars outside the cave, causing Chi’loka to refrain from delivering a killing blow. Instead she rushes out of the cave to where she’s likely hidden a vehicle. Korris crawls to a dark corner of the cave as soldiers from Frane’s fleet sweep the cave. They radio back to HQ about the corvette they’ve found, and one of them goes on board. Korris notices him bring out a canister that looks like it would be used to emit some type of gas. Perhaps this is what Ferrin’s failed experiment was connected to?
Destination: Huska’s Rumbledrome – Gain +1 Notoriety
Instead of a mega-brawl, Korris finds a funerary procession. It appears one of Huska’s top pit fighters died from exhaustion, at least that rumor among those gathered to give their respect. Korris recognizes the eyepatch Besnik among the “friends & family” in the procession and figures he must be a manager. The Besnik looks his way, and Korris moves quickly. He notices the Besnik’s Bot with a group of four guards and keeps his head down on his way out. (Gain +1 Notoriety)
Exploration – Lead #1
Construction Crew working for The Admiral’s Fleet recently employed the Target.
Species: Besnik Personality: Shifty
Site: Network of subterranean passages full of strange lighting
Setting: You disturb a sleeping beast who pursues us both
Korris finds a crew of Imperium laborers excavating the ruins of one of the prison administration buildings. He approaches and flashes the contract, ensuring the Imperium seal is prominent. They answer in short, terse replies; Korris can tell they are hiding something. One of them finally admits they hired Ferran a couple days ago. He used his scientific prowess to help them assess the best way to dig into the foundations without everything collapsing on top of them. Korris asks to speak to the Boss.
A burly Beskin emerges from underneath the building ruins. Korris feels a bit intimidated by the guy.
Speak: The Boss reveals that Ferran hasn’t done anything wrong. It’s those fat cats in the Haven Worlds that are fucking everything up. Ferran gave them what they wanted, a devastating weapon – but it was so perfect that it terrified upper brass, that’s what Ferran told them. The Boss seems to want the human left alone and allowed to go off on his own, and he stresses this to Korris.
Korris notices the two laborers coming up behind him with heavy tools
(Korris: 1+2 = 3 vs Attackers: 1+6 = 7, -1 def)
Korris lets the thick bomber jacket take the blow before swinging around to strike)
(Korris: 2+1 = 3, Attackers: 1+2 = 3, spent -1 Motivation – 2+3 = 5)
Korris punches one in the gut, sending him to the floor; the other gets clocked across the face)
The Nomad turns around just in time to see the Boss wielding a mining laser and opening fire
(Korris: 3+4 = 7 vs. Boss: 1+6 = 7, both hit, -1 def each)
Korris’s Valkian armor absorbs the laser fire but heats up fast, forcing him to unstrap it and drop the glowing plate of metal to the ground. Korris’ blast strikes the Boss’s helmet off his head.
The ensuing blast awakens a slumbering Dewlan, who pushes up through the dirt, roaring, shaking its one intact and broken tusks.
(Korris: 1+3 = 4 vs. Boss: 1+2 = 3, Boss is defeated)
Korris helps the Boss escape from the crumbling tunnels as the Dewlan thrashes, destroying the support beams. The Boss begrudgingly thanks Korris, who says he should consider himself lucky before heading off searching for Ferran.
Destination: Portum 87 Dockyard
The area’s next closest sign of civilization is a dockyard under the control of The Admiral’s Fleet. Why Ferran would brush so close to the people who want him caught seems strange. Perhaps he knows they won’t expect to find him there, their eyes glancing further out towards the horizon. Korris searches the transit hub to see if anyone has seen Ferran. He finds a bar tucked away in a dingy corner.
Search: It appears the locals don’t like Nomads or their questions. A boulder-like Brakk who runs a dive bar stomps forward with some unkind words & a fist for people “bothering” his staff.
(Threaten: 2+2 = 4 vs. 3)
The Brakk backs down after Korris pulls off a fancy shooting trick with his pistol, taking out a fly that landed on a table across the bar.
“Hey buddy, no need for a fight, we’re civilized here,” the Brakk, who introduces himself as N’zorah.”You need transport? I’ll get you a speeder.” He crosses the street to a rental place and haggles with the owner. Now, Korris has a speeder. He tosses N’zorah a few credits and heads out.
Exploration – Lead #2
A local assassin hired by Huska’s Corsairs, who has been tracking you
Species: Botaani Personality: Grim
Site: In the middle of a large crowd
Setting: Vast forest full of tall trees, tense, claustrophobic fight
Korris has to slow down on the gas as his speeder approaches a massive forest in the middle of this blasted waste. He notices the cloud seeder drones overhead and realizes this must be one of Huska’s efforts to make the planet a bit more habitable. It won’t be for the locals but for Huska and his buddies. The trees are towering, the tops disappearing into the thick thunderheads above.
A massive group of Kyono works in the artificial forest, planting ferns and other flora. Some animal handlers are letting horned binda loose, attempting to recreate a food web here. Another cluster of Kyono is letting flocks of verthflies loose, their chromatic wings sparkling in the beams of light that have broken through the dense canopy. Korris has to slow the speeder to a crawl to get through, the Kyono politely moving out of his way. Being Kyono himself, he gets some strange glances; they are confused about why he isn’t working, and then realize he’s not one of them.
Korris swears he saw a fern moving parallel to him, but that couldn’t be. Then, a lithe figure emerges in front of him on the forest path, her hair hanging like palm fronds; she holds a gnarled wooden rifle barrel up and blocks him from going further.
Speak – “You will not pursue Ferran any further, Nomad,” the assassin states. “You do not understand what is happening here,” Korris replies, saying he has a job to do and will see it through. “You will not touch the man that I love,” she continues. “Huska sends his regards.” She opens fire.
(Korris: 3+4 = 7 vs. Assassin: 3+6 = 9)
Korris feels the dart sink into his neck. The cold spreads through his body, then convulsions. His jaw becomes incredibly tight, teeth clenching. Korris knows the adrenoshot in his belt can reverse this, but he needs time. Pushing the speeder into high gear, he jumps, and it smashes into his would-be assassin. She is sent flying through the forest while Korris crawls across the ground and finds a hollowed tree that he crawls into and pierces his arm with the shot. He passes out.
Destination: Nagua, a Kuda Gang garrison
Korris wakes up hours later. The forest is dark, but the utility light on his jacket helps him navigate his way out. No sign of the assassin or his speeder anywhere. A light in the distance brings the Nomad to a small Kuda Gang outpost. Huska lets them stay on Katuun as long as their numbers don’t grow too large.
Search (gain +1 Favour) – Korris meets a Brakk construction worker who says he hasn’t met Ferran but was working on Toxico when the experiment went down. There was a planetary evacuation as a result. The Imperium hasn’t told Korris what happened. Ferran helped create the deadliest bioweapon ever cooked up by the Imperium, a gas that would kill anyone who inhaled it in a matter of seconds. Their biomatter turned to liquid, and the gas stayed dense enough to maintain its potency in covering the northern hemisphere of Toxico. The Brakk assumed Ferran must have quite the guilty soul and doesn’t want to be used like that again.
Event
Korris encounters a Besnik working on a surplus Imperium heavy shuttle. She proudly states this will be her ticket off this rotten planet. Korris is happy for her, but his stomach turns thinking about being on a ship again. He hopes that after enough contracts, he can find a place somewhere nice and never have to be on a starship again. Memories from his youth, being torn away and taken on a Yonn slave vessel to the mines, cause Korris to have to move on.
Exploration – Target
Site: Remote camp, hidden away
Setting: An electrical storm breaks out, providing spectacular lightning strikes
A rival nomad is already here, holding Ferran and taking credit.
Korris finds a camp tucked away on the far side of a cliff. There’s a jacket bearing Imperium insignia. He checks the pockets and Ferran’s identchip. A blast sends dust flying into the air. Korris swings around to see Chi’loka prodding Ferran, arms bound behind his back.
“Thought you would get here before me, rookie?” Chi chuckles. “My ship is nearby. I’d offer to give you a ride, but I don’t have any sleeping pills. I hear that’s your preferred method of travel.”
Ferran’s eyes glare at his captor. Korris tries to speak with him.
“I just wanted to ensure they couldn’t use me to do…that again.” He looks pleadingly at Korris. “If you let me get handed to the Admiral’s Fleet, they will have me make something just as bad. They want to send a message by exterminating an entire planet. Do you understand m….”
Chi strikes Ferran across the face. The human spits blood onto the dirt and is tossed into it. Chi pulls out his laser rifle and opens fire.
(Korris: 3+2 = 5 vs. 1+4 = 5, =1 def both)
Korris and Chi take the blasts from each other. The jacket is pretty singed at this point. Chi’s jumpsuit bears a scorch mark across it.
(Korris: 1+1 = 2, spend 1 motivation to reroll, 1+5 = 6 vs. 2+1 = 3)
As much as Korris wants to end Chi, he refrains. The Guild would be unhappy. He does put wristsbinds on Chi and Ferran surrenders without a fight. The long march to a transit hub begins. Korris eventually gets them onto his ship, still hidden away inside the husk of the old Imperium ship. He puts both of them in a cryosleep and then doses himself with a sedative as the ship takes off on an automated course to the drop-off point.
Upon waking at Firefall Station, Korris finds his visit to Katuun created problems. The workers at the excavation site uncovered a long-forgotten Imperium weather station, and they were able to clear the clouds enough for multiple platoons to land. Huska’s Corsairs are now locked in a planetwide war with Frane’s forces. The locals have joined Frane to take down Huska, and Katuun is in chaos. Once again, the Guild is not pleased with Korris but is happy to have Ferran. Korris isn’t sure how he feels about handing him over.
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