Hello, Everyone! About a month ago, I started GM'ing my first Stars Without Number campaign. The twist is that I am using a custom Fudge build for this, rather than its native system of mechanics. I can report that, so far, this has worked rather well.

There are currently three PC's in the group. Anastasia Petrova is a twenty-something biopsychic and metapsychic who is out of system putting some space between herself and the drama back on her home planet of Nostrovia, and its psionic academy, the only publicly known such facility in the sector. She is sassy, strong-willed, very Russian, and very good with a gun, though (don't tell her I said so) not much else.

Lila Iwanna is a native of the currently civil war-torn world of Tabari. She has seen a thousand lives torn apart by this ongoing conflict. She has also lost much herself. She decided to flee, escaping to the sector’s centrally-located trade hub of Leventis. She is a flirt. She knows how to captivate a crowd. Most importantly of all, she knows how to fly a ship, not something you see every day in the Proem Sector.

Roberto Petrou is a Leventic entrpreneur in possession of a wealthy starship repair business on Pericles station in Leventis’ local system. He dreams of opening up new commercial frontiers for his business. A quite adept mechanic himself, he is ironically nigh-incapable at actually doing business itself. Rather, his father passed onto him the family business on his death, and Roberto employs a manager.

Our story began with Anastasia sensing a psychic, while she was aboard Pericles station. Lost in thought, an obviously well-dressed, though otherwise nondescript man placed a briefcase at her feet. Without any words, he continued walking past her.

Anastasia looked inside the briefcase, finding a data drive, and starship activation key, though she was unable to identify the latter. She did, however, recognize a starship on the key. She reasoned that a spacer might be able to tell her about these curiosities.

She proceeds to a local spacer stop diner, and finds our second protagonist. Lila, though initially suspicious of the woman, is willing to identify for her the contents of the briefcase.

Just then, the electric doors of the diner shut rapidly, sealing of the area. One by one, the lights in the area begin to shut off, leaving only the center of the room, where Anastasia and Lila sit illuminated. They correctly identify the sound of the waitress in the room collapse to the floor behind a counter. Lila then hears the sound of metal sliding against metal from the ceiling’s nearby ventilation shaft.

Lila prepares herself, drawing her fang saber, and turning the table to provide her concealment. Anastasia draws her semi-automatic handgun moment. Both then notice a human figure in black garb with nightvision goggles descend from the ceiling, and rush Anastasia. She shouts, “Stop!” The rush continues, and Anastasia opens fire. Thanks to a combination of her firearm skills, and fantastic luck, a single bullet from her handgun rips through both of the assailants knees, dropping him to the floor, and forcefully slamming his head against the hard floor. No response from the man follows.

The doors then open and the familiar barked commands of Leventic Civil Security reach the ears of our heroes. An investigation proceeds. However, a combination of notably liberal Leventic self-defense law, and diplomatic immunity brings an early halt the investigation surrounding Anastasia.

Lila identifies the data drive as containing the digital deed of a vessel in hangar 19B. Curious, both approach the hangar. Upon entering inside, both remember that Pericles station hangars are semi-soverign territory due to treaty obligations with other civilizations in the sector.

They see two people opposite them, nearby what appears to be a Free Merchant vessel. One is a docking authority employee, who quickly flees upon seeing Lila and Anastasia. Looking at the other is a semi-surreal experience. She could be Anastasia’s sister. But she has no sister. Rather, this appears to be simple coincidence. Anastasia’s doppelganger explains that there was a mix up with the delivery of the aforementioned briefcase, and that it was to be placed in her possession for a job that she did not wish to detail. This woman then offers the duo a hundred credits to have it placed in her possession, then draws her laser pistol to an obviously clumsy low-ready position.

Lila then begins trying to gently talk her down. “It’s okay. I don’t know this woman. Look, I’m a good pilot, and I am looking for work. If you’ll have me, I won’t even charge very much. We can talk.” She says this with her hands up in feigned submission, approaching the woman very slowly. When Lila is only five meters from this woman, Anastasia throws the briefcase to the ground and says, “That’s enough. I have had enough of this, I don’t want anything. Just leave me alone.” The doppelganger intently focuses on this briefcase and makes two steps toward it. The lookalike then feels the pain of tens of thousands of volts of electric current traveling through her body, as she realized for a brief moment that she had been struck with a stun prod fired from Lila’s exact direction. The world then goes dark for her.

Lila and Anastasia then drag this woman aboard the ship, tie her up, and begin a lengthy interrogation.

So concludes our first session. What do you think so far? It this is gets some engagement, I wouldn’t mind posting the adventure as it proceeds.