The Baldie Challenge Aftermath, Part Six: Getting to the Home Stretch

Greetings Captains!

With the home stretch in sight already, we are getting close to the end of our Baldie Challenge. The remaining Captains only need to make it through two more encounters until the Colombus will come and rescue them.

With three Captains alive, the most action is still going on on the ocean world, while we only have one remaining Captain each on the moon and on the asteroid.

Who will be eliminated today? Who is going to survive? Let's get right into it!

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The Ocean World

With these mysterious crabs eliminated, everything was slowly getting back to normal in the colony. There were no further earthquakes and no signs of a second flood. It was still some days until the rendezvous with the Colombus but your crew started to releax a bit. Things were looking good...

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@blockmonster: It was an odd time for your colony. You had enough food and water to survive and it wasn't that long until the Colombus would come and pick yup up. But without Energy, there was only so much you could do. Eliza and the Preservation Officer could only do some basic experiments and after the last of the crabs in the nearby forest had been eliminated, there was not much left to do for Shen and Oksana other than training.

It was one of these uneventful days when suddenly a small space shuttle approached the colony and landed right next to your defunct generator. Everybody scrambled to get there and Kilbot was already powering up his KB Blaster, just in case. The shuttle addressed your crew through a speaker. Stand down, we are not hostile! Shen signaled the crew and everybody lowered their weapons a bit. The shuttle door opened up and 3 men wearing suits of unknown design stepped out. The two standing to the left and right were armed with rifles as well, the one in the middle was unarmed. They stopped right in front of the shuttle and addressed the crew. Who are you and what are you doing here? At first, nobody said anything. It took Eliza some seconds to realize that the crew was waiting for her to respond, seeing how she was the one making the decisions these last two months.

She followed Federation protocols. Greetings to you, I am Eliza, I speak on behalf of the Federation and... She stopped as the troopers raised their guns and aimed at her, but your crew immediately raised weapons as well. Everybody was just standing there, looking at each other. The man that had addressed her in the first place was eyeing your crew. It seemed like he was calculating their odds in a firefight. The look of Kilbot aiming his KB Blaster directly at his head must have been enough to convince him. We have nothing to say to you. Slowly the three retreat back into the shuttle and it takes off only seconds after.

Oksana knew what was coming. Everybody, run for the forest, NOW! She dashed forward and everybody joined in. It only took a few moments before the assault began. What ever the shuttle had waiting for it in orbit was not happy with Eliza's answer. They launched several missiles at your colony and it's surroundings. Your crew barely made it out of there alive and kept running deeper into the forest, finally hiding behind some rocks. Your crew stayed in cover for over an hour but no additional explosions were to be heard. It looked like the unknown attackers were happy with the destruction they caused - for now.

Your crew survived the orbital bombardment but your colony and all your supplies have been destroyed. With still two weeks until the Colombus should come and pick you up, survival is going to be hard - even if the attackers don't survive. You really need to stop telling everybody that you are with the Federation, Eliza...

Result of Encounter:

• Your colony got destroyed - 50 damage
• Colony Health remaining: 25

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@apshamilton: With your Foodie Moodie washed away, your whole colony was now placed underground. Alanna Vös spent most of her time checking if there were any crabs remaining in the nearby part of the forest. With each passing day, she found less and less of them still alive, but she was not willing to take any risks. The Tech Expert fixed all damage done to your base by the flood while Stug got back to his training routine. To avoid any more danger from sudden flooding, your crew agreed to stay closer to your base and ignore the rest of the island - there was nothing to be found there anyway.

While routinely working on the sensors, the tech Export spotted a ship in high orbit around the planet. He immediately informed Alanna Vös and Stug. Should I contact them? Maybe the Colombus is early! Alanna Vös was not convinced of that idea. This is not the Colombus, it's a Myrmidon Assault Transport! The crew kept staring at the sensors for a while. Maybe they escaped together with the Colombus and came looking for us? the Tech Expert proposed. Then why are they not hailing us on the agreed on frequence? Alanna Vös was not prepared to risk anything. It was best to remain silent and wait it out. After several hours, the Tech Expert spotted a small shuttle coming back to the Myrmidon from one of the other islands. It docked with the ship and shortly after, the Myrmidon left orbit.

I'd love to know what they've been doing on that island Stug mumbled. Without any means of transportation, you were not going to find out. Nevertheless, you had a feeling that it was the right choice to not get into contact with them.

Result of Encounter:

• Nothing bad happened - Well done Captain!
• Colony Health remaining: 40

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We are being hailed! Norah did not expect that We are? Is it the Colombus already? The Military Engineer shook his head. It is not. They didn't introduce themselves, but they are asking to talk to the commander of that colony and, uh, I assume that's you...?@raudell: It was a busy time for your colony. Alanna Vös spent most of her time checking if there were any crabs remaining in the nearby part of the forest. With each passing day, she found less and less of them still alive, but she was not willing to take any risks. Elizah was tending to Tyron who had lost a lot of blood but was about to make a full recovery. The Military Engineer had just finished repair of the generator and power was back up. Norah was busy doing an inventory of your remaining supplies when the Military Engineer came rushing in.

Norah had never seen it that way, but it was probably true nevertheless. Put them through to me. Her communications screen turns on and a man in his forties wearing a uniform Norah had never seen is looking at her. Without any introduction he gets to the point at once. Who are you and what are you doing here? Norah had been a diplomat most of her live and she knew that kind of question. It was from the "give us the wrong answer and you are dead"-category. Something she had learned about these kind of encounters was that it was best to be as vague as possible without sounding disrespectful.

We are a small group of travelers who crash landed on that planet. That did not really convince the man. You crash landed here? So how did you get to the far end of the universe in the first place? Norah gave it a long thought before she replied. There was a malfunction with our hyperdrive, for some reason we made a jump to this system instead to our destination in Hitari Beta. The man and Norah kept staring at each other for what felt like an eternity. He finally broke the silence So the aliens finally did attack? With all her experience, Norah was not able to contain her surprise about the question. I...they... The man was not willing to wait for her answer. Who sent you here? There was that tone again.

We were docked at a remote station when they attacked. We are an independent group of settlers, we lost contact to our colony ship during the attack. How do you... Again the man was not interested in listening to her question. So you are telling me you are not affiliated with any group or faction? What was your colony ship called? She gave it a long thought. The Colombus. The man looked away from the camera for about 10 seconds, than gave somebody outside the screen a short nod. Will you survive? Odd question. We hope to. Norah replied. Alright, we don't have time to help you. Good luck. and with that the screen went blank again.

Who was that man? Where did he come from and how did he know about the alien attack? Norah did not know what to think, but she had a feeling that things could have gone a lot worse had she given other answers...

Result of Encounter:

• Nothing bad happened - Well done Captain!
• Colony Health remaining: 85

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The Moon

We should stay here and let them come to us! Ayumi proposed. She was no coward and she'd always stand her ground, no matter the cost. We are no fighters, Ayumi. If they come for us we won't stand a chance. We should retreat to the Baldie and hide in there! the Research Officer insisted. The arguments were going back and forth, but ultimately, it was Ayumi that convinced the rest. We still have control of the base, if we ever have a fighting chance then it is here. And besides, they have probably already located the Baldie and our shelter when they were approaching the moon. There is no hiding! The other officers still were not very happy about it at all. They barely knew how to hold their Auto-Blaster, but there was no other way.@palasatenea: Your crew was having a heated discussion on what to do next. What was the correct move to make?

While the base was equipped with sensors to check for incoming ships, it had no scanning capacity for the ground. The surveillance system in place was only monitoring the ruins themselves. Thus all your crew was able to do for now was wait for the inevitable attack. Your enemies had to be aware by now that your Hacker had taken control of the base, so they wouldn't walk into your trap again. The Syndicate Hacker had rewritten the targeting mechanisms for the auto turrets so he could assign targets to them without having to take care of the aiming and firing. Everybody else was taking turns laying in cover in the ruins, staying close to the entrance to the base. While the Eisen Suits were great for protection from the cold, they wouldn't provide much cover once the shooting starts. And so the waiting began...

The first two days passed without anything happening. Your crew kept checking the mountain line but couldn't make out anything. Without any warning, the Research Officer went down, her helmet pierced by a single hit. SNIPER! Everybody, get inside the base! The rest of your crew rushed inside, getting into cover behind some crates. Everybody but Ayumi. She was not going to hide in that hole. She had camouflaged herself behind one of the ruins walls and was patiently waiting.

After several minutes of silence, grenades were shot into the minefield, creating a passage for the attackers. There were 10 of them in total. They all wore the same combat suits, painted in an unknown design but similar to what you've seen on the man that contacted you several days ago in the base. They approached in a close formation with a single man leading the group and everybody else following a metre behind him. Once they got close enough to the ruins, the Syndicate Hacker powered up the auto cannons. They immediately unleashed hell on the approaching attackers but to no effect. It seemed like their forward leader had some kind of portable energy shield, absorbing all hits. In return, it took them only a couple of well aimed shots to disable the auto turrets. These guys were good.

But so was Ayumi. When the enemies started to circle the entrance to the hidden base, Ayumi popped her N-Prime and got ready for carnage. When one of the attackers stepped in front of her, she finally got up. With a single thrust of her sword, she brought him to the ground. Before anybody knew what was happening, she had already delivered two headshots with her Firetalker. The rest of the attackers turned to attack instantaneously. Ayumi got hit by several bullets but the N-Prime kept her going. With a huge leap, she jumped in front of another enemy and split him in two. She looked around and searched for another victim but everybody else had already taken cover. With her last breath she hurled her sword towards another attacker but she had already taken too many hits. With everybody focusing on her, she finally went down.

There's not much to be said for the rest of your crew. Without anybody else knowing how to fight, they didn't stand a chance and the attackers did not intend to take prisoners. You had fought bravely, but in the end, your mission had failed.

Result of Encounter:

• Your crew got killed - 120 damage
• Colony Health remaining: 0
• You have been eliminated - Thank you for your participation and better luck next time Captain!

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The Asteroid

There's a marvel of science waiting inside this asteroid and I'm stuck sitting here drawing space lions. Just as she was having an internal debate on whether to bring the topic of doing another expedition up again or not, one of the Exploration Officers brought her back to reality. There's a spaceship in the system, I think it's heading for the Moon! Could it be the Colombus already? Scanning it now... it's a human design... this has to be our rescue mission!@digital-wisdom: The days were growing longer and longer for your crew. Without anything to do (other than sit around and wait for the Colombus to finally come and pick you up), Eliza grew increasingly frustrated.

Happy to be finally taken of that rock, your crew started to broadcast on the agreed on frequency. The ship did not react to their calls and soon later it landed on the moon. Maybe they did not notice us and are searching on the moon first Eliza speculated Keep the broadcast going, they'll get to us eventually. And indeed, they did. After almost a day the ship left the moon and was heading towards the ocean world when they seemingly finally noticed your crews broadcast. They are hailing us, Eliza! - Put them on screen.

Your crew expected to be greeted by one of your fellow officers from the Colombus, but instead they were looking at a man in his forties wearing a uniform Eliza had never seen before. Who are you and what do you want from us? Eliza was still a little baffled by the fact that there were other humans in this sector not belonging to her expedition, but she quickly regained focus. Greetings to you, I am Eliza, I speak on behalf of the Federation and I... the face of the man turned from confusion into anger within seconds You have quite the nerve, federation scum! and with that he severs the connection. Is anybody ever going to at least allow Eliza to finish her sentence?

I don't think they are happy with your introduction, Eliza the Exploration Officer noted. They are changing direction and are powering up their weapons. That was not good. The Baldie was sitting like a dead duck in that asteroid. We should get deeper into the asteroid, everybody come with me, fast! Eliza shouted but there was not much she could do here. It didn't take the Myrmidon long to move towards the asteroid and without gravity they simply were not fast enough to move away from the shuttle.

They are launching missiles! The Exploration Officer kept track of the situation. Prepare for impact! The first missile exploded against one of the tunnels a bit away from the Baldie. It would take them a while to land a direct hit, but it didn't seem like they were prepared to stop anytime soon. A second and a third missile hit the asteroid. Out of nowhere, the whole asteroid started shaking. I... I don't think these are missile hits...? Eliza was not sure what was happening. A few seconds later, a focused laser beam emerged from the asteroid and evaporated the Myrmidon on hit. Looks like the Hegemony is not too fond of aliens attacking their installations.

Your crew slowly got back to the Baldie. The nearby explosions had caused some damage to the shuttle but without your Maintenance Droid there was nothing you could do about it. It should hold until the Colombus arrives Eliza analyzed. But there was another, much larger issue. How were the Ptekorians to know that the Colombus was friendly after what just happened with that battleship? Your crew had to get in contact with them again before they'd destroy the Colombus!

Result of Encounter:

• Your Baldie suffered some damage - 10 damage
• Colony Health remaining: 60

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And that's all for today Captains!

We still have three contestants going on the ocean world, but only two still have a standing colony. Whoever these visitors are, they sure don't like the federation. On the moon, everybody got eliminated but congratulations are due to @palasatenea who made it further than any other Captain there. On the asteroid, @digital-wisdom is still alive, but will he be able to convince the Ptekorians to not destroy the Colombus on sight?

Now let's have a quick look at the standings after 75 days:

Ocean World:




@raudell: 85 health @apshamilton: 40 health @blockmonster: 25 health @apprentice001: eliminated @proto26: eliminated

The Moon:



@palasatenea: eliminated @veryanprime: eliminated @slabakbg: eliminated @nockzonk: eliminated

The Asteroid


@digital-wisdom: 60 health @craniuma: eliminated @drillith: eliminated

Everybody still alive has won a Booster Pack from our Alpha Edition which will be sent to you shortly.

Only one day left until we'll know who made it to the end and who is going to be the overall winner of the Baldie Challenge! See you tomorrow Captains.

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Hyperspeed to the eXode universe!