Shake,Rattle, & Roll - Cities Without Number, Stars Without Number, & Trey Causey's Strange Stars Rpg - Session Report- The Star Mart By Joseph Mohr

 "The largest big box retailer is coming to the Sonora sector! But they need a little help from some travelers just like yours. They are having a few logistical issues that they need some assistance with and your travelers have just the right skills. Star Mart is the largest retailer in the known universe. They have stores in over one thousand systems and multiple stores in most of these locations. They are known for their extremely low prices. They are also known for selling a lot of cheap knock off merchandise from the Neoh’Ohm systems that make them with slave labor. But low prices are low prices. This draws huge crowds at every new opening. Star Marts sell everything from pots and pans to Star Freighters and everything in between. While most retail establishments are local Star Marts have the reputation and advertising power to bring people from across an entire sector to shop." 

" Their newest store is right on the edge of the Sonora sector and the old sectors. This new opening has thrilled the locals of the sector as a whole. But there are a few disgruntled people who are not so pleased at the prospect. 

They have a reputation for low pay but they seem to be offering quite a bit of money for this specialist work. The advertisement at the Starport says CR 350,000 - apply immediately."

 

So the other night I didn't have a ton of time to deal with my players & saw that Joseph Mohr had put up a new Cepheus Engine adventure Star Mart. And because Cepheus Engine uses the same 2d6 skill system as old school Traveller and Cepheus Engine. I decided as a DM to steal erm borrow it. Last time we were playing we'd left the party in a Burger Chef fast food joint on Circus. And this session picks right up from here on the blog. 

Commericials and adds from the Sixties from Earth are only now reaching the hub of the sector of Trey Causey's Strange Stars. Most of the popculture adds and programs are treated as literal digital trash. However some alien civilizations have taken to recreating some popcultural institustions with some very weird results. Hence why there's a Burger Chef a defunt 1960's through 80's fast food establishment on almost every galatic hub space station. 

The PC's were hanging out since last adventure when they were approached by a Star Mart manager. That right there is trouble with a capital 'T' because of the fact that like other 'Marts'. As the intergalatic community's largest big box retailer of materials Star Mart takes care of it's own. 
In this case that wasn't happening, let me take a moment to speak about Joseph Mohr's Star Mart adventure. Mohr writes in a style that gives the DM several options to hook in his player's PC's. In this case it was a rival alien big box chain who were constructing their own box store across the street from Star Mart. This won't do especially within the cut throat world of retail that is Circus. 

The big no no of this situation is the fact that the aliens want to help unionize the workers of Star Mart. Star Mart's competition is off limits because they've hired merccnaries & operators to keep the PC's away from thier construction site. The credits are good from Star Mart and will pay off a big chunk of thier stat hauler repairs. 
Before all out mini corporate war can break out the PC's have had another meeting with Star Mart's manager and minor corporate heads. They've had to dodge mercenary forces. 

So now it's an on going fire fight through the nano zones of thier zones of Circus. The mercenaries are going after the PC's with gusto. The mercenaries were in the prcocess of locking the PC's bank accounts when the party's operators got into a protracted Cyberspace battle over Circus's grid. 

The player's PC's made a few valuable contacts that they stole from the mercenaries databanks. And they also managed to track down a lucritive dream jaunt combat contracts  to the  Phantasists. And then there's a job that the Slavers need done. Right now thier trying to convince the Star Mart's executives that there is more lucrative retail space in a developing nanohub of Circus.