A freighter has been robbed in mid-voyage, a cargo pod filled with valuables discovered empty. Only one ship has left the station since the arrival of the freighter so you and your ship head off in pursuit, only for it to vanish somewhere amongst the St George Crossroads asteroid archipelago

For Sunday a few notes on the film adaption of Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets nightofthehats.blogspot.com/2023/11/i-wa...

For Saturday our space opera serial continues as the team have to rescue another crew who have got into trouble. Monolithic Society. www.patreon.com/posts/monoli...

An archaeological foundation have been auditioning candidates at a simulated dig in a remote region of Gallic Prime. One day they vanish; when you pick up the candidates left behind they complain that their equipment has been stolen; one has identified likely real sites from the simulation.

Passing the Harris System you receive a covert automated alarm; an abandoned station has been reactivated. Approaching you are hailed, the people aboard claim to have escaped a wreck and ended up here - yet strangely there are no shuttles or pods for them to have arrived in.

One of your officers broke a pirate gang by going undercover; now some have escaped and are active again. Hunting them down you and your ship find yourself in a minefield; the pirates demand you turn over your officer to face their justice.

Low quality fuel has been causing ship breakdowns out in unorganised space. Attempts to locate the source of it have failed; different batches from different suppliers are sometimes adulterated, sometimes not. You go out to rescue a stranded ship only to discover it's a tanker.

There is an uncharted void between two historical exploration expeditions. You and your ship have been sent to scan it, but the further you go the more complex it gets with rogue planets, hermit asteroids, and remote ruins.

For Sunday notes on Elysium Fire, a future crime novel spun out of Reynold's Revelation Space series nightofthehats.blogspot.com/2023/11/i-re...

For Saturday, another crew seems to be making a mess of first contacts - and they sound very familiar... our space opera serial continues with Second Chances www.patreon.com/posts/second...

An accident on Highdown Station has left debris scattered across the orbital track. While clearing up some of this you recover several bodies, including one that appears to have been shot before being blown out into space.

You take over a ship returning from a long cruise, only to be immediately ordered out to deal with an emergency. The crew are unhappy at so long without leave, some supplies are short and several departments need maintenance. Attackers are detected and the weapons systems fail to come online

The formerly closed world of Misea has opened, inviting offworlders come to trade, work or settle. When rumours of disappearances start to spread you and your ship arrive, to be told that the authorities don't track people, they're free to stay or go as they please.

A space transport line with the monopoly to several colonies and outposts has gone bankrupt. You and your ship have been sent to inform them and make arrangements. However at the first stop the inhabitants demand they be immediately evacuated due to breach of contract.

Repairs to your ship have taken longer than expected and when it is finally released, half your crew has been reassigned either temporarily or permanently. You are given a draft of trainees and sent to join local units for a gas giant atmospheric exploration rescue exercise.

For Sunday some notes on ridiculous space disaster film Moonfall nightofthehats.blogspot.com/2023/11/i-wa...

For Saturday our space opera serial continues with a brief trip to the bar - where they can swap Space Stories/Tall Tales. www.patreon.com/posts/space-...

The owners of an ore barge have left it in a parking orbit, waiting for the mineral markets to stabilise. However a freak threat of collision has restarted the autopilot and it is heading into a busy spaceway - you and your crew must scramble to take control.

A change of government has codelocked the orbital servers of Jaydon V; due to an error neither the new ministers nor the old have access. Unable to get them open they have requested you and your ship assist, bypassing the active and passive defences.

A canister of weaponised nanobots has been tracked to the vast ship breaking yards around the scrap planet Yundis. Although a search has begun, the labyrinthine space facility will take years to cover so you and your crew focus on ship movements - and the payments to them.

Policing a genomic swapmeet your efforts to mediate a claim of fraud is interrupted as one of the bio-reactors goes critical. The samples cages are opened to let the creatures within escape, after which a pack of intelligent hyena-apes take the commissioners hostage.

A navigational update has moved ships away from Outpost Gensik to Haven Station. However it's been discovered that the astrogaters were bribed by Haven; you have been sent with Gensik representatives to stand in judgment over them

For Sunday notes on Interstellar Wallflower by Samuel Lowd Goldstein in @thefuturefire.bsky.social a poem about alien first contact. nightofthehats.blogspot.com/2023/11/i-re...

For Saturday our space opera serial continues as the crew encounter a 7000 year old human civilisation that may have a hidden secret. Realm Of Pure Thought. www.patreon.com/posts/realm-...

A memory-jacker that had people make false confessions has been caught. You have been sent to the convict colony of Msemonyne VII to memory scan several prisoners implicated by the case, but on arrival you find that they never arrived.

A drunken treasure hunter claims to have found the Mega Pyramid of King Agonistes. The next day they turn up dead and three different salvage crews depart unexpectedly; you suspect one or more got the location and set out in pursuit.

A complex and frankly shady asteroid mining deal has left half the rich Lago belt in the hands of the Gullet Corporation. Somehow it was approved despite the mining inspector going missing. You and your ship have been sent to try and determine what happened to him.

After being cheated out of asteroid riches space rogue Aster Star has spent years plotting revenge. As his enemies are undone by their own foul deeds one by one you are ordered to bring him in, only to learn that your commanding officer is one of those who profited from the fraud.

An inventory check of a cyber-soldier de-commissioning centre has discovered that several hundred vampire modules have gone missing. Following a lead, you head for Fairfax Station, only for your hails to be met with strange scraping and giggling sounds.

For Sunday some notes on multiversal unconditional love story Everything Everywhere All At Once nightofthehats.blogspot.com/2023/11/i-wa...

For Saturday our space opera serial takes a turn into darkness; kidnapping, economics, death and resurrection. Negotiation Tactics www.patreon.com/posts/negoti...

Slowbots have been building a facility on a deep space asteroid for the past ten years and it is now nearing completion. Rather than supply fuel they conserve power by moving slowly. It's generally believed to be a tax write off but when you visit it seems fully equipped and supplied.

A hulk has unexpectedly shifted orbit, and is entering approach lanes for Ingrid Station. A tug was dispatched to move it safely away, but the hulk broke into several pieces. You and your ship have been scrambled to try and prevent the debris causing more problems.

Space leviathans have been reported in the Celsus Region. When you arrive there you find no sign of the creatures, but many ships looking for them. Just before you head off on a search pattern you detect a supply ship belonging to a notoriously sketchy crew approaching.

A so-called mirror-drive has been uncovered and tests run on it. The performance is excellent but strange events have been occurring on the experimental platform. You have been asked to assess the progress and investigate the anomalies.

The Infinite Fun Corporation, an AI art-terror co-operative, have built a casino resort in unaligned space. You and your crew have been granted permission to take shore leave there - but as you dock your data system unlocks secret orders to investigate several of the high rollers.

For Sunday a review of These Are The Damned in which an American tourist on the south coast of England tangles with a gang - only to stumble across a secret base filled with children. nightofthehats.blogspot.com/2023/11/i-wa...

For Saturday our space opera serial continues with Dinosaurs - In Space! Post Historic Hunters www.patreon.com/posts/post-h...

After a murder on board the Pleasure Cruise Liner Khartoum in interstellar space, the captain is refusing to take the ship into port, as the authorities will impound the ship and detain everyone. You and your ship must solve the crime to let them on their way (other than the murderer of course)

Botanical smugglers have raided the sanctuary planet of Tarzona. In response Tarzonan rangers have pursued them across the star systems - targeting smugglers, dealers and buyers indiscriminately. Learning they intend to burn the gardens on Hyde Station you head there to stop the violence.

An agent has reported a massive installation being built in the remote void between Hispaniola and Verdana. Long range scans reveal nothing so you are assigned to try and investigate - without revealing your ship has any interest in it.

Medical supplies have been going missing on their way to agricultural outposts across the Vermilion Reach. When you go to investigate it turns out other, luxury items have also gone missing but the reports were lower priority; however they may be easier to trace.

The rumoured assassin virus has been confirmed to exist, leading to several authorities revealing they have been developing cures. You have been dispatched as a courier to collect some anti-virals, only to find the civilian transport you are on has been infected.

For Saturday we're back near the start of our space opera serial. Get to learn the original crew as they encounter a sports-obsessed planet in Poor Losers www.patreon.com/posts/poor-l...

Hearing of a culinary renaissance on Ferdinand V you alter your schedule to allow your entire crew shore leave in shifts to sample the local delicacies. However at end of first leave several crew do not return, having deserted to learn the secrets of cooking in the kitchens

Passing through the Goshawk System you note a surprisingly large number of space yachts heading for Goshawk IV. A party is taking place at a remote hunting lodge. However as you are about to leave there is a distress call from the lodge.

The child of an old shipmate contacts you; their parent vanished one night ten years ago on Newton Station and has not been heard of - until now. An anonymous message has been sent inviting them to meet for news, insisting they not involve the authorities, so they have asked you to accompany them.

Salvage operations on an abandoned outpost have slowed to a crawl for unclear reasons. When you arrive to pick up the recovered items only half the load is ready. The salvage crew claim that conditions are difficult and invite you to join them on a shift to demonstrate.

As a neutral party, you have been tasked to evacuate occupying soldiers from Tervon IV as part of the armistice. As they boast of their brutal actions, your engineer keeps finding faults, as though the ship itself disapproves of the mission.

For Sunday a brief look back at StarTrek: Picard in which the Borg Queen has literally eaten her own flesh in one last attempt to dominate the Star Trek universe, which is probably not intended to be a metaphor for the series. nightofthehats.blogspot.com/2023/10/i-wa...