Rogue Galaxy, part 2
Missed the previous instalment? Part 1 is here.

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Monsha orders the crew to sail Dorgenark to Zerard, the most highly advanced planet in the galaxy. Steve plots a course through the Rose Nebula, and suggests that Jaster go up on deck to admire the view. Because Dorgenark is surrounded by a bubble force field, it is perfectly safe to stand on deck while the ship is sailing through space.

Arriving on deck, Jaster finds Kisala, the girl who flew the hovercycle to rescue him in the desert, gazing out into space. They talk for a bit; she seems to be somewhat sharper than the rest of the crew, suspecting that he may not really be Desert Claw. She doesn't question him too deeply, though; their conversation is cut short by the breathtaking beauty of the Rose Nebula.

(Okay, so they're standing on deck, watching a nebula instead of on a bridge, watching the moon; but it's close enough to invoke rule 125, I think).

Without any warning, enormous stingray things fly out of the nebula, breach the shield, and attack Dorgenark. Jaster and Kisala make short work of two of them, but the ship's navigational systems sustain damage, forcing an emergency landing on a nearby planet. Although there's no critical damage from the attack or rough landing, the engine has taken a nasty knock and can't be repaired without booster oil, and there's none left in the ship's stores. Fortunately, booster oil is a biofuel that can be refined from fruit that grow in vast quantities on the planet on which they've landed. This is Juraika, the rainforest planet.

Simon and Steve stay on the ship to effect repairs while Jaster, Kisala and Zegram gather fruit from the jungle. Strangely, there's no fruit to be found anywhere, and very few animals too; the jungle is populated by monsters where animals should be. A local tribal village, Burkaqua, offers no help; the natives are fiercely xenophobic, and very backward; their civilization has stagnated for the past thousand years. Any natives who try to change things are banished from the village.

Running out of options, our heroes happen upon the spring where the Burkaquans conduct their purification rites. Hiding in the bushes, they observe a Burkaquan warrior woman, Lilika (think Ayla from Chrono Trigger, minus the speech impediment, and wearing a highly improbable hat), performing a cleansing ritual upon her younger sister, Miri. Suddenly, a huge monster emerges from the spring and charges in Miri's direction. Instinctively, Kisala leaps from her hiding-place to fend off the attack, but only succeeds in getting herself enveloped by the monster's tentacles (hey, it's a Japanese game). Impressed by Kisala's bravery, Lilika joins Jaster and Zegram as they prepare to defeat:

M U D   W H O O P E R
It looks like it might have been a frog in another lifetime, except that frogs don't have tentacles, and can't throw electricity around. After a protracted battle, Lilika's arrow finally strikes home, and the monstrosity is defeated.

Mud Whooper seems to have been created from an ordinary frog by the effects of a Rune — an artefact that can accelerate evolution, turning ordinary critters into beasts. The appearance of Mud Whooper, along with the other monsters in the jungle, coincides with a Rune falling to Juraika in the recent past.

In return for their help in defeating the monster, Lilika offers to arrange for our heroes to talk with the Burkaquan village chief about the fruit they need. However, when they all arrive at the village, they find the place in turmoil. One of the best warriors has just dropped dead, his back covered in disgusting purple hives. Apparently, this has been happening a lot, recently; there's a plague of some kind on the village.

In order to end the plague, the chief plans to appeal to the Burkaquan deity, the Star God. The appeal will take the form of a virgin sacrifice, and Miri is the virgin in question; this was the reason for the purification ritual at the spring. Almost everyone in the village thinks that this is a cracking idea; even Miri seems okay with it. The only dissenters are Lilika and Qrann, Miri's betrothed. Kisala is utterly appalled; although she is unable to convince the tribal chief to change his mind, Jaster readily agrees to help her save Miri. Zegram, however, would rather leave the villagers to their own devices; still, he decides to tag along.

Reluctantly fulfilling her duty as the chief Burkaquan warrior, Lilika escorts her sister to the altar, atop the highest waterfall in the jungle. Jaster's party follow them into the jungle, but lose their way; as they look for the waterfall, they come across a shipwrecked spaceship that must have crash-landed in the forest some time ago. It's a ship of a class known for its safety and reliability, so why it crashed is a mystery. Among the wreckage, Jaster finds a freeze gun which he decides to take with him.

As they approach the altar, Jaster and Kisala realize that Zegram has fallen behind; he's nowhere to be seen. Turns out that he's way back in the jungle, talking to someone on his communicator, telling them that he's been held up on Juraika, but the "Dorgengoa losers" will help him reach his goal soon enough. Looks like he has his own agenda...

Jaster and Kisala aren't the only ones who've decided to gatecrash the sacrifice — Qrann shows up as well. Lilika has to choose between duty and family; the choice becomes obvious when the Star God puts in an appearance and reveals its true form:

I N D I V I D E R
It's a digusting blobby thing with six spindly legs, red eyes, and an ugly scar on its face. Being gelatinous, everyone's weapons just squish through it ineffectually. Good thing that Jaster has a freeze gun to solidify it, really. Don't you just love RPG coincidences?

Individer was the cause of the plague, and by posing as the tribe's deity, it was sustaining itself on the sacrifies offered by the hapless villagers. With Jaster and Kisala's help, Lilika has saved her village — but still finds herself banished for treason against the Star God. The tribal chief realizes the truth about the Star God, but must still keep up appearances lest the Burkaquan society collapse. For now, the people still need to believe in the Star God. But if their civilization can progress, perhaps they'll be able to leave their superstition behind. So Lilika chooses to join Dorgenark's crew in order to broaden her horizons and bring new ideas back to her people.

Of course, there's still the matter of the booster oil... and as luck would have it, Zegram returns with a canister full of the stuff. While the others were fighting Individer, he was busy gathering fruit and refining the oil. Well, that's his story, anyway...