Astronomica

Oh boy did Team Meatbag find a treat this week! After following the siren call of the mysterious recording, the crew finds themselves in a giant cavern full of pre-tech vehicles ripe for salvage. Well...ripe for being turned into general scrap anyways as it quickly becomes clear that they aren't the first scavengers through these parts. As Mackie, Anton, Hopper, and the minions stock up on ju...

It's time for a good old fashioned dungeon crawl, y'all! This week the crew of the Admiral Grace sets forth in earnest on their quest to bring justice to Ghost.gov. After a quick trip on one of Glasir's swankiest virtual experience train cars, the group gets oriented and starts down some old mining shafts. Anton double checks to make sure everyone is in optimal combat position befor...

With Hopper's body - and the remains of the AI core - now safely aboard the Admiral Grace, the crew preps for their very first mission of vengeance. Hilde and Grace get to work finding out as much as they possibly can about Ghost.gov and their potential whereabouts while Mackie diligently pieces Hopper back together. Anton bonds with Chili Cheese and takes his new AITF credentials for a walk...

We join the crew of the Admiral Grace mid-conflict with three AITF (Artificial Intelligence, Tobacco, and Firearms) bots on the ground and the ominous sound of the Dove of Peace drilling into the ice above. While Mackie and Anton try desperately to pull Hopper away from his efforts to destroy the AI core, Hilde swoops in to check the wreckage for salvageable material.  It's only a matter of m...

The crew prepares to meet their mysterious contact for a completely above board and not at all shady hand off of the smuggled AI core. Hilde finally digs into her new drone and discovers it is even cooler than she thought it would be. Before long, DefConDoc shows up and turns out to be a punk kid with a wicked fashion sense. Unfortunately there is no time to get to know this dapper fellow as a bev...

After several weeks (okay, a few days) of playing host to the Apogee Station refugees, the crew of the Admiral Grace is more than ready for a little R &R. Anton and Hopper head to the nearest tattoo shop for an update to the ol' chassis while Hilde and Mackie look for a quiet tea room. Before long, Mackie is hosting a bidding war for the AI core smuggled more or less safely in the Grace&a...

While Anton takes one last shot at obtaining a fancy new fighter ship, Mackie gives his favorite kid a tour of the Admiral Grace. Turns out our Mr. Mackie has a Tragic Backstory (tm) after all and at least some of that surprise brain surgery from Hopper might actually be a good thing. Anton rejoins the crew just in time to get the galley fires under control and the team finally heads to Glasir IV....

While Anton practices a bit of full contact diplomacy, Hilde presents Mackie with an intimidating possibility: his old home the Empress Helene is nearby and looks to be the most promising option for the majority of the Apogee Station refugees. Unfortunately this means an extremely uncomfortable conversation with his least intimidating progeny. With this new plan more or less set, Anton tries to fi...

It turns out that guy trying to board the ship is actually pretty chill. After a bit of haggling with this Loc Xi De representative, the crew agrees to send Anton over to the Albatross in the hopes of securing passage for the remaining refugees. Hilde and Mackie work on finding a landing site on Glazier IV, not an easy task with competing corporate ships breathing down their necks. Meanwhile, Anto...

Welcome to Astronomica! If you gave us a try any time in the previous 16 episodes and found that the audio quality just wasn't doing it for ya, we have good news. Now that we've found a new permanent recording home we are bringing you 99.999% clear audio for your listening pleasure. In thanks for giving us another chance, we've thrown together this short recap of the story so far. I...

Hoping to offload a few of those hungry Apogee Station refugees, the crew of the Admiral Grace answers a call from an incoming corporate vessel. It seems their moral pangs have more or less sorted themselves out as everyone decides pretty quickly that negotiating with shady business dudes is just about the best way to move things along. To that end, Anton and Mackie pull a mini-heist on a potentia...

Leaving the once bustling Apogee Station somewhat the worse for their visit, the crew of the Admiral Grace struggles to process their various pangs of conscience. Hilde experiences considerably more emotions than she is used to while Anton remembers how he came to be on the Grace. Mackie exhibits an unusual level of leadership, at least while the refugees are paying attention. Before too long, tho...

Anton lives! The crew continues to battle those pesky drones while realizing that some of their actions might just have consequences. Mackie continues to romance his lady love but complications arise when she remembers she has a dog and is desperate to save it from all those explosions. Speaking of consequences, Anton battles through his combat haze to insist on saving as many civilians as possibl...

Surprise! The murder droids are still on the trail and totally fine with collateral destruction. The Admiral takes aim while Mackie, Hilde, and Anton mill about in predictable confusion for a round or two. Eventually, the crew comes up with a plan: rendezvous in the food court, flag down the Gracie, and get the hell outa Apogee Station. This foolproof retreat is shockingly complicated when Mackie...

After narrowly escaping a swarm of murder drones, the Admiral Grace once again succumbs to the sweet, sweet oblivion of hyperdrive. Meanwhile, her very good boy Mackie shows a surprising level of deceit when he recruits the rest of team meatbag to hide a rogue AI in hopes of selling it for a truly righteous payday. Nothing particularly interesting happens until the team hits the Glazier system - t...

This week we're taking a little break from our narrative to bring you A Very Special Episode. No, it's not about peer pressure but we do talk about why everyone should be playing Stars Without Number (come on, all the cool kids are doing it) plus dish on answers to all the behind the scenes questions we assume you want to know! Why is Hilde such a fantastic and assertive team member? How...

Battle stations! Last week we left our motley crew with an unknown vessel in hot pursuit and the Admiral Grace ordering her human counterparts to take their stations. Of course, that would be a lot easier if everyone in the crew knew what that meant. Good thing it doesn't take too long to get everyone in place and ready for combat. Well, ready to wait for the pursuing vessel to get within ran...

Fresh off their first serious combat, the intrepid crew of the Admiral Grace gets down to what really matters: figuring out how to pay their bills. Gracie officially welcomes Hilde to the team while Mackie decorates the cockpit with some snazzy loot. Meanwhile, everyone levels up but completely forget to talk about what that means. The general end-of-arc milling about is interrupted when the crew...

 We join our crew just as they realize they aren't quite clear of Bridget's revenge. Sure, detaching the submersible modules seemed like a great way to escape but unfortunately physics still work even on an implausible planet made entirely of water and the two units surface at exactly the same time. Hilde nearly dies from a stubbed toe while Anton does his best to eliminate the threat. M...

Finally on-task, the crew heads to the swanky part of the ship for some good old fashioned looting. Oh, and they'll probably keep an eye open for Sergei guy just in case he has a clue about what is actually going on here. Mackie strikes a pose in his brand new rich dude robe before finding an extremely valuable - and potentially dangerous - black box. Meanwhile Hilde finally finds a way to ta...

With Mackie on the run from Hilde, Anton finally gets a moment to himself. Unfortunately, that moment very quickly descends into either a futuristic hockey game or an all out brawl, possibly both! A call from upstairs yanks the crew back on track as they continue to work out just why exactly the mysterious Mr. Cho got them to Aegea. Finally, Starmaster Stan and the cast get a little silly with a s...

Now that Mackie has his best bow tie all clipped on and everything the crew is ready to call back Anton's ex and attend a swanky underwater affair at La Casa Del Hombre Elegante. Anton repeatedly tries to explain the difference between an invite to party and an invite to A party while Hilde tries to figure out how to fit in. Meanwhile, Mackie is on the hunt for the buffet table as Hopper trie...

Floating high on the Whale Actually's signature cocktails, the crew of the Admiral Grace stumbles happily to the famous Aegea skydive on a mission to meet up with Anton's ex. While Hilde tries to save the artifact from non-academic hands, Anton continues to question her presence on the ship. Something fishy - well, something suspicious, as they say on Aegea - is revealed when the crew fi...

Admiral Grace and crew have survived their first jump through inter-dimensional space as a team, although it seems Mackie may have accidentally hit the self destruct button in transit. Thankfully he only activated the landing gear which will be useful when the crew figures out how to get to their rendezvous on Aegea. Hilde discovers a new favorite drink and tries to convince the team to abandon th...

We join our show in progress for Part 2 of our launch episodes. Dr. Hildegarde Hypatia Cade has joined the rag-tag crew of the Admiral Grace Hopper and is eagerly counting down the moments until she can examine the mysterious alien artifact in the ship's hold. Meanwhile crew members Mackie and Anton wonder how exactly they let this crazy lady join the crew and Admiral Gracie encounters a wort...