Second Mate Edward Blackfellow

Edward Blackfellow / Vhrant
Second Mate
Alien

Carousin': 2
Plunderin': 3
Swashbucklin': 3
Wenchin': 4

Background

Raise a glass, me jolly lads, to the greatest crew what sailed the Seven Seas! Led by Captain "Red" Ned Morris, th' rouges and scallywags manning the Jolly Rancher are the finest, the fiercest, and the most shipshape crew in all of creation. Yer exploits are known th' world over, bringing the crew fame an' enough gold to keep you well for a bunch of scurvy seahands. And now you're nearly at th' end of your quest for the Blood Jewel, ye can feel it! Worth thousands of dubloons, ye think it would keep the crew for at least ten years. In celebration of yer continued good fortune, Capt'n Morris has declared tonight a revel, an' while work t' find the Jewel is welcome, this is a night for rum and tobacco. The Capt'n has left the plannin' to his First Mate Nathaniel Teach for the night. So here's t' the Jolly Rancher and her crew; any landlubber or bilge rat what doesn't give you quarter will end up prayin' they be given th' chance t' walk the plank rather than cross ye!

. . . all right, that's enough. Whew! If you can keep that up, no one will be the wiser.

Your name is Vhrant, and by human standards, you are an alien. Specifically, you are a commander in the Xanthus army, decorated with countless medals from your yearcycles in the Grand Wars. You directed thousands of men in tactical missions across your galaxy for the prosperity of your people, are considered a war hero . . .

. . . and now you're the third in command on a miniscule vessel aboard waves of dihydrogen hydroxide on an inconsequential planet and you Can't. Get. Home. It wasn't your fault. It was the Navigations Officer and his Kat'ar sympathies; he sabotaged your ship, secretly charted a course for little-known space and set off a suicide bomb once you were underway. Ths ship crashed into an unfamiliar large body of water, leaving you the only one left alive. You spent some time camoflaging your ship and and observing the people of Earth, and found that on superficial levels humans and Xanthus are not so different. This made it easier to blend in and, once you were able to drag and hide your ship off the coastline and fine tune your biotranslator, engaged in reconnaissance with the earthlings.

Your single biggest disappointment in Earth is that their technology is so underdeveloped. They certainly have nothing even remotely like Xanthus interstellar travel, nor the technological maturation to repair your ship. Thankfully, most of the repairs your ship would need can be managed on your own with some time. The only sticking point is your cracked power crystal. It powers the hyperengine; without it you may be well and truly stuck.

To find out if there was any hope of at least jury-rigging something to take the place of the crystal, you took on the role of a naval officer several Earth yearcycles ago, meeting Captain "Red" Ned Morris in what they call a pub and finding out more about intraplanetary piracy. Thinking this the best way to come across unique items, you signed on with the Jolly Rancher.

Captain Morris assigned you the role of Second Mate, however. Second Mate? You used to command thousands! You have leadership skills, unlike this soft, wishy-washy bipedal primate. Still, you understand the chain of command, and questioning the Captain's orders directly without any solution to your own problem in sight lacks prudence. You'll abide by his decisions, even if it means listening to Nathaniel Teach. He's little more than a glorified errand boy anyway, on the ship because of his family's riches.

Since you joined, things have gone well. The proud words your captain uses to fire up your crew aren't too far from the truth. The crew does well enough, and they live and eat well by their own human standards because of it. The ship is in tip-top shape, though some of the work done on it strongly suggests "alien" technology, wondering if another race is on the ship. The mates get along as well as any pirate crew, from what you've heard, and work as smartly as a bunch of brigands will. Other crews you've run across have either given you quarter or been no real trouble, increasing your bounty and occasionally your crew through recruit.

And speaking of recruiting . . . your single biggest pleasant surprise about Earth involves their genetics. From everything you can tell, their genetic patterns are close (albeit primitive) matches for yours. In short: humans may be able to interbreed with Xanthus. This unexpected windfall would please your Great Regent, as use of some of the most advanced military technology is rendering the Xanthus females both sterile and uninterested in relations. This is something you yourself have noticed, and have been feeling a little anxious about getting yourself some "relations." But first things first.

You remember a few yearcycles ago there being a small scuffle over a necklace of some sort. An amulet, they called it. At the time a fairly big deal was made out of it, so you have to assume it's valuable barter. There had been rumor of a planned break-in to the captain's quarters to obtain it, and better you than someone else get in trouble if they fail. As the captain made no public announcement and punishment, you assume they succeded; from what you heard, the being most seeking the amulet was Calico, the speaking ship's cat.

You had a plan.

You've been known to collect the occasional odd and end, especially auything you thought you might be able to use in your ship. At a Japanese bazaar some years ago a copper pendant caught your eye. It ended up being worthless to you, but in brief reference to your travels Flintlock Jack's eyes lit up. Perhaps he would be interested in making a trade . . .

You approached him last night and after some mild debate pertaining to what you assume is the human moral compass, he agreed. This morning, he had the amulet for you, and you had the pendant for him. Simple. After you determined that it also could not do anything for your ship you made it known that you have what you believe Calico to be looking for. Whether you approach her or she approaches you, you'll want to be careful as you're not sure if the captain is aware it is missing yet.

And then there's the matter of the Blood Jewel. Worth thousands of dubloons to the proper buyer, the gold it would garner could secure the crew's future for a decade or put you up for life. But that's not your reason for wanting it. Rumor has it that the Blood Jewel is no jewel at all, but a source of power currently unheard of on planet Earth. If this were the case, getting your hands on it and attuning it might allow it to serve as a reasonable power source for your ship. You could go home! Preferably with a human female or three to begin the process of perpetuating your race, and hopefully without needing any additional help. The crew's navigations have led you here, to this cove. It may simply be a matter of searching. If it does turn out to be a power source, you hope to keep it for yourself. And if that means making it more obvious that you're an alien, you'll do it, though that would obviously blow your cover, including to any other alien race who might have adapted the ship provided they have heard of the Xanthus.

But tonight is a night of carousing, a hard-earned reward for your work. As is the Captain's right, he has chosen to spend the night enjoying yourself rather than keeping the crew in order, handing over that task to his First Mate, Nathaniel Teach. This doesn't mean that he won't make the final decisions on any important matters, of course, especially about the Blood Jewel. For now, however, we eat, we drink and make merry! Three cheers for the Jolly Rancher and her crew!

Who You Know

• Sam Bellamy - Quiet and thoughtful.
• Calico - The ship's (supposedly talking) cat. The captain found her soon after his encounter with the Sky Devil. You did not think this species could speak.
• Grace Duguay, Helmsman - Cheerful and friendly. You do not understand her.
• Flintlock Jack, Master Gunner - An intense man who seems to care about honor. For one so bound to human morality, he seems t good at putting it aside when he wishes. His sense of guilt may be his worst trait.
• Pele Giggs, Boatswain - A little odd, but good at his job.
• Stede Hawthorne, Quartermaster - A steady, reliable sort.
• Kate Highwater, Sailing Master - Charming but hard to read. Interesting.
• Thomas Kidd, Cook - A great cook, and a warm and chatty guy.
• Siofra O'Malley, Cooper - A freespirited, personable woman. Beautiful.
• Lady Charlotte Marlow - A well-to-woman who's taken to piracy. You have shared a bed with her once, but she was gone by morning. She is quite the charmer.
• Tully Morgan, Lookout - A woman who knows herself.
• "Red" Ned Morris, Captain - A charismatic, able enough captain. You listen to him because you respect the chain of command except in the rare impossible cases.
• Mary Rackham, Carpenter - A bit of an unknown. Mysterious.
• Bloody Christian Read, Surgeon - As good a doctor as a carouser.
• Nathaniel Teach, First Mate - A soft man. How he became first mate is beyond you.

Abilities

• Female's Male - Once per game, you may persuade any characters interested in males to pass the Blood Jewel to you if they otherwise appear on the fence about it.
• Information Gatherer - Two times during the game, you may approach the GM to hear if there are any secret or nefarious plans going on in the ship. The information may be vague and cryptic but it will be accurate to the GM's knowledge. If nothing secret or nefarious is going on at the time, the ability will not be expended.
• Recognize Advanced Technology - You are capable of recognizing unusually advanced technology. To use this ability, ask a GM.

Items

• Other Arcane Amulet - A strange amulet stolen from Calico Anne Bowman.