The Scapegoat is the crew’s ship, a standard Free Merchant-class frigate with a couple of low-power weapons and a lot of cargo space, nothing special on paper. The crew named it in Episode 2, choosing “Scapegoat” over other candidates (Wayfarer, Serendipity, Quicksilver, The Deathstick, Argo) because of the connotations it carries for both Robert Ross and Thorne’s backstories: both feel like scapegoats in their own way.
History
Before falling into obscurity, the Scapegoat ran a regular supply route between Polyphn and Camiri 4, hauling scientific equipment, food, and other supplies. It was docked at Camiri 4 during the rebellion roughly twenty years ago, having just delivered a cargo of scientific equipment from Polyphn. When the station was overrun and the corporations pulled out, the ship was left locked behind the doors of Docking Bay 72 for the next two decades, until the crew found it.
Description
Roughly 100 yards long and 30-40 yards wide at its broadest, the Scapegoat is longer and narrower than ships like the Millennium Falcon or Serenity, built more like a spine with cargo bays hanging off it. It looks like a working truck, plain enough that nobody in a dockyard looks at it twice. Its layout runs from the bridge at the bow, back along a central corridor of crew quarters and common spaces, to two cargo bays at the stern: the first houses The Aurora and Reginald “Froggy” Vance’s living space, and the second is largely empty and able to hold a small fighter.
It carries a multifocal laser and a sandthrower for weapons, 120 tons of pressurized cargo space, a hidden smuggler’s hold, and a burst ECM generator that can negate one successful hit against it.
Current Status
As of Episode 22, the Scapegoat has taken damage: its hull has a hole in it and its spike drive guidance is fried, and its ownership module needs a black-market replacement. Its security module was overwritten with Omnitek admin code by Viktor Strake, and Dr. Elara Voss’s VI reprogramming left its physical controls broken, requiring an autonomous system to manage them, a role now filled by Buddy AI, a copy Felix Champlin made of a hacked AI’s source code. Voss herself was taken from the ship in Episode 21.
Crew
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Thorne | Captain |
| Robert Ross | Pilot |
| Felix Champlin | Hacker / Comms |
| Haleyy | Muscle / Biopsionic |
| Reginald “Froggy” Vance | Companion |
| Dr. Iso | Doctor / Black market (joined Ep 27) |
| Buddy AI | Ship systems management |
Key Events
- Ep 2: Named “The Scapegoat”; departed Camiri 4.
- Ep 4: Stolen by the Guardians of the Great Work and taken to the Blackharbor airfield.
- Ep 7: Reclaimed by the crew; Dr. Elara Voss transferred aboard.
- Ep 21: Locked down by Viktor Strake’s admin code, spike drive fried, Voss taken captive.
- Ep 25: Emergency flight to The Spigot for repairs.
- Ep 27: Dr. Iso joins the crew; The Kid shuttle captured and stored in the cargo hold.
Appears in: Ep 2, 4, 7, 21, 22, 25, 27