Veegint/Foreven (3234 B743784-A) / Date: 175-1106
"Who the hell gets kicked out of the Scouts?" thinks Eshtam Dreejeh as she looks out the back of the monorail, watching the spaceport recede into the haze. "Sixteen years of loyal service and then I'm cut loose without so much as an explanation. 'Too many personnel in the subsector,' according to Thurmond. I don't think he expected me to believe it, either. This after a month of debriefings over that last mission to T'nan. I guess it really didn't... ah, gotta stop thinking about it. Oh, well, 'detached duty' it is then."
[Eshtam has been discharged from the Scouts as a result of a Mishap during character creation. She was given passage from the system's scout base to the mainworld downport, and thus begins her adventure. She is carrying a duffle bag with all her worldly possessions and has a credit balance of Cr1295).
Veegint isn't a terribly interesting place, and besides, this is Traveller; she wants to get offworld. She could buy a low passage, but isn't desperate enough to travel that way (yet). She needs to find work. But as there are no immediate prospects, she needs a place to stay, so she has booked a room in a hostel and bought a local travel permit for the capital city, Belnn.
So her adventuring career starts with three goals:
1. find work
2. secure passage offworld
3. put some distance between herself and T'nan
I haven't yet decided what went down on T'nan. I'll let future events suggest a history and fill in the details as they fall into place, about the planet, the research base, and the fateful mission. Besides, I am unaware of any such activity or operation on T'nan, nor would I be disposed to discuss such an operation, if it did in fact exist.
For the first adventure, I'm using Travelling Alone as the 'GM emulator', the 1d6 yes/no/ yes but... inspired by FU for decisions and clarifications, and the encounter and reaction tables from the classic 1981 Traveller Book.
The beginning of the Travelling Alone sequence is upkeep (soc x soc x 10). Deducting Cr160 from her balance seems reasonable for a room in a dodgy hostel and a travel pass for the capital city.]
Unsure of where to start, Eshtam decides to explore the city a little and get a feel for the place. She passes brokerages [Sell Cargo] hospitals and clinics [Healing], pawn shops [Sell Equipment], but none of these are important to her right now. She eventually happens upon a gun shop [Buy Equipment]. She doesn't feel safe wandering around unarmed, and walking around with her rifle on her shoulder seems a bit uncouth, so she buys an auto pistol and ammo [Cr210]; the local Law Level will permit her to carry it.
[A few more rolls brings her to Options. Well, her options are limited at this stage, so I assume she's still just trying to get a feel for the city. She's not broke yet, so she can afford a couple days of sightseeing, such as it is.
From Options, the next roll is Hear Rumour. The CT rumour table results in Misleading Background Data. I decide she hears that there is a certain part of town where wealthy travellers put together and recruit for private exploration missions. She heads there immediately.
Once there, I roll Event - Meet NPC. The CT Patron tables should suffice for a random NPCs so... [rolling dice] Marine Officer. Ok, so what's [1-3 M, 4-6 F; 5] she like? Using the tried and true method of closing my eyes and pointing to a random stat block in the CT Veterans supplement, I find out she's a 2nd Lieutenant, and -- more importantly -- has the recruiting skill. But her initial reaction is [7] non-committal.
After a series of yes/no questions & die rolls, the scene plays out like so: ]
Eshtam overhears a woman talking about recruits on her wrist com. She's in military dress uniform, though without any government insignia. Eshtam is intrigued and decides to follow her. As the woman is about to go into a café, Eshtam catches her attention.
"Hey! sorry, I overheard you were recruiting for..."
"Um, yeah. Look, I'm just trying to get some lunch here." The woman gives Eshtam the once-over, sizing her up; she's wearing an old service jacket and is apparently armed, so why not? She hands her a small plastic business card. "Ok. Sure. If you're serious, come to this address in three days time." The card is simple and businesslike, with just a name (2nd Lt. D. Ystelman), a nearby address, and the word 'recruiter'. Eshtam pockets the card and leaves the woman to her lunch break.
[From here the die rolls pretty much lead to End without incident, so play will recommence at the start of the Travelling Alone sequence. Each go through the table is supposed to represent a week, so I'll use the same 1D3+5 days I use for determining time spent in jumpspace.]
The misleading rumour has led her to find people recruiting mercenaries rather than explorers. The next Seek Patron or Options result will lead her to the address on the card.
Eshtam isn't sure exactly what is being recruited for yet, but at least it's a lead.
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